- Y Combinator alumni company Let’s Do This announced it raised $5 million in seed funding
Let’s Do This — a Y Combinator alumni company — has built a marketplace for endurance events ranging from 5K runs, walking marathons, and Ironman triathlons. According to TechCrunch, Let’s Do This has raised a $5 million seed round of funding with participation from renowned athletes Serena Williams and Usain Bolt.
This round of funding was led by NFX managing partner Pete Flint. Y Combinator, Shasta, Index Ventures, and FJ Labs also joined the round. And investors Paul Buchheit, Yuri Sagalov, Simon Nixon, Tim Thackrah, Paula Radcliffe, and Andy Philips also joined the round.
The platform has more than 30,000 races of all distances and disciplines. And Let’s Do This now has the largest marketplace for endurance events in the world with essential information about the races and offers exclusive booking perks for members like free cancellation protection.
“I’ve seen first-hand the incredible impact these events can have on making people fitter, healthier and happier. I love that Let’s Do This is not only making events like these more accessible but also helping to support athletes of all different fitness levels. Women are especially less likely to participate in marathons and obstacle races, so it’s really important there’s a platform encouraging people to step out of their comfort zones and make a positive difference in their lives,” said Williams.
The company also recently agreed to a partnership with Hearst for providing the race listings across Runner’s World, Men’s Health, and Women’s Health in the U.S. and the U.K.
“This is a $30bn global market with enormous growth potential and already 100 million people crossing a finish line in the US each year. In just 18 months they’ve gone from launch to building the world’s best online marketplace to find, learn about, and book your next race. With over 30,000 events across the US, UK, and Australasia, this team is just getting started,” added Flint.
Let’s Do This was founded by childhood friends Alex Rose and Sam Browne. The two of them got into this space while attending University of Cambridge a few years ago.
“Throughout my career I’ve been lucky enough to inspire people to follow their dreams, get off the couch and get exercising. That’s what attracted me to Let’s Do This. It’s a company that is totally committed to changing the world and inspiring more people to get out there. Like me, their team doesn’t believe in limits and is totally committed to being the best in the world. It’s a really natural fit with what I care about and what I believe in so I am very happy to be supporting their mission to inspire more people to have epic experiences,” explained Bolt.
