HALO Talks: Elevating Wellness

A long time industry veteran, Glenn states, "Neighborhood Trainers was meant to be kind of a combination of a dating site and real estate listings as a way to help people find the right trainer." He got the inspiration (a while back) when people were still posting flyers on bulletin boards. (They're still out there and they still work!) Pete and Glenn chat about how trainers were forced to evolve during COVID, how they moved from ZOOM to parks, the always-ongoing discussions on "who owns the member," thoughts on where personal training is going post COVID, and more.

A long time industry veteran, Glenn states, "Neighborhood Trainers was meant to be kind of a combination of a dating site and real estate listings as a way to help people find the right trainer." He got the inspiration (a while back) when people were still posting flyers on bulletin boards. (They're still out there and they still work!) Pete and Glenn chat about how trainers were forced to evolve during COVID, how they moved from ZOOM to parks, the always-ongoing discussions on "who owns the member," thoughts on where personal training is going post COVID, and more. 

"For every W2 employee you have, you could be eligible for up to $5,000 per employee depending on your particular fact pattern. This is not a loan. You don't have to pay it back. It's not income tax. It's a payroll tax credit. It's above the line," states Adam Taplinger from Tax Credit Co.

Adam and Pete chat about the critical Employee Retention Credit (that you need to know about!) how to use it, how it's different from the PPP, the two paths to eligibility for the ERC, and more.

Adam is a former investment banker with deep experience in the space, and Tax Credit Co is a highly respected firm with over 25 years experience and 200 employees. They are responsible for helping get hundreds of millions of dollars for eligible businesses. This is a timely, critical "must listen" for any employer in the HALO sector.

"For every W2 employee you have, you could be eligible for up to $5,000 per employee depending on your particular fact pattern. This is not a loan. You don't have to pay it back. It's not income tax. It's a payroll tax credit. It's above the line," states Adam Taplinger from Tax Credit Co.

Adam and Pete chat about the critical Employee Retention Credit (that you need to know about!) how to use it, how it's different from the PPP, the two paths to eligibility for the ERC, and more.

Adam is a former investment banker with deep experience in the space, and Tax Credit Co is a highly respected firm with over 25 years experience and 200 employees. They are responsible for helping get hundreds of millions of dollars for eligible businesses. This is a timely, critical "must listen" for any employer in the HALO sector. 

"The problem that trainers are looking to solve is finding and keeping new clients. For clients? They don't need another tool to find new content. They want the 'answer.' Jijo is a match.com for clients, and a Shopify on steroids for trainers," states Charles Friedberg, Founder & CEO. Charles has 25 years in financial services and as a (former) 'outsider' looking in to the HALO sector, he found a need that simply wasn't being addressed. He continues, "The problem isn't trainers not knowing how to post stuff on the Internet. It's how do they attract and keep clients? It's improving the LTV of the client, while simultaneously lowering the cost of acquisition." Charles and Pete chat about the digital landscape, the relationships between brands and the trainers, and more.

"The problem that trainers are looking to solve is finding and keeping new clients. For clients? They don't need another tool to find new content. They want the 'answer.' Jijo is a match.com for clients, and a Shopify on steroids for trainers," states Charles Friedberg, Founder & CEO. Charles has 25 years in financial services and as a (former) 'outsider' looking in to the HALO sector, he found a need that simply wasn't being addressed. He continues, "The problem isn't trainers not knowing how to post stuff on the Internet. It's how do they attract and keep clients? It's improving the LTV of the client, while simultaneously lowering the cost of acquisition." Charles and Pete chat about the digital landscape, the relationships between brands and the trainers, and more.

"The pandemic either will make you stronger, or will force you to get out of the way for new technology and new ideas. But I think a lot has been the same. Connecting with members in a deeper way is a big part of this. . . A huge portion of the value of a membership is the social experience. I can't see that ever really changing," states long time industry veteran, Rich Novelli. Pete and Rich touch on the many differences between High Volume Low Price (HVLP) business models versus a premium brand like Highpoint Sports and Wellness, and the effect COVID has had on both. As an example, Novelli continues, "A lot of our members continued to pay their dues. If you can't go to bat for people like that, what are you going to do?" It's about having a relationship with a 'human' versus having one with their credit card!

"The pandemic either will make you stronger, or will force you to get out of the way for new technology and new ideas. But I think a lot has been the same. Connecting with members in a deeper way is a big part of this. . . A huge portion of the value of a membership is the social experience. I can't see that ever really changing," states long time industry veteran, Rich Novelli. Pete and Rich touch on the many differences between High Volume Low Price (HVLP) business models versus a premium brand like Highpoint Sports and Wellness, and the effect COVID has had on both. As an example, Novelli continues, "A lot of our members continued to pay their dues. If you can't go to bat for people like that, what are you going to do?" It's about having a relationship with a 'human' versus having one with their credit card!

"Brands are very powerful. It is the ultimate moat. When someone has built something that resonates with a lot of consumers and drives passion, that's when something is investible," states Jon Canarick. North Castle is one of the first, and most highly regarded private equity investors in the HALO sector. Pete and Jon discuss how North Castle evaluates a company, what they track, how to approach, criteria, why valuations these days tend to be very overblown, some fundamentals of finance, and more! This highly educational session is a must listen for entrepreneurs and business owners at all levels.

 "Brands are very powerful. It is the ultimate moat. When someone has built something that resonates with a lot of consumers and drives passion, that's when something is investible," states Jon Canarick. North Castle is one of the first, and most highly regarded private equity investors in the HALO sector. Pete and Jon discuss how North Castle evaluates a company, what they track, how to approach, criteria, why valuations these days tend to be very overblown, some fundamentals of finance, and more! This highly educational session is a must listen for entrepreneurs and business owners at all levels.