When we started Strive, we believed that we could create something that could serve the needs of gym owners and their students equally, with a simple-to-use gym management tool that has a modern and intuitive look. However, we knew we weren't going to stop there. What we've learned and observed in the industry over the past years inspired us to plant a seed for a bigger vision.
In this article we’ll expand on our journey from Strive to MAAT — why we decided to rebrand, what it means, and what’s next.
Strive's mission was very clear: help those who chose to earn a living from their favorite sport, run their business seamlessly.
Fueled by our passion, we began in a niche environment close to us, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. It was only natural to initiate this project alongside those we felt most connected to. Over the years, working closely with gym owners, event organizers, professional athletes, and practitioners, we've confirmed our initial assumption:
The sports community holds immense untapped value when synergies and connections are facilitated.
While Strive's initial mission was certainly instrumental in extracting this value, it became clear to us that we needed something more. We needed a new and more ambitious mission that could create a platform to expand and connect the sports community.
MAAT will support our new vision and go-to-market strategy, which focuses on expanding into new sports communities and promoting sports-related events, all while continuing our current efforts to streamline daily gym operations. With this rebranding and our product offering, we aim to bridge the gap between what we term “life at the gym” and “life in the community”. This connection will open new revenue opportunities for gym owners and athletes, and make it easier for practitioners to build authentic human connections and live meaningful experiences by joining sports communities.
Our new name, MAAT, is derived from the word “mat”, symbolizing the place where we practice the sport and share experiences. The term 'maat' also informally translates to 'mate' or 'friend' in Dutch and Afrikaans.
We combined these meanings to symbolically represent our vision of eliminating obstacles to joining sports communities through simplicity and experiences.
MAAT does not focus on accommodating a single community. Instead, it is broad and flexible, aiming to serve as the umbrella for various growing and expanding sports communities. We believe this new name more accurately reflects our people-centric vision and mission to extend our platforms to a wider range of communities.