Anne Mahlum, founder of the boutique fitness chain solidcore and the nonprofit Back on My Feet, shares her inspiring journey from launching a running club for the homeless to building a $100M fitness empire. She discusses her strategic exit plan, the importance of strong leadership during growth, and the complexities of negotiating her business sale. Anne emphasizes the value of asking for what you're worth, the power of shared success, and trusting your unique vision as a founder. Her key advice? Think big, stay bold!
30:43
forum Ask episode
web_stories AI Snips
view_agenda Chapters
auto_awesome Transcript
info_circle Episode notes
question_answer ANECDOTE
Nonprofit Running Club Founding
Anne founded a nonprofit running club for homeless men, which led her to discover her purpose.
This passion helped hundreds and it still operates today in 14 cities across the US.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Launching SolidCore Pilates Chain
Anne opened her first SolidCore Pilates studio in 2013 and hustled to build the customer base by word of mouth.
She opened five locations in the first year, leveraging the unique workout's appeal.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Rapid Expansion Amid COVID Crisis
SolidCore scaled rapidly to 75 studios over a few years, raising $68 million in rounds.
COVID forced layoffs and pivots, but Anne led an aggressive expansion in flexible states.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
Want a quick estimate of how much your business is worth?
With our free valuation calculator, answer a few questions about your business, and you’ll get an immediate estimate of the value of your business.
You might be surprised by how much you can get for it: https://flippa.com/exit
--
In this episode of The Exit: entrepreneur Anne Mahlum shares her incredible journey from founding a nonprofit running club for homeless men to building Solidcore, one of the fastest-growing fitness studio chains in the U.S.
After scaling to 100 studios and weathering the chaos of COVID, Anne exited the business on her own terms with a $100M payday—negotiating not only her valuation but her taxes and an additional $10M kicker.
She reveals how she planned her exit from day one, built bench strength to replace herself, and why founders shouldn’t be afraid to ask for more. Anne also dives into the dangers of taking on preferred equity, the power of clear end goals, and the importance of sharing wealth with the team that helped build it. Her parting advice? Think big, stay bold, and trust yourself—because no one else will see your vision the way you do.
--
Anne Mahlum is a founder, entrepreneur, CEO, philanthropist, motivational speaker and athlete whose mission is to help as many people as possible live their most optimized lives. Anne's entrepreneurial ventures have resulted in a personal net worth of over $100M and an impact on hundreds of thousands of lives. She is the Founder and former Executive Chairwoman of [solidcore], a fast-growing boutique fitness company with over 100 locations in the U.S. Anne sold her shares of [solidcore] in April 2023 for an undisclosed amount and shared millions with her employees who she valued for staying by her side. A lifelong visionary, Anne is also the founder of Back on My Feet, a national non-profit organization that uses running as a vehicle to help those experiencing homelessness change the way they see themselves and become empowered to change their lives.
Anne Mahlum on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anne-mahlum/
Website: https://www.annemahlum.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annemahlum
--
The Exit—Presented By Flippa: A 30-minute podcast featuring expert entrepreneurs who have been there and done it. The Exit talks to operators who have bought and sold a business. You’ll learn how they did it, why they did it, and get exposure to the world of exits, a world occupied by a small few, but accessible to many. To listen to the podcast or get daily listing updates, click on flippa.com/the-exit-podcast/
The Exit - Presented By Flippa 