Seizing Unexpected Opportunities: The Journey of Fit:match and Haniff Brown
There are some founders who believe that only they can generate good ideas. Haniff Brown is not one of those founders. In fact, his openness to external input has been a key driver in the success of his company, Fit:match.
In 2024, Brown, a Williams College math graduate and former private equity investor, was initially promoting Fit:match’s AI-powered body-scanning technology as a solution to help shoppers find better-fitting clothes. However, an unexpected request from a major English soccer team challenged his original vision. They invited him to bring the technology to their youth academy for a completely different purpose. Although Brown almost declined, he accepted the invitation and discovered a far larger market opportunity by listening carefully to the needs of coaches and sports scientists.
Today, Fit:match has expanded its reach, partnering with prestigious organizations such as FIFA, Major League Soccer, and Major League Baseball. The company now delivers full anthropometric and body-composition measurements to athletes within seconds, revolutionizing how athletic performance and development are monitored.
What is Fit:match?
Fit:match is a cutting-edge body intelligence platform. Brown likens it to “the ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini of the human body,” providing remote, scalable access to detailed body analytics. Its technology serves a broad spectrum of clients, including hospitals, athletes, and coaches, by delivering precise data on human body composition and measurements quickly and efficiently.
Pivoting from Retail to Sports Performance
The pivotal moment came in 2024 when a large sports team in England asked Brown to bring Fit:match’s technology to their youth academy. Initially, the technology was developed for retail, aiming to help consumers find clothes that fit better. Brown almost turned down the request, thinking the use case was too different. However, after engaging with coaches, scouts, and sports scientists at the academy, he realized the potential for a major new application.
The staff explained that if Fit:match could reduce the body scanning process to 10-15 seconds, it would provide a significant competitive advantage, as current assessments are time-consuming and interrupt training sessions. Inspired, Brown returned from England with a renewed focus, committing to adapting the technology for sports performance—and the results have been transformative.
Passion Meets Purpose: Building a Business Around Love for Sports
A die-hard Manchester United fan, Brown finds deep satisfaction in applying his technology to the sports he loves. He emphasizes the importance of democratizing access to advanced body metrics at the youth level across leagues like Major League Soccer and Major League Baseball. By making this data accessible, Fit:match helps nurture talent and supports parents in making informed decisions about their children’s athletic development.
The Power of Hands-On Product Demonstrations
For Brown, putting a product directly into the hands of potential users is critical. He differentiates between entrepreneurs who build existing solutions and those who create innovations that have never existed before—he belongs to the latter group. To convince enterprises and consumers alike, Brown prioritizes live demonstrations over videos or static images.
During client calls, whether with institutions like the Cleveland Clinic or sports teams in Peru, a team member performs a live scan using just an iPhone. This approach not only educates potential customers about the ease and reliability of the technology but also builds trust. Brown often points out that his eight-year-old son and 70-year-old mother can operate the system, highlighting its intuitive design. This strategy has proven to significantly boost return on investment (ROI) and accelerate adoption.
Advice for Founders on Fundraising
Brown is candid about his views on fundraising: he does not enjoy it. Instead, he loves building products, scaling teams, and driving growth. He likens fundraising to a necessary pit stop on a long road trip—a means to get more fuel but not the destination itself. According to Brown, entrepreneurs should focus on developing the right product, identifying the right market, and securing paying customers first. Once these fundamentals are in place, attracting the right investors becomes much easier.
He warns founders against prioritizing fundraising above all else. Instead, he urges them to concentrate on aspects that truly matter to investors—product-market fit and customer traction. This mindset, he believes, leads to a more sustainable and successful business journey.
For more insights on Haniff Brown’s inspiring entrepreneurial journey and how customer feedback propelled Fit:match to 300% growth, read the full story Here.
