On Purpose with Jay Shetty - Payal Kadakia Pujji: ON the Self Discipline Needed to Become an Entrepreneur

Episode Date: April 29, 2019

If you want to feel motivated and encouraged to be a little more self-disciplined, you will love this weeks episode with Payal Kadakia.She is the founder and chairman of ClassPass as well as the artistic director for the Sadance company.In this conversation, she shares how she achieved her entrepreneurial success at such a young age with her incredible work ethic and unparalleled self-discipline.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I am Dr. Romani and I am back with season two of my podcast, Navigating Narcissism. This season, we dive deeper into highlighting red flags and spotting a narcissist before they spot you. Each week, you'll hear stories from survivors who have navigated through toxic relationships, gaslighting, love bombing, and their process of healing. Listen to Navigating Narcissism on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. The therapy for Black Girls podcast is your space to explore mental health, personal development, and all of the small decisions we can make to become the best possible versions of ourselves. I'm your host, Dr. Joy Harden Bradford, a licensed psychologist in Atlanta, Georgia, and I can't wait for you to join the conversation every Wednesday.

Listen to the therapy for Black Girls podcast on the iHeart Radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Take good care. Hi, I'm David Eagleman. I have a new podcast called Inner Cosmos on I Heart. I'm going to explore the relationship between our brains and our experiences by tackling unusual questions. Like, can we create new senses for humans? So join me weekly to uncover how your brain steers your behavior, your perception, and your reality. Listen to intercosmos with David Eagelman on the I Heart Radio app Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. That's what dance is. It's a way of expressing and

conveying emotion to people. I think I realized, wow, I can impact other people's lives. And I think that is the greatest power all of us should realize at a very young age. It's so powerful that it's also one of those things which should be really, it's like humbling in the sense of being like, we all carry that power. And then what are you going to do with it? Hello everyone. Today I'm so grateful and honored to introduce you to my next guest. Her name is Paiyalka Dukyar. She's the founder of ClassPass and the artistic director of the Sardance Company. And she's a really, really dear friend, someone that I've known not even for that long, but someone who's become so close and so much a part of my family and someone that I really

consider a family member in my life. She inspires me in so many different ways. I can't wait for you to be inspired by her today. She teaches me so much through her example or her words, the way she lives. And more than all of that, she just has this beautiful heart that's really moved by giving and service. And I can't wait for you to experience it today. So,

Pyle, thank you for being here. I'm so genuinely touched that you said yes to doing this. Thanks for having me, Jay. It's so funny when you sit down with someone. We're just saying it before we started, as we get older in life, and I'm sure everyone who's listening can agree, as you get older in life, it becomes harder to make meaningful friendships. And most of us look back at our teens as being when we made really deep bonds. But I really feel honestly that because of the incredible person you are, you've allowed me to make such a deep friend in a short space of time, and not that we're old. No, I'm not a small person now, but not that we're old.

You keep meeting people who I think help you take leaps in life. I feel like you can never stagnate and the people you surround yourself with are the people who help you do that the most. Thank you for everything you've done for me. Absolutely. Today I want to talk about everything. You have such an interesting life and interesting mission and just... You have so many incredible passions that you share with the world in so many amazing ways. I want to get into all of it. And you have so many incredible passions that you share with the world in so many amazing ways. So I want to get into all of it.

And anyone who's listening, if you use class pass, you can say thank you to me right now. Well, so thank you to Pyle, but thank you to me. And if you haven't heard about her sad dance company, stick around because if you like dance, if you like expressing yourself an art, I can't wait for you to hear about that as well. But Pyle, why don't we start off by what it felt like to be growing up in the United States as a young Indian girl?

Yeah, so my parents immigrated here in the 70s. And I grew up in a town that actually didn't have many Indian people. So I was one of two Indian people in my entire grade, so of 300 people. And so when I think of that, I remember always feeling different. And I remember also facing a little bit of adversity because of it. But at the same time,

I also think because my parents had some really good friends, and especially my dance teacher, who became a really big part of my life, she actually started teaching me the beauty of my culture. And I started growing up and doing sort of Indian dance on the weekends in the basements of my friends. And there was no platform for Indian dance. So on Saturdays and Sundays, that's what I would do. I would go to someone's house, we would train and someone's basement.

And then, you know, during the week, I was like a normal girl in the middle of New Jersey. I would have cheerleading practice, and I would do ice skating, and I kind of had two lives to be really honest. I felt like I had this American identity in this Indian identity, and it really took me until college

to kind of find a place where I felt like I could be really confident in both. And I think that was a big part of who I was when I was growing up. And what people around you struggling with the same things, do you feel like that was quite a common experience or was it something that you felt more of? Well, I think my parents, you know,

they took a little bit of a risk. They put us in a different school system. And because of that, I didn't grow up in a community where there was a lot of other Indian folks. So I think like there were towns nearby that had a lot of Indian people in it and Indian communities where I got to go to on the weekends. But my school and my like where I was growing up was still not as diverse.

And so I think they took the risk because of education, of course, my parents. Number one thing to them was education. And it was the best school system in my town. So or in New Jersey at the time. So they were like, you have to go here. And obviously I don't I don't regret that, but at the same time, I think I was facing one of those challenges.

And now when I speak with other Indian folks, I feel like we all kind of can remember moments where we felt like, either that racism or felt different or felt unique or felt like people didn't understand where we came from. But I think that's what helped me and others build a thicker skin.

And I actually think what's really amazing right now is there came a point where I think we may have all assimilated because we couldn't deal with it. And now we are all really getting confident and wanting to express where we came from. So I feel like we're all going through that together. And I'm seeing so many South Asians sort of really start sharing, you know, who they are,

where they come from, through art, through messages. And I think it's just really important that we do that. So we remember who we are. Yeah, that's beautiful. And I kind of agree more. I think it's nice that it's organically coming out as opposed to being forced or pushed or contrived. It feels like it's organically coming out as opposed to being forced or pushed or contrived. It feels like it's organically coming to the surface.

Yeah, and I think we all, and I think what saw in particular, I think everyone approaches it in a different way. I think, for me, it's like, how do we just share more beauty and hope and unbelievable values of the place where we came from? Absolutely. And you talk so much about in our personal conversations, about how your parents instilled such beautiful values into your mother's role in your life.

Tell us a bit about that, because I do feel that we sometimes live in a culture today and sometimes conversations. And neither is right or wrong, but a lot of us today question how our parents raised us. Yeah. And wonder if they got it right or wrong. Yeah, well, going back to what I was saying,

I'm even just thinking about this, like my parents kind of always took risks, I think when I was younger. Like the fact that they were like, we're gonna go to this town. I mean, even for them, they had no Indian community or friends when they went there. But they were like,

this is the best thing to do for our kids, for education, right? I think they kind of instilled these really interesting values of me. If you want to do something, you do it. You work hard and you know, you don't accept the world for what you think it is at the moment. Change the world if you have to. And my mom in particular, I mean, I remember growing up. I mean, my dad worked during the day.

