Podcast
The Owner Seat
Hosted by Albert Ramos · EN
The Owner Seat (formerly The Valisights Podcast) is where fitness & wellness owners step out of the whirlwind and into the numbers. Host Albert Ramos, Fractional CFO for fitness & wellness brands, sits down with studio owners, franchisors, and finance leaders to break down cash flow, unit economics, and the messy middle of growth.
Book a call with Albert Ramos: https://calendly.com/albertramosjr-strategointel/30min
11episodes
Episodes
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Why Your Peptide Vendor Cannot Show You the Study | Elias Arjan | The Owner Seat
5d ago00:52:38Tap to summarizeGet your tickets for the Healthspan Summit October 1st - 3rd in Los Angeles, CA PROMO LINK is live - https://www.accelevents.com/e/the-2026-healthspan-summit?discount=Stratego Code "Stratego" 10% offYour vendor says clinically proven. Ask what the phrase actually means and most of the time the answer falls apart in under two minutes. This episode gives fitness, wellness, and longevity operators the exact questions to ask before a supplement, a device, or a peptide program goes in front of a single member. Because when an operator repeats a vendor's claim, the operator owns it.Today on The Owner Seat Podcast, host Albert Ramos sits down with Elias Arjan, Founder of the Healthspan Collective and Co-Founder and CEO of PRUVN Research, the company wellness brands hire to generate the actual scientific evidence behind their health claims, and goes behind the evidence problem in longevity:What "clinically proven" really means, and the ways it can be technically true and functionally meaninglessWhere the 90 percent bioavailability claim usually comes from, and what to ask to find outWho carries the liability when a studio owner repeats a claim a vendor handed themElias Arjan runs two businesses at the center of this industry. PRUVN Research, based in Los Angeles, builds the studies behind wellness health claims, including at-home virtual trials with no site visits. The Healthspan Collective convenes the clinicians, founders, and investors building longevity, including the Healthspan Summit, now in year four, October 1 through 3 in Los Angeles. His path there is the strangest resume Albert has read all year: fitness trainer, a decade as a circus performer and ringmaster, years as a principal art auctioneer running million-dollar rooms, then first executive hire at Biostrap, the clinical-grade wearables company. Ten thousand hours on a stage before he ever ran a research company. The reason underneath all of it is older than any of it. When Elias was nine, his mother nearly died and he watched the hospital system fail her. His stated mission is to move this industry from hype to evidence.This episode is for fitness, wellness, and longevity owners, franchisees, and multi-unit operators who are tired of:Vendors who say clinically proven and cannot produce the studyBioavailability and efficacy numbers with nothing behind themNot knowing whether a peptide offering is something they can responsibly sell todayCarrying the substantiation risk for a claim someone else wroteTop topics we coverThe evidence tiers, weakest to strongest. Ingredient studies, animal data, presale customer feedback, open-label pilots, randomized controlled trials, and where most of what is sold in wellness actually sits.Structure and function claims versus disease claims. The exact line between a supplement and a drug, and what happens to the brand and the retailer that crosses it.Inside a PRUVN engagement. What it takes, what it costs, and what percentage of companies find out their product does not do what they hoped.The operator's diligence checklist. The questions to ask a vendor, in order, and which answer means walk away.Peptides and the regulatory moment. What a clinic or studio can responsibly do today, what to wait on, and the risk of moving early.The Healthspan Summit and the conflict question. Elias curates the stage and sells exhibitor space to the same brands PRUVN sells validation services to. Albert asks him how he keeps that honest.How this episode helps you winIf you're a single-studio owner: You get a vendor script you can use this week, so retail and program revenue is not built on a claim you cannot defend to a member.If you're a multi-unit operator: You get the standard to write into vendor contracts once and apply across every location, instead of relitigating it site by site.If you're weighing acquisitions or outside capital: Unsubstantiated product claims are a diligence finding. This episode tells you where that risk hides before a buyer or an investor finds it for you.If you're a franchisor or emerging brand: You learn what evidence your own claims need to survive contact with a regulator, a franchisee, and a lawyer.Work with Albert, Fractional CFO for Fitness and WellnessI'm Albert Ramos, Founder of STRATEGO Intel Consulting and host of The Owner Seat. 16+ years of P&L ownership at Life Time Inc. (NYSE: LTH), Gold's Gym, and 24 Hour Fitness. I help fitness, wellness, and longevity brands ($500K to $30M) build cash visibility, unit economics, pricing and utilization models, and capital planning so every decision is clean and defensible.Book a CFO Strategy Call: https://calendly.com/albertramosjr-strategointel/youtube-podcastSubscribe to The Owner Seat newsletter on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7288029005239267328Website: https://www.StrategoIntel.comConnect with Albert on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/albertramosjr/More from The Owner SeatNew episodes every Monday and Friday at 8:00am CST.Full library: https://www.youtube.com/@TheOwnerSeatPodcastSTRATEGO Intel: https://www.StrategoIntel.com
