In the modern world, the longing for a better lifestyle that enhances physical and mental health tends to be the primary goal of global communities. While understanding the diversifications in the modern world, the adequacy of health and inspiration is essential to transform varied social-cultural instances.
A demanded motivational speaker in women empowerment events, a successful entrepreneur and fitness coach, and an international athlete participating in fitness events are only a few things that can define Alice Veglio as a leader who is disrupting the business landscape.
As the CEO and Founder of Bright & Fit Fitness Program, she is paving the way for numerous women to redesign the perception of their limits and help them through home fitness, mindset exercises, and nutritional advice to regain self-esteem and a better quality of life.
Insights Success caught up with Alice to discuss her journey, struggles, achievement, and future goals.
Below are the highlights of the interview:
Kindly tells our readers about yourself and your professional journey so far.
Alice Veglio, born on July 6th, 1995, in Italy, found herself having to overcome a severe health disease at the age of 13: the diagnosis of a dangerous vertebral rotation that would have forced her to give up physical activity for the rest of her life. Alice has been a ballet dancer since the age of 3, and this diagnosis led her to lose all security and hope for a free and happy future.
Alice found herself immobilized with a cast on her back which made her unable to tie her shoes. Thanks to the help of valid professionals, she managed to avoid undergoing a dangerous operation. Once the plaster was removed from her back, Alice’s mission in life became to study in the best institutions and find the proper tools to regain her freedom and be able to move and eliminate the fear of immobility from her life forever. It is for this reason that Alice, together with an Economics and Marketing University degree, also has many certifications in the world of wellness and health:
- Diploma in holistic sciences for health
- Specialization in nutrition sciences at Stanford University
- Diploma of the personal trainer
- Yoga teacher diploma and specialization in bioenergetic manual techniques
Alice Veglio is considered one of the most prominent international personal trainers and women empowerment activists in Italy and internationally. In addition, she has walked down the catwalk at the most influential fashion shows and posed worldwide for brands and photographers in prestigious locations such as Paris, Dubai, Rome, Maldives, and Qatar, to give some examples. Her face is known for having presented important events broadcasted nationwide in Italy, having appeared in some of the most famous fashion weeks in the world and in numerous advertising campaigns and music videos, including that of The Kolors and Shade in 2018.
From an early age, Alice started to pose for fashion brands for kids, and at the age of 15, she had her model debut in her first fashion show for Vogue. Her CV also includes the role of poster girl for Juventus and Moto GP until 2014, when she had access to the Miss Italy final; in 2016 won second place at Miss International Model; in 2017, again second at Miss Europe and in the same year Alice won the title of Miss Earth Italy Air in 2017.
In 2019 Alice Veglio reached 2nd place at Miss Multiverse World Finals in Punta Cana: the first beauty, intelligence, fitness, and entrepreneurship competition in the world for 21st-century women.
Very followed on the web; in 2016, she began a career as a blogger and influencer, boasting today over 210,000 followers.
Parallel to the world of entertainment and world-class modeling, Alice has achieved important successes in studies: Double Italian-French graduation, a degree in Holistic health sciences (top of her class) and a second degree in Economics and Business Management, Certification of Personal Trainer, Nutrition Science degree (Stanford University), life coach international certification, and apprenticeships at prestigious United Nations offices (FAO, WGEO) and Dubai government offices.
Alice was a project assistant and then a sustainability journalist for the government office Dubai Carbon Center of Excellence. She was also the junior project manager for WGEO at United Nations Office.
In 2018 she launched her Fitness Program, counting over 30.000 members in Italy and worldwide just in the first year alone. Alice, in her content, not only shares high-quality certified information about fitness and health, but she is also fighting to empower as many women as possible to reach their potential. This mission took its roots in Alice’s childhood when she was diagnosed with a severe and dangerous spinal disease. This ambitious “Bright & Fit Fitness Program” project strives to bring Italy an innovative digital wellness and women empowerment concept with the first 100% Italian fitness program application available in significant Apple and Android stores.
What was the inspiration behind venturing into this industry?
At the end of her studies, Alice gained the proper knowledge to see her body healthy, transformed, and finally be able to move without implications for her spine. This incredible result, therefore, prompted Alice to desire to share with as many people as possible the method that allowed her to get back in perfect shape, regain confidence and self-esteem and go beyond the limits she thought to have. Alice’s double degree in two essential fields (economics and health) generated the interest of numerous government offices, including Dubai Carbon and the Dubai government office dedicated to a green economy, in which Alice worked firstly as a project assistant and then as Sustainabilist, Journalist and then the WGEO office of the United Nations. Alice started working in the United Nations WGEO Dubai office at the young age of 23, holding the role of Junior Project Manager.
Despite the great gratifications received in these vital organizations, Alice increasingly felt the need to be able to make her contribution to the world and not leave aside the method that had transformed her health and body in the previous years. It is, therefore, for this reason, that Alice officially launched in January 2019 in the United Arab Emirates her first start-up dedicated to holistic fitness and female empowerment, which today has more than 35,000 women registered and, in its first two years, has reached over 1 million dollars in turnover: Bright & Fit.
Tell us about Bright & Fit Fitness and its specialty, and shed light on your role in its development and outreach.
