Prompt Cast
Building Barre3 with Sadie Lincoln
TLDR Sadie Lincoln, the founder of Barre3, transformed her personal health crisis into a multi-million dollar fitness company by combining Pilates, yoga, and ballet, emphasizing individualized workout experiences. Through unconventional upbringing and a focus on values over rapid growth, Lincoln navigated challenges and pressures to build a successful business with international reach.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
Sadie Lincoln built Barre3, a fitness program combining Pilates, yoga, and ballet, into a multi-million dollar company with 130 locations worldwide.
05:30
Sadie Lincoln's unconventional upbringing in a counterculture environment shaped her early life, where she was raised collaboratively by her mother and her friends in Taos, New Mexico.
10:26
Sadie Lincoln experienced explosive growth at 24-Hour Fitness, where she ended up working for 11 years and met her husband Chris, but faced a personal health crisis that led her to question the traditional fitness industry.
15:18
Sadie Lincoln and her husband Chris felt lonely and unfulfilled, leading them to make a radical decision to sell their home and possessions to move to Portland, Oregon, where they invested their life savings and a small investment from Mark Mastroff to start building what would become barre3.
20:23
Sadie Lincoln opened a bar studio in Portland, Oregon, with the intention of creating an exercise experience rather than a specific methodology, allowing participants to make the workout their own.
25:30
Sadie Lincoln and her husband, Chris, initially ran their studio in Portland alone, offering classes at a slightly higher price point than yoga, with the business becoming profitable within 16 months and eventually leading to plans for expansion through franchising.
30:28
Sadie Lincoln expanded her business internationally through franchising, with the first two partners in the Philippines and Bend, Oregon, and emphasized the importance of finding like-minded individuals to run their own studios.
35:03
Sadie Lincoln discusses the challenges and pressures she faced as her business grew rapidly, leading her to reevaluate her approach and pause franchising to focus on staying true to her values.
39:41
Sadie Lincoln explains her decision to pause franchising and focus on protecting and staying true to her business values rather than pursuing rapid growth and selling out.
44:32
Sadie Lincoln discusses the role of luck, timing, hard work, and inner work in the success of Barre3.
49:38
Alexander, inspired by his Lebanese heritage, started a successful business selling his mom's homemade zaatar spread, which is now available in 450 Whole Foods markets across the country.
Categories:
Business
