From Nonprofit Founder To Building A $300M Pilates Business
18 Sep 2024 (1 day ago)
Building a $8M/yr non-profit
- The speaker described how she started a non-profit organization called Back on My Feet to help homeless people by encouraging them to become runners.
- She explained that she was inspired to start the organization because of her father's struggles with addiction and her belief that running could provide a positive outlet for people in similar situations.
- She shared how she secured funding for the organization by targeting executives who were also runners, leveraging media coverage, and offering opportunities for employee engagement.
The economics of
- The speaker was impressed by the Pilates studio's business model after calculating the potential earnings based on the number of reformers, cost per class, and class capacity.
- The studio had 10 reformers and each class cost $30 with a capacity of 10 people.
- With 10 classes a day, fully booked, the studio had a revenue potential of $3,000 per day and $90,000 per month.
Play a game you can win
- After working with the nonprofit, Back on My Feet, the speaker decided to pursue a business in fitness and wellness.
- The speaker felt that they possessed the skills and experience to be successful in the fitness industry, specifically with a Pilates business.
- At the age of 31, the speaker invested $175,000 of their personal savings, accumulated over five years, to start their Pilates business.
How to be a killer negotiator
- Negotiated net 60 terms with a general contractor to avoid upfront costs.
- Refused to pay four months of security deposit demanded by the first landlord and successfully negotiated it down.
- Generated over $100,000 in sales during the first month of business.
Turning down $75k
- An offer of $75,000 was declined because it was felt that accepting the money would create self-doubt and reduce the drive to succeed.
- The business grew quickly by word of mouth as clients told their friends about the workout and their resulting soreness.
- A lawsuit was filed by a former licensor after the decision was made to create a new training program and manufacture proprietary Pilates machines.
0 - 27 locations in 4 years
- The business was four years old when a minority deal was made in 2017.
- At that time, there were 27 locations, each generating about $700,000 in annual revenue, for a total of roughly $19 million.
- The business was valued at close to $60 million in the minority deal.
Idea: Endurance events
- The 29029 event involves climbing a ski mountain multiple times, with the total elevation gain equaling the height of Mount Everest.
- The event is designed to be challenging, with the intention that most participants will not complete all 29,029 feet of elevation gain.
- Participants who do not complete the full challenge still receive recognition based on the elevation they did achieve, such as a medal for reaching the height of Kilimanjaro.
Idea: Taboo for recruiters
- The speaker believes there is a correlation between people who excel at the game Taboo and strong critical thinking skills.
- Taboo requires players to think creatively and strategically to lead their teammates to guess a specific word without using related terms.
- Individuals who struggle with Taboo, becoming flustered or unable to think quickly, tend to not remain employed for an extended period.
Idea: AI Personal trainer
- An individual expresses interest in the potential of AI in fitness, specifically in personalizing fitness and diet plans based on individual data points such as blood work, age, and hormones.
- The same individual believes that within five years, relying on guesswork for fitness and diet will become unreasonable due to advancements in AI and data analysis.
- This individual is currently prioritizing personal time and exploring interests like beach volleyball and spending time with loved ones, rather than immediately pursuing new business ventures.
Idea: SeatGeek for airlines
- An individual has an idea for a business called Jumpseat, which would function as a platform for buying and selling airline seats similar to how SeatGeek operates for event tickets.
- The individual envisions Jumpseat as a way for passengers to secure last-minute flights or upgrade to better seats by offering money to other travelers willing to swap.
- The individual believes Jumpseat would benefit both passengers and airlines, as it would increase customer satisfaction and potentially generate revenue for airlines through transaction fees.