Bright & Fit is Italy’s first online Holistic Fitness program with medical certification. Today Bright & Fit has its modern and technological native app that allows women from all over the world to have everything they need to stay fit and happy within one click. Bright & Fit is not just a fitness program; it is a personal transformation tool that aims to help women redesign the perception of their limits and help them through home fitness, mindset exercises, and nutritional advice to regain self-esteem and a better quality of life.
It is also a coaching academy and learning company where healthcare professionals and personal trainers can receive a complete learning experience and
improve their knowledge with Alice’s Holistic approach. Alice is also leading a group of Health
Professionals that provide high quality and customized Bright & Fit Program experience to all members. Bright & Fit is a company created by a woman for women with the deep desire to allow even
those who have little time available, those who cannot train in the gym, and those who do not have fitness equipment available, to be able to train with the best results in 15-30 minutes a day without the need for equipment and just by using their smartphone.
Today Bright & Fit has more than 25 members in its team entirely dedicated to the project, and the incredible results achieved by the users of the program have led numerous magazines and
television channels to talk about Alice, including Forbes Italia, Forbes India, RAI 3, La print, Thrive Global, Yahoo finance, California Herald, and London Daily Post.
My greatest ambition in my everyday life is to make a tangible difference and make an effective contribution to the life of women regardless of their physical, geographical, and social condition. My main goal is to allow people to live better, reconsider their potential, and become aware that anything is possible. This vision characterizes every innovation and initiative in the company. For that reason, in June 2021, we started a critical charity project called” Bright & Fit Cares,” through which we offer concrete help to women with physical or social difficulties. Our first initiative was to support ANDOS, one of Italy’s most crucial breast cancer prevention and treatment organizations.
As an experienced leader, please share with us your opinion on how modern technology is changing the face of the world. Also, please share with us how technology enables your business to take its steps to the next level.
The company is undergoing a continuous transformation day after day in order to always offer the best standards in terms of quality, efficiency, and technology. Less than three years ago, the company was composed only of a team of 3 people, ten active users, and one website, and today; we have a team of more than 25 people with 45,000 active users, a native app, and an increased turnover of 200% per year. Especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, the company felt the need to increase productivity in terms of the number of staff dedicated to the project and technology. We invest daily to offer the best quality content, the highest levels of technology in our app, and the maximum level of support for each person using our service to have the most beautiful transformation and growth experience of their life.
Numerous parameters are used every day to evaluate the improvements of the company. Even before the turnover and the number of registered users, we strive daily to determine the number of satisfied users. Having a 98% Customer Satisfaction Rate makes us incredibly proud and happy. The number of registered users has increased since the first day of activity. Our social communities have more and more registered members, and in December 2021, we reached more than 35,000 registered users.
In your opinion, what are the current challenges that you are facing? And what are your strategies to overcome these challenges in the upcoming future?
Good customer service is prompt, informed, and always presents support for customers. We invest daily to have a team of trained coaches and technicians ready to respond 24/7 to all requests and questions. Furthermore, customer support is not limited to technical issues as our customer service has the skills to emotionally support women in every moment of their transformation journey and is ready to motivate them and always make them feel supported. We use a WhatsApp number and a telephone channel to be able to speak at any time with a trained operator, interactive Zoom calls to guide users within the program, support via email, a live chat both within the app and on the site, and we respond to messages on each of our social channels. In the Facebook community, we also organize live Q&A sessions.
Please enlighten us on the significant challenges you have dealt with in your professional journey and how they played a role in your success.
The exceptional results obtained from the beginning by my students are the most excellent form of recognition I could wish for. Seeing transformed women and families is priceless and makes me realize every day the value of my contribution to the world of fitness and health. Instead, what pushed me back in the last period was a heart disease caused by a covid viral infection: viral pericarditis. In the middle of my athletic preparation for the Ironman 70.3, I was forced to relive the traumas of the past and be forced to stop my athletic training. My positivity and determination allowed me, unexpectedly, after six months, to recover completely and return to the best physical shape ever using the Bright & Fit method. What has been a great difficulty in recent months has, in fact, been converted into my greatest strength and belief that nothing can stop a positive and determined mind.
As an experienced leader, what advice would you like to give to budding women entrepreneurs and enthusiasts who wish to venture into the industry?
The only limit for a woman as a leader is the limits imposed by our environment. Since childhood, we have been asked what we want to do when we grow up, thus suggesting that we can be only one thing (a wife, an entrepreneur, or an athlete). However, what many need to consider is that we can be everything! A woman can simultaneously be a caring mother, a loving wife, a successful entrepreneur, and a performing athlete! Stereotypes are the real obstacle to the success of many women. For this reason, my company and my daily mission are to demonstrate that we must not give up on our dreams and that every woman can be anything she wants to be in this life.
What is your aim for the future? Also, how do you envision scaling your company’s operations and offerings in the coming years?
In the next few years, I see myself at the top of my career as an athlete, coach, and entrepreneur. I want to be a successful athlete who, despite life’s difficulties, can recover and come back stronger than before. I want more and more women capable of continuing to transform the lives of thousands of women for the better. I want to be an agent of change in the world of female fitness and women’s empowerment. This new year Bright & Fit is involved in new exciting projects, including the launch of the first movie/documentary about my life and more live events with thousands of women from all over Italy and the rest of the world. We work daily to ensure that Bright & Fit increasingly becomes a company capable of representing innovation and quality and making a difference in online fitness.