And my mom worked every night. You know, they literally were always, you know, working, making sure that my sister and I were doing well at school, getting to activities. I mean, they never once. And obviously, when we were growing up, we didn't actually have much. Thinking about back to it, I realized my parents were, it was like, we were living, not paycheck to paycheck,

but pretty close to it. And the fact that they did everything to make sure that we lived a life and didn't really even know or see that. But at the same time, the reason they didn't want to, and I remember like, there were points in my life where I was like, Mom, like, should we be cleaning, doing the dishes, all this stuff? My mom's like, only if your homework's done. Because like, it was so important to them to make sure that we spent our time getting

a good education. So when we grew up, we could live a great life. Yeah, I remember that too. I feel the same. It's so interesting how that Indian mindset, as a South Asian mindset is so strong. Regardless, obviously, my parents were in London. It was the same exact training that I had since I was young.

It was always about education. Education. It was always about working hard, and I'm looking around at these guys wondering if they are the same, but it's such a strong Asian value to work hard. Yeah, I think it's one of those things that were, I don't know, it was just something that you don't question it. You just get the job done.

Even till this day, my mom, if there's something I need from my dance show to work, she'll be the first person. She's in her late 60s. She'll be the first person to show up. Stay up. Make sure it gets done. And I think it comes down also being responsible. Like, I, you know, it's, if someone asks me to do something, they know they'll get a good job and I'll finish it. And I think that also comes from this. This idea of like, I said yes and I'm going to do 150% and show you that it's going to be worth it. How did that sculpt your dreams and aspirations of that come in your life?

Yeah, really? And how did that change? Yeah, and I would say, I had a second mother in my life who was my dance teacher. And I think when you're really young and you have a coach in your life, any young person probably had whether it's on a sports team or music or anything, I always feel really grateful for that relationship

with some sort of teacher or mentor, but because she was also so close to my family and my mom, she also was more than a dance teacher to me. She was like, you need to be valid at Korean, you need to do this. Like, in an interesting way, where I also believed her in the sense I was like, yeah, like that, what she's saying is like, what I want to get to. And she taught me this interesting way of doing it.

And I always remember with dance, you know, like, I would come and go to a practice, not be able to do the step. I would practice it over and over and over again. And I'd show up the next week being able to do it. And I think I learned this idea of self-discipline at a really young age, which was, okay, I need to block my life and my time to rehearse something if I want to get to do it. It's not like no one yelling at you was going to actually get me there, right?

It was a matter of me going home and practicing. And like, it wasn't about being nervous or, you know, it was like, that wasn't kind of fix it. It was about me focusing and doing it. And I think that self-discipline taught me a lot of being, like, if I want to achieve something, I just have to like, A, like block the time out, actually, since my earliest memories of this,

and I lived by my calendar, I would write down, and I actually just thought I went home, in the spring, and my mom and I were going through all my agenda, and how we have those, what were those called, the calendaring? You have a daily calendar, and you write down your subjects and your homework.

Sure, sure. Planner. A planner, yeah, it was like a weekly planner. And I, from that time, would be like, okay, one hour math homework, one hour, like English homework, one hour. And I did that at a really young age. And it's funny, because till now I kind of do that, right?

And I think of even what class pass has become. And it's this idea of, if I do all my work, the extra hours of my life, I'll be able to dance. And so I was always trying to be so efficient. And I also learned that because I wanted to have the extra hours not to relax, but to do my passion. And I felt like I had to earn the ability

and the time to do that because I knew I needed to get an education. I knew I needed to do what I had to get done and what I was responsible for. But if I could do that quickly, I'd have the extra hours of my life to do something I love, which was dance. Which then has kind of like transferred into your life today,

but before we get into that, I want you to actually share with the audience who's listening or watching about your goal setting, the way you do it. Because I think it's very unique. I've never seen anyone do it that way before. I find it fascinating. And I think everyone listening loves practical tools and tips.

So I'd love for you to share that system. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, it's a bit of an in-depth process, but I'll walk you guys through the steps really quickly. The first thing I do is I reflect on the past year and I write down five words. Whether they are feelings or tangible nouns that you feel like really describe the past year

and they can be anything from anxiety to love, just kind of emotions. And then I ask people to think a year from now and write down the five words they want to be writing down if I ask them the same question in a year. And the reason I do this is because I always feel like people are like, I don't always know what happiness or success or achievement means to them. So, and usually it's a feeling, it's how do you want to feel? Because that's like the only thing we can really hold on to because everything else is really, it's pretty transient. And so, I make people always think about that, I do it for myself as well of like what's

the emotion or the feelings I want to really define the coming year by. And once I have those, I do a time diagnostic. I truly believe if you want to change something in your life, the only way you can do it is by allocating time to it or changing something around with time, so that time you're never going to have the time to work on it. And so I write down all the areas of my life. And then I even knew areas of my life if they might not be on there. And then I rate each one of those areas of my life,

according to the five words I've said for the year. So I give up, like, get a number from one to 10. And then I force myself for the next three months to circle the three to five areas of my life. I'm going to focus on. And so whatever areas those might be. And those are dependent on like the rating I gave it. Plus like how it'll help me get to the emotion I want. And then I write down three to five goals.

Any one, very specific, like tangible goals that I can cross off and do. And I do this in all aspects of my life. And the reason actually I started doing this is because I think being the self-disciplined efficient person my whole life, I was, obviously I'm type A, I knew if I put some goals down, I could achieve something.

And it's because it was how my brain worked. And I realized that I wasn't always doing that in all aspects of my life, whether that was in my personal life, health, like any of those things. And I was like, well, I don't I apply the same mechanism of wanting to, you know, and once again, achieving success to me is an achieving something per se. It's about where to where to, how does it feel today? And how do I want it to feel in the future? And if I can like put that plan together in place, I'll get there. So that's where it started and I started this process

about five years ago. And yeah, I have a spreadsheet and I, you know, I don't look at it daily, but I look at it like every few weeks and it sort of keeps me on track. And I think the most important thing I learn from it is to not feel guilty about the things that are not on the list. Because those are the things that usually end up taking up our time and taking me away

from those amazing things that I want to achieve in my life. Yeah, absolutely. Okay, your notebooks are okay. It's like, no, thank you for sharing that. I think it's such a practical method. Yeah. And I feel like so many of us today, like you said, we struggle with what success,

what happiness looks like. Totally. Or we have a very abstract view of what we want next year to be like. So I think this is a really, I think people are going to really benefit. It's like even in like the word love or something, for example, it's almost like, well, what are you, how are you defining love? And like, what does it feel like to you? And if you put the right intention out there of what you want love to be like, it might help you find the right partner in life, what you want love to be like, it might help you find the right partner in life or somewhere, wherever you want to go. And I just think it's all about the emotion and the intention versus like the idea of it.

Yeah, absolutely. And the other thing I wanted to pick up from what you were saying before was, so one thing was goal setting, the other thing was mentorship. Yeah. You spoke about the value of mentors. Yeah. And I'm going to give a shout out to my mentor if you're listening. I'm sure you're not. But Mr. Buckeryj was my art teacher in school to 18. And this man changed my life. First of all, I was a rebel at school. I was the worst. I was the

what, at least you don't know about me. I've never told him that. I've kind of been holding this farmy back. No, I was the worst kid from 1118. Not in grades wise in terms of just being a rebel, troublemaker. Class clown. Yes, yeah, and even worse. I was suspended from school three times. What? Yes, and asked to leave by my school. But Mr. Buckery was one teacher, always stood by me, never judged me. Mm-hmm.

