LIFTS Episode 88 - From Bond Trading to Fitness Tech: Lauren Foundos' Journey

In this episode of the LIFTS podcast, hosts Matthew Januszek and Mohammed Iqbal sit down with Lauren Foundos, founder of Forte (recently acquired by Echelon Fitness).

Lauren shares her journey from Wall Street bond trading to becoming a pioneer in digital fitness, her lessons from building Forte, and her insights on the future of the fitness industry. Highlights: - How Lauren transitioned from Wall Street to fitness entrepreneurship. - The early challenges of selling digital fitness before gyms were ready. - Lessons learned from building and rebuilding fitness tech. - How content drives engagement and performance in gyms. - Why personal training is undervalued and how to fix it. - The explosive growth of Pilates and low-impact workouts. - How wearables and AI are reshaping fitness engagement. - The power of intellectual property in fitness tech. - Predictions for the future of gyms, training, and consumer behavior.

👉 Learn more about Lauren Foundos:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lfoundos/

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00:00 Intro & Welcome

02:17 Lauren’s Background & Wall Street to Fitness

05:00 Building Forte and the Digital Fitness Shift

09:54 The Role of Content in Gym Success

15:00 Personalization, AI & Gym Programming

24:13 The Future of Personal Training

30:58 Pilates Boom & Low-Impact Training

35:00 Trends, Timing & Market Cycles

36:15 Oura vs. Ultrahuman – The Ring Wars

42:35 Pricing Digital Fitness & Business Models

45:19 US Fitness Habits & Data Insights

47:35 Final Takeaways & Closing