The CRAZY Journey of Mindbody
Mindbody is a software company that provides business management tools for the wellness industry. It started as a simple software tool for yoga studios and sold for $1.9 billion after 18 years. Read on to learn more about its journey.
Luke Sophinos
Writing about all things Vertical Software | Founder & CEO @CourseKeyEDU (vSaaS for Trade Schools) | Thiel Fellow @ThielFellowship | Advisor @JoinAtomic |
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A software platform for Yoga Studios sold for $1.9 BILLION.
— Luke Sophinos (@lukesophinos) June 26, 2023
It was an 18 year overnight success story.
The CRAZY journey of Mindbody 🧵 pic.twitter.com/npYM6sRAig -
1/ Meet Mindbody, a software company that provide business management tools for the wellness industry.
— Luke Sophinos (@lukesophinos) June 26, 2023
It helps fitness, salon, and spa businesses run their operations, and attract and retain customers.
But it started as a simple software tool for yoga studios... pic.twitter.com/aN48mWailK -
2/ Mindbody was founded in 2001 by Rick Stollmeyer and Blake Beltram.
— Luke Sophinos (@lukesophinos) June 26, 2023
They were inspired by their own passion for wellness and wanted to create a solution that would make it easier for people to find and book wellness services. pic.twitter.com/RrNvQ2yfES -
3/ The first version of the software was a desktop application that ran on Windows.
— Luke Sophinos (@lukesophinos) June 26, 2023
It was sold on CDs and installed manually by the founders.
They faced many technical issues and customer complaints, and struggled to make ends meet. -
4/ In 2005, they decided to pivot to a web-based software that could be accessed from any device and location.
— Luke Sophinos (@lukesophinos) June 26, 2023
They also expanded to serve other segments of the wellness industry, such as pilates, martial arts, personal training, massage, and beauty. pic.twitter.com/kgiGJ9BfNv -
5/ A year later, they raised their first round of funding from angel investors.
— Luke Sophinos (@lukesophinos) June 26, 2023
They also hired their first employees and secured their first office in San Luis Obispo, California. -
6/ Mindbody then launched a feature that allowed people to search and book wellness services near them.
— Luke Sophinos (@lukesophinos) June 26, 2023
This unlocked a bit of a network effect.
As more and more customers used Mindbody to find classes, a 'gravitational pull' was felt by gyms not utilizing their offering. pic.twitter.com/BMZ8oBd5Bt -
7/ In 2010, Mindbody launched its API products, which enabled third-party developers to create apps and tools using Mindbody data.
— Luke Sophinos (@lukesophinos) June 26, 2023
I've written about the power of vertical-specific app stores and the incredible moat they create before:https://t.co/mcEeBGOlQY -
8/ In 2011, Mindbody raised $35 million in Series D funding from IVP and Bessemer Venture Partners.
— Luke Sophinos (@lukesophinos) June 26, 2023
Just a year later, they raised another $50M in Series E funding.
You can read Bessemer's original investment memo here (it has some gems):https://t.co/uhfMHJ7iJc -
9/ Part of that capital enabled Mindbody to acquire Fitness Mobile Apps, a company that created custom-branded mobile apps for fitness businesses.
— Luke Sophinos (@lukesophinos) June 26, 2023
A massive request from their base of customers. pic.twitter.com/4j8njhGyEv -
10/ Mindbody went public in 2015, raising $100 million in its IPO.
— Luke Sophinos (@lukesophinos) June 26, 2023
It became one of the leading SaaS companies in the wellness space, serving over 60,000 businesses and millions of consumers in 150+ countries. pic.twitter.com/NX5ccZIgC7 -
11/ A few years after their IPO, Mindbody was acquired by Vista Equity Partners in 2019 for $1.9 billion.
— Luke Sophinos (@lukesophinos) June 26, 2023
A 68% premium over its market value at the time. pic.twitter.com/RhiDTflQG1 -
12/ The Mindbody deal was seen as a validation of the potential of the wellness industry and the value of vertical SaaS solutions.
— Luke Sophinos (@lukesophinos) June 26, 2023
From a simple software tool for yoga studios to a wellness software empire.
An 18 year overnight success... pic.twitter.com/Hhf4AsiBVp -
Thanks for reading.
— Luke Sophinos (@lukesophinos) June 26, 2023
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— Luke Sophinos (@lukesophinos) June 26, 2023
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