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Three Leaders, One Wellness Business: Who Actually Owns the P&L? | The Fix Wellness Lounge | The Owner Seat
1w ago00:37:34Tap to summarizeMost wellness businesses are built by one person wearing every hat: clinician, operator, and finance brain, all in one exhausted founder. This episode is what it looks like when those hats get split on purpose. Three leaders, one business, and an honest look at how the recovery floor actually performs.Today on The Owner Seat Podcast, host Albert Ramos sits down with the leadership team behind The Fix Wellness Lounge in Hermosa Beach, California, and goes behind the build:What changes in a wellness business when a real finance operator sits at the table from day oneHow a clinical founder and an operator divide decision rights without stepping on each otherWhich recovery modalities carry their own cost, and which ones are there to serve the memberThe Fix Wellness Lounge is Hermosa Beach's destination for holistic healing, recovery, and peak performance. The offering covers chiropractic care, functional nutrition, and a full recovery floor: cold plunge, cryotherapy, infrared sauna, IV therapy, NormaTec compression, near-infrared light beds, and EXOMIND transcranial magnetic stimulation.Dr. Lisette Beam is the clinical foundation. A Doctor of Chiropractic and certified functional nutrition specialist with over 25 years of clinical experience, she spent nearly a decade building a boutique practice in Manhattan Beach before expanding that vision into The Fix. Her approach is root-cause healing: advanced chiropractic technique, functional evaluation, and finding what others have missed.Amy Standing Confer is the finance engine. An owner and founder of The Fix, she brings a resume you almost never find inside a wellness lounge. She is CFO and Chief Compliance Officer of Northern Air Systems, the former CFO of Summer Street Capital Partners, a private equity fund manager with over $550 million in committed capital, with earlier finance leadership stops at Discover, Citi, and Constellation Wines.Kelly Gelfound is the Chief Operating Officer, running the day to day of the lounge, the team, and the member experience.This episode is for fitness, wellness, and longevity owners, franchisees, and multi-unit operators who are tired of:Being the clinician, the operator, and the finance department at the same timeAdding modalities without knowing which ones actually contribute marginA recovery floor full of expensive equipment and no read on utilization per stationMaking partnership and equity decisions on a handshake and hoping it holdsTop topics we coverSplitting the hats on purpose: how clinical, financial, and operational authority gets divided and where the lines blurWhat a private equity trained CFO sees in a wellness P&L that most owners never look atModality economics: cost per session, utilization per station, and the honest case for keeping a service that does not payMemberships versus one-off visits: which one protects cash flow in a recovery businessBuilding on clinical credibility: how 25 years of chiropractic practice becomes a business moatPartnership structure: decision rights, disagreements, and what founders should settle in writing earlyHow this episode helps you winIf you're a single-studio owner: you get a clear picture of which roles you have to fill before growth stops depending on you personally, and how to sequence those hires.If you're a multi-unit operator: you get a framework for reading utilization and contribution margin by service line and station, not just by location.If you're weighing acquisitions or outside capital: you hear from a CFO who has sat on the fund side of the table on what makes a wellness business look clean and financeable, and what kills a deal.If you're a franchisor or emerging brand: you get a real look at how a multi-modality recovery stack gets priced, staffed, and standardized before anyone tries to replicate it.Work with Albert, Fractional CFO for Fitness and Wellness I'm Albert Ramos, Founder of STRATEGO Intel Consulting and host of The Owner Seat. 16+ years of P&L ownership at Life Time Inc. (NYSE: LTH), Gold's Gym, and 24 Hour Fitness. I help fitness, wellness, and longevity brands ($500K to $30M) build cash visibility, unit economics, pricing and utilization models, and capital planning so every decision is clean and defensible. Book a CFO Strategy Call: https://calendly.com/albertramosjr-strategointel/youtube-podcast Subscribe to The Owner Seat newsletter on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7288029005239267328 Website: https://www.StrategoIntel.com Connect with Albert on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/albertramosjr/More from The Owner Seat New episodes every Monday and Friday at 8:00am CST. Full library: https://www.youtube.com/@TheOwnerSeatPodcast STRATEGO Intel: https://www.StrategoIntel.com
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Empty Class Spots Are Killing Your Margin: Why Won't Your Software Tell You? | Laura Munkholm | The Owner Seat
