The Client
Advancing Financial Sustainability While Strengthening Community Impact
We partnered with YMCA BC to transform Y@HOME+ from a COVID-response platform into a sustainable, mission-aligned wellness tool. We repositioned it to enhance YMCA BC’s physical locations while growing digital reach, revenue, and community impact. Through research, engagement, and market analysis, we helped Y@HOME+ stand out in the hybrid-digital wellness space.
Health
1,000
British Columbians surveyed to validate digital fitness gaps and user needs.
30+
B&M analyzed as well as digital-first fitness & wellness service providers.
75+
75+ concepts generated for Y@HOME.
In just 12 weeks together we:
Challenge
The Canadian fitness and wellness sector is going through a market shift. Post-COVID, many Canadians have opted for at-home, outdoor, and hybrid wellness experiences over traditional gym memberships, reshaping the competitive landscape. YMCA BC, as a not-for-profit with a social mission, must navigate this shift while ensuring financial sustainability. Balancing its mandate to serve communities with the need to fund innovation and remain relevant is critical. The organization is now re-evaluating how it can deliver value digitally, extend its impact beyond physical locations, and secure future growth.
The challenge was to
structure an approach that:
01.
02.
03.
Approach
By combining Disruptive Edge’s expertise in digital platform innovation with YMCA BC’s deep local insight and mission-driven ethos, we designed a collaborative engagement to build clarity, alignment, and actionability across three key areas:
- Conducted interviews across active users, lapsed members, and digital-first non-members
- Held strategic workshops with 10+ internal stakeholders spanning operations, marketing, partnerships, and leadership
- Developed Jobs-To-Be-Done (JTBD) maps and actionable personas to inform future platform design and engagement strategy
- Analyzed 20+ digital wellness platforms across five categories (fitness, mindfulness, chronic care, hybrid gym models, and community-driven apps)
- Benchmarked monetization models, engagement strategies, and value propositions
- Identified whitespace opportunities for YMCA BC to differentiate on community, credibility, and affordability
- Surveyed ~1,000 residents to quantify demand and segment user interest across wellness verticals
- Facilitated co-creation sessions to generate and evaluate potential offerings
- Built a prioritization matrix and proposed roadmap for Phase 2 prototyping and piloting
Outcomes
Our collaboration produced a data-driven, stakeholder-aligned foundation for Y@HOME+ to evolve into a sustainable digital wellness ecosystem. This future-facing blueprint is designed to unlock new revenue channels—such as paid content tiers, strategic partnerships, and digital-first memberships—while extending YMCA BC’s reach to underserved and digitally native populations. By embedding its core values of accessibility, inclusivity, and community into an enhanced digital experience, YMCA BC is now well-positioned to serve member needs beyond the gym, diversify its income sources in alignment with its mission, and reinforce its leadership as a trusted wellness provider across British Columbia. Y@HOME+ is no longer just an online workout library—it’s a vehicle for digital-first engagement, a model for mission-aligned growth, and a building block for YMCA BC’s next era of impact and resilience.
Client Testimonial
“Coming from a consulting background, I often see recommendations delivered with a certain level of arrogance. That hasn’t been the case with Disruptive Edge. You’ve done an exceptional job of truly understanding what makes the Y special and you’ve seamlessly integrated yourselves with the Y’s values.”
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