Mahima Kumar
What is FitMyLife Health Analytics?
We’re a health-tech startup aiming to transform the health and fitness industry. We develop a health data analytics-based mobile fitness app called FitMyLife, which aims to adapt as the user progresses. We have offices in Toronto and Edmonton, and we also have employees in India and Albania.
Tell us a little bit about your background.
I came to Canada in 2012 from India when I was 23 years old. I had just received my bachelor’s degree in engineering in electronics and communication from India, and I came here to pursue my Master of Science in computer networking at the University of Alberta. I got my first full-time job here after I graduated in 2014 and have been working since then. My career moved very quickly. By 29, I was CEO of a tech startup—that I wasn’t expecting so early in my career. It was a massive accomplishment for me.
You’re a young CEO in a field with very few women. Can you share your experience with us?
I am in the STEM industry, where there is not a lot of younger women CEOs. Age shouldn’t be a number when it comes to leading companies. Experience is an essential factor, but if you have a goal and know what you are doing, you must take that plunge. The STEM field needs more younger women in charge of tech companies and the tech industry. Yes, it will be challenging, and you will have to learn a lot of skills, most of them outside of your comfort zone, reasonably quickly than you must have anticipated, but it is worth it at the end of the day. Taking calculated risks is also an essential skill when you are a budding leader. I believe the possibilities are endless, and goals can be realized in time if done right. The right approach, attitude, and absolute optimism are what it takes when you lack experience when starting young.
Tell us about your company’s new fitness app, FitMyLife. How does it differ from others on the market?
Our fitness app, FitMyLife, tries to model a user’s unique metabolism based on the information received and the health data gathered to provide personalized workout and nutrition programs unique to that person so they can achieve their personal fitness goals. The more the person uses it, the more optimized the programs become over time. Everyone has a unique body composition and metabolism, so there is a need for a hyper-personalized solution. Data analytics embedded in our product makes it different from all the other competitors. Everyone has different goals and hence requirements, so the key is the fitness programs have to be driven by health data and have to continually adapt to how people are doing and progressing and perform predictive analysis as well. Providing recommendations to get back on track when a user digresses is also a feature we offer. We aim to be one of the few leaders in this space.
You went from new college grad to CEO of a tech company in just five years. Tells us about the path you took that led you here.
When I moved to Canada from India, I had a plan. In my mind, I always wanted to prove that you don’t have to wait a long time to achieve what you wish to professionally. After the University of Alberta, I had no real industry experience, but I knew I wanted to lead a company on my own as well as learn what it takes to be an entrepreneur. I was the only person who had no prior work experience, but I was one of the first few in my class to land a job. Part of it was luck, and the other part was the curiosity to learn as much as I could, as fast as I could.
I got my first job in 2014 as a system engineer at Datagardens, cloud-based business continuity and disaster recovery solution company, mostly in the cloud-computing space. It was a startup then, but within six months on me joining, it got acquired by CenturyLink, a vast cloud and network provider in the States. Post the acquisition after a few years, I became a product manager/owner within the organization. Our team was growing, and I made significant product decisions related to the direction, features, sales, and marketing. I learned a lot there very quickly and worked with enterprises, majorly business-to-business (B2B).
We were doing very well within CenturyLink, and in 2018, I had reached a point where I wanted to do something new. I felt I had learned all I could at that job, and I had taken the product to a particular stage, so I left. My mentor, Geoffrey Hayward, who owned Datagardens, started a new company, FitMyLife Health Analytics Inc., in Edmonton and offered me a job as V.P. of business development for his new health-tech based fitness application FitMyLife. I thought it was a great opportunity, and my ultimate goal was to set up my own I.T. company, so I moved, and that job worked out. It just came at the right time. I started here as V.P. in 2018; then, things just turned from there. I moved to Toronto in 2018 to grow the business, and management offered me the CEO position soon after. We then eventually set up our main office in Toronto and have been going strong since then.
You mentioned your mentor, the previous owner of FitMyLife Health Analytics. Can you tell us more about him, and how he helped shape your life and your career?
A good mentor can change your life completely. I was fortunate enough to meet Geoffrey Hayward, a great mentor, who taught me real entrepreneurial skills and shaped my professional career. I worked with him at Datagardens and FitMyLife Health Analytics, in my most formative years professionally. I didn’t know that he’d become my mentor when I applied for my first job out of university. I started to see how he worked and operated in his professional life, and I developed a special connection with him. It eventually turned out to be a great relationship. Most people who own companies don’t expose things, but when I asked him, he was always eager to teach, I learned so much from him. He has had a significant positive impact on my life, and I owe a lot of my accomplishments to his guidance and direction.
What does the future look like for you? What are your goals?
First and foremost, take FitMyLife to new heights shortly. I am a stakeholder, and a director at FitMyLife and looking to start my own company in the cloud-computing space. There are a few ideas on the table. I am exploring opportunities in the biotech field as well as in the real estate business too. I am all for taking risks and trying new avenues when it comes to my professional life, and that is what drives me every day. My ultimate goal in life is to reach a point where I can give back to society and make a positive impact. I know sacrifice is part of getting to where you want to be. Many people dream big and know what they want to do, but never sacrifice enough to get there. I want to help other young women in the STEM field to emerge as leaders, and I am currently working to prove that it is a realistic dream.
Mahima Kumar
CEO — FitMyLife Health Analytics, Inc.
1 King St West, Suite 4810
Toronto, ON. M5H1A1
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mahima-kumar5/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fitmylife-health-analytics/
Social Media:
Company Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/FitMyLifeApp/
Personal Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/mahima.kumar5/
Company Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/fitmylifeapp/
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mahima-kumar5/
Company's Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/company/fitmylife-health-analytics/
Download the Top 100 Canadian Professionals magazine and check out Mahima's feature on page 14.