2w ago00:37:34Tap to summarizeMost studio owners think their software is a scheduling tool. It is actually a margin decision. This episode breaks down what your platform should be telling you about retention, utilization, and pricing, and why most owners never see any of it.Today on The Owner Seat Podcast, host Albert Ramos sits down with Laura Munkholm, President and Co-Founder of Walla and a boutique fitness operator with nearly two decades on the floor, and goes behind the build:Why she ran a studio P&L before she ever built software, and how that changed what Walla measuresHow AI predicts which members are about to leave, and what an owner is supposed to do with that 30 days outWhere the real money hides in class utilization, pricing, and staff schedulingLaura Munkholm is the President and Co-Founder of Walla, which bills itself as the industry's most advanced AI-powered fitness studio software. Before Walla, she spent nearly two decades in boutique fitness. She managed a Yoga Six studio where she carried the P&L and grew revenue 40 percent, then founded Studio Solutions, a consultancy where she coached thousands of studio owners on operations, talent, and price optimization. Walla was built out of that work: software designed to speak the language of wellness leaders, simplify operations, and make profitability the standard instead of the exception. WallaPredict is the retention engine that flags at-risk clients and re-engages them automatically. AI-optimized scheduling targets the empty class spots that quietly erase margin. Laura also hosts the Well, Well, Well podcast and is a vocal advocate for women in leadership and for founders finding joy in the businesses they bleed for.This episode is for fitness, wellness, and longevity owners, franchisees, and multi-unit operators who are tired of:Finding out a member churned after the card already stopped hittingPaying for software that stores data nobody readsGuessing at price increases and hoping the roster holdsRunning full-looking schedules that still miss on contribution marginTop topics we coverStudio floor to software founder: what carrying a P&L taught Laura that a product roadmap never wouldRetention as a financial line item: what churn prediction is worth in real dollars per locationUtilization and empty seats: the cost of an unfilled spot and why owners underprice itPrice optimization: how she coached thousands of owners to raise rates without losing the roomLegacy software versus an AI-native stack: what actually changes for the operator, and what is noiseLeadership depth and joy: building a team that runs the business so the owner is not the systemHow this episode helps you winIf you're a single-studio owner: you get a clear read on which numbers in your platform actually predict next quarter's revenue, and which ones are decoration.If you're a multi-unit operator: you get a framework for comparing utilization and retention across locations so you can tell an operator problem from a market problem.If you're weighing acquisitions or outside capital: you get language for the retention and utilization data a buyer or lender will ask for, and why clean member data raises your multiple.If you're a franchisor or emerging brand: you get Laura's view on what your tech stack has to standardize across franchisees, and where you should stop trying to control the operator.Work with Albert, Fractional CFO for Fitness and Wellness I'm Albert Ramos, Founder of STRATEGO Intel Consulting and host of The Owner Seat. 16+ years of P&L ownership at Life Time Inc. (NYSE: LTH), Gold's Gym, and 24 Hour Fitness. I help fitness, wellness, and longevity brands ($500K to $30M) build cash visibility, unit economics, pricing and utilization models, and capital planning so every decision is clean and defensible. Book a CFO Strategy Call: https://calendly.com/albertramosjr-strategointel/youtube-podcast Subscribe to The Owner Seat newsletter on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7288029005239267328 Website: https://www.StrategoIntel.com Connect with Albert on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/albertramosjr/More from The Owner Seat New episodes every Monday and Friday at 8:00am CST. Full library: https://www.youtube.com/@TheOwnerSeatPodcast STRATEGO Intel: https://www.StrategoIntel.com
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Reputation Is an Asset: How PR Compounds Like Capital? | Natalie Trice | The Owner Seat
2w ago00:52:29Tap to summarizeMost wellness founders believe great work gets found on its own. It doesn't. This episode breaks down how reputation actually becomes a business asset: one that lowers acquisition cost, lifts pricing power, and opens doors that outlast any single media hit.Today on The Owner Seat Podcast, host Albert Ramos sits down with Natalie Trice, a chartered PR professional with 30 years across global media, and goes behind the build:How a personal crisis, her son's hip dysplasia diagnosis, became Cast Life, DDH UK, and coverage in the Daily Mail, The Telegraph, and the BBCThe honest ROI conversation on premium PR fees, and where earned media actually shows up in the numbersWhat separates founders who convert visibility into real business results from the ones who get the hit and nothing changesNatalie Trice is the founder of Natalie Trice Publicity, a boutique, senior-led PR agency for experts, founders, and brands in health and wellness. Over three decades she has worked with CNN, the Discovery Channel, and Cartoon Network, plus organizations including the Royal College of Art, the International Menopause Society, and the Harley Street Fertility Clinic. She's a three-time author, founder of PR School, and founder of YOMU Magazine, built to make health and wellness information accessible inside a $1.8 trillion global wellness market. Next up: a PhD.This episode is for fitness, wellness, and longevity owners, franchisees, and multi-unit operators who are tired of:Being the best-kept secret in their market while louder competitors get the coverageSpending on ads with no idea whether PR belongs in the budget yetBuilding a brand entirely on the founder's face with no plan for it to stand on its ownChasing one-off media hits that never change the numbersTop topics we coverTurning a real story into a movement: why authentic stories travel where polished campaigns stallThe financial case for PR: acquisition cost, conversion, and pricing powerReputation as a compounding asset that can lift valuation and