The Business of Fitness

Meridith Cass,  Nix Biosensors founder and CEO

Nix is a startup company that is changing the way humans manage health by empowering consumers to access health information. Their first consumer product is a sweat patch that provides athletes with hydration data in real-time, helping them optimize safety and performance. Founder Meridith Cass is a graduate of Bryn Mawr College, where she received the Anna Pell Wheeler Prize in Mathematics, a Harvard Business School graduate, a Kauffman Fellow, and a Harvard Business School Blavatnik Fellow. Prior to starting Nix Biosensors, Cass worked with several Boston and New York based venture capital firms in the creation of seven life science and consumer portfolio companies, leveraging a venture creation model. She is a former collegiate basketball player-turned-runner and has run nine marathons including all of the World Majors. Cass is a staunch believer that truly disruptive innovation in healthcare will be driven by highly personalized data in the hands of the consumer, and that this model has the power to transform today’s sick-care system into a practice of proactive health care.

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Kelly Brush Foundation (KBF) Executive Director Edie Perkins was hit by a driver while riding her bike and sustained a spinal cord injury that left her paralyzed. With a lot of help -- medical and social -- she was fortunate to find her to handcycling. In this episode, we talk about her path to working with KBF, navigating the field of fundraising, and how coaches and others in the fitness business world can bring adaptive athletes into the conversation. Edie also just completed the Boston marathon with her handcycle, and absolutely crushed it.

https://activeproject.kellybrushfoundation.org/

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Pat Spencer is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW). She’s a therapist with a private practice in central New Jersey and a worldwide mental skills coach for female and LGBTQIA+ cyclists and endurance athletes. In this episode, we talk all about getting started in a new business, marketing to a new audience, and finding your groove in the business of fitness. https://www.gettingyourmindingear.com/about

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Cassondra Spring is Liv's global marketing manager, so she spends her time working on dozens of different projects throughout each season. In this episode, we talk about cultivating a team of women that inspire one another and lead with their strengths (and switching over to a task management system like Monday without throwing your computer out the window). We also talk about Liv’s investment in the Tour de France Femmes, why it matters, and how important it is to keep elevating women’s cycling. We also talk about marketing at a bike company, where speaking to beginners and inspiring them is as important as being part of the pro racing scene—and how that balance plays out on social media. 

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Kate Arsenault is the founder of rnnr, a running brand that focuses primarily on making the perfect running caps (but also some other fun stuff!). In this episode, we talk about everything from how to take a great idea (that she thought of during a race) and turn it into first, a small business, and then, scale it to be a bigger business than just her—while keeping the ethos that running and the business of it should be fun and open to everyone. We talk about all things product design—that’s right, caps are complicated!—to fulfillment, and we go deep on the ins and outs of having a product-based business, how to make a sustainable business model, and how to make giving back to the community an integral part of the brand. 

You can find your next favorite hat at www.rnnr.com  

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Shannon O’Grady is the CPO and COO at Gnarly Nutrition. She has her PhD in Biology from the University of Utah, and in her spare time, is a bit of a jiu jitsu badass (and a runner!). In this episode, Shannon chatted with us about how she ended up working with Gnarly, and how she’s worked to change their lineup for the better—for our bodies and the environment—in recent years. The supplement industry can feel a bit like the Wild West sometimes, but Shannon is trying to add transparency by getting Gnarly products NSF certified for sport (and we talk about why that’s so important for athletes!). She’s also on a mission to make Gnarly more sustainable in its environmental footprint by making packaging more recyclable. With dozens of products in different stages of creation and production, she’s always juggling a lot of balls, and we also discuss how to keep everything under control. Find out more at gognarly.com and https://www.instagram.com/shaogrady/

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Cyclists these days have some pretty rad kits. From matching bibs to helmet, to funky patterns, the cycling industry can be a hard place to squeeze into as a designer. This week we welcome Ashley Rankin the CEO and founder of SHREDLY - a women's bike and outdoor apparel company. Ashley shares all of her tips and tricks on how to navigate your way in this space and stay original.

The duo discusses how to start a company as a one-woman show, and the importance of having a strong team as you get bigger. Further, Ashley shares the ways she was surprised when starting this business, and how much it helps to have a mentor. Finally, Ashley discusses how she draws her inspiration and how annoying it is when Apple makes a bigger iphone.

@shredly

shredly.com

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When it comes to stereotypically "taboo" topics, it can be hard to find the right marketing strategy. For our third week of Marketing March, we welcome Linda Biggs the CEO and founder of Joni - a sustainable chemical-free period product company. Linda explains why she decided to start the company, how it's gone so far, and the marketing tools contributing to Joni's success.

Linda shares her passion behind Joni, and her experience as a female entrepreneur tackling a taboo subject. Discussing what it means to have a brand that's outside the norm of period products, the duo dives into greenwashing and the power of true sustainability for marketing. Linda gets detailed, discussing her strategy in regard to product modeling and color scheme.

getjoni.com

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Everyone and their brother is starting a podcast these days. But how does it really play out as a solopreneur? This week, we welcome sports nutritionist and host of the Imperfect Podcast - Anne Guzman.

Anne shares the challenges of starting her own podcast, as well as what it means to prepare for a good interview. Further, as a sports nutritionist, Anne shares how she chooses to share her expertise, and her process of deciding what she does for free, and what she doesn't.

Listen to Anne's podcast at https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/imperfect-progress-with-anne-guzman/id1529312639

@guzmananne

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Janette Sherman is an experienced marketing and communications leader specializing in brand development and strategy, storytelling, content development, digital marketing, and so much more. This week, Molly welcomes Janette to chat all things marketing, and how to run a successful PR campaign.

The duo discusses specifics and highlights the importance of growing and utilizing your email list. Janette clarifies the red flags you may see from marketing experts, and what to focus on when marketing your business.

@mandbcollective

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