Fitt Insider

Today I’m joined by Jon Canarick.    Jon is the Managing Director at North Castle Partners, a leading private equity firm focused on the healthy living sectors.    In today’s episode, we discuss the evolving fitness landscape, why Jon doesn’t buy into the gympocalypse, and we explore North Castle's investments in Barry's, Echelon, Crunch Fitness, and more.    Let’s get into it.    More from Jon >>    Jonathan (“Jon”) Canarick is a Managing Director with 18 years of consumer private equity investment experience. Since joining North Castle in 2001, Jon has actively managed North Castle’s investments across a variety of Healthy, Active, and Sustainable Living sectors and across all job functions at North Castle.    Having started his career at NCP as an Associate out of investment banking, Jon has played a crucial role in the development of North Castle and many of its portfolio companies. Jon currently sits on the Board of Directors of Echelon Fit, CR Fitness, Encore Vet Group, Kettlebell Kitchen, The Escape Game, Barry’s Bootcamp, Brooklyn Boulders, Curves, Jenny Craig, Palladio, and SLT. Previously, Jon served on the Board of Directors of Mineral Fusion, gloProfessional, Flatout, International Fitness, Enzymatic Therapy, Performance Bicycle, Avalon and DDF and was actively involved in the Firm’s investment in Grand Expeditions.    Prior to joining North Castle, Jon worked in the Financial Sponsors Coverage and Leveraged Finance groups of Bear, Stearns & Co., where he executed leveraged buyout transactions and provided advisory services for financial sponsors. Jon earned a B.B.A. from the University of Michigan and an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School.   More from Fitt Insider >>    Fitt Insider is a weekly newsletter and podcast about the business of fitness and wellness.    From product launches and funding news to game-changing innovation, Fitt Insider provides listeners with insights and analysis on this ever-evolving industry.    Join your peers and colleagues from companies like Equinox, lululemon, Peloton, Beyond Meat, Nike, and ClassPass by subscribing.      http://insider.fitt.co

Today I’m joined by Matteo Franceschetti.    Matteo is the CEO of Eight Sleep, the sleep fitness company.    In today’s episode, we talked about how Eight Sleep is using AI, data, and temperature regulation to improve sleep. How Matteo plans to expand beyond the mattress to reinvent the entire sleep environment. And why Eight Sleep is often compared to Tesla.    Let’s get into it.    More from Matteo & Eight Sleep >>    Matteo Franceschetti has always been obsessed with performance. Athletic performance, business performance, and now sleep performance.  An athlete from a young age—he was a competitive ski racer in his native Italy and played tennis and raced cars on the European stage—Matteo has always been focused on winning, and on winning in record time. That drive to succeed propelled him from sports podiums to the top tier of the international legal world and to start two clean-tech companies on two continents, all before age 30. Not surprisingly, sleepless nights were a way of life.    It was Matteo’s quest for more restorative sleep, in fact, that led him to quit his previous life and launch Eight Sleep, a New York-based company dedicated to fueling human potential through optimal sleep, and to turning the bed into a seamless health platform for improved health, performance, and longevity. The path he took to becoming CEO of Eight Sleep, however, is as circuitous as the tracks he raced in his youth.   Twitter: @m_franceschetti Eight Sleep: www.eightsleep.com   More from Fitt Insider >>    Fitt Insider is a weekly newsletter and podcast about the business of fitness and wellness.    From product launches and funding news to game-changing innovation, Fitt Insider provides listeners with insights and analysis on this ever-evolving industry.    Join your peers and colleagues from companies like Equinox, lululemon, Peloton, Beyond Meat, Nike, and ClassPass by subscribing.    http://insider.fitt.co

Today I’m joined by Rishi Mandal.    Rishi is the co-founder and CEO of Future — a digital personal training service that connects users with human coaches to create custom workout plans.    In today’s episode, Rishi and I talked about the power of high-touch personal coaching, Future’s commitment to retention, and creating a constellation of experts in your life.    More from Rishi >>    Rishi is the co-founder and CEO of Future (www.future.fit), which is backed by Kleiner Perkins and Founders Fund. Future is an online personal training experience that pairs clients 1:1 with their own world-class coach. Rishi was previously the CEO of Sosh (acquired by Postmates) and a product leader at Google. Prior to tech, Rishi was an astrophysics researcher at NASA and Stanford University.   More from Fitt Insider >>    Fitt Insider is a weekly newsletter and podcast about the business of fitness and wellness.    From product launches and funding news to game-changing innovation, Fitt Insider provides listeners with insights and analysis on this ever-evolving industry.    Join your peers and colleagues from companies like Equinox, lululemon, Peloton, Beyond Meat, Nike, and ClassPass by subscribing.    http://insider.fitt.co

