WoW Woman in Wellness I Julie Cartwright, President of P.volve
Julie Cartwright is the President of P.volve. She joined P.volve as president in 2017, inspired by how the brand’s mission to change women’s lives at every stage through low-impact functional movement aligned with her personal passion to offer solutions to those who have been traditionally underserved by the fitness industry.
With determination and strong leadership, Julie has helped the company grow from a small, digitally native startup to a female-led and female-focused omnichannel global fitness training method with members in all 50 states and numerous countries worldwide. She spearheads P.volve’s overall vision and growth strategy while achieving financial objectives and setting investment priorities.
Before P.volve, Julie garnered two decades of business development and fitness industry experience, including senior positions with Anchor Bay Entertainment (a Starz Company), where she led its brand and consumer marketing initiatives, specifically for its fitness category. She was also a part of Anchor Bay Entertainment’s successful acquisition by Lionsgate Entertainment Corp in late 2016.
Recognized as a leading authority on fitness and women’s health, Julie has been quoted in a number of media outlets, including ABC News, Friend of a Friend with Olivia Perez, Being Bümo, and Business Insider, and has commented on issues such as the emerging menopause crisis in America’s workforce.
Unsurprisingly, Julie is an avid P.volver herself and can often be found at the Chicago studio or taking classes online through its Live Virtual Studio. She is also a mama to her two great kids, Ali and Jack, and she strives to show them daily by example that the best leadership skill you can possess is kindness.
P.volve is the leader in evidence-based functional fitness, changing the conversation around fitness and disrupting traditional fitness norms. Headquartered in New York, the company delivers innovative content and experiences to its members in all 50 states and globally. Its science-backed, holistic fitness method for women harnesses the power of functional movement and proprietary equipment to nourish and restore while it shapes, tones, and strengthens. Through its hybrid fitness model, P.volve can be experienced in-studio, through live and on-demand virtual classes, and via a growing franchised studio footprint.
Tell us a bit about your background and your projects so far.
I went to school in Ohio and studied business in college. I watched my parents love what they did, so I always knew that I needed to find something I loved as a career. I joined Anchor Bay Entertainment (a Starz Company) after college. I led its brand and consumer marketing initiatives, including for its fitness category, one of my lifelong passions. This gave me a feel for how to translate ideas and concepts into realities that could really move and inspire people. I had the opportunity to hear Rachel Katzman, the founder of P.volve, tell her story as she was launching P.volve, and I just had to be a part of getting this company off the ground.
How did you get into this industry? Has it been an easy industry to get into or have you had many challenges?
I entered the industry through my work at Anchor Bay. I led its brand and marketing initiatives for its fitness category, something I was always passionate about. This really taught me how working in fitness can truly make a difference in people’s lives, and the need to bring powerful experiences to the consumer. Through some of the connections I made working in fitness, I was introduced to Rachel Katzman, who explained to me the ideas behind functional fitness and how they translated into training that not only led to physical improvement but also to broader health and wellness. I tried the Method that P.volve was just starting to pioneer, and I was hooked immediately: I could see and feel the benefits of functional fitness, without the negative impacts of typical training regimens.
How long did it take you to be where you are now? What was the biggest obstacle? What are the challenges of being in the industry you are in?
The biggest challenges in launching a fitness company are, first, being able to articulate your concept in a way that translates into meaningful action that generates real results. The second biggest challenge is finding the right people to build the company – people who live and breathe the brand and method – while also fostering a culture in which they can collaborate and be passionate about building things together. The third challenge is to get noticed and break through the clutter. The fitness industry is saturated – there are tons of different exercise and workout programs brought to market each year, and most of them fail not so much because they aren‘t effective, but more so because they aren’t differentiated enough with a clear and compelling message to gain members and build momentum. Getting the message right is the difference between success and failure.
What are your biggest achievements to date?
It’s been a team effort with Rachel and the other members of our management team, but I’d cite several. First, getting through the initial startup process of establishing a business with genuinely distinctive idea – functional fitness – that we articulated in a compelling way. Second, not only building that business but doing so successfully through COVID lockdowns in a way that actually enhanced the brand and kept us growing even while studios were shut down. Third, establishing a best-in-class Clinical Advisory Board, which makes us one of the only fitness methods to bring on a board of doctors to help build the efficacy of our program and create first-of-its-kind content for women throughout their lives. And, finally, having an incredibly credentialed training team that genuinely has a voice in how our Method develops based on both their continuous education in multiple specialty areas and hands-on experience with members every day.
