In this episode of Founder Stories, presented by Startup Westport, JoyRide co-founders Amy Hochhauser and Rhodie Lorenz share how they built a boutique fitness startup into a seven-studio business with 80 employees and a deeply connected community.

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Amy and Rhodie explain how a conversation at Starbucks became the foundation for JoyRide Cycling + Fitness, why they personally guaranteed a $1 million SBA loan and what it meant to grow the company while going years without paying themselves. They also reveal what happened when SoulCycle offered to acquire their young company, and what happened when they declined.

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The founders discuss entrepreneurship, business partnerships, startup financing, boutique fitness, community building and the enormous challenges created by COVID-19 and Hurricane Ida. They also reflect on closing the JoyRide studios, redefining success and recognizing that a company’s impact can continue after its physical locations are gone.

This candid conversation offers valuable lessons for founders navigating risk, disruption, resilience and the emotional realities of building and closing a business.

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LISTEN TO THE EPISODE

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DISCUSSED IN THE EPISODE

• How did Amy and Rhodie’s first meeting at Starbucks lead to JoyRide?

• Why was Westport ready for a boutique cycling studio in 2011?

• How did Amy’s business experience and Rhodie’s fitness background complement each other?

• What role did founding partner Debbie Katz play in launching JoyRide?

• How did the founders create JoyRide’s original cycling and fitness method?

• What happened when JoyRide became successful faster than expected?

• Why did investors begin pushing the founders to open additional locations?

• How did expanding from one studio to seven change Amy and Rhodie’s roles?

• What did the founders learn about preserving culture while scaling a business?

• What did SoulCycle offer JoyRide, and why did the founders decline?

• How did competing with a company backed by Equinox affect JoyRide’s finances?

• Why did Amy and Rhodie eventually stop paying themselves?

• How did competition from SoulCycle, Orangetheory Fitness and Row House affect the local market?

• What should founders understand before personally guaranteeing an SBA loan?

• How did a $1 million personal guarantee change the founders’ goals and risk?

• What did Amy and Rhodie learn about investors, advisers and business partners?

• Why is it dangerous to make major partnership decisions while exhausted or overwhelmed?

• How did JoyRide adapt its fitness classes during the COVID-19 pandemic?

• Why did members continue attending outdoor classes using silent-disco headphones?

• How did Hurricane Ida and the flooding of JoyRide’s Darien studio compound the crisis?

• How did the Westport and Fairfield County communities help JoyRide survive for ten additional months?

• How did JoyRide raise nearly $1 million for charitable organizations?

• What happened to the young employees and instructors who began their careers at JoyRide?

• Can a company still be considered successful when it ultimately closes?

• What do Amy and Rhodie consider JoyRide’s most important legacy?

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FOLLOW THE GUESTS AND THE TEAM

• Amy Hochhauser

• Rhodie Lorenz

• Julie Roehm

• Kal Amin

• Accolay — Sofia Vega

• Content Studio of Westport — Brian Kelsey

• Founder Stories

• Startup Westport

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Have a question or a founder you would like to hear from? --> Email: founder.stories.pod@gmail.com