open dealsGetting picked up in a crowded market: what makes a journalist say yes in a $1.8 trillion industryRegulated and science-based wellness brands vs. lifestyle brands: where the PR play changesDIY vs. outsourced: the highest-value PR work a time-strapped owner should never hand offHow this episode helps you win If you're a single-studio owner: learn the PR work you can do yourself before you're ready to spend, and when it's simply too early. If you're a multi-unit operator: understand where earned media shows up in acquisition cost and pricing power across locations. If you're weighing acquisitions or outside capital: see how reputation functions as an intangible asset that lifts valuation and opens deals. If you're a franchisor or emerging brand: build a brand that stands on its own so the business stays valuable when the founder steps back.Work with Albert, Fractional CFO for Fitness and Wellness I'm Albert Ramos, Founder of STRATEGO Intel Consulting and host of The Owner Seat. 16+ years of P&L ownership at Life Time Inc. (NYSE: LTH), Gold's Gym, and 24 Hour Fitness. I help fitness, wellness, and longevity brands ($500K to $30M) build cash visibility, unit economics, pricing and utilization models, and capital planning so every decision is clean and defensible. Book a CFO Strategy Call: https://calendly.com/albertramosjr-strategointel/youtube-podcast Subscribe to The Owner Seat newsletter on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7288029005239267328 Website: https://www.StrategoIntel.com Connect with Albert on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/albertramosjr/More from The Owner Seat New episodes every Monday and Friday at 8:00am CST. Full library: https://www.youtube.com/@TheOwnerSeatPodcast STRATEGO Intel: https://www.StrategoIntel.com
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He Sold His Business to Bet on His Wife's: The Lawless Pilates Expansion Playbook | Landon French
3w ago00:34:54Tap to summarizeMost operators dream about expansion. Landon French sold his own business to go execute one. This episode is the operator's playbook for turning a single reformer studio into a regional brand: the real estate underwriting, the unit economics, the presale strategy, and the green light that tells you it's time to sign the next lease.Today on The Owner Seat Podcast, host Albert Ramos sits down with Landon French, President of Lawless Pilates CO., and goes behind the build:How he underwrites a site before signing a lease, and what has to be true about rent, square footage, and marketWhy Lawless pre-sells founding memberships before the doors open, and how that cash de-risks every new locationThe number that has to hold at locations one through three before he commits to location fourA'Lexus French started Lawless Pilates CO. at 21 with one reformer studio in Rapid City, South Dakota, built from a bank loan and 80-hour weeks. She built her own method, her own instructor training, and her own grading system so the Lawless experience holds up in any city. Seven months in, Landon sold his business and joined as President, owning real estate, site selection, lease deals, build-outs, and the math under each new location. Fourteen months after studio one, they opened Sioux Falls. This June they opened their third location in Omaha, Nebraska. Today Lawless runs six full-time staff and more than thirty instructors, with a vision to build across the Midwest.This episode is for fitness, wellness, and longevity owners, franchisees, and multi-unit operators who are tired of:Guessing on leases instead of underwriting themOpening new locations that drain cash instead of pre-selling itScaling a business that depends entirely on one personNot knowing what number actually says "go" on the next locationTop topics we coverThe bet: selling your own company to join a seven-month-old studio, and what the early numbers showedReal estate underwriting for boutique fitness: rent, square footage, and the market test before you say yesSecondary Midwest markets versus coastal metros: how Rapid City, Sioux Falls, and Omaha change the unit economicsRevenue mix that actually drives a studio: drop-ins, class packs, and membershipsFounding memberships and presale cash flow: de-risking a location before you teach a single classUtilization in a capacity-capped business: classes per week, seats per class, and the booking windowLosing nearly an entire team in year one and rebuilding in six weeks: protecting the model from single-manager riskHow this episode helps you win If you're a single-studio owner: you'll learn what a repeatable method, in-house training, and a grading system make possible when you're ready to open door number two. If you're a multi-unit operator: you'll get Landon's underwriting framework for the next lease and the reporting cadence that lets him see every location's performance. If you're weighing acquisitions or outside capital: you'll hear how Lawless decides between cash flow, debt, and partners to fund the next opening. If you're a franchisor or emerging brand: you'll learn how a proprietary system keeps the customer experience consistent across instructors, managers, and markets.Work with Albert, Fractional CFO for Fitness and Wellness I'm Albert Ramos, Founder of STRATEGO Intel Consulting and host of The Owner Seat. 16+ years of P&L ownership at Life Time Inc. (NYSE: LTH), Gold's Gym, and 24 Hour Fitness. I help fitness, wellness, and longevity brands ($500K to $30M) build cash visibility, unit economics, pricing and utilization models, and capital planning so every decision is clean and defensible. Book a CFO Strategy Call: https://calendly.com/albertramosjr-strategointel/youtube-podcast Subscribe to The Owner Seat newsletter on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7288029005239267328 Website: https://www.StrategoIntel.com Connect with Albert on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/albertramosjr/More from The Owner Seat New episodes every Monday and Friday at 8:00am CST. Full library: https://www.youtube.com/@TheOwnerSeatPodcast STRATEGO Intel: https://www.StrategoIntel.com
