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Blood, Sweat & Cheers Founder Jonathan Ages Talks ‘Fun Fitness’, Startups and Passion

Learn how Jonathan Ages identified his niche within the recreational fitness industry and why he believes entrepreneurs must build something they truly care about.

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So I created Blood, Sweat & Cheers to make it easy for others to find fun, and timely social activities. That way you can fit them into your schedule and get tickets before they’re sold out.

We wanted to keep things quick and easy. So when you share our recreational tips with a friend through email or social networks, it is packaged in a way that your friend will immediately respond with, “That’s awesome! Let’s do it!”

The point behind creating Blood, Sweat & Cheers was to make it easier for people to live healthy, have fun and meet others who do the same.

Oh yeah, and remember that person who knocked me out of the dodgeball game? She’s now my wife.

 

Best Success Story

I am tempted to say our best success story was the day we passed 50,000 daily email subscriptions or the first time we deposited a check from a major advertiser. But I think it’s the little successes that are more important and gratifying.

Our biggest success came when I realized I was receiving an email a day from another stranger who wanted to tell me – thoughtfully – that Blood, Sweat & Cheers was making their ‘date night’ more fun and interesting or reinvigorating their fitness and health. We love getting those comments so much that we post many of them on our office walls as inspiration. Reading them is like drinking rocket fuel.

 

Biggest Startup Challenge

It is so hard to find the right people to join the Blood, Sweat & Cheers team. I read somewhere, “It’s better to have a hole on your team than to have an a**hole on your team.” That’s one of the most important things I’ve learned.

So we dedicate a ton of time and effort to recruitment. Because when you add a great teammate, it’s like adding another gear to a car.

One of the things I’m most proud of is that we’ve built a team of incredibly smart, driven, and talented people. I feel honored to be working with our gang of misfits.

 

#1 Tip for Entrepreneurs

Build something you care about. If you don’t absolutely love what you’re creating, then you’re not going to push through the many, many boring and arduous steps involved in bringing it to life.

It’s really hard to sustain those 16-hour days and keep sending out thousands of rejected or unanswered messages if you don’t truly believe that you’re doing something important and meaningful.

Connect with Jonathan on Twitter.

This interview has been edited and condensed. Interview by contributing writer Katherine Burks.

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