ClassPass, a fitness-class booking company, can be found in 39 cities around the world. It has generated more than 30 million class reservations since Payal Kadakia founded the company in 2013. One year later, it raised a big round of financing at a $350 million post-money valuation.
But building ClassPass hasn't been easy. The first version of the startup, Classtivity, flopped. Later, ClassPass significantly changed its pricing model, and users screamed. There have also been comparisons to Groupon and skepticism that it can keep both gymgoers and gyms happy.
Additionally, a slew of competitors have launched to compete with ClassPass on price. In June, ClassPass raised a new round of financing that was reportedly a "down round," meaning the price of its shares were lower than in the previous round it raised. The company's new valuation is about $470 million, post-money.
Kadakia recently stepped down from her role as CEO, a decision she explained in an interview with Business Insider Editor-in-Chief Alyson Shontell on our podcast, "Success! How I Did It."
"The impact we have on people's lives to me is more important than any title anyone can carry," she said. "I want little girls to believe that they can be CEOs. The best thing I could do, though, is be an empowered female and authentically doing what I love. That's the message I want to send, not "Go and do things you don't like because that's what the world needs," right?"
In the wide-ranging conversation, Kadakia and Shontell discussed:
- Her passion for dancing and how it led to a nearly $400 million startup.
- How she decided to pivot a struggling startup into one that would work.
- How ClassPass finally got traction and what it was like to suddenly be a startup every investor wanted a piece of.
- How to run a startup when you have two conflicting customers you need to keep happy (gymgoers and gyms).
- Her decision to step down as CEO and how she spends her days now.
You can listen to the full interview here:
