Dutch sports technology startup Huppa has raised €1 million in Pre-Seed funding to expand its management platform for gyms, fitness studios and other sports businesses. The investment comes from a group of entrepreneurs and investors, including the founders of Sentia, Keylane, TicketSwap, Moneybird and Revue, alongside NL SportTech Ventures. Huppa plans to use the capital to accelerate product development and grow its team as it expands across the Netherlands and Belgium.
Building an Integrated Platform for Fitness Businesses
Founded by Sharief Mohamed and Gino Arendsz, Huppa develops software designed to help sports entrepreneurs manage their operations and improve financial performance. The idea emerged from the founders’ experiences with the management systems used by their own kickboxing gym and CrossFit box, where fragmented tools and administrative processes made day-to-day operations more complex.
The platform brings together membership management, class bookings, payments, financial reporting and automation in a single system. It serves businesses operating across activities such as CrossFit, HYROX, martial arts, yoga and Pilates, helping owners manage customer relationships, monitor performance and reduce repetitive administrative work. Members can also book classes, manage subscriptions, purchase credits and invite friends without requiring direct assistance from staff.
Beyond operational management, Huppa is developing AI-powered insights and automation to help business owners make more informed decisions. By connecting operational and financial data, including through partnerships with payment providers such as Mollie, the company aims to identify which memberships perform best, where classes could generate higher returns and which areas offer opportunities for growth. Huppa also offers access to its full platform without separate paid modules, with pricing based on the number of active customers.
Funding to Support Expansion in the Netherlands and Belgium
The €1 million investment will allow Huppa to continue developing its platform and expand its team as it targets a growing market of independent gyms and fitness studios. The company is initially focusing on the Netherlands and Belgium, where it aims to serve at least 150 sports businesses by the end of 2027, before pursuing broader European expansion.
Huppa’s strategy centres on extending gym management software beyond basic administration towards financial analysis and automated business support. While its existing platform handles core operations such as memberships, bookings and payments, the company plans to develop more advanced AI capabilities that can help owners identify opportunities and improve business performance.
With the new funding, Huppa aims to strengthen its position in the fitness software market and develop a platform that combines daily operations, financial management and AI-powered insights for sports entrepreneurs.
