Episode description

Payal Kadakia studied operations research and economics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, but she was always determined to keep dance in her life—both during her college years and her professional career. She was three years old when she fell in love with dance because it offered her a place to center herself, be creative, and be herself. The corporate world provided Payal with a safety net, but one day she decided it was time to build a business around her lifelong passion.

The result, ClassPass—a membership program offering access to an extensive network of wellness and fitness experiences—became a global sensation. The platform became the first unicorn of the decade, and Mindbody, one of the leading wellness technology platforms, acquired it in late 2021. Prior to the acquisition, ClassPass members had completed more than 100 million hours of training at 30,000 partner studios in over 30 countries.

“Founders who think in a creative mindset are the ones who are able to build these new blueprints for the world.” - Payal Kadakia

Here are some highlights from today’s episode:

[02:40] How ClassPass was born

[06:45] The importance of a creative mindset

[07:23] Is entrepreneurship an art or a science?

[11:30] A leap of faith

[14:00] Dealing realistically and responsibly with your life while pursuing your dreams

[20:00] Having a financial plan and calculating the risks

[21:40] Your greatest life is on the other side of your greatest fear

[24:00] What is a calling?

[28:30] Dealing with failure

[42:00] The more you execute, the more you believe in yourself

[54:45] What problem in the world are you solving?

[55:00] False signals of success

Enjoy!

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Today's episode is brought to you by CreativeLive. CreativeLive is the world's largest hub for online creative education in photo/video, art/design, music/audio, craft/maker and the ability to make a living in any of those disciplines. They are high quality, highly curated classes taught by the world’s top experts -- Pulitzer, Oscar, Grammy Award winners, New York Times best selling authors and the best entrepreneurs of our times.