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Clean Numbers, Cracked Leadership: Why Do Scaling Founders Break? | Dr. Alyssa Webb-McCune
3w ago00:42:52Tap to summarizeOperators will spend six figures on a build-out and then neglect the one asset that actually runs the business: their people. And the most neglected person of all is usually the founder. This episode is a live coaching session on the leadership problems that quietly decide whether a fitness, wellness, or longevity company makes it.Today on The Owner Seat Podcast, host Albert Ramos sits down with Dr. Alyssa Webb-McCune, LPC, licensed professional counselor and Founder of EDGE, and goes behind the human side of the build:What under-investing in people actually costs you on the P&LHow to coach the founder who can't let go at eight locations and 70 hours a weekHow to save a burning-out location manager in the next two weeks, before they quitDr. Alyssa Webb-McCune holds a doctorate in professional counseling and a master's in clinical mental health. Through EDGE, based in The Woodlands, Texas, she combines real clinical training with practical business strategy to help leaders and their teams perform: burnout, resilience, hard conversations, team dynamics, and the performance of the people in charge.This episode is for fitness, wellness, and longevity owners, franchisees, and multi-unit operators who are tired of:Being the bottleneck in their own businessWatching their best managers burn out and walkLeadership teams stuck in silos where ops blames sales and sales blames financeAvoiding the hard conversation until it explodesTop topics we coverThe P&L cost of neglecting your people: the case for a numbers-driven ownerCoaching the 70-hour founder: why delegating feels slower and how to fix itOutside capital and the anxious operator: carrying pressure without leaking it on the teamSeparating self-worth from revenue without killing the driveAccountability without killing the family culture that built the placeResilience as a skill, not a personality traitHow this episode helps you win If you're a single-studio owner: you'll learn how to stop tying your identity to a bad month and start building capacity beyond yourself. If you're a multi-unit operator: you'll get a two-week playbook for the burning-out manager and a reset framework for a leadership team that stopped trusting each other. If you're weighing acquisitions or outside capital: you'll hear how new capital changes the person at the top, and how to carry that weight without breaking the culture. If you're a franchisor or emerging brand: you'll learn how much culture is trainable and systematized versus leader-dependent, and where to spend your energy.Work with Albert, Fractional CFO for Fitness and Wellness I'm Albert Ramos, Founder of STRATEGO Intel Consulting and host of The Owner Seat. 16+ years of P&L ownership at Life Time Inc. (NYSE: LTH), Gold's Gym, and 24 Hour Fitness. I help fitness, wellness, and longevity brands ($500K to $30M) build cash visibility, unit economics, pricing and utilization models, and capital planning so every decision is clean and defensible. Book a CFO Strategy Call: https://calendly.com/albertramosjr-strategointel/youtube-podcast Subscribe to The Owner Seat newsletter on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7288029005239267328 Website: https://www.StrategoIntel.com Connect with Albert on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/albertramosjr/More from The Owner Seat New episodes every Monday and Friday at 8:00am CST. Full library: https://www.youtube.com/@TheOwnerSeatPodcast STRATEGO Intel: https://www.StrategoIntel.com
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The Drip Bar CEO Explains Why This Business Model Works | Ben Crosbie
4w ago00:47:25Tap to summarizeThe wellness category is moving fast, and most operators are being told to chase the next modality without anyone showing them how to make the math work. Ben Crosbie sees this business the way the people who listen to this show do: as a P&L, not a press release. This episode is for fitness, wellness, and longevity operators who want the honest unit economics behind IV therapy and the longevity wave before they bet on it.Today on The Owner Seat Podcast, host Albert Ramos sits down with Ben Crosbie, CEO of The DRIPBaR and a franchise builder who grew and exited more than 500 Tapout Fitness locations, and goes behind the economics of building a longevity brand:How to think about a single DRIPBaR location as a P&L, and the levers that decide whether it prints money or just survivesHow to protect contribution margin per visit on a high-touch, nurse-delivered service while keeping the price where members come backThe opportunity a fragmented industry creates for a brand with real infrastructure, and how to be the consolidator instead of the consolidatedBen Crosbie is the CEO of The DRIPBaR, one of the most recognized names in IV therapy and wellness, and a franchise builder first. He is the founder of ZOR411, a franchise development company, and before The DRIPBaR he founded Tapout Fitness, where he secured the global rights to the TapouT brand and grew it through more than 500 franchise locations across 11 countries before exiting in 2019. He sits on the Leadership Advisory Board of the American IV Association and came up through franchising, real estate, and fitness, with a degree in kinesiology and nutrition. Under