#StartupStory: JDP Corp, a tech startup tailored for the fitness world

Joash Perumal, owner of JDP Corp | Image supplied

Perumal is a Pietermartizburg-based musician-turned-entrepreneur that always had a passion and deep love for business, technology and the entertainment industry. He first pursued the prospect of running his own business and ventured into starting his own full-service entertainment company in 2015.

I spoke with Perumal to find out more about JDP Corp and the Digi Smart Bench.

What prompted you to create the Digi Smart Bench?

I had fallen and broken my wrist which inconvenienced my training thereafter, whilst on the gym bench I had thought about an electric feature like my car seat, that would move the bench backwards and forwards to enhance my training sessions.

I also took into consideration people who are suffering from sports injuries and also physically challenged who would have had to keep getting up and adjusting the bench because all home gym benches are either at a standard position or require you adjust them manually.

I also thought about the job creation side of things for our South Africans hence it is a proudly South African manufactured product. We want to change lives at JDP Corp.

What is your vision for JDP Corp and the Digi Smart bench?

My vision for JDP Corp is to create products which can change/enhance peoples lives, create job opportunities and help our community as we have been doing by holding competitions on our page and giving away cash prizes to those who needed genuine financial help.

What are the challenges facing your business?

Our challenges are firstly building awareness to our bench as it is fairly new and JDP Corp has just started up. We are competing against other fitness equipment companies.

Our bench might not be affordable to everyone who would want it as the electronic parts used in manufacturing inflated our costs.

However, I believe once people start learning about the product efficiency and its electronic features they will move over to the Digi Smart Bench. We also offer instalment options to resolve any issues of affordability.

Image supplied

Are you planning on creating more tech products suited for fitness?

We would look into that in the future, right now we have a few mobile apps we are busy with that is going to be hitting the market soon, so be sure to look out for that as well as promoting our new Digi Smart Bench.

What are some of the business lessons you’ve learnt so far?

Be patient. Don’t rush into a business decision out of excitement without thinking it through. This is a marathon, not a sprint. Things are not built overnight. Don’t be discouraged when things don’t work out keep trying until you perfect it, we aim for 100 % customer satisfaction.

What advice do you have for someone wanting to create their own startup?

If you have an idea, don’t let it sit, action it until you perfect it. Think about all the logistics, do your due diligence first. See if there is a market for what you are selling and just run with it. It’s not easy, but it’s worth it at the end.

More about the Digi Smart Bench

• Manufactured and fitted with command buttons and a voice activation system for easy movements to the backrest such as backwards, forwards and stop.
• With weight racks at either side of the bench, you can now reduce any back strains because there’s no need to continuously be picking up weights off the floor.
• The Digi-Smart Fitness bench is free to download and is user-friendly.
• The App is available on Google Play and the App Store. Connect via Bluetooth to the bench to access complete control.

The app can be installed here.