Redefining fitness for the world

Entrepreneur and cultural ambassador Payal Kadakia turned her vision into a billion-dollar business, making wellness convenient, inclusive, and accessible.

Whether you enjoy traditional workouts like cycling or yoga, or more niche exercise routines like boxercise or aerial hoop classes, there is a fitness class to meet everyone's interests and needs. But navigating workout course offerings and pay structures can be a frustrating process for customers, and many memberships are limited to variations of a single type of fitness routine.

After experiencing these struggles in 2010, Payal Kadakia began experimenting with an idea that would eventually become ClassPass. This app helps users book individual workout classes at a wide range of studios and gyms without the commitment of a membership at a single organization.

"Kadakia has a gift for spotting possibilities that others overlook, such as untapped demand for flexible fitness access, and sees her role as helping people remove barriers to movement and creativity," says Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship Chris Neck. An expert in leadership, self-leadership, group decision-making processes, and self-managing teams, Neck cites Kadakia's creativity, persistence, and ability to inspire others as her leadership strengths.

Throughout her career, Kadakia has built a billion-dollar business and grown from an entrepreneur to a cultural ambassador, all while staying true to her mission of making movement and creative expression accessible to a wide range of people.

"Her 2022 book 'LifePass' reflects her belief that real success comes from aligning goals with values, not just chasing external approval," Neck says.

From dancer to disruptor: Building a global fitness solution

Growing up in New Jersey as one of the few Indian American girls in her community, Kadakia often felt like an outsider and downplayed her cultural identity for years in an attempt to "blend in." But eventually, she came to recognize her heritage as a strength. A lifelong dancer, Kadakia's first venture into entrepreneurship was founding The Sa Dance Company in 2009 as a way to celebrate her creativity, love for movement, and culture.

Kadakia initially decided to create a ClassPass-like app while traveling for work and struggling to find ballet classes that fit her needs and schedule. The idea led her to quit her full-time job to devote more time to working on her startup, Classtivity, ClassPass's predecessor.

Classtivity's model allowed users to try a variety of classes at different venues for one month at a fixed rate before committing to a single gym or studio. However, Kadakia soon realized that her customers placed more value on consistent access to various types of fitness classes, and user interest in the app dwindled at the end of the month-long trial period. Classtivity failed within a year.

"The failure forced Kadakia to adopt adaptive leadership, testing smaller experiments before relaunching as ClassPass in 2013," says Neck. "Each step of her journey sharpened her ability to flex her leadership style to fit the context."

ClassPass grew rapidly, and by 2018, it had expanded its offerings beyond workouts to include wellness services such as meditation, spa treatments, and mindfulness classes. By 2020, ClassPass had expanded to 28 countries and facilitated more than 100 million class reservations and reached "unicorn" status with a $1 billion valuation.

"Before ClassPass, gyms tied people into long contracts with limited options. Kadakia turned that model upside down, and the startup's global reach showed how disruptive her vision was in making fitness both accessible and culturally diverse," says Neck.

Leadership in action: Vision, adaptability, and service

Kadakia showed adaptive leadership qualities when she had to reevaluate Classtivity's business structure. However, she has also demonstrated qualities of visionary leadership in identifying a gap in the fitness market. She is a servant leader because she sees her work not only as a way to make classes easier to find, but also as a way to make creativity and movement more accessible and less intimidating for new groups of people. In 2017, Kadakia stepped down as ClassPass CEO to become the company's executive chair, a decision that further showed her servant leadership as she prioritized the organization's mission over her ego.

Kadakia's experience as a woman of color in the tech industry, where women remain underrepresented, also influenced her leadership style, prompting her to prioritize accessibility and inclusivity.

"Instead of shrinking back, Kadakia leaned on her perspective as both an outsider and a creative thinker, a combination that pushed her to build inclusive platforms," says Neck. "ClassPass was designed for everyone — from die-hard athletes to curious first-timers — reflecting her belief that wellness should not be limited to a privileged few."

Earlier this year, Kadakia reached another milestone when a Forbes article highlighted South Asian women who are reshaping U.S. culture and business. The recognition amplifies her impact far beyond the startup community as it validates her as a business innovator and cultural leader.

"It gives her mission — helping people move, create, and connect — more credibility in the eyes of investors, partners, and future entrepreneurs," says Neck. "For young South Asian women especially, seeing Kadakia on that list signals that their voices and visions matter in spaces like tech and wellness where they’ve historically lacked representation."

Lessons in leadership: Staying true to the mission

If Kadakia were getting started today, her leadership styles would hold up, as visionary leadership is crucial for imagining new possibilities in a crowded market, and adaptive leaders are even more necessary today, given the rapid changes in technology and consumer habits.

Neck says that if anything, her approach would be even more potent in 2025.

"With hybrid work, digital wellness platforms, and a more global view of health, her ability to merge creativity, structure, and inclusivity would allow her to thrive," he says.

Kadakia is a reminder of the power of melding vision and passion, proving that leaders who stay true to their mission can transform entire industries while opening doors for others.