HALO Talks

"We didn't spend any money on marketing or advertising in the beginning, it was all word of mouth initially," says Sarah Levy, CEO & Founder of Y7 Studio.  With 14 locations and a strong financial & advisory partner in KarpReilly, Y7 is thriving. Yet? Interestingly, it's also "very polarizing" states, Director of Marketing Lauren Roxborough . . . and that's the way they want it! Y7 is not focused around a single teacher and studios have no mirrors, and are candle lit with fantastic music. Listen to learn more about this fantastic brand and their plans for expansion. 

 "Some of the best sports-ish businesses are putting data over existing sports. . .just look at Top Golf for example," states Founder Alex Patterson. Alex began in corporate law, but quickly moved to the (then newly founded) Tough Mudder. After 5 years working with them in various positions, he struck out to form, from the ground up, a different type of escape room. He took the physical element present in TM and moved it into the digital game/escape room space. The result is a fantastic, highly scalable hybrid that's getting a ton of attention. Listen now to learn more about Beat the Bomb and their future plans!    

"A leader's job is to put a really buttoned up, solid, strategic plan in place to execute on [the company] vision, and after that. . .it's ALL about people," states Brian Anderson--a highly seasoned C-Level executive in the HALO sector. With 15+ years in early stage/consumer focused brands, the first company he helped take from $1m - $45m in 5 years, the second from $35m - $100m in 5 years and the third from start up to ~$20m in 4 years. Listen now to hear his thoughts on brand building, company culture, state of the market/valuations, and more! 

"Being the OG is always a good thing! . . There's a real proof of concept there!" laughs Marius Morariu. Marius holds 3 patents in skin care and discusses the impressive, 20 year history of the company. What they did and how they did it put them way ahead of the curve, and they have tons of high profile clients & a fantastic reputation to show for it! Marius chats about everything from being the first to bring a technology over from Europe, the challenges of formulating their early products, marketing, distribution and what the future holds for this world renowned brand!

In his wide-ranging career beginning at in film & TV at the WWE, to starting a rehab staffing business, to becoming the Red Cord North America distributor, and presently an owner of 2 Gracie Barra jiu-jitsu dojos in NJ, Mike has seen a great deal. Listen now to this wide- ranging discussion on everything from the challenges of entering the US market, getting CEC's, long sales cycles, the place in the industry for dance & martial arts, and more!

"I think people don't realize what feeling good feels like because they're fed so much crap and not moving enough," states Joe Hawley, former 8 year veteran of the NFL. After retiring in 2017, he bought a van, rescued a dog, and hit the road! Along the way he started Live Simpl, (livesimpl.com) sold nearly 70% of his belongings, changed his diet, his thoughts around money, nutrition, exercise, and a ton more. Joe is clearly having a blast and his message is a must hear for everyone. "Live with less, experience more!"   

"The one foundational element of Comvest that goes back to the beginning is our our owner's belief in good management teams," states Dan Lee. What are some factors debt providers look at when evaluating a deal? What are the differences between firms like Comvest as opposed to banks and SBIC funds? What are sponsored and non-sponsored deals? Covenant and non-covenant deals? Listen now to learn more!

"I'm a big believer in the experience economy. If you can provide someone with a feeling that you can't get somewhere else. . .you're going to be successful. There's nothing that's going to replace the energy people feel when they're together," states Bradley. A 20+ year finance veteran, Chris has been on both sides of the fence. Listen to learn more about what a SPAC is, ROIC, how an investment committee works behind closed doors, why it's important to sometimes just "cut the Gordion knot" and more!

"Action prevents anxiety. If I have this gut instinct and I feel like the risk is worth taking, I'll go all in," states Remorca. Dennis began his career at Equinox, then moved over to Definitions. He eventually started his own business on 75th and Park with $19K of financing. 3 locations later (with more in development) Dennis chats about the challenges and questions all entrepreneurs face at one point or another. For anyone who has thought about going out on their own (or for those who've recently done so!) this is a must listen. 

"People are recognizing the more they do things like massage, the more they can prevent injury, the more stress and tension they can reduce. . . and as the health care plans and employers start to subsidize, people will buy it more," states Samer Hamadeh, CEO. As a highly successful entrepreneur, ZEEL's massage on demand service has already has done over 1 million massages, 3/4 of which are medically related, pain management issues. ZEEL's growth has been tremendous. Venus Williams recently joined their board, and they're currently in 6 core cities with hundreds more seeded in the last 3 years. Currently, ZEEL is raising their Series C $25M round. Listen now to learn about their future plans, the continued rise of their B2B business, current deals with Hyatt, Amex and healthcare plans, how the recovery space is no longer a "vitamin" but is becoming the "aspirin" (in VC speak) and more! 