But the most important lesson he gave me is every time we do any art, whether it was collage, whether it was graphic, whether it was charcoal, fine art, whatever it was. No matter how good it looked, his question was always, why did you do that? He'd always be like, why did you do that? Why did you put that color next to that color? Why did you use that brushstroke versus this one? And he'd ask me, why, why, why, why, why, and sometimes I loved our growing up. And I'd be like, my work looks great and And someone else he's doesn't, but they'd get a better grade because they knew why. And he wasn't based on the aesthetic. He was always basing his suite, even if my work. And he kept asking me that. And it took me years to recognize. And he had coached me in

always looking at the meaning and the why without me even knowing. And I only realized that probably like 10 years after or something, I don't even think I got it at that time. At that time, I was just trying to get a good grade and whatever he told me. But I'm sharing that because, A, because I think mentors don't always come in the most. They're not like a box. It's not like a box. So I wanted to ask you, how do you define a mentor? And for anyone who's listening, how does one find a mentor? And what does that

relationship look like? Because you've had mentorship from early on. You have mentors now. How have you thought about it from your perspective? I think about it as people who are a willing to invest the time in you, because I think, you can't just, there's role models in life and then there's mentors in life. And I think in mentorship, if there's a given a take, right, it's not someone you're just looking up to. And then the other thing is I think those people help guide you on a path. That doesn't mean they always tell you what path to be on, but they're actually just helping you take the leap and take the step. I love people who push me

into the next direction or next part of my life. And I think the best mentors in the world help you make the decisions you need to take that step. Once again, I don't think anyone can tell you exactly what you should be doing. And I think I love having multiple people around me in every aspect of my life. Like whether it's, you know, art or whether it's entrepreneurship or tech, you know, I want to surround myself with the best in each and all they can do is give me their thoughts and their advice. I still have to be the person who makes a decision to move forward. But I think the best people, like, they help, they help guide you there And if, you know, they're guides, they're really what they are. And like you said, sometimes you don't know that people helped you make a decision.

And when in hindsight, you're like, wow, I would have never been there if it wasn't for that person. And that's why I think it's like, it has to be someone you're willing to be vulnerable with. Because I think if you don't, you know, people like that need to know the truth, right? They need to know your true being, your true challenges, the true dreams you might have, and that's the best way they'll be able to give you the advice. Yeah, and your flaws and your mistakes. Absolutely. Yeah, the power and stuff in your life.

Like, I love it, you know, even with class pass now being, you know, eight years old, it's crazy to me because some of my first mentors, right? And I remember I went through a phase where I was like, oh, I don't know if those super are gonna be helpful in this phase of the company, right? Cause things change. And there were tactical things that changed

where I needed a new set of advisors and mentors. But at the truest level of patterns and me questioning, doing anything when it comes to being like, here's I have a problem. Those super are like, well, you had this problem like eight years ago. Did you really, you know, what did you do then? And I'm like, you're right. Like, I've been here before. And I think it's having people like that who know your gender, like your tendencies as a human being are some of the greatest, greatest friends and mentors you can have. Yeah, definitely. Now, I love that you

brought that up because you've always had a mentor for such an early stage in your life through dance. Yeah. Who's still there in your life, which is just stunning. I mean, I think like the Guruji is at the end of the day. I think India has this beautiful value of what a Guruji stands for. And I think there's this idea of respect

that you have for anyone who teaches you anything in your life. Like I will always be grateful for anyone who teaches you anything in your life. Like I will always be grateful to anyone who has, you know, bestowed knowledge on myself. Like I just think I think of people like that. And, you know, I think you have, people always have to remember this. It's like the whole values of like, I remember in dance. It's like you show up on time, you come in, you know, you pray, you make sure your hair is done. Like there's no nonsense in that.

It's like, and it's not because it needs to be all formal and serious is because you're doing it out of respect. And I think like those values or things that, I feel like I carry with me today. And actually, I always think about this with class masks too, because I respect the teachers on our platform so much. The model is actually set up to be, of course, for customers. They love being able to try all these new things.

But on the other side, you have this teacher who now has this gift to be able to share more people. And I think that's what's so cool is we're helping more teachers in the world reach students. Absolutely. I love what I said. Really. Absolutely, I love it. Well said, really, really well said. And obviously, so I'm kind of going

in chronological order and you're like, I'm pulling out things because there's just, I, when I was thinking about interviewing you, I was like, I can't actually skip any bit of this. Because I feel like, I mean, everyone's story adds up to who they are. But yours is just like, there's been so many interesting decisions and choices and intentions. I believe how that's story adds up to who they are. But yours is just like, there's been so many interesting decisions

and choices and intentions. I believe how that's how life. Honestly, I never want to stop. Even today, when people are like, oh, so you've succeeded. I'm like, I hope I haven't. Yeah. Like, what are the next series of crazy decisions

I still have to make in my life? I never want to feel like, yeah, why would you ever want to have part of your life not be something worth telling? That's for crazy people like us. Exactly, exactly. I can so relate to that. I love it.

And I love looking at you as a role model in that space because it's so easy. For, like you said, it's so easy. And I think that's part of the challenge that the fact that we're even asking individuals like yourself and saying, oh, so you're done now. You've made it. Yeah. To show what we believe is the end, too.

It's a reflection of our own limit on what making it is. Right, exactly. And I'm glad that you're redefining that and defying that limit. Absolutely. I'm Danny Shapiro, host of Family Secrets. It's hard to believe we're entering our eighth season.

And yet, we're constantly discovering new secrets. The depths of them, the variety of them continues to be astonishing. I can't wait to share 10 incredible stories with you, stories of tenacity, resilience, and the profoundly necessary excavation of long-held family secrets. When I realized this is not just happening to me, this is who

and what I am. I needed her to help me. Something was annoying at me that I couldn't put my finger on, that I just felt somehow that there was a piece missing. Why not restart? Look at all the things that were going wrong. I hope you'll join me and my extraordinary guests for this new season of Family Secrets. Listen to season eight of Family Secrets on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, I'm David Eagleman. I have a new podcast called Inner Cosmos on iHeart.

I'm a neuroscientist and an author at Stanford University, and I've spent my career exploring the three-pound universe in our heads. On my new podcast, I'm going to explore the relationship between our brains and our experiences by tackling unusual questions, so we can better understand our lives and our realities. Like, does time really run in slow motion when you're in a car accident?

Or, can we create new senses for humans? Or, what does dreaming have to do with the rotation of the planet? So join me weekly to uncover how your brain steers your behavior, your perception, and your reality. Listen to Intercosmos with David Eagleman on the iHeartRadio app Apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. How's that New Year's resolution coming along? You know the one you made about paying off your pesky credit card debt and finally starting to save your retirement. Well you're not alone if you haven't made progress yet, roughly 4 in 5 New Year's resolutions fail within the first month or two.