his leadership The DRIPBaR has moved past hydration into NAD+, peptides like Sermorelin, hormone support, and the longevity services shaping the next decade of wellness.This episode is for fitness, wellness, and longevity owners, franchisees, and multi-unit operators who are tired of:Chasing new services that get commoditized in months, not yearsWatching contribution margin erode on every high-touch visitPricing pressure as the hot molecules get cheaper and more availableBuilding something that gets consolidated instead of doing the consolidatingTop topics we coverThe franchise builder's lesson: what building and exiting 500+ Tapout locations taught Ben about what actually makes a location profitable, not just sellableThe levers inside a single DRIPBaR P&L, and how to protect margin per visitMemberships versus walk-ins, and what a healthy recurring-revenue mix looks like for predictable cash flowUtilization across fixed chairs and fixed nurse hours, and what moving that number does to the economicsWhere the real demand and margin are heading in NAD+, peptides, hormone support, and longevity over the next three to five yearsStaying on the right side of pricing pressure as the GLP-1 wave resets the metabolic categoryHow this episode helps you win If you're a single-studio owner: you'll learn the levers inside a location P&L and how to keep a member past the first 90 days. If you're a multi-unit operator: you'll get a clear read on utilization, recurring revenue, and how to price new services so you stay ahead of the curve. If you're weighing acquisitions or outside capital: you'll hear what has to be true in a location's economics before planting the flag in a new market, and where the consolidation opportunity sits. If you're a franchisor or emerging brand: you'll learn how to build the infrastructure that lets you consolidate a fragmented industry instead of getting consolidated by it.Work with Albert, Fractional CFO for Fitness and Wellness I'm Albert Ramos, Founder of STRATEGO Intel Consulting and host of The Owner Seat. 16+ years of P&L ownership at Life Time Inc. (NYSE: LTH), Gold's Gym, and 24 Hour Fitness. I help fitness, wellness, and longevity brands ($500K to $30M) build cash visibility, unit economics, pricing and utilization models, and capital planning so every decision is clean and defensible. Book a CFO Strategy Call: https://calendly.com/albertramosjr-strategointel/youtube-podcast Subscribe to The Owner Seat newsletter on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7288029005239267328 Website: https://www.StrategoIntel.com Connect with Albert on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/albertramosjr/More from The Owner Seat New episodes every Monday and Friday at 8:00am CST. Full library: https://www.youtube.com/@TheOwnerSeatPodcast STRATEGO Intel: https://www.StrategoIntel.com
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The Wellness Robot Is In The U.S.: Meet RoboSculptor | Elena Kormilina | The Owner Seat
4w ago00:40:52Tap to summarizeEvery operator in fitness and wellness is being told the same thing right now: add recovery, add longevity, add the next modality. Almost nobody tells them how to make the math work. Elena Kormilina lives at exactly that intersection, where a brand-new technology has to turn into a real business an operator can actually run. This episode is for fitness, wellness, and longevity operators weighing a capital-heavy modality and wanting the honest unit economics before they sign.Today on The Owner Seat Podcast, host Albert Ramos sits down with Elena Kormilina, Head of Product Strategy and Commercialization at roboSculptor, the Dubai-based company building AI-powered robotic body therapy for wellness businesses, and goes behind the economics of recovery on demand:How robotics changes the math on a treatment that used to need an hour of skilled labor, and where it still doesn't pencilWhat utilization and pricing actually have to hold at for the published per-unit revenue numbers to be real and not a best-case headlineWhat has to be true in the numbers before a hardware company can raise real capital and scale the rolloutElena Kormilina is the Head of Product Strategy and Commercialization at roboSculptor, where her craft is translation: taking complex health-tech and turning it into something operators, investors, and customers actually understand and adopt. Before roboSculptor she spent a decade at Profile Products, growing a region from $50,000 to $1.7 million and building distributor networks across Eastern Europe and Central Asia, opening new markets like Turkey and Mongolia. She holds an MBA in finance and thinks about a product the way a CFO thinks about a P&L. At roboSculptor she helped reposition the product from a niche aesthetics tool to a recovery and wellness platform built for gyms, hotels, spas, recovery centers, and longevity clinics, evolving the vibrocompression method behind Beautylizer into a full-body, AI-driven system that scans the body and selects the protocol. She helped take the install base from around 15 units to roughly 100, grew revenue about six times, and carried the company to a first investor soft commitment.This episode is for fitness, wellness, and longevity owners, franchisees, and multi-unit operators who are tired of:Being pushed to add the next modality with no P&L to back the decisionHeadline per-unit revenue numbers that fall apart the moment you check the utilization assumptionTreatments that need an hour of skilled labor and never pencil outBuying a trend they regret instead of a durable shift in demandTop topics we coverThe commercializer's lesson: the gap between a product that's technically great and one that actually sells and scalesHow robotics extends capacity without adding