Bino Training is a global platform for live 1:1 online personal training. Bino’s mission is to lower the barriers for people to get fit, while creating opportunities for trainers in countries where local demand is low (currently Malawi, Afrika). They are a new addition to the Epicenter community, so naturally we wanted to get to know them a little better! We sat down with their Co-founder & COO, Torbjørn Husevåg, to get the inside scoop:

Could you please introduce the Bino team?

We’re currently a team of four; Our CEO, Cecilie, our COO, Torbjørn, Our head of Trainers in Malawi and Country Manager, Nelson and our Marketing Intern, Lill. 

How and why was Bino founded? What problems or challenges did you see in the world that you wanted to solve? 

Bino started with Nelson Mpinganjira, one of the best personal trainers in Malawi. After his business studies he took a corporate job with a steady income, but quickly realized that his true passion is to train and make people happy and healthy. He then began to build his career as a personal trainer.

Nelson is a hustler who knows how to get clients, but freelancing is not for everyone. There are millions of highly skilled and motivated trainers out there, but a career in personal training also requires a great deal of sales and marketing skills. 

At Bino we aim to take financial instability out of the equation for freelance trainers on our platform. We guarantee freelance trainers a steady amount of work so they don’t have to hustle up on their own. We take care of marketing, sales, and all the administration so that our trainers can focus on what they do best- train people!

What’s the biggest impact you have seen both on your customers and the industry you work in?

We’re very much a mission-driven company. For us, the reason to go to work in the morning is to help build an online labor market and create equal economic opportunities for personal trainers out there. Since the establishment of Bino, many of Bino’s trainers have already doubled their income, which is incredible. We also see that our customers in Norway are training x4 more than they would do on their own. Why? Because there is a trainer waiting for them on the other side of the line who is keeping them accountable. We’re democratizing personal training and it’s a win for everyone involved. 

What challenges have you faced along your journey and what are your biggest learnings?

Our biggest challenge has been to get people to first understand our offering so that we can build trust with our trainers. Due to this, our biggest obstacles come before people have tested the service – once they have tried a session with one of our dedicated trainers, they’re all in!
 

How do you work with innovation within your organization at large?

Innovation is about introducing something new or reinventing what’s already existing. At Bino we’re disrupting existing business models in our efforts to make personal training more available to the masses, like Uber did with the taxi industry. Uber’s entrance broke the monopoly that taxi drivers had in the big cities and made taxis more available and affordable to people. On our platform we’re making personal training affordable and easily accessible, regardless of location and with a high degree of flexibility. 

What’s in the pipeline that you’re working on? Anything exciting we should know about? 

We are currently piloting our solution with some very cool companies, including Finn.no, BDO, Bekk and Ferd. The fact that they are taking a leap of faith with us at such an early stage is a huge confidence boost! These companies clearly care about their employees health and wellbeing, but they’re also interested in the ESG element. Going forward we’ll continue to build on the momentum we have in B2B and we’re happy to set up more pilots with companies here at Epicenter! 

Why did you choose to work from Epicenter?

We wanted to spend our time in an environment where innovation and creativity is at the forefront. Epicenter is not only a very professional facility with all kinds of exceptional benefits, but the people that we have talked to here are of the inspired and motivating kind, which we highly appreciate. 

Anything else you would like to share?

Want to get into a regular training routine, but lack time and motivation in a hectic work week? Starting at just 185 kr per PT-session, your very own Bino trainer will hold you accountable every week. Don’t think, just show up and train. No equipment needed. All the planning is done for you. Train at home or outside.

Sounds amazing? It gets better; for a limited time only we are offering a free 21 day trial period to everyone at Epicenter. Visit: https://www.binotraining.com/epicenter

Want to know more about Bino? Visit their website

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