Today I’m joined by Aarti Kapoor.    Aarti is an investment banker at Goldman Sachs covering Consumer & Retail clients, including high-growth health, wellness & lifestyle companies.    In today’s episode, Aarti and I discussed the evolution of the wellness market, the filters she uses to access deals, and the impact of digital and connected fitness on the future of the industry.    About Aarti >>    Aarti Kapoor covers Consumer & Retail clients at Goldman Sachs in the Investment Banking Division in New York. While active across all major industry verticals, Kapoor specializes in covering high-growth health, wellness & lifestyle companies – an area in which she has received significant recognition from publications spanning Forbes (“30 Under 30”), Business Insider (“Rising Stars of Wall Street”), Bloomberg, Yahoo! Finance, espnW, and more. Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, Kapoor spent 9 years in Consumer & Retail investment banking at Moelis & Company, after starting her career at Citigroup in New York. Kapoor graduated with a BA Honors in Economics from Harvard University. Outside of the office, Kapoor is a fitness & wellness junkie, foodie and travel enthusiast.   More from Fitt Insider >>    Fitt Insider is a weekly newsletter and podcast about the business of fitness and wellness.    From product launches and funding news to game-changing innovation, Fitt Insider provides listeners with insights and analysis on this ever-evolving industry.    Join your peers and colleagues from companies like Equinox, lululemon, Peloton, Beyond Meat, Nike, and ClassPass by subscribing.      http://insider.fitt.co

Today I’m joined by Nate Bosshard.    Nate is a consumer-oriented brand builder. Most recently, he was on the founding team at Tonal where he served as the CMO. But he’s also held roles at Burton, North Face, Nest, and GoPro.    In today’s episode, we talked about building an authentic network, taking a brand from zero to one, and how timing, adversity, luck and failure impact success.    It’s a wide-ranging conversation with a ton of unique insights that I think you’ll find valuable.    Let’s get into it.    More from Nate >>      Nate is an Entrepreneur, investor and brand builder of iconic, category-defining, multi-billion dollar consumer brands.  His superpower is brand creation, positioning, and go-to-market strategy. He's lead brand platform development and positioning, marketing strategy and planning, and consumer acquisition and engagement both on and offline.    He has been a marketing leader at every stage of company growth.  Nate has lead and re-positioning heritage brands through changing market dynamics, ridden the IPO rocketship, experienced being inside of a company acquisition and integration, and has witnessed spectacular company implosion and failure first hand. Nate has built and co-founded a company from scratch, helped raise hundreds of millions of venture capital, worked inside a blue-chip VC firm as a partner and personally angel invested in 30+ companies.  Separate of his bay-area entrepreneurial adventures he is an owner of the largest independent beverage co-packer in the country and has stakes in dozens of community banks in the midwest.    More from Fitt Insider >>    Fitt Insider is a weekly newsletter and podcast about the business of fitness and wellness.    From product launches and funding news to game-changing innovation, Fitt Insider provides listeners with insights and analysis on this ever-evolving industry.    Join your peers and colleagues from companies like Equinox, lululemon, Peloton, Beyond Meat, Nike, and ClassPass by subscribing.    http://insider.fitt.co