headcount, and how to read that on the P&LThe real per-unit economics behind the published $200,000-a-year-at-60%-usage figureWhy retention and repeat visits, not the first wow, tell you a location truly worksThe shift from a big upfront hardware sale to a rental model, and what it does to operator economics and cash flowWhat changes in pricing, model, and partnerships when crossing from the UAE into the USHow this episode helps you win If you're a single-studio owner: you'll get an honest framework for whether a capital-heavy modality actually pencils at your traffic and pricing. If you're a multi-unit operator: you'll learn how to extend capacity without adding labor and how to read utilization before you replicate. If you're weighing acquisitions or outside capital: you'll hear what a hardware company has to prove in the numbers before raising, and how a rental model reshapes the risk. If you're a franchisor or emerging brand: you'll learn how to tell a durable demand shift from a trend, and where to focus a product that could go everywhere.Work with Albert, Fractional CFO for Fitness and Wellness I'm Albert Ramos, Founder of STRATEGO Intel Consulting and host of The Owner Seat. 16+ years of P&L ownership at Life Time Inc. (NYSE: LTH), Gold's Gym, and 24 Hour Fitness. I help fitness, wellness, and longevity brands ($500K to $30M) build cash visibility, unit economics, pricing and utilization models, and capital planning so every decision is clean and defensible. Book a CFO Strategy Call: https://calendly.com/albertramosjr-strategointel/youtube-podcast Free STRATEGO CFO Playbook: https://bit.ly/owner-seat-cfo-playbook Subscribe to The Owner Seat newsletter on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7288029005239267328 Website: https://www.StrategoIntel.com Connect with Albert on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/albertramosjr/More from The Owner Seat New episodes every Monday and Friday at 8:00am CST. Full library: https://www.youtube.com/@TheOwnerSeatPodcast STRATEGO Intel: https://www.StrategoIntel.com
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He Built Brands for L'Oréal and Honda, Then Bet on His Own | Jonathan Singer | The Owner Seat
Jul 600:41:00Tap to summarizeMost founders fall in love with their product. The best ones fall in love with the experience their customer actually has, then build the business around it. Jonathan Singer spent 25 years doing exactly that for some of the biggest brands in the world, and now he's doing it for himself with The Red Light Wellness Company. This episode is for fitness, wellness, and longevity operators who have to make the experience sing and make the math work at the same time.Today on The Owner Seat Podcast, host Albert Ramos sits down with Jonathan Singer, a 25-year brand experience veteran and Founder and CEO of The Red Light Wellness Company in Miami Beach, and goes behind the build of Redwell:How to deliver professional-grade red light therapy at prices regular people can afford without crushing the marginWhat the unit economics of a single flagship have to prove before you replicate it across citiesWhy community, not equipment, is the part of the model a competitor can't just buyJonathan Singer has been engineering brand experiences since 1999. He started at McCann, launched GMR Marketing's Canadian business and had it profitable in its first year working with brands like Royal Bank, L'Oréal, Unilever, Nokia, and Honda, then founded JSEM, Jonathan Singer Experience Marketing, where he helped pioneer the experiential agency landscape in North America. He went on to run brand experience at Subnation across gaming, fashion, and entertainment, and led the global brand experience practice at Winston Francois. He has served on the board of the LASD Foundation and is a McGill graduate. Today he is Founder and CEO of The Red Light Wellness Company, built to take professional-grade red light therapy out from behind premium price tags and make it accessible to regular people who want to take control of their healthspan, guided by his operating philosophy of Cultural Currency and the five C's: Culture, Connection, Community, Conversion, and Commerce.This episode is for fitness, wellness, and longevity owners, franchisees, and multi-unit operators who are tired of:Building a brand that generates buzz but never turns attention into real revenueWatching mission and margin pull against each other inside the same businessConcepts that get copied the day after they start workingFunding a physical, early-stage build without knowing what investors actually need to seeTop topics we coverThe agency P&L lesson: what running a profitable business that early teaches you about the gap between a brand that looks good and one that actually makes moneyPremium quality at accessible prices, and how to solve that tension without gutting contribution marginMembership versus per-visit pricing, and what healthy utilization and recurring revenue look like for a red light studioWhere AI actually lowers cost to serve or lifts margin, versus just sounding good in a pitchCultural Currency and the five C's, and how community moves retention, lifetime value, and customer acquisition costWhat has to be true in the systems and the numbers before you hand the model to an operator in another cityHow this episode helps you win If you're a single-studio owner: you'll learn what your first location has to prove before you spend a dollar replicating it. If you're a multi-unit operator: you'll get a clear read on what makes a model survivable across cities and where the leadership depth has to sit. If you're weighing acquisitions or outside capital: you'll hear what investors actually need to see before they'll back a single-location proof of