SoulCycle: 7 fun Insights which made 2 moms turn a dingy funeral home into a multi-million dollar fitness empire

Scan time: 2-3 min / Read time: 4-5 min

Hey rebel solopreneurs 🦸‍♂️🦸‍♀️

Why would anyone trust two unknown moms over established fitness chains with perfect track records?

Julie Rice and Elizabeth Cutler had zero experience building anything when they wanted to start SoulCycle.

Every gym in New York already offered spinning classes, and the big players had all the advantages - prime locations, marketing budgets, and loyal customers.

But how do you steal customers from big players when you're starting in a basement with no sign?

🍹 The humble beginnings...

Julie Rice spent 9 years in Hollywood as a talent manager at Handprint Entertainment.

She scouted actors, signed them, and developed their careers for film and TV.

Her father was a physical education teacher, so fitness was always part of her upbringing.

Elizabeth Cutler grew up outside Chicago with entrepreneurial parents who took calculated risks.

Her family moved to Colorado where her mom became a real estate broker.

Elizabeth majored in religious studies at the University of Colorado and sold luxury real estate after college.

At 16, her best friend died of cancer, sparking her interest in healing arts.

She became a certified Jin Shin Jyutsu healer and ran her own practice alongside real estate.

Both women moved to New York around the same time - Julie in 2002, Elizabeth in 2005.

Julie came to open a branch of her talent agency but missed the LA fitness culture.

Elizabeth had just had her first baby and was struggling to lose the pregnancy weight.

Both were independently telling friends they wanted to start an indoor cycling studio.

Then a mutual friend decided to play matchmaker over lunch.

🤝 The coffee shop meeting

A mutual friend introduced them at Soho House in 2006.

They hit it off immediately, talking about reservation systems, upper body workouts, and making exercise spiritual.

"It was the best blind date we'd ever been on," says Julie.

They realized they had the exact same vision - a luxurious cycling studio where exercise was challenging but joyful.

They drew their business plan on a napkin and split responsibilities right there.

Then came the real challenge - nobody wanted to rent to two women with zero track record.

🏚️ The funeral home basement

Picture this: Elizabeth found a sublet on Craigslist in a former funeral home.

It was in the back lobby, below a gym, with no sign allowed outside.

They couldn't find anywhere else, so they signed a 5-year lease anyway.

They built everything from IKEA furniture - even their front desk.

"I think we made about 13 trips to Ikea," says Elizabeth.

Can you imagine building your dream business with Swedish meatball furniture? But here's the thing - constraints can be your best friend.

But their biggest problem wasn't the weird location - it was getting anyone to show up.

🎪 The rickshaw solution

Since they couldn't put up a sign, they got creative.

They bought a rickshaw on eBay, painted it silver and yellow, and parked it outside with an arrow pointing to their door.

They kept getting community board tickets until it finally got stolen.

"It was a happy accident," says Julie.

Meanwhile, they were walking neighborhoods every day, begging doormen to let them hand out fliers.

Get this - when the big marketing budgets don't exist, you gotta get scrappy!

With just $2,500 left in their budget, they had to make a desperate move.

👕 The t-shirt army

Here's what's wild - they designed 200 SoulCycle t-shirts and asked friends to wear them everywhere.

These became free walking advertisements around New York.

They also figured out they needed 100 customers per day to keep the lights on.

Some early classes had only one or two riders.

Elizabeth and Julie did everything - front desk, cleaning shoes, fixing bikes, taking out trash.

But wait, there's more - they turned their friends into an unpaid marketing team, and everyone was happy to help!

Then disaster struck just as things were picking up.

📉 The 2008 crash test

The economy tanked in 2008 right as SoulCycle was gaining momentum.

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

They had no idea if people would still pay $34 for classes during a recession.

But here's the crazy part - riders came because times were tough, not despite it.

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

One newspaper article was about to change everything.

🎯 The Bill Clinton moment

A rider wanted to raise funds for Hillary's 2007 presidential campaign.

She got Bill Clinton to visit the studio and give a speech.

The press crews captured SoulCycle's logo on the front doors.

It made Entertainment Tonight, The New York Times, and prominent newspapers everywhere.

"It was really a big thing for us," says Julie.

Word of mouth exploded after that moment.

Bingo! One high-profile moment can change everything.

Their scrappy approach was about to pay off in a huge way.

🎵 The experience obsession

They focused on making every detail perfect - from custom playlists to hair ties at the front desk.

"We created a place that made us feel like it was our place," says Julie.

They trained staff to greet riders by first name and call if someone was injured.

Classes combined high-energy music, weights, and inspirational coaching.

The $34 price made customers accountable to show up and demanded a premium experience.

Here's the thing - when you charge premium prices, people expect premium everything.

This obsession with details built something nobody expected.

💰 The epic win

Within six months, their first studio was profitable.

They grew from 36 bikes in a basement to over 60 studios nationwide.

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

In 2011, they sold to Equinox Fitness with each founder making an estimated $90 million.

🥂 Your turn to change the game!

That's it, my fellow rebels!

Julie and Elizabeth went from complete unknowns to beating every established player in New York, proving that customers don't choose brands - they choose people who genuinely care about their experience.

Your lack of connections in the space isn't a weakness - it means you'll work twice as hard to earn every customer's trust.

Something tells me you're about to turn everything upside down while the "experts" wonder what hit them.

Keep zoooming 🚀🍧

Yours 'rooting for your success' vijay peduru 🦸‍♂️