Anthony Grant: Growing Fittir from the ground up in Queenstown with SQL support.
Anthony Grant is a software product developer turned engineer and a die-hard runner. His company, Fittir, brings together his career and passion. Fittir is a website that helps runners find their ideal running shoes online by asking a series of questions about the runner’s experience, running style, and goals.
Startup Queenstown Lakes talked to Anthony about how he’s found the startup community (and the trails) in Queenstown so far.
Picture: Anthony receiving a medal after crossing the finish line at one of his races.
SQL: Tell us about what you do and how you got started
Anthony: I come from a software background, and I’ve been in the product management space for four to five years. I moved to Queenstown just over a year and a half ago, and this move coincided with me starting my entrepreneurial journey. At the time, I was teaching myself how to code so I could start building some of the web apps and applications that I had in my head.
I’ve gone on to start a couple of websites, with Fittir being the main one. We’ve helped nearly 10,000 runners already, and we’re partnering with retailers and brands to help recycle data and connect people with running shoes. Through this, I’ve learned a whole bunch of skills like building AI agents, marketing, sales… I guess you could call me a solopreneur. But really, all I do is pick niche problems and build cool little tools to help solve them.
SQL: How did you get involved with Startup Queenstown Lakes?
Anthony: I connected with Marco off the back of a conversation I had with another founder down here. Marco connected me with Jinene, who I've been talking to and getting coached by on and off for the past six to eight months. Jinene has done an amazing job connecting me with the community, like legal and other founders who are now starting software startups.
Picture: Anthony running some of the trails in the Queenstown Lakes district.
SQL: How has attending SQL events impacted your business?
Anthony: It was pretty pivotal in my journey with Fittir. When I first came to Jinene, I really had no idea how to sell anything. I'm a bit of a nerd by trade – I can do product stuff and I really like building software, but I had no idea how to put myself out there and sell to people. Jinene connected me with another founder in the SQL ecosystem who taught me everything I know about sales. He helped me design the first pitch deck and get the first commercial models running. That's the pitch I went out to retailers with and managed to convert some of the biggest retailers in New Zealand to partner with Fittir.
Startup Queenstown Lakes also connected me with the legal help I needed. I had no idea what was happening legally, and they gave me a free session with Derek, who helped me with the high-level legal stuff. On top of that, they connected me with an accountant who helped me handle money. It's been invaluable – all of the small gaps that I had myself as a founder, they've helped me plug. Fittir wouldn't be here if I hadn't had those connections.
SQL: What is next for you and your business?
Anthony: We're making a bit of revenue now, which is really cool. The next step is to go out there and keep trying new commercial models. We've got the user side sorted – we sit at around 5,000 monthly visitors. Many convert into affiliates and purchasers. We have 100,000 impressions on Google per month and 10,000 partner deals spread across New Zealand, Australia, and the US.
The next step is looking past the affiliate revenue to some other B2B commercial models. That's going to include reselling our platform as a white-label service, packaging up small parts of the service that we offer and selling it to retailers, and little widgets they can embed in their own online experience. The end goal for me is to build a profitable business that turns a good amount of money, helps the runner first and foremost, funds itself and creates a really good monthly income.
SQL: Why did you decide to start your business in the Queenstown Lakes district?
I moved here for the outdoors – to run and ski. Funnily enough, when I moved here from the ‘big city’, I was expecting my career to take a step backwards. But there’s a thriving startup community here, which has helped me keep growing the business.
Picture: Fittir homepage, assisting you finding the right running shoes online.
SQL: How would you describe SQL in one word?
Anthony: Connected. It's really easy for you to tap into the ecosystem and get connected to the right people. As a first-time founder and a relatively young person, I didn't really understand the importance of having the right connections.
SQL: Bonus question… what's your favourite running trail in the area?
Anthony: One of my current favourites is Arrowtown up to Crown Peak and then Crown Peak over to Mount Scott, dropping down to the Crown Range. That's beautiful, but I can't stray too far away from Sawpit. Sawpit has a special place in my heart!
Story written by Startup Queenstown Lakes