concept. If you're a franchisor or emerging brand: you'll learn how to protect the experience and the margin as you add locations, and what makes the business valuable instead of just busy.Work with Albert, Fractional CFO for Fitness and Wellness I'm Albert Ramos, Founder of STRATEGO Intel Consulting and host of The Owner Seat. 16+ years of P&L ownership at Life Time Inc. (NYSE: LTH), Gold's Gym, and 24 Hour Fitness. I help fitness, wellness, and longevity brands ($500K to $30M) build cash visibility, unit economics, pricing and utilization models, and capital planning so every decision is clean and defensible. Book a CFO Strategy Call: https://calendly.com/albertramosjr-strategointel/youtube-podcast Subscribe to The Owner Seat newsletter on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7288029005239267328 Website: https://www.StrategoIntel.com Connect with Albert on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/albertramosjr/More from The Owner Seat New episodes every Monday and Friday at 8:00am CST. Full library: https://www.youtube.com/@TheOwnerSeatPodcast STRATEGO Intel: https://www.StrategoIntel.com
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How InLife Wellness Makes Sure Your Margin Doesn't Disappear | Scott Caplelin | The Owner Seat
Jul 300:35:06Tap to summarizeMost people who buy a business end up buying themselves a job. The studio works when they are in the room and stalls the minute they step out. Scott Capelin spent 20 years learning why that happens and how to build the opposite. This episode is for fitness, wellness, and longevity owners who want a studio that holds its margin and keeps running without them standing in the doorway.Today on The Owner Seat Podcast, host Albert Ramos sits down with Scott Capelin, Founder and CEO of inLIFE Wellness and a former multi-unit operator who sold all 5 of his Vision Personal Training locations in 2011, and goes behind the inLIFE Wellness model:Why two owners run the exact same systems and the exact same pricing and land in completely different placesWhat it actually takes for a studio to keep its revenue when a key instructor walks out the doorThe few numbers Scott tells every owner to read on Monday morningScott Capelin is the Founder and CEO of inLIFE Wellness, where he helps everyday people open and operate Pilates-inspired studios with full support from day one. Before inLIFE, Scott spent over a decade as a multi-unit franchise owner running 5 Vision Personal Training locations across Australia and New Zealand, then sold every one of them in 2011. He has logged more than 30,000 hours training clients face to face, built Tribe Social Fitness after studying the top fitness models in the world, and learned brand-building from Anne McKevitt. He is an international Number 1 best-selling author of Fit to Flourish and inShape, inLove, inSPIRED!, runs the inLIFE Wellness School of Pilates and Group Exercise Certification, and was recently named one of Entrepreneur Mirror's Top 10 Visionary Leaders Driving Global Change.This episode is for fitness, wellness, and longevity owners, franchisees, and multi-unit operators who are tired of:Owning a studio that only works when they are physically in itWatching margin disappear into line items they never priced forRevenue that depends on a constant churn of new members instead of retentionBuilding something for years that they could never actually sellTop topics we coverThe multi-unit P&L lesson: what running 5 locations at once teaches you about unit economics that you only see when the whole P&L is on your deskWhere the margin actually lives in a low-impact studio model, and the one line item new owners underestimate every single timeInstructor quality versus the system: which one really drives retention and contribution marginThe four questions Scott uses to separate a real business from a job that just looks like oneThe Monday-morning numbers every owner should read every weekBuilding for the exit: what most owners fail to put in place that quietly caps their valuationHow this episode helps you win If you're a single-studio owner: you'll know which numbers to read every Monday and where to find the margin you're leaving on the table. If you're a multi-unit operator: you'll get a clear test for whether your locations run on systems or on your adrenaline, and how to take yourself out of the room. If you're weighing acquisitions or outside capital: you'll hear how Scott thinks about the capital you put in and the realistic return and timeline before you sign. If you're a franchisor or emerging brand: you'll learn what has to be true in your financials and systems before you sell a single license, so you're scaling a proven model and not hope.Work with Albert, Fractional CFO for Fitness and Wellness I'm Albert Ramos, Founder of STRATEGO Intel Consulting and host of The Owner Seat. 16+ years of P&L ownership at Life Time Inc. (NYSE: LTH), Gold's Gym, and 24 Hour Fitness. I help fitness, wellness, and longevity brands ($500K to $30M) build cash visibility, unit economics, pricing and utilization models, and capital planning so every decision is clean and defensible. Book a CFO Strategy Call: https://calendly.com/albertramosjr-strategointel/youtube-podcast Free STRATEGO CFO Playbook: https://bit.ly/owner-seat-cfo-playbook Subscribe to The Owner Seat newsletter on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7288029005239267328 Website: https://www.StrategoIntel.com Connect with Albert on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/albertramosjr/More from The Owner Seat New episodes every Monday and Friday at 8:00am CST. Full library: https://www.youtube.com/@TheOwnerSeatPodcast STRATEGO Intel: https://www.StrategoIntel.com
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