Startup: Shark Tank is Only the Beginning, with Fitfighter CEO and Founder Sarah Apgar

The Sydcast

Episode Summary:

Sarah Apgar – Princeton and Dartmouth alum, Iraqi war vet, volunteer fire fighter and EMT, and startup founder – wants to create a fitness and wellness movement based on the FitFighter steelhose product. In three conversations over the last year, we learn about Sarah and her company, her life as a Mom, her aspirations for her business, and how the relentless move toward growth requires constant adjustment and deep resilience.

Sydney Finkelstein:

Syd Finkelstein is the Steven Roth Professor of Management at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. He holds a Master’s degree from the London School of Economics and a Ph.D. from Columbia University. Professor Finkelstein has published 25 books and 90 articles, including the bestsellers Why Smart Executives Fail and Superbosses: How Exceptional Leaders Master the Flow of Talent, which LinkedIn Chairman Reid Hoffman calls the “leadership guide for the Networked Age.” He is also a Fellow of the Academy of Management, a consultant and speaker to leading companies around the world, and a top 25 on the Global Thinkers 50 list of top management gurus. Professor Finkelstein’s research and consulting work often relies on in-depth and personal interviews with hundreds of people, an experience that led him to create and host his own podcast, The Sydcast, to uncover and share the stories of all sorts of fascinating people in business, sports, entertainment, politics, academia, and everyday life.

Sarah Apgar:

Sarah Apgar is the Inventor of the Steelhose®, Founder of FitFighter® and Creator & Team Captain of the SteelSisters®. FitFighter is a strength and mobility system originally designed to help firefighters learn skills and be better prepared for their job. Sarah’s signature innovation, the Steelhose®, was featured in 2020 on ABC’s Shark Tank, and is now available to trainers, coaches, gyms, teams, physical therapists, and the general public, to keep us ready for our everyday mission. The SteelSisters® is a nationwide team of young women aged 13-30 who support each other, celebrate strength, share knowledge, and do what’s worth fighting for. Sarah is an Iraq War Veteran, All-American Collegiate Athlete, Fitness Professional, former Volunteer Firefighter and Warby Parker Executive, and mom of 2 little girls. In addition to her primetime Shark Tank debut, Sarah and FitFighter® have been featured in Rolling Stone, Mens Health Magazine, Muscle and Fitness, Essence, ABC News, USA Sports Radio, Armed Forces Network, and Oxygen Magazine, and performed for clients the likes of ESPN, FDNY, and the United States Military. Sarah promotes and celebrates the power of teams, women leaders, and public service, contributing a portion of sales to the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Tower Foundation. Prior to launching FitFighter, Sarah was an executive at Warby Parker, overseeing the opening of the first 50 bricks and mortar retail stores in the US and Canada. Sarah has an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College and a BA from Princeton University, and is a graduate of the Princeton Army ROTC Program. She lives in Port Washington NY with her husband, Ben Smith, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon, her two young daughters, Emory and Arlyn, and canine Louisiana. Sarah is an avid skier, hiker, triathlete, and just about anything outdoors, and adores baking, cable reruns, and making people smile.

Insights from this Episode:

• What is FitFighter and its purpose
• How Sarah got to the idea to found FitFighter
• The importance of the subscription model for FitFighter
• Qualities that entrepreneurs must have
• How Sarah involves her children in her FitFighter life
• FitFighter's journey through Covid-19
• Sarah's experience on Shark Tank and the challenges she faced
• How Shark Tank helped boost FitFighter
• How Sarah manages her time as a mom and as an entrepreneur
• The challenges that partnerships have brought to FitFighter
• Sarah's experience hiring a CEO for FitFighter
• Future business plans for FitFighter

Quotes from the Show:

• “Now we’ve just experienced this incredible shift in folks not being able to get out there to their gym, we’ve seen billions of dollars come out of the market of gym memberships…so what it’s done is really explode companies that developed products that you can have in your home”- Sarah Apgar in “The Sydcast” [12:26]
• “I’ve never thought of FitFighter as just a product…I don’t think I would invest my life in that, there’s a lot of great companies that produce great products but ultimately this (FitFghter) is a lifestyle change and shift and rethinking the paradigms around fitness and wellness”- Sarah Apgar in “The Sydcast” [38:27]
• “[About life balance for Sarah and her team] We’re all sort of facing mental health challenges and struggles, from isolation. I like to think that we’re actually kind of living our best FitFighters life when it comes to strength and fostering a healthier, happier lifestyle that has some balance”- Sarah Apgar in “The Sydcast” [58:33]
• “Whether or not you’re actually starting a business is not the point, is whether you’re creating and seeking opportunities to experience new things and to learn along the way, is really a mindset”- Sydney Finkelstein in “The Sydcast” [01:05:21]
• “[About looking for a CEO] I’ve never had a co-founder, I’ve had great people at the table with me, friends, strategic advisors from the beginning and a couple of terrific early team members, but I never had that person who you can call up three, four, five times a day”- Sarah Apgar in “The Sydcast” [01:18:55]

Stay Connected:

Sydney Finkelstein

Website: http://thesydcast.com

LinkedIn: Sydney Finkelstein

Twitter: @sydfinkelstein

Facebook: The Sydcast

Instagram: The Sydcast

Sarah Apgar

Website:https://www.sarahapgar.com/

Instagram: Sarah Apgar

LinkedIn: Sarah Apgar

Twitter: Sarah Apgar

Dartmouth College: Sarah Apgar

FitFighter:

Instagram: FitFighter

Company Website: https://www.fitfighter.com/

Training Platform:

https://classes.fitfighter.com/catalog

Sizzler:Sizzler

FitFighter Brand Trailer: Brand Trailer

FitFighter App:FitFighter App

YouTube Channel: FitFighter

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This episode was produced and managed by Podcast Laundry.