# SoulCycle: Julie Rice & Elizabeth Cutler (2019)

- Show: [How I Built This](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this)
- Published: 2021-04-19
- Length: 51m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-04-19-soulcycle-julie-rice-elizabeth-cutler-2019

## Summary

Julie Rice and Elizabeth Cutler, co-founders of Soul Cycle, explain how they identified a gap in the New York fitness market and launched their first studio in 2006 with $250,000 of personal capital. They detail their scrappy early strategies, including using IKEA furniture, a rickshaw for marketing, and designing their own apparel to build brand recognition. The founders discuss the challenges of scaling, securing funding during the 2008 financial crisis, and the pivotal decision to partner with Equinox in 2011 to expand nationally, eventually selling the company for $90 million each.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-04-19-soulcycle-julie-rice-elizabeth-cutler-2019#t=0) Introduction: Julie Rice & Elizabeth Cutler
- [4:28](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-04-19-soulcycle-julie-rice-elizabeth-cutler-2019#t=268) Identifying the Market Gap and Meeting
- [14:42](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-04-19-soulcycle-julie-rice-elizabeth-cutler-2019#t=882) Funding the First Studio and Early Operations
- [22:43](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-04-19-soulcycle-julie-rice-elizabeth-cutler-2019#t=1363) Marketing Strategy: Rickshaws and Apparel
- [28:45](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-04-19-soulcycle-julie-rice-elizabeth-cutler-2019#t=1725) Scaling to the Hamptons and Managing Cash Flow
- [34:20](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-04-19-soulcycle-julie-rice-elizabeth-cutler-2019#t=2060) Navigating Partnership Struggles and the 2008 Crisis
- [43:07](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-04-19-soulcycle-julie-rice-elizabeth-cutler-2019#t=2587) The Equinox Partnership and Exit
- [47:43](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-04-19-soulcycle-julie-rice-elizabeth-cutler-2019#t=2863) Reflections on Success and Legacy

## Topics

- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)
- [Marketing & brand](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/marketing-and-brand)
- [Fundraising & investors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/fundraising)
- [Growth, exits & acquisitions](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/growth-exits-and-acquisitions)

## Most relevant to

founders before launch, companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- Soul Cycle (product)
- Equinox (company)
- Flywheel (company)
- Lehman Brothers (company)
- IKEA (company)

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