When Payal Kadakia went online one day in 2011 to book a ballet workout class, she was “miserably frustrated” with how difficult it was to find and attend the right type of class. After realizing her friends had similar frustrations, she created ClassPass — a monthly membership fitness-class booking company — as a way for people to reconnect with their passions and fitness.

Listen in to learn more about how Payal’s passion for dancing led her to create a nearly $400 million company, as well as being named on Forbes 40 under 40 List. Payal and Monica discuss the importance of product market fit, how a CEO’s role (and the roles of those on your team) evolve as the company grows, and how to create the right type of culture and why it’s so crucial so solidify your company’s vision and mission.

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“So many of my friends had given up those youthful passions they had, and I wanted to build a place they could go to make it easy to reconnect with their passions.” - Payal Kadakia

Payal Kadakia Interview Notes:

• Why Payal started ClassPass
• What was the tipping point for her business
• The value of learning from your failure
• What team members to assemble in the early days
• How to scale and change the team as you grow
• How the role of the boss evolves as the business evolves
• The change from CEO to Chairman
• The importance of your support network
• How Payal used pillars as a backbone for company culture
• Why you have to solidify your vision and mission
• The challenges of expanding nationally
• What it’s like raising capital as a woman
• The importance of having people to look up to
• Why you should just get started
• What is next for ClassPass

“The only thing that mattered was getting people to class.” - Payal Kadakia

Links Mentioned:

• Check out more episodes from The Mentor Files by Monica + Andy
• Check out ClassPass
• Read The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz
• Connect with Payal:

Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Linkedin

“The culture really comes from the people you hire.” - Payal Kadakia