"Fitness was a minor part of NYC landscape. It was always looked at little bit negatively. Fast forward to today and now it's one of the bright lights in our industry. It's an incredibly growing field!" states 30+ year real estate veteran, Jeff Roseman. In this wide ranging discussion, Jeff chats about landlords changing attitudes around the HALO sector, leases, why "branding opportunities" in real estate is nonsense, good guy clauses, factors to consider when evaluating a location, and--in a fun story--how Donald Trump blew a deal with Equinox!     

"The passion for the business came first, the passion for fitness actually came later," states Scott Lutwak. Scott is a seasoned entrepreneur having started Restaurant.com many years ago. His first facility was 33,000 sq feet and he fully admits, "I knew absolutely nothing about gyms!" Listen to learn his incredible story about how he grew to 6 locations, how he got over his worst month ever, the evolution of the FIT brand, his expansion into founding a non-profit for the San Diego homeless, and much more! 

"I think people are looking for the quick fix, but there is no quick fix. It's lifestyle changes. It's changing your diet, eating habits, recovery, exercise routines, changing your mindset. . and it takes time, but what I love about Wim's method is that it doesn't take long to feel the difference," states Avi Greenberg, one of only three Wim Hof Instructors in NY. Listen now to this wide ranging discussion around the increasing popularity of breath work, its positive affects on the body, how it's slowly starting to get attention in the HALO sector, and much more!

"People don't know the power of nutrition. They're given lies. . . It should be reading, writing, arithmetic, and nutrition taught in grade schools. It is one of the most critical factors that control our life, our longevity, our happiness and our health and the ignorance and confusion in the American population is barbaric and needs to be changed," states Dr. Joel Fuhrman. Dr. Furhman is a former athlete, a board-certified family physician, six-time New York Times best-selling author and internationally recognized expert on nutrition and natural healing. Listen now to this wide ranging discussion on everything from GBOMBS and why they're critical, farm subsidies, specific ideas on nutrition education, and much more!

Sean entered the entrepreneurial world after launching a company around a concussion detection sensor. "You need to have a big vision and fully understand where you want to be in 5-10 years. . .but also know you're never going to know that!" he jokes. Holisticly is a fantastic product that's long overdue. It fills a gap in the market to help growing companies support employees on a day-to-day basis. Listen now as Sean discusses how to handle long sales cycles, the negatives of "point based" systems, their go to market strategy, tips on securing B2B deals and more! 

"Muay Thai should be popularized and become more commercial and available to a larger scale of people," states Tyler Scott, a 12 year veteran of Muay Thai and creator of the patented Bishop heavy bag. Along with his wife, they began Hit House in 2017 after being inspired by the type of community they saw at a SoulCycle. Listen now to this wide ranging discussion on everything from the pros and cons of ClassPass, working with your significant other, hologram and VR technology, and more!

"The gym was full every day, even when the economy tanked. I always remembered that," states Alex Zaltsman. Alex now owns 3 Row Houses and 1 Pure Barre studio all under the Xponential family of brands. Originally from the technology, software & mobile application worlds, Alex discusses his entry into the HALO sector, what some of the similarities & differences are, and much more. There's great information here for anyone considering becoming a franchisee.

"What do you mean boxing and yoga? That makes no sense!" said basically everyone when Olivia floated the idea of this particular combination during her research. She went ahead, bootstrapped it all anyway (for all the right reasons!) and was immediately profitable. She had no outside capital and is now opening a second studio. "I created a business, the basis of which is resistance and ease. When you let go of whatever is holding you back, you can find your flow," she states. This is a fantastic entrepreneurial journey and a must-listen for anyone who is on the fence!

"You can and must make time for yourself, even if you think there's no time at all," states Rebbecca Schonfeld. Rebecca has battled mental health issues since she was young and has started sharing her story & experiences to help others on their own journey. Listen now to this important discussion around the changing attitudes & treatments of mental illness, her (extremely positive) experiences with CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), her studies with Keri Glassman of Nutritious Life and much more.

"Stay true to who your customers are. You also have to be ok not being appealable to everyone out there," states Andrew Hirsekorn, Principal & Founding Member of Eagle Merchant Partners. Eagle is a private equity firm and one of the owners of the largest Planet Fitness franchisees. Listen now to this wide ranging discussion touching on ideas around Planet's place in the sector, thoughts about member attrition, the importance of unit economics, pros and cons of taking on private equity and more.