What are the projects you are currently working on?
Right now, we are focused on several things including the launch of our first franchised studios. We have incredibly passionate, intelligent, and hard-working franchisees in both the US and Canada, and we view the growth of our studio business as a critical pathway for our continued success. We recently released major tech enhancements that enable more seamless integration between our on-demand and live virtual experiences, which is critical for our positioning as an omnichannel solution for our members. We are continuing the exciting work happening with our Clinical Advisory Board and University researchers at the University of Exeter and the University of Minnesota. These teams are well underway on clinical trials of our Method, both ensuring that it is maximally effective as well as identifying new ways in which it can be applied.
On the content side, we are continuing to build out our platform with new programs and series focused on improving women's lives throughout their various stages. We recently launched two first-to-market programs: (1) Moving With Menopause, which helps manage the inevitable transition through menopause and the variety of sometimes debilitating symptoms that come along with it (2) Moving During Fertility Treatment, the first-ever workout program designed to allow women to continue working out during ovarian stimulation safely. Both of these offerings underpin our mission to support women’s unique needs throughout their lives.
Is the #WomenInTech movement important to you and if yes, why?
P.volve is a women-led, women-managed, women-focused company. And it continues to be as we expand – 100 percent of those who have been awarded franchises, in the US and Canada, are women. We always have been in awe of what women can do and achieve, and much of what we do is intended to support women as they seek to lead their best lives.
What will be the key trends in your industry in the next five years and where do you see them heading?
We see hybrid fitness memberships, which really came into their own as the COVID lockdowns ended, as something that will continue. In the cities in which we have studios, nine in 10 members have opted for hybrid memberships that enable them to work out on demand or in-studio. We think that a more holistic and sustainable approach to fitness is quickly replacing antiquated fitness tropes that preach “no pain, no gain.” This has been our path for five years, so we’re thrilled to see the world catch up. With this trend comes a rise in wearables, which are tracking not just weight, heart rate, and steps – but more holistic measures of sleep, inactivity, brain function, and beyond, to create a more holistic view of a person’s overall health.
What is the most important piece of advice you could give to anyone who wants to start a career in this industry?
It’s not easy to come up with game-changing ideas, and it’s even harder to translate them into reality. You need to align your vision with commitment, tenacity, and a genuine passion for what you are doing. These are critical qualities when you face the pressures of needing to be able to focus simultaneously on the high-concept side of the business, while also paying attention to the nuts and bolts of building and scaling a company. All of this requires building a great management team that is composed of a range of backgrounds, skillsets, and ideas.
Who are three inspirational women in your respective industry you admire?
First, Robin Berzin, Founder of Parsley Health. Robin identified whitespace in the healthcare industry, recognizing that there was – and is – a lack of knowledge, time, and understanding in traditional healthcare to allow doctors to properly diagnose and treat people. She saw the need for healthcare to look at the whole body and how it functions together and has helped bring this approach to people all over the country. Her focus on women, who she sees as having historically been overlooked by traditional healthcare, is equally inspiring and so aligned with our mission at P.volve.
Second, Tracy Anderson. I met her early on in my career, and even then she had such an amazing vision but she also worked her butt off to get to where she is. She never compromised on the brand she was building and her “why.” I have been in awe of her since we met.
I’ll cheat a little on my third choice by naming two women: Coco Meers and Marcy Capron Vermillion of Equilibria. If you don’t already know them, you will soon. This is a strong female power duo that identified CBD’s unique ability to help women with a whole range of need states, whether it’s anxiety, sleep issues, energy, or beyond. Their business is laser-focused on the highest level of personalization and it reveals itself in every single element of the customer experience. We look to them constantly for inspiration on how to always put the customer and her needs at the center of decision-making.
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This interview was conducted by Marija Butkovic, Digital Marketing and PR strategist, founder, and CEO of Women of Wearables. She regularly writes and speaks on topics of wearable tech, fashion tech, IoT, entrepreneurship, and diversity. Follow Marija on Twitter @MarijaButkovic and read her stories for Forbes here.