Alympos
👋 Welcome back! Hope the weekend was great!
From my desk: This was the first weekend in NYC that it wasn’t pouring rain in what felt like months, so I got to enjoy some quality time outdoors.
Also, this week I learned how to trade option contracts, well kind of, for the simulated hedge fund at Baruch—which was exciting. The commodities team got to pitch on Thursday, and we pitched a trade (bull call spread→neutral to bullish trade) for soybeans with an intended exit by late April. Let’s hope this trade doesn’t flop, or my virtual wallet will have to be on a soy-free diet.
Anyway, enough banter, let’s get into this week’s revelation…
This week’s startup, flexing its roots from San Antonio, Texas, promotes fitness and a healthy lifestyle through its credit card perks. I introduce to you…
“Ensures that your dedication to a healthy lifestyle is recognized and rewarded.” –Alympos
🎬 Behind The Scenes
- Zeke Torres, Founder and CEO
- Austin Wright, Co-Founder
- Team: Zeke and Austin are full-time, with a few part-time members
- Working on this full-time since January 2022
- Currently forging relationships with credit distributors and premium fitness brands
- LinkedIn and Instagram
🎤 Intro
Alympos is not just a credit card; it’s a lifestyle choice for fitness enthusiasts. This company is all about rewarding healthy individuals for their expenditure on health and fitness products. They ensure every workout counts, lightening your wallet’s load while refining your physique.
📦 Product/Service
Okay, this credit card rewards users for spending on health and fitness products. They will be partnering with some big-name brands such as LifeTime and IronMan who support their vision and provide a seamless entry into the fitness ecosystem.
Alympos plants its flag in the premium domain of credit cards, as evidenced by the brands and partnerships they are engaged with.
The exact details regarding the number of reward points for each purchase and desired cash-back timelines are still in the works. As this company is in the midst of forging relationships with credit distributors and ensuring everything is in tip-top condition.
They have an expected release date of the card and credit service in Mid-2024 hoping to benefit from the easement of interest rates that is forecasted for late next year.
Lower interest rates would most likely cause…
- Credit distributors to be more willing to help launch new ventures (Alympos)
- Fundraising capabilities to find a smoother passage (easier to raise capital)
Speaking of credit, let’s look at the dynamics of credit card companies…
🏦 Credit Card Company 101
This week’s question; how does one even start a credit card company?
It’s alright, I was in the dark until recently as well. But I’d suggest buckling up before we delve into this one—we have a short maze of complexity ahead.
My first question was, can anyone start a credit card company?
The short answer is yes,
but the long answer whispers that it’s not for the faint of heart.
Starting a credit card company entails
- Navigating a complex regulatory landscape
- Obtaining necessary licenses
- Building relationships with financial institutions for a source of credit
- Setting up a secure and reliable technology infrastructure
In 2023, just about everyone has a credit card with only 9% of Americans saying they primarily use cash. This trend, “Buy now Pay Later” is nothing new and has been growing rapidly since its birth in the 1960’s.
Some quick stats
- Americans 18+ years of age have on average 3.84 credit cards
- There were 441 million open credit card accounts in the U.S. as of Q3 2022
- 77% of U.S. adults have had at least one credit card
- There are over 80 active credit card distributors in the United States
This industry is not going anywhere and the only thing holding some credit distributors’ growth is interest rates;
Higher interest rates increase the cost of borrowing and potentially cut profit margins for credit card issuers or require rate adjustments for consumers.
Speaking of monetary policy…
How is Alympos planning to carve a path to profitability?
Let’s get into it…
Revenue Streams 💵→📈
The main sources of income will be generated through a subscription to the card, interchange fees, and revenue-sharing agreements with brand partnerships.
💳 Interchange fees
One of the main streams of revenue for Alympos, alongside many other credit card issuers, will be interchange fees (transaction fees).
This model is pretty self-explanatory and is justified through the quality and deals users have access to if they choose to sign up for an Alympos card.
🤝 Partnerships with brands
Brands are interested in working with Alympos for a few reasons…
Rewards for being healthy are cool
If I were to gauge reactions from fitness enthusiasts on this idea, finding disapproval would be like stumbling upon a fish that fears water.
