I just signed up for a marathon. 26.2 miles. And I am not a runner. I've started and stopped workout plans so many times over the last ten years. But when World Vision came to speak at our church, I felt like she was speaking directly to me. She said, "If you're sitting there thinking I'm not an athlete, or I'm not a runner, you can do this." And I realized I literally had no excuses.

So I signed up. And I'm terrified. But I'm doing it anyway.

And that decision of saying yes even when I felt unqualified, made me think of Payal Kadakia. She was a consultant at Bain with a safe job and a clear path. But she had this side project, first Classtivity, then ClassPass, that she couldn't let go of. And she had to decide: stay safe or quit and go all-in on something she had no idea how to build.

She wasn't a tech person. She wasn't a fitness person. She was just someone with an idea who said yes even though she felt completely unqualified. She quit Bain in 2013, almost ran out of money multiple times, had to pivot the business model, and faced major backlash. But she kept going. And ClassPass was eventually acquired by Mindbody for hundreds of millions of dollars.

If you're waiting to feel qualified before you say yes to something, this one's for you. You don't have to feel ready to start. You just have to say yes and figure it out as you go.

Mentioned in this episode: I talk about running my first 6K in this episode

Sources & Disclaimer

This episode was created using publicly available information about Payal Kadakia's life and career, gathered from verified interviews, articles, and business reports, including:

• Payal Kadakia's background as an Indian classical dancer
• Her education at MIT studying economics
• Her career at Bain & Company as a consultant
• Founding Classtivity in 2010 as a search engine for fitness classes
• Building Classtivity as a side project while working at Bain (2010-2013)
• Pivoting to the ClassPass membership model in 2013
• Quitting Bain in 2013 to work on ClassPass full-time
• ClassPass's early growth and near-failure moments
• The business model change from unlimited to credit-based system
• ClassPass expansion to 30+ cities by 2015 and international growth
• ClassPass reaching millions of users by 2020
• ClassPass acquisition by Mindbody in 2021
• Interviews where Payal discussed the decision to quit Bain and challenges of building ClassPass

All facts shared in this episode are based on information available at the time of recording. Any personal reflections, interpretations, or opinions included are my own. If any details are found to be inaccurate, I'm happy to issue corrections.