"We encouraged people to be more active."
A child of Indian immigrants, Payal Kadakia graduated from MIT with a drive to launch her own venture. After her first two startups didn't take off, she partnered with close friend Sanjiv Sanghavi to create ClassPass—a subscription service that makes yoga, barre, boxing, cycling, and other classes accessible at studios, fitness centers, and gyms with otherwise high prices.
Launched in New York, ClassPass now operates in 39 cities across the U.S., Canada, the U.K., and Australia. Over 8,000 studios offer classes via the app. Kadakia envisions expanding into a broader subscription model for enriching activities like cooking classes and massages to foster personal growth.
Recognized by Forbes as one of eight women entrepreneurs to watch in 2016.
$60 million in estimated ClassPass sales, with a valuation nearing $400 million.
Over 17 million class reservations.
Explore more 2016 SUCCESS Directors of the Year stories.
This article originally appeared in the February 2017 issue of SUCCESS magazine.
