RETHINK RETAIL Building Community, Innovation, and the Future of Connected Fitness
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Nov 13, 2025 Bruce Smith, Founder and Chairman of Hydrow, shares his journey from passionate rower to entrepreneur, aiming to redefine home fitness. He discusses the synergy of building hardware, software, and content into one cohesive brand. Bruce reveals how community drives customer loyalty and highlights the shift towards personalized experiences in fitness. With insights on scaling business authentically and the role of AI in the future, he envisions a kinder world through daily movement and connection.
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From College Rower To Hydrow Founder
- Bruce Smith started rowing in college, coached, and ran a nonprofit rowing club that served ~1,000 people daily in Boston.
- Seeing daily exercise's impact inspired him to digitize rowing and create Hydrow as the "best 20 minutes of your day."
Three Businesses In One
- Hydrow had to build three businesses at once: hardware, content, and software to deliver an immersive rowing experience.
- Hitting product-market fit meant marrying beautiful, quiet hardware with live outdoor content and supporting firmware/software.
Recruit For Complementary Expertise
- Hire experts to cover gaps in your knowledge and build a complementary, relentless team.
- Rely on others' subject-matter expertise to execute your vision at scale.