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So yeah, but okay, so my question was, you went to MIT, you went to Bain. Yes. How difficult was it went to Bain. Yes. How difficult was it to leave Bain to then start a company? Like how difficult was it? Because I feel again, so many people listening, either want to be entrepreneurs, which we'll get onto,

but or want to break away from their corporate nine to nine, or whatever it is today. Yeah. But how difficult was it for you? And why was it difficult or easy? Well, it's you know, one of the interesting parts is the I remember this feeling I got

So we always have like performance reviews at Bane and Of course like in corporate America. It's like performance review. I have to do well and obviously I'm a type I've always do well and I remember remember it was one of my last reviews before I had left. And it was a good review, but I remember one of my bosses being like, well, I think I had, by the way, left to go do a performance in the middle of a client meeting. So I also understand where it was coming from.

I think they had said something to me like, oh, we just don't know where you want to go. And if you're serious about this. And no one's ever said that to me, right? Because I just am like, oh, we just don't know where you wanna go and if you're serious about this. And like no one's ever said that to me, right? Cause I just am like, oh, I can always fake it. And I'm like, wait a second. And at first, I was like, wait, I'm gonna do so much better and prove to them how great I am

and how much I want this. And then I had to have the conversation with myself and be like, pile, do you want this? And I very quickly realized that, no, it wasn't the path I really wanted to be on. Now, before I went and started a company, there was actually a three-year period in the middle. I wasn't fully ready to take the leap,

so I always consider this like a mini leap I took. So I went and got a job in the music industry. So still could, you know, pay my bills, like figure things out, my parents didn't, you know, weren't ready to, to like shoot me in the head for doing something crazy. So I got a job in the music industry and on the side I started building my dance company. And this was an important time in my life because what it did is it allowed me to start taking

some risk without fully like being, you know, fully diving into it. And I, I know like, you know, some people would be like, you have to rip the bandaid off and do it. And I know some people would be like, you have to rip the bandaid off and do it. And I think that works for some people. I actually am really glad at this phase of my life. Like I took a second to figure this out because I didn't know. I mean, I think the day I didn't know what saw

was going to be, I didn't know. Class of us hadn't really come to me in that point. I wasn't even fully dancing in that way. So I decided to leave Bain. I started this job. I worked in the digital strategy group at Warner Music Group. I mean, it was an amazing time in the music industry. I mean, I got to work with like Daniel Eck at Spotify and got to see like licensing happen at YouTube. We tried to go dark on YouTube. All these things were kind of happening

at this time because it was the first time people were putting music online digitally. And so that was an amazing time, but I really started feeling like my artist side at this point. So every night, I got together some of my best, the best dancers I knew on the East Coast. We started dancing in New York City, and we would perform on the weekends, and this one saw started. And I just remember, you know, it was the feeling of, I could put something together,

I could get people to come in a 10. So we sold out a major show at Alvin Ely, and a thousand people come to it. I wrote my own money down of $30,000 to get this theater. And I was starting to take these risks, right? And I was, once again, I had a little bit of cushion while I was doing it, which was good. But it taught me so much about myself. And I think every to take these risks, right? And I was, once again, I had a little bit of cushion while I was doing it, which was good.

But it taught me so much about myself. And I think every step of the way, I just got more and more confident that by the time, I was ready to take the leap, the only last part of it was my parents. And I remember it was Thanksgiving. So just about, let's see, eight years ago, I went home for Thanksgiving.

And at this point, I had built the dance company, my parents were proud of me. I had people like, you know, mirror-nigher and like, you know, the New York Times people endorse us. So I think my parents were like, okay, you know, you, this is good. They still don't want me to dance full time per se. But my mom looked at me and I was really unhappy.

And so this is actually, people like never realized why I was unhappy at the time. Well, when I really think back to it, I was once again living two lives. So I work, I was like this analyst and I felt like I wasn't really going anywhere with my career. And then I also wasn't gonna go anywhere with dance at that point.

So I just felt like both roads were like kind of at their ends. And I was like, where am I gonna go? And I needed to find some inspiration. I actually went out to San Francisco for a friend's birthday party and I met all these entrepreneurs. There were no entrepreneurs in New York City eight years ago. Like that at least, that were in my friend's circle. And I remember looking at like what they were doing. And I remember asking them like, you do this full time. Like it was just this foreign concept to me. And I started thinking, what if I could do this?

What if I could be an entrepreneur? I'm like, I knew I was creative and I'd built my confidence up from building saw that I was like, I can lead. And so I gave myself two weeks to think of an idea. And this was on a Sunday and on Tuesday, I was searching for a ballet class online. And I started sort of looking around

and being like, what technology exists for people to find classes and stay connected to their hobbies. And that was sort of the point when the idea of class pass, it was called something else before that, but kind of came to me. So I had that in the back of my head when I went home from things for Thanksgiving, but my mom was the one who ultimately told me to quit.

And being who my parents are, always work hard and all of that and education, it was a really important thing because I wanted to make sure they were okay with the decision. And I think my mom looked at me and she just was like, you're gonna do great at anything you decide to do in your life because she knew I had this self-discipline.

And I, at that point, this idea of doing well was on my own terms. She even when I was at college would call me sometimes to be like, can you please go shopping, get out and stop working. But I just, like I said, I loved working because it gave me freedom to do other things in my life. And I still feel like that. Being smart gives me freedom. It gives me the ability to even,

like to control the way I want to present my art or present my work, right? I don't want to do it on anyone else's terms. Yeah, that's so beautiful. And I love that. And I'm glad that you're so clear about that. Yeah. We can get lost in working for work sake.

Yeah. Working because we have to. Yes. If you're like, no, I'm gonna work hard and be smart so that I can do my own items. One hundred percent. It's to me, it's like, it's given me, being smart has given me,

given me the opportunities, right? And at the end of the day, I worked hard to be, you know, it's like getting an education, all of that. But you know, it's not an education for education's safe, right? It's like, it's not an education for education's safety, right? It's like this idea of wanting to solve problems and working hard is what liberates me. It's what whenever I feel like I can't achieve something,

like, you know, at the end of the day, like I don't have to rely on anyone. I love working people, but at the end of the day, I know I can rely on myself too. And that to me is like one of the best freedoms you have to be able to say yes to any of your dreams. Yeah, and this leads perfectly onto our next point which you just brought up there.

I'm gonna tear it up with something personally that happened to me recently. I was speaking at a conference to a group of entrepreneurs who all have successful growing businesses, not in the line of huge global businesses, but personal businesses. Yeah. So I had personal interests. And the big question was around social media and branding

and using social media as a vehicle for growth. And I always start with this disclaimer that I did not start on social media to build a brand or a business. Like that was not my goal. I used social media because I had a message that I felt was important to share. And it was always about the message that I felt was important to share.