Today I’m joined by Ally Davidson.    Ally is the co-founder and co-CEO of Camp Gladiator.    In today’s episode, I talked with Ally about scaling Camp Gladiator from one class to 4,000 locations, increasing access to fitness, and the role of community and technology have played in growing the business.    I had a great time chatting with Ally and I hope you enjoy listening.    Let’s get into it.  More from Ally and Camp Gladiator >>    Ally Davidson, the co-founder and co-CEO of Camp Gladiator, has a passion for fitness and creating a one-of-a-kind, life-changing experiences for both campers and trainers. Ally was a collegiate athlete and graduated with an honors degree in exercise physiology and sports science from Texas State University. After becoming Grand Champion on the NBC TV show American Gladiators in 2007, she used the unique opportunity as a platform to launch Camp Gladiator. Ally was the first CG Trainer and grew the team from one trainer to over 1000 certified partner trainers nationwide. She has impacted more than 350,000 lives to date. In 2016, she was awarded EY Entrepreneur of the Year and won “Fittest CEO” in 2016 and 2017 in Austin Fit Magazine. https://campgladiator.com/ https://www.facebook.com/CampGladiator/ https://www.instagram.com/campgladiator/ https://twitter.com/campgladiator More from Fitt Insider >>    Fitt Insider is a weekly newsletter and podcast about the business of fitness and wellness.    From product launches and funding news to game-changing innovation, Fitt Insider provides listeners with insights and analysis on this ever-evolving industry.    Join your peers and colleagues from companies like Equinox, lululemon, Peloton, Beyond Meat, Nike, and ClassPass by subscribing at http://insider.fitt.co.

Today I’m joined by Scott Marcaccio    Scott is the co-founder and CEO of Myodetox.    In today’s episode, I talked with Scott about reinventing recovery and physical therapy, his disciplined approach to growth, and the keys to building a strong company culture.   I had a great time chatting with Scott and I hope you enjoy listening.    Let’s get into it.    More from Scott and Myodetox >>    Scott Marcaccio is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Myodetox, a lifestyle physical therapy brand operating ten locations across Los Angeles, Vancouver, and Toronto.  The company offers a unique hands-on therapy system that focuses on resolving injuries and optimizing your body, delivered by best-in-class physical therapists.   Through the power of their brand-first approach and industry-leading social media strategy, Scott has led Myodetox to forge ongoing partnerships with global brands including Nike, Equinox, and Lululemon.  Myodetox is leading today's conversation on why taking care of your body is essential to your daily life.   https://www.myodetox.com/ https://www.instagram.com/myodetox/ https://www.instagram.com/scottmarkk/?hl=en   More from Fitt Insider >>    Fitt Insider is a weekly newsletter and podcast about the business of fitness and wellness.    From product launches and funding news to game-changing innovation, Fitt Insider provides listeners with insights and analysis on this ever-evolving industry.    Join your peers and colleagues from companies like Equinox, lululemon, Peloton, Beyond Meat, Nike, and ClassPass by subscribing.    http://insider.fitt.co

Today I’m joined by Soraya Darabi   Soraya is the co-founder and managing partner of Trail Mix Ventures.    In today’s episode, I talked with Soraya about investing in the future of living well, her take on the current state of the wellness industry, and her advice for founders looking to start a company in the space.    I had a great time chatting with Soraya and I hope you enjoy listening.    Let’s get into it.    More from Soraya >>    Soraya Darabi began her career as Manager of Digital Partnerships and Social Media at The New York Times, and went on to co-found Foodspotting (acq. by OpenTable) and Zady. Soraya made Fast Company's Most Creative People, Inc.'s 30 Under 30, and Fortune’s 40 Under 40. She was twice named a Mentor of the Year by TechStars, is a YGL at The World Economic Forum, and serves as a NY State Trustee for The Nature Conservancy.   https://www.trailmix.vc/   https://www.instagram.com/trailmixvc/   More from Fitt Insider >>    Fitt Insider is a weekly newsletter and podcast about the business of fitness and wellness.    From product launches and funding news to game-changing innovation, Fitt Insider provides listeners with insights and analysis on this ever-evolving industry.    Join your peers and colleagues from companies like Equinox, lululemon, Peloton, Beyond Meat, Nike, and ClassPass by subscribing at http://insider.fitt.co.

