You need to find that thing that's going to get you through your day and that you're excited about. No day should ever be lived without feeling like it was a fulfilling day. You need to set yourself up for that.
— Payal Kadakia
People saw more magic in me than I saw.
Whenever people are trying to give you money, and you're like, 'No! Don't,' you have to stop and consider, what am I saying no to?
Allowing our staff to mix their life with work only makes them more productive and in love with the work that they're doing.
I remember, at MIT, we had to write an essay about something mathematical that you do in your extra time. I basically wrote about how dance, to me, was geometry: it was all shapes.
Focus on your product. A lot of people focus on the name of their brand or the legal aspects, but it's more important to create your product. It's why people join. It's your vision. Without your product, nothing is going to happen.
Working out is so mentally and physically important.
I think, when I see entrepreneurs, they tend to talk about the market and the industry - which is obviously very important, but the most important thing is you're product. What are you selling? And does it really have product-market fit?
We want you to find that thing that will make your life better.
My assumption was that people are already motivated to go to a fitness class. That's who I am. I was already ready to go out there and get to class. All I needed was a search tool. But it turns out people need more than that, and that's why gym memberships exist.
I always say investors invest in lines, not dots.
No business is good when, on the last day of the month, you're like, 'What was the usage for the month?'
The more you practice something, the easier it'll become.
I get bursts of creativity with bursts of physical activity.
When I first started out, there were times I would dress or act in a way because I thought it was expected of me or that people would take me more seriously. But once I started leading in a way that was authentically me, that is when I really started to see success.
Founders are exceptional, and they all want to go back to creating. And I feel privileged to be able to do that.
I'm an artist in my heart.
Having challenges in your life open doors for you.
If I exercise once or twice a day on vacation and don't want to wash my hair too often. I pack a lot of dry shampoo, like Amika's.
Failure is an amazing data point that tells you which direction not to go.
If you feel good, it doesn't matter what you're wearing.
ClassPass, to me, is people are choosing a lifestyle to live; it's saying, 'Yes, I want to work out and live my healthiest happiest.'
What's crucial is to never get stuck. Making hard decisions is such an important part of being a startup in order to keep moving forward.
You have to learn to sell yourself. I think people forget they need to look at where else they've really performed in their life, where they've been in a place where they were confident.
Without a story, people aren't going to connect to what you're telling, what you have a pain point about. It's so important for them to know why you've created the company, without that connection to the broader vision that you have - why are you going to do it? What are you going to accomplish?
Some people have that school of thought where fitness isn't enjoyable, but we're making it enjoyable, I think, by making it more fun, challenging, and engaging rather than this boring thing that you have to do. It's about using technology and data to change this experience.
I thought, 'I have ideas. I'm creative.' I just didn't see why I should be pigeon-holing myself in the business world or staying in corporate America when I already knew that I was capable of taking risks.
I think, as a founder and entrepreneur, you just keep hustling through it.
I truly believe that everyone can be creative; you just need to find your form of expression.
When it's time to recharge, I don't feel guilty about it.
Surround yourself with people who only lift you higher.
Be true to yourself and surround yourself with positive, supportive people.
I'm not going out there screaming, 'I'm CEO! I'm CEO!' That's not the way to do it.
Any time you find yourself doing something out of obligation, that's a time you should start questioning whether you're spending your time wisely.
If you love what you do, it's not work.
When something is aspirational, you don't want someone to be thinking about payment every single time.
I want our staff to be able to feel like themselves.
When I was 5 years old, I saw people dancing in my head. In college, I would choreograph for the cultural shows, and in my notes, I would actually create formations of people. It was how my whole brain worked.
In running my own company, I was too busy for a while, and I thought, 'Maybe I'll stop dancing for a bit.' It was the worst decision ever. I just lost my creativity and my drive.
As we've got more data, and ClassPass has grown, we've had to change rather than have a one-size fits all approach.
You need to keep having data points of progress, so even if an investor - and we've all had investors say no to us - there are times where you go back, and you keep them in the loop, and you keep telling them the progress and the perseverance you have.
We're not trying to be Nike. It's about evolving into new products that are going to make people's lives better.
I basically live in workout clothes.
I remember going out to raise my Series A and ending up with multiple term sheets when I had gone to Silicon Valley probably four times at that point and coming back with nothing.
I think I had a lot of people who were like, 'Payal, we love you, but product's not there,' or 'business is not there.' I never gave up, though.
We never would have built ClassPass if I hadn't learned so much from the Classtivity experience.
I reason that as long as I'm smiling 90 percent of the time, I can handle the setbacks that occur 10 percent of the time.
You need people to encourage you along the way, both during your success and failures, because there will be both.
You can't replicate Seamless or OpenTable for another industry.
As long as I'm building and doing what I want to do, that's the only thing that matters.