Everyone wants to be rewarded and feel recognized for their efforts, especially when it comes to fitness, and this is a way to make that happen.
(The real deal): Elevating brands customer LTV
Now that we’ve got the formalities out of the way, let’s take apart the win-win that businesses stand to gain by partnering and aligning with Alympo’s mission.
Let’s take Lululemon for example…
- Imagine if Lululemon were to partner with Alympos and sprinkle some rewarding incentives for their clientele to live a healthier lifestyle
- Their clientele would likely start ramping up their workout regime or at least consider spending more on living a healthier lifestyle
- Typically, an uptick in health and fitness expenditure leads to an elongated and more active lifespan – which in turn means customers spend more money at Lululemon purely because they are alive and well for a longer period
Overall, Alympos has a model that is built on the lifetime value of customers, helping everyone, even businesses, live a little longer.
🚀 Catalysts for Success
⤴ Uplifting Mission
Alympos has a mission that is inarguable. I mean, “Rewards for being healthier”, c’mon How can someone dislike that?
In today’s fast-paced society, individuals can find their health-conscious actions overlooked or undervalued. Making time for regular exercise or maintaining a balanced diet can add some mental strain to someone’s schedule.
That’s where this company steps in for reinforcement…
Alympos says “We see you and your efforts, keep it up!!👊💯”
Consumers and organizations alike love this because it contributes to a net positive in society. And, the numbers aren’t lying…
🙋♂️ 8k+ email sign-ups
As of today, Alympos has obtained over 8,000 email sign-ups.
This early engagement reflects consumer interest and the need for a better health reward system.
🏃♂️ Mutually Beneficial Partnerships:
As we discussed earlier, this company has an edge due to its win-win proposal for business partnerships. Being able to leverage the fact that they can increase consumers’ LTV could be a huge catalyst in the future.
Not to mention this company has already received verbal confirmation of partnerships from organizations such as Ironman and Lifetime Fitness. This goes to show even further that the market is aware of this problem and is seeking a solution.
🚨 Potential hurdles
A crucial aspect of evaluating a company is identifying all the potential roadblocks on its path to success.
This isn’t about tearing down the venture. Rather it’s about formulating a way to hurdle over the roadblocks, or in this case, bench press them out of the way.
With a dash of courage, let’s step into the thorny path…
📕 Regulatory Friction
As we discussed earlier, starting a credit card company is NOT easy. Many different standards need to be upheld on the financial and security side of things.
💹 The Funding Gauntlet in Today’s Economy
With the interest rates being the highest they’ve been since 2001, the struggle to raise a round of capital is real.
Investors are being more selective on who they entrust their money to, which can actually be spun into a positive thing in some circumstances. After all, if you can secure funding in such a climate as this? You automatically get brownie points of credibility.
Alympos is in the process of raising funding to expand the team and make sure they have all eyes and ears on regulatory and infrastructure requirements.
🥇Competitors
Alympos is not alone in this horse race for healthy clientele, other companies in the space include:
Paceline: A cash-back credit card that rewards activity
📦Product: Initially released a card but discontinued it as of February of 2023, now working on launching a new version soon.
Ness: Credit card rewarding spending on wellness
📦Product: “Currently in public beta, meaning it’s available to anyone who qualifies, but card features may change”
However, Alympos focuses more on fitness-related expenses compared to most competitors who are more zeroed in on wellness expenses.
🔮 Crystal Ball Conjectures
I hope you brought your yoga mat because it’s time to stretch out our imagination muscles as we delve into the best and worst-case scenarios for this company.
⛈️ A shadowed outlook
The worst-case scenario for Alympos would be that other companies hop on this bandwagon of rewarding people for good health and fitness practices.
The market would become diluted and Alympos’s unique value proposition today turns into an expectation for tomorrow.
🌄 The hopeful horizon
The best-case scenario for Alympos and its users would be to become the iPhone of credit cards for athletes and fitness gurus alike.
Competitors are bound to arise but this company would hold a majority of the market share and reap benefits for consumers, businesses, and the company itself for years to come.
Thanks for reading,
Have a great rest of the week!
– Owen