Today I’m joined by Debra Strougo Frohlich   Debra is one of the Founders of Row House   In today’s episode, I talked with Debra about what it takes to succeed in the fitness industry, her experience building and scaling a boutique concept, and why Row House stands out in a crowded studio landscape.   I had a great time chatting with Debra and I hope you enjoy listening.    Let’s get into it.    More from Debra >>    Debra Strougo Frohlich is the Founder of Row House, which she and her husband launched in 2014 with the intention of scaling.  Today that dream has been realized with close to 100 studio locations opened and about 300 studios committed to after just two short years of franchising.     Debra is a New York City native, and is fortunate to spend most of her time in Manhattan where she continues to own and operate Row House studios and her other brand, EVF Performance.     Debra began her career with a dual career: Business Development by day and fitness hustle by night.  With a background in digital analytics she worked for 5 years in content aggregation for an EW Scripps Company; launching subscription and advertising revenue.  Identifying that this could be the future of fitness, she launched Fitizens.com to aggregate Fitness Experts and Enthusiasts in 2007. Although this was a successful launch, it was before its time. While teaching fitness and doing various other biz dev projects in fitness, tech, publishing, etc Debra met her husband and business partner, Eric Von Frohlich and they proceeded to build two fitness studio based brands – Row House and EVF Performance.     As they were building those, Debra spent 5 years in NYC Tourism, under Mayor Bloomberg during his administration where the team was able to surpass tourism goals.  Debra’s direct contributions were in creating a million dollar business by generating revenue against NYC digital as well as hard assets. Partners included NYC businesses large and small, looking to reach NYC visitors from near and far.  She was also part of the original task force who created Broadway Week, which will persevere as Restaurant Week has as a NYC economic stimulus and mainstay. In 2014, Row House opened its doors to disrupt the fitness industry. Debra ran the studios and grew the brand until 2017 went she successfully created a partnership to expand Row House through franchising.  The company is now controlled by Xponential and Debra and Eric continue to operate Row House studios in NYC.    Debra  is a mom at 3. She loves to connect people and ideas - and is keeping her eyes out for her next big one!.   More from Fitt Insider >>    Fitt Insider is a weekly newsletter and podcast about the business of fitness and wellness.    From product launches and funding news to game-changing innovation, Fitt Insider provides listeners with insights and analysis on this ever-evolving industry.    Join your peers and colleagues from companies like Equinox, lululemon, Peloton, Beyond Meat, Nike, and ClassPass by subscribing at http://insider.fitt.co.

Today I’m joined by Lauren Foundos  Lauren is the founder and CEO of FORTË   In today’s episode, I talked with Lauren about using content to scale beyond the four walls of a studio or gym, how the company created a turnkey solution for live streaming classes, and the company’s new plan to go beyond a marketplace and become the technology infrastructure for streaming fitness content.  More from Lauren & FORTË Lauren Foundos, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of FORTË since 2015. FORTË streams live and on-demand, cutting-edge fitness classes from well-known boutique studios worldwide directly to you. FORTË is a tech company (b2b) and a subscription based fitness streaming platform (b2c).  FORTË builds hardware and software that is installed into their partner studios, which enables them to seamlessly live stream classes directly to the FORTË platform. Their Netflix-style hub showcases leading boutique fitness studios and coaches worldwide with a variety of classes ranging from meditation, to boxing, yoga, HIIT, and more.   Before launching her own company, FORTË, Lauren spent a decade working on Wall Street, with  the last five years in finance on the trading floor as an Institutional US Government Bond Broker at Whitaker Securities where she helped to dramatically increase UST Short Coupon and Bill desk revenues. Prior to that she worked at Deutsche Bank in Synthetic Equities and Cloudview Capital Management, a global-macro hedge fund, on their trading desk. Lauren graduated from the University of Maryland in 2006, with a BA in communications and concentration in business. She earned ACC Academic Honor Roll, and Intercollegiate Athletic Honor Roll during her time at Maryland. Lauren is a two-time all-American field hockey player, she played in the Junior Olympics, and went on to play Division I at the University of Maryland, the nation’s top ranked program. She plays the piano, violin, has two older brothers, adores her parents, and loves to ski. Lauren won the NBC/Comcast Innovation Award at the NAMIC National Conference for her FORTË pitch presentation. She also spoke at the Collision Conference, CES, MotionSoft, the Club Industry Show, as well as, appeared on Verizon’s GO90 TV Show. https://www.forte.fit/   More from Fitt Insider >>  Fitt Insider is a weekly newsletter and podcast about the business of fitness and wellness.  From product launches and funding news to game-changing innovation, Fitt Insider provides listeners with insights and analysis on this ever-evolving industry. Join your peers and colleagues from companies like Equinox, lululemon, Peloton, Beyond Meat, Nike, and ClassPass by subscribing at http://insider.fitt.co.