And it was always about the message. It was always about the mission. And I actually thought I was going to work a full-time job and make videos on the weekends. And just happy that a few people would see them. Like that's genuinely how I'd imagined my whole life. And so I always started this disclaimer that my intention and my mission was never

to build a brand or a business based on my teachings or my thoughts and they're not my teachings, my teachings I've been inspired by from others and that I've articulated differently or repackaged or reshared. And so one thing I know in our conversations and even that I've heard you say in interviews and I've read you say I want you to really have an opportunity here to unpack it. The intention of being an entrepreneur, the mission of, of why class pass exists. And the heart of who you really are, which is what I'm in love with. I want you to share that and talk through that with the audience. Listen carefully, guys.

So, you know, I think the biggest thing you could do in life is have a purpose, right? And I think when you have that purpose and you spend your life achieving that, that to me is like how life should be set up. And therefore to me that's also how entrepreneurship is. Because at the end of the day as an entrepreneur, you're solving a problem. You're solving something that doesn't exist in the world, right?

If it had already existed, fine. I mean, you can copy stuff and replicate it, but that's a different type of entrepreneurship. I think you have to make sure that the why behind starting your company, putting out anything you might want, messages, products, anything, comes from a really deep place.

And while what I call champagne problems, or the things like false indicators of success are sometimes things that we can all get behind, so things like social media followings, even the amount of funding a company has raised, those things aren't necessarily indicative of you having solved the problems. And I think for all entrepreneurs it's what problem am I solving? And ideas are great, but you're probably going to go through a lot of ideas to figure out actually how to answer that problem and come up with a solution, but you have to be really fixated on solving that problem. And you know, for a class pass a sake, when I started the company,

I wanted to just get some, I wanted to build a search engine, right? Because I was struggling with finding a ballet class. So it's simply started as, okay, let me build a search engine, then people will get back to their hobbies, right? And you know, when I first started, I may have not even known the ultimate mission and vision, and it's kind of come to me over time

as I've had this unbelievable opportunity and privilege of seeing what my customers love. That being said, it did come from this idea in me that I always felt really lucky to have found dance at a really young age, and I wanted other people to feel something like that. And I, you know, even in my six years before I, you know, I was started this company

in those I was always dancing, and I would fight to dance. Like it would be like, Saturdays and Sundays, like blocked off to dance. I mean, I missed so many things that I felt like my friends were doing because I was like, I'm gonna continue to dance.

And I wanted to build something like that for other people. And so, and I say that. And so the first iteration, like didn't work, the second didn't work. You know, the third started working and they're still, we're still iterating. And I say that because The first iteration didn't work, the second didn't work, the third started working, and they're still iterating. I say that because we're just really focused on solving the problem we set out to.

We're not focused on what our product is today. I really think with all the challenges and everything that happens through entrepreneurship, it's based on anything like ego pride greed, you're not going to stick with it. And I think it has to be something deeper. And so, and any of those moments, like, and I think the most authentic entrepreneurs know what that why is, and they can articulate, I mean, you feel it in them. I mean, they don't even need to say it.

It's like in their entire being, and it's the reason they work. It's how they work. It's how they inspire their team to work. it's why people will go and work for them. It's all tied to one simple thing, which is they want to go and change the world. Yeah, absolutely. And I feel like when you do share that message and to everyone who's listening,

that message is actually what's going to help you figure out whether you're investing your time in the right place. Absolutely. Because you can know how to get funding or you can know who you need to network with or you can know the process of coming up with an application or whatever it is. All of that system, the system stuff. Yeah, the how in the what? Yeah, exactly.

But without that strong, deep why I love what you said, you can't be obsessed or fixated on it. And that's those two words I feel that you've used are so powerful. Because if you're not obsessed with the problem, you're gonna hit so many little problems on the way that they're just gonna make you give up. Exactly. Absolutely.

I mean, it's really everything. I mean, it's startup is like, it's like an infant, and it needs, it needs like, but then there's something new every single day, and you have to be like, I'm gonna figure this out, right? And I'm gonna learn new things to figure this out. Because most of the times you don't, as an entrepreneur, you have not done most of the things you're gonna be tasked with having to do,

but you learn, and you care because you genuinely want to figure it out. Yeah, absolutely. Let's talk about SAR and creativity. Okay. Because I know you're such a creator at heart, and that's where ClassPass comes from, which we can go back to as well. But it's where Sarl comes from and you've recently launched Sine LA.

Yep. The first time, the debut, which was absolutely beautiful to be a part of. Thanks for including me. Thanks for being there. I'm not really special. I was like, I was just, yeah, I felt special being involved because I knew how important it was to you. So I'm really grateful.

So thank you. Thank you. I was so touched to be involved. A magical day. Yeah, it was, it was beautiful and I, you know, everyone who's listening right now, wherever you are in the world, when saw comes to your city, you have to go and see it. It will come to your city very soon. So when it does, you should go and see it. But I, I, I say this all the time, I said it that day. I, I talk about it when I talked to you and it, see it. But I say this all the time, I said it that day, I talk about it when I talked to you and it because it stuck with me because it was so I love clarity. I love

people who have so much clarity. And when I met you, you've had clarity since day one and you've had clarity your whole life, but you said to me, if you want to understand me, you have to see me dance. And I was just like, wow, like this person really understands themselves. Like no one says, like, I've never, no one said stuff, something like that to me before. Like no one's ever said to me like, if you really want to understand me, you have to see me do this. Yeah. I was just like, wow, okay. And and because I was fascinated by you, I was just like, okay, I want to come and see you dance.

And so tell me about how dance has become such a defining aspect of you. Yeah. And I'm creating that. Absolutely. And I mean, we were having this conversation this summer, and I think it really helped me also realize like what has guided me my entire life. And when I think about leading a life of service in some way, and I do, I think, you know, people who do wake up every day to want to make the world a better place are, everyone's living in service in a different way. And I do, I think, you know, people who do wake up every day to want to make the world a better place are everyone's living in service in a different way. And I think about that and

I think about what I wanted to give the world, right? And I think I had a really young age when I was five years old and I performed. It was probably at someone's, I don't know, wedding or birthday party. While it feels like, you know, okay, it was just a dance performance. I think when you're five years old and you have 200 people staring at you, and all of a sudden, you realize that you touched their hearts in some way, and you made them feel something. And I think for me, that's what dance is. It's a way of expressing and conveying emotion to people.

I think I realized, wow, I can impact other people's lives. And I think that is the greatest power. And all of us should realize at a very young age. And I think once, it's actually such a, it's so powerful that it's also one of those things which should be really, it's like humbling in the sense of being like, we all carry that power. And then what are you gonna do with it?

And I think because I felt that at such a young age, I always just felt like I have to make sure I'm giving people and knowing I have that power in me is making me feel like I need to just spend my life doing that. So I think that's always just been like a guiding light for me throughout everything I've done. What was the question?

I was just talking. No, I was just opening it up to talking about how dance so closely linked with you. Yeah, and how creativity comes from that. Yeah, and so, you know, I think when I danced when I was younger, I learned a lot of folk dancing and I learned these amazing rich stories of the women in my culture and how they would work. I think that was really beautiful.

