Hardware Podcasts

Jazzercise: Judi Sheppard Missett

How I Built This · 18 Jan 2021 · 1h 16m

What this episode covers

Judi Sheppard Missett, founder of Jazzercise, explains how she pivoted from professional jazz dance to creating a fitness program for women in 1969 after her students expressed a desire to look like dancers rather than perform professionally. She details the evolution of the business from local classes to a franchising model, leveraging home video technology to train instructors and expand nationally before the era of big-box gyms. Missett discusses the strategic decision to incorporate, the low-cost franchise structure that allowed rapid scaling, and the company's adaptation to modern challenges through digital apps and live-streaming.

Most relevant to

founders before launch and companies scaling up

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
U.S. Bank, Banom Books, Westinghouse, Dominoes Pizza, Soul Cycle, Peloton
Products
Jazzercise
Also
Jane Fonda, Richard Simmons, Olivia Newton-John

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