Roqbot is a company that is quickly finding its way into fitness clubs. Currently it has been found in GymIt locations, Gold’s Gym and World Gym franchises. To find out more about the new music company, we reached out to the company’s CEO, Garrett Dodge, for a short Q&A we are calling W5H1, as it answers Who, What, Where, When, Why and How:
1) Who is your company?
Roqbot is a social music service for businesses, including gyms. We provide a customized background stream for each location, and mobile app that lets the customers see what’s playing, vote on the music and request songs. Roqbot was founded in 2010 and is backed by investors including Google Ventures and Detroit Ventures. We were selected as the best Music Tech company at South by Southwest.
2) What does your company do for the fitness industry?
Roqbot replaces repetitive background music from services like MusicChoice with a custom stream for each location. Gyms can create their own custom lists just like they would with iTunes, use our Roqbot Radio stations or see lists from other gyms. In addition to the background audio stream, Roqbot can run on TVs in the gym to display the music, gym class specials or other messaging. All messaging is easily updated by management via our website or dedicated admin app.
3) Where is your company located?
Roqbot is headquartered in Oakland California.
4) When was your company started?
Roqbot was founded in 2010.
5) Why did you start your company?
The founders, Garrett Dodge and Ketu Patel, wondered why most business were playing repetitive elevator muzak. They had been building mobile applications and thought that smart phones and streaming music would open the door for more interesting, engaging music. They were surprised to find such a huge interest from gyms where it was assumed that patrons wanted to listen to their headphones. In reality, many patrons just want to hear great music and love the variety and music discovery Roqbot enables.
6) How does your company hope to impact the fitness industry?
We think the music in any business should reflect the vibe of the business, and the customer preferences. Roqbot lets gyms have an easily customizable music stream that adjusts to customer preferences throughout the day. Our goal is to delight customers and drive awareness for our locations. Our venue web pages and social media integration drive more customers for gyms.