While I probably didn't appreciate it when I was younger, I really appreciate it now, especially being a woman, seeing my mom, my grandparents, just wanting to share their stories with the next generation. I think it's so important to me. I think that was one part of it. I think the other part of it it really just came from living in America and seeing the way people moved,

learning ballet, jazz, and all these other styles and wanting to put everything together to also showcase who I was as a human being, which was this blend of like having a little bit of the the Indian side too, which I was proud of, even though I think it took me a little bit of time to be really proud of it. And then also then blend it with this beautiful, like, you know, sort of more Western aesthetic, which I really love to create like a dialogue essentially. And like

what I think, you know, SA really does, and it's still evolving, it's art. It's like we're talking about women, freedom, our culture in a really profound way. And it's so deep. And when I love creating things that are timeless, and that to me is like one of the most unbelievable words. And I think about that too, and I think of entrepreneurship and anything I do in my life. I don't want as performing to be something that can exist in today.

I want this to be something that in a hundred years someone could watch, right? Or if it was 100 years in the past and it would still be the same emotions of my culture and the beings of how, you know, human beings might be feeling today. And I think that's like what dance can really do is it can, it can, it just, is a way to express what words can. Yeah, and you do it incredibly well. It's not just aesthetically and just, I really do feel that the music you choose, the composition, the colors, when I was watching it,

I really felt like I was in India. Yeah. And then I felt like I was on a journey and traveling. And then there was a time when I felt I was on a boat and you were crossing the rivers. Yeah. And by the way, anyone who's listening, there was no boat there. There was no river there. There was, you know, it was all through dance, this journey that was conveyed. Why is it still relevant to you today? Why do you think that culture is still relevant today?

Why is it still important? Because I'm sure there's a lot of people, don't have to be, but maybe Asian Americans, Indian Americans just kind of going like, well, no, I'm just fine by hip-hop and what I'll drop on. It's a great question. I think there's just this purity in our culture. And it's something that I think I'm even spending more time on culture. And you know, it's something that I think I'm even spending more time on researching myself. And you know, it's, I mean, Indian culture is one of the most ancient in the world, right? So, you know, I mean, and you do this all the time, it's like you're trying to take knowledge of lives and lives that before us, right? So we can almost live better. And I think for, for me, it's, it's showing how, while we may be different, we're actually

all the same and these values that are in our culture, whether it be about respect and family and, you know, just even having people, girls having fun together on a playground in a way, which is how we open the show. I think it's, these are just such human emotions and we should never forget them. And I think they've lived forever. And in a way, they're actually beyond culture, if that makes sense. So I think one of the other things I really think about

is, like I said, they're human emotions. They actually have nothing to just do with being Indian, but we're just doing them to also remember where we historically came from. I love that. I can agree with you more. I think a lot of what I got to study as a monk as well was so universal. Right.

The principles of totally universal, totally timeless, not for a particular sect or cast or background or walk of life. And that's what, yeah, I think you talk about the human emotions aspect. It's so significant for its relevance because if you made a dance about today, in the future, it would be like all of us on our phones. Yeah, exactly. It wouldn't be that the girls aspect playing together, etc. Right, no, but I guess it's like how playing is defined in that way.

And I think returning back to some of that, like you said, I mean, I think the word universal is exactly right. It's how do we do that in movement is just a really interesting, because it doesn't, you don't need to understand the language. While it's Indian costumes and some Indian movement and Indian music, I mean, we actually had eight different languages through the show. I mean, so no one actually understood any of it.

I mean, there's times where I don't, you know, and I have to spend time researching what the lyrics are and I really evoke the movement of it. And I think Indian dance in particular has like, has Abhinaya, which is the expression and the emotion, which, you know, not many other dance forms around the world have. So it's all about storytelling and preserving some of these stories.

And so, you know, I think it's going to keep evolving. And I think it's evolved as me as an artist and a human being. You know, I think like, I'm realizing it of the way I want to express who I am and our culture is all evolving as I evolve as a human being as well. Yeah. When I see the facial expression, they're incredible. Like the amount of energy that was projecting off of each of your faces that day, you can't not admire it, and they can't not captivate you.

As in, it's just, yeah, it was totally, totally captivating. Like I was in thought the whole time. I was just like, how do you even do that? Your face must hurt so much. You have to practice both in a way, but I think at some point, it's so innate, and it's coming from our hearts. I mean, you can't think about it, right?

By the time you're performing at that level, and I think, you do this with words, right? Everyone has their way of expressing who they are. And I think it's about finding what it is for you. And I think that I hope all people find their way of expressing their deepest level of a human being. And it's why when I say you have to come and see me dance is because I don't think I go to that place to my truest place as a human being in anything else I do. And so it's like all the colors of a whi

and it's just all the vulna, really, all the happiness is like all there. I'm not holding anything back. And I think even for me as a producer, I think about how do I create environments so I can also have my artists be able to perform at that level because I want ever, I mean, it's like reaching an unbelievable euphoria, right?

And it's actually like the day after you feel sad because you're like, how do I feel like that again? Because it's such an amazing endorphin rush, but it's coming from such a true place. Yeah definitely. There's a beautiful Picasso quote that literally some of them everything we're saying and he said that the the meaning of life is to find your gift and the purpose of life is to give it away. Give it away. Yeah. I love it. It's just it's so poetically beautiful but it's it also makes so much sense that when you use your passion in the service of others,

it becomes a purpose. Right, absolutely. And I feel, yeah, I wish that for everyone listening watching right now and for anyone else as well, that just you find your passion and then you use it for everyone else. And that's my like class pass, why? Like at the end of the day, I think once I felt that, I was like, how do I have the whole world feel this? As much as possible, because like you said,

it's just, it's the only thing that matters. And it's a gift to each person. And I think if every person's able to find that, they're going to be, you know, 10 times a better person to everyone else, right? Because of knowing that this exact feeling can exist for them. Totally, totally.

And that's what, yeah, I'm so, yeah, I've got some exciting stuff coming on next year that's kind of giving everyone, in my opinion, the fundamentals of being able to find that first step. I love that. Because finding out how to use it for other people can become a scale question. Yeah.

Because you can always use it for just your friends. Right. And then you can scale it like you have to the whole world. And the lens of users, etc. But most people struggle at the first, but just like, what am I passionate about? What do I love? Like that's why I want to help codify that for people. This is what it sounds like inside the box.

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Do you have any tips or steps that you recommend to be able to be able to? Was you found yours so young and early and yeah, you know, but have you ever thought about that? I mean, I think, you know, part of and it's sort of built into class, but it's a bit of like this idea of discovery, like try new things because you don't know until you've kind of gotten to that phase. And we've talked about this a lot, which is people are, you have to go through different phases, right? So you're maybe in an explorer phase and then you might be in a build phase, you might be in a scale phase. And I think it's a, like being able to go through it, but making sure that you keep things, you keep it fresh, right? And you try new things.

I was actually just saying this to see other day, but like, when we're younger, we're told to do so many different activities. And as adults, we somehow stop, you know, and, you know, I don't, and I just don't believe in that, because I think you have to keep your mind and, you know, body all refreshed. And I think when you, when you're, when we talk about like me being able to take a lot of decisions in my life to keep dreaming and to keep kind of shifting into different places is because I kind of forced myself to do that. I never want to kind of get stuck in being like, this is how my life is defined, and especially defined by other people.

