In business, everyone has an opinion. It can be easy for founders to get swayed by the latest trends, customer chatter, or investor pressure. However, for Christian Toetzke, founder and CEO of the global fitness racing craze HYROX, staying true to his original vision has been key to the company's explosive growth.
"You have to be very convinced about your product and the DNA of a product. And you have to stick to the game plan," he says.
Toetzke appears this week on an episode of One Day with Jon Bier to talk about the power of persistence, the importance of retaining company equity, and other lessons he's learned since launching his brand in 2017.
By any metrics, HYROX is a success. Competitors run 1 km during the races, followed by one functional workout station, repeated eight times. In 2024, 260,000 people are expected to participate in 60 global events in 65 countries. Sponsors include Red Bull, Puma and Centr.
Still, Toetzke says he's frequently asked to tinker with the formula.
"In the last five years, I don't know how many people told me what we have to do."
The number one request he gets is to change the workouts, which are always the same and include the farmer's........