Stay up to date on upcoming events, deadlines, news, and more by signing up for our newsletters!
The Startup: Nagimo
The Founders: Victor Guillemot (GSAS ‘22) and Louise Naginski (CAS ‘22)
Participated In: Startup Accelerator Program, Female Founders Fellowship, Startup Coaching
Victor Guillemot and Louise Naginski are the founders of Nagimo, a multi-gym climbing membership. The alumni met at Bobst library, while Naginski was on the pre-med track and Guillemot was studying computer science. Bonding over their shared passion for indoor rock climbing, they soon became best friends and began formulating a startup idea centered on the activity.
The duo initially developed a software that enabled climbers to track, upload, and share their performance analytics on a dedicated platform. But after struggling to find a successful monetization method, they went back to the drawing board to rework their venture.
Guillemot and Naginski pivoted to a subscription-based service inspired by their own experiences of being unable to afford costly memberships at multiple climbing gyms in the city. For one monthly fee, avid climbers would get access to unlimited climbing sessions and exclusive weekly meetups at a growing number of partner gyms.
After launching their product to market in June, Guillemot and Naginski are focused on growing Nagimo into the prime seller of indoor climbing memberships while making climbing more attainable for consumers. Below, read more about their entrepreneurial journeys and inspirations.
What are your hometowns?
VG: Paris, France
LN: London, England
When did you first become interested in entrepreneurship?
VG: I got hooked on entrepreneurship when I co-founded a film production company in 2018. The aim was to enable a fellow student actor and an aspiring director to make a short film. I acted as producer on the project, overseeing scriptwriting, actor selection, film crew and camera equipment selection, as well as financing. It was quite a ride, and I loved it. Also, my parents have always been, and still are, entrepreneurs — which must have helped.
LN: I was not exposed to entrepreneurship as a career path until towards the end of my studies. I met [Victor] at the NYU library, and it was him who introduced me to the Leslie eLab and its resources. It was when I realized that entrepreneurship would allow me to hone my skills in a multidisciplinary direction that I got really hooked and was eager to start my own venture.
Who are the members of your team, and what roles do they play?
VG: We are a two-person startup. Louise heads sales and social media, and I head tech. We organize events together and climb with our members whenever they’re free.
How did your experience in the 2023 Summer Launchpad Cohort transform the way you approach leading your venture?
SLP gave us a framework for creating a successful venture. Following it isn’t easy, and it often challenges your beliefs. But it’s the best thing that happened to our company. Looking back at their teachings always brings a novel way to approach our business.
You recently celebrated Nagimo’s product launch. What’s the biggest business challenge you overcame on the path to reaching this milestone?
We recently pivoted to selling memberships. Before that, we were selling climb performance analytics to climbers. For a year and a half, we developed software and hardware, but gave it all up when no path to monetization seemed viable. At that point, we had members, a pilot gym, and a brilliant intern. Bouncing back with no finances and a tired team was tough.
What’s been the most rewarding moment of your founder journey so far?
Landing our first paying customer.
Your favorite climbing memory?
Seeing strangers become friends and dine together after one of our events.
Your favorite book and movie?
Changing World Order by Ray Dalio, and Past Lives
How can people learn more about your startup or get in touch with you?
We just finished building our website (feedback welcomed), or follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn.