And so I think you have to just keep it fresh, but I think the number one thing is like, get out of your comfort zone. Yeah. You know, because I think you just don't realize it, and then if you find something, you know, it's, a lot of it is also reflective time. It's taking time by yourself,

which I think people sometimes struggle with as well, is having you like sat in a room with yourself for a while and spent a day with just yourself, what would you really want to do? And I think a lot of the answers lie that right there. It's hard for people to do. Yeah, I saw that person in Instagram that you did about play.

Right. I was reading an article where you said that. And that actually reinspired me because I started looking back and I was like, oh, where do I still play? Yeah. Like a child. And I have to admit this because one of the plays that I remember playing a lot was actually video games.

Right. I love video games. Well, actually, I just like playing football on the field. Like he's a huge soccer game all over the world. And it's, I've recently, with my business partner, he loves it too. We literally have all of our business meetings playing FIFA. That's so great. And it's just because he's one person I can get away with that with. Yeah. It's just so fun. I'm really different. An hour a week, it's great play, it's

like mindless. But you, you reinspired that in me because I was like, how where do I play? And I love playing sports as well. So it's making more time to actually play sports and play people. And I just feel like, yeah, you're so right. And the funny thing is that when adults start taking dance classes or start learning in Instagram again, both two things which I would love to do, a lot of people are like,

oh my god, you're going through a midlife crisis. You know, it's seen, I feel like there's a bit of a, not taboo, but there is a bit of a, like, oh yeah, what are you going through? Like is everything okay at home? People also just don't think it's a priority. Like, you know, and it's like, even for a saw, like I think people will be like,

oh, you're like you dance on the side, it's a happy, we were talking about this, some of the girls came over last night, and one of the girls, she has two kids, okay, and her husband of all people, because we were talking about like what to do with the show. And she was like, oh, we might toward, et cetera. And she was like, you know, she was so surprised

as a person who was like, you should do it with her husband of all people, right? Because she was expecting him to be like, why aren't you home, like you have to take. And it was amazing because I think like what he realized was like, this isn't just a hobby. Like this was something great. And I think that's kind of what I think what he realized was like, this isn't just a hobby. Like this was something great. And I think that's kind of what I think people should do is like,

and look, at the end of the day, if you don't prioritize it, no one else around you is gonna prioritize it. And this goes back to the goal setting and why I do it is, it's a priority to me. It becomes a priority to everyone else in my life. And if I'm not willing to stand up for it, no one else is going to. So I do not let anyone make me feel bad for dancing.

And when people are like, I mean, it's crazy to put on a show in the hours. I mean, we dance from like 8 to 11 p.m. at night, and everyone has other lives and other things. I know volunteers. They all volunteer. And you do it because you're, you know, like it's a priority at the end of the day.

And I think that to me in a way, like even when we design class paths, like I think about all the behavioral mechanisms that are required to get somebody to say yes. Because by the way, there are a lot of things in our lives that make it very easy to say no, right? From being busy, to where, all these things. And my whole thing is if I make it to serve it to you so easy,

maybe you'll actually try and say yes. And I just feel like the more we can do that in our lives and for our friends, for people in our lives, is help them fight through those challenges because we need to keep these passions in our lives. Like, I don't like when people are like, I used to be an athlete or I used to be an Olympian. Like, I meet people and I'm like, what?

Like this, like, cause that means you would, you built something for 20 years of your life, like some work ethics, some sense of purpose and you wanted to let go of it. And it's okay if you want to change for a little bit, but there is something in there. There's a reason you worked hard every day

to get to such a, like, a great level and it had to be driven by something deeper. So what is that and how do we make sure we replicate that purpose in your life again, even though you might have kids and have a job and everything else going on in your life, you still need to keep that in your life. Absolutely. By the way, just when you're listening, I don't make big business decisions while playing FIFA.

Just bring it out there. Like, in games, anyone was wondering. Sometimes, I don't know, being creative is sometimes one of the best times you can think. You can think, it's great. Yeah, I mean, I get what you're saying, but sometimes things connect in your mind when you let your brain have those moments,

whether it's in class or doing something creative, you'd be surprised how much the rest of your mind is working and how much more your efficient your brain can actually become. Yeah, well, especially you were just saying that you take a lot of your calls walking. Absolutely. That reason.

I'm sitting down right now. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We should have done a walking podcast. Audio with the struggles. Yeah, exactly. But I don't know, I just think better. Like I run on the treadmill close to every day and people are like, why do you?

And I also obviously go to class, but like my treadmill time is like meditation thinking time. Like I solve problem. And you know what, like I'm off my phone, but I'm working through stuff in my head. I don't just, I can't run. I would be like completely bored. So I would, you know, it's all about thinking through

really, you know, things I have to get through in my head. And I'm like, you like, I don't know, everything has to be thoughtful. So it's like, even if I'm thinking through like getting a gift for somebody, like, I have to like, I'm not okay with like just being like, Oh, here, it's like, I need to spend like, even if it's like two minutes, like, it needs a two minutes to think about it. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. But I love what you did because obviously you built a huge company and it got married to, but you never left dance. Yeah. Like it, because I feel like when you were building class bars, it must have been so easy to make dance not a priority. Yeah. Like, it must have been so easy, especially at the scale and acceleration. Yeah. the focus, it must be so easy and so many entrepreneurs

say that they lost their health when they were scaling a bit, so they lost their passion, and now they're using the money they've got now to go back to their passion, et cetera. But you just never let go. And I'm not gonna say it was perfect. Like there was definitely times I struggled, and that being said, I always remember being like,

well, I'm gonna forget why I built this company if I stopped dancing, right? And I, that's like part of why, like, I always fought to keep it in my life. And even actually, like, till this day, and I always love this, like, my board members have all come and watched me dance. Like, they will, when they even introduced me to someone,

like, of course, they're always like me, like our founder, like, you know, it's really, it's exciting, but they'll always be like, wait, here's a dance video of her. You know, like, they're always like me, like our founder, like, you know, it's really exciting, but they'll always be like, wait, here's a dance video of her. You know, like they're proud of it too, in a really special way, which makes me feel, because that's how people should be celebrating these things, right?

These are different types of achievements and accomplishments that human beings have. But at the end of the day, like, I would lose my why. And it would, and I do remember there were times where I stopped. And obviously my team would be like, when was the last time you danced? They would know because my fire and everything that got me to, like I said, fight through,

the problems I needed to fight through, came from always reminding myself of why I started the company, which for me lied in dance. Yeah, I love it. It's, that's the best. When you've done it through that. Yeah, and I will keep, you know, like, I think about, you know, like having kids or what all the things in my life,

and I just always remember, like, you know, every, by the way, every show I have, after I'm always like, is that gonna be my last performance? Like, you always just kind of, you know, it's just, it is really hard sometimes to work through it, you know? But I'm like, no, I'm gonna always do it. And every time I do it, I'm like, like, this is the greatest feeling on Earth,

like going back to that feeling of euphoria. And I think a lot of people have that in their life. And even when people like ask them which are people ask you, this all the time, they ask me this, like, how do I find my passion whenever it's like, when was the last time you felt anything close to that? It's probably somewhere in there. Yeah, yeah. Absolutely. And it's happened in your life, right? It's like whether, and it might have been when you were six, but like, when can you go back to that feeling?

