SoulCycle: 2 moms turn a dingy funeral home into a multi-million dollar fitness empire

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Hey rebel solopreneurs 🦸‍♂️🦸‍♀️

Ever catch yourself thinking "I'm not ready to be taken seriously yet" when you look at polished competitors in your niche?

Julie Rice and Elizabeth Cutler felt that exact same way staring at established fitness studios with their perfect setups and industry credibility.

Two regular moms with zero fitness credentials who felt completely unprepared to compete with "real" fitness professionals.

But here's the plot twist... their complete "unreadiness" became the secret weapon behind SoulCycle's $180 million empire.

Turns out being "not ready" might be exactly the advantage your niche needs.

But their beginning was anything but glamorous...

🧘‍♀️ Two regular moms with a "crazy" idea

Julie was managing actors in Hollywood.

Elizabeth was selling real estate while running a tiny healing practice.

Neither had stepped foot in a business school.

Neither knew the "right" people in fitness.

When they both moved to New York, they hit the same wall every busy parent knows - finding a workout that doesn't feel like torture.

Julie tried every spinning class in the city.

Nothing came close to what she'd loved in LA.

Elizabeth was carrying 45 pounds of baby weight and felt intimidated walking into those intense cardio classes.

They both felt like complete outsiders staring at an industry run by people with perfect credentials and insider knowledge.

But then something clicked...

🧩 The "aha" moment that changed everything

Early 2006.

A mutual friend sets up a lunch at Soho House between two frustrated moms.

Julie and Elizabeth start talking about their shared problem - why did every workout feel like a chore?

"Exercise can and should be fun! Not a chore," Julie said.

Elizabeth had the exact same vision: "What if we created a luxurious cycling studio where exercise was challenging but joyful?"

They grabbed a napkin and started sketching their dream studio.

No market research.

No industry consultants.

No focus groups.

Just two outsiders who knew what they wanted didn't exist anywhere in New York City.

Then reality hit hard...

🎪 Building from scratch with zero industry cred

Elizabeth put her own money on the line - cash from selling her stake in a beverage company.

But here's where their outsider status hit them hard...

Nobody would rent them proper space.

Why? Zero track record in fitness.

They ended up in a former funeral home's back lobby.

Seriously.

The landlord's rules?

No outdoor signage allowed.

One tiny bathroom.

Zero showers.

Picture this: Two moms with babies making 13 trips to IKEA, building their "luxury" front desk from furniture store cabinets.

Julie was still working her talent agent job, squeezing vendor meetings into lunch breaks.

Can you imagine the doubt creeping in?

"What are we doing? Real fitness entrepreneurs don't build their studios from IKEA furniture..."

But then the challenges multiplied...

🕵️‍♀️ When money ran out and doubt crept in

Four months later, they opened their doors.

The math was brutal: they needed 100 customers daily just to keep the lights on.

Reality check? Early classes had one or two riders.

Sometimes just one person showed up.

Elizabeth and Julie would look at each other thinking, "Are we completely delusional?"

With their last $2,500, they made a desperate move - designed SoulCycle t-shirts and begged friends to wear them around the city.

Walking advertisements because they couldn't afford real ones.

Picture two moms with babies strapped to their chests, cleaning bike shoes, scrubbing bathrooms, and hauling trash to the curb.

They were charging $34 per class when people were used to $25 monthly gym memberships.

Friends started avoiding their calls.

Family members gave them those worried looks...

Just when they thought it couldn't get harder...

⛳️ When everything fell apart

Remember that contractor they hired for soundproofing?

Turns out he had zero clue what he was doing.

Right in the middle of classes, you'd hear CRASH! BANG! from the gym upstairs.

Riders would jump off their bikes.

Neighbors started complaining.

The landlord was furious.

Julie and Elizabeth threw more money at failed solutions while watching their dream crumble.

Then 2008 hit like a freight train.

Elizabeth's husband worked at Lehman Brothers for 26 years.

Then Lehman Brothers... disappeared.

Suddenly they're facing a recession with a "luxury" fitness concept that charges $34 per class.

"Who's going to pay for spinning when people are losing their jobs?" Elizabeth wondered, staring at the ceiling at 3 AM.

But something unexpected happened...

🌈 The breakthrough that changed everything

Here's what shocked them: instead of losing customers during the recession, they gained them.

People came to SoulCycle because times were tough, not despite it.

"We had been operating in 'downturn mode' from the beginning," Elizabeth realized.

They'd focused on making money, not raising money.

Word-of-mouth started spreading among their small community of devoted riders.

Then something wild happened.

Bill Clinton needed a venue for a campaign fundraiser.

One of their riders suggested SoulCycle.

When Clinton showed up, news crews captured their logo in the background.

Entertainment Tonight.

The New York Times.

Major newspapers everywhere.

Six months after opening, they were profitable.

The "secret" studio that nobody could find became the place everyone wanted to get into.

And then the magic really happened...

🎁 Building an empire without the "right" background

Within ten years, SoulCycle grew to over 60 studios serving 15,000 riders daily.

Revenue jumped from $18.6 million in 2013 to $112 million in 2014.

Celebrity clients included Katie Holmes, Lady Gaga, and Chelsea Clinton.

Despite having 1,200+ employees, Julie and Elizabeth still cleaned shoes and picked up towels in studios.

"Getting our hands dirty keeps us in touch with the business," Elizabeth says.

In 2011, they sold to Equinox for an estimated $180 million total.

Two moms with no fitness credentials had created what industry veterans said was impossible.

🥂 Your turn to change the game!

Julie and Elizabeth's "unreadiness" became their secret weapon for building something the polished industry professionals never saw coming.

Their willingness to start before they felt "ready" generated $180 million in value because they solved real problems instead of waiting for perfect credentials.

Your intuition is your guide - just like how they trusted their gut about what people wanted instead of waiting until they felt "qualified enough" to compete with established fitness brands.

Something tells me you're about to turn everything upside down.

Keep zoooming 🚀🍧

Yours 'rooting for your success' vijay peduru 🦸‍♂️