Because it's probably tied to that emotion. Yeah, 100%. Anyone who's listening don't stop playing. Yes. I find you a play like make time to play. It's a beautiful lesson from pile. It's just, I think it's huge. I genuinely think it's huge. And I remember, for me actually, before I started making content, and I've been making content since I was 18,

which was never video based. It was just spoken. It was written. It was speeches, et cetera. And I would just, which was never video based. It was just spoken, it was written, it was speeches, et cetera. And I would just do it because I loved it. I didn't get paid for it. It didn't go anywhere. I didn't have any followers, I didn't have any views. I was just doing it because I loved it. I did it for at least three hours a day since I was 18. And so when I actually started making videos, which was the first time I started putting

into digital form, the reason I did that is because I was working a job. Yeah. And I asked myself two questions and I don't even know where these came from, but they came from, I think I used to listen to it and this is real. I used to listen to the Steve Jobs Stanford commencement speech over and over again every single day. And it's literally only like 15 minutes or whatever it is, but I would listen to it again and again and again.

And there's so many parts in it where he talks about, don't be trapped by dogma, don't be defined by other people's opinions and those started becoming my voice. And then I remember asking myself these two questions. One was, what advice would I give to my younger self? And the answer to that question was, my younger self would have never stopped creating,

because as a young person I was making, I was writing music, I was writing songs, I was doing a lot of spoken word and rap, and I was sad that I gave that up. You gave that up. I gave up those words as a way of expressing, or not that I gave up writing, actually I never gave it writing, but I gave up sharing myself in a bigger way with that.

Right, expression. Yeah, totally. And the second thing I asked myself was, what will I regret on my deathbed? Like, what will I regret when I'm 80 or 90, whatever age I live to? And I was like, I would have regret that I just accepted that to have a good life. I had to continue having a corporate job. And that was it. And so that was like those two questions just forced me out of that. Yeah. Safety net that I was in. Yep. And that really like pushed me forward. So anyone is listening listening just knows that, I mean, Piles is a huge inspiration.

I'm just sharing my own little in my own little way, but it's not that it was easy for you. And I think a lot of people may hear and just be like, oh, but you're really smart. You've always been smart and you found your passion. It sounds like you're super. Well, I think that's like another important important. That's cool about that. Yeah, that's cool. I'm glad that's funny.

My husband always brings this up. He's always like, I've worked hard my entire life. I spend, I spend, I'm always working, I'm always thinking. I'm always trying to learn. And I think of play. I mean, I was just talking about this. I tried to get my work done as quickly as possible and do it well.

And even at MIT, I'd be like, pile, you have to get straight as if you want to continue dancing. I put that on myself. And I say that in the sense of, I felt like I kept having to earn the right to play. Because look, I also believe, look, you need to have a good head on your shoulders. Like, to have to do a lot of the stuff I even do now with the art and stuff and not be

able to, you look, you need to know how to like, you have responsibilities, pay your bills, all those things. Like, if you can't do those things, like, your life might end up going in the wrong direction for other reasons and you might not be able to, you know, I'd love being able to say, like, pursue your passion. But I can say that because I took care of a lot of other things. And no, none of this was given to me. My parents didn't come here with anything.

I had to go through and do all my college applications, apply to all the jobs. There was nothing ever handed to me. I worked for everything in my life, and I will continue to, even till this day, right? Every opportunity. But I think that's an important thing for people to know is that, and it is possible. Like anyone, no matter where you start and come from, can get there. But you have to work hard. You need to continue to learn, be respectful, and at the same time, play, right?

But like I said, it's like, I got my stuff done, and then I was like, I'm allowed to play. And that's sort of how I kept living my life. It's like, little by little, I kept giving myself more of playtime because I felt like I earned it. If that makes sense. And honestly, like I feel as an artist and even doing saw and all that right now, like it's an absolute privilege for me. And I say that because I'm like, I feel like I've earned this ability to do it, but it was through hard work, a lot of hard work.

And that's, you know, and still like to do anything in your life. And if I even want to do something new or try to, I know I'm going to have to do the same exact, I know the formula and the process to go through. But it always starts with hard work. And I'm so glad you raised that point because I think it's so easy and right now the rhetoric is very much follow your passion and being entrepreneur and break out. And that is all good advice and it's sound but the realistic, pragmatic sense of just, hey, if you don't understand how to run your business, then you can chase your

passion as much as you want, but you're not going to be able to do a long term. Or if you don't figure out their strategic element, no matter how sincere you are and how incredible your work is, yeah, absolutely. And I feel like I'm really glad you raised that. It's like having the toolkit a little of like, you know, and I think, you. And I feel like I'm really glad you raised that. It's like having the toolkit a little of like, you know, and I think, you know, I always think about like, what did I learn in my life that got me here?

They're like actual tangible things. Yeah, it tells me. Yeah, I mean, and I've been like just like thinking a little bit about it. And I think it does come from like surround yourself with great people, you know, like getting a good education, respecting others. Like I think it's like putting yourself, like good work out there.

All those things are all a part of it. And then like this idea of passion leading a passionate life, like I said, I think I had to keep chipping at it. Like it, right? Like I started and kind of the opposite side is very similar to you did. And we just kind of had to keep chipping to make it a bigger part of our life.

And at the same time, like I don't know if it was ever like, I don't know if people always like are like, well, do you feel like you should have started your company right after college? Like, no, I don't regret any of my time in corporate America or doing, you know, working at in consulting. Yeah. It's because I think it taught me a lot too. And I was, while I was there, I did a good job and I learned a lot lot while I was there. Like take every opportunity that comes in front of you, you know, that you're doing for a reason and do it well at least, right? Or don't do it at all. Yeah. And learn the fact that, I mean, I know that the time I spent at Accenture, I learned so much. Right. And I look back and I'm like, I learned so many things about the future

of AI and VR and AR and then I focus so much on business and sales and negotiation and just even basic things like turning up on time to meeting. Right. And coming prepared. Right. And being ready to having to work to midnight

if you had to. All those sorts of things which I think are undervalued because it doesn't feel what you're passionate about. Right. And even though I wasn't waking up doing what I was passionate about every day, it was exactly what I needed to be able to do what I do now. Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. That's a really powerful message. I'm glad that you shared that because it's often missed. Okay, I want to talk about one more thing before we end with our final five questions. Okay. You've talked about your passion for art. We're also very passionate about women and women

in business. Yep. And that's something you're a big advocate and ambassador for. Let's open that up. Well, I think so much of the world's spend is by women, right? Women are the largest purchasers. And I say that in the sense of, I think of the potential of the solutions we still need for things that women, you know, problems that women have in the world and there's a lot. And I say that in the sense of, you can really, really solve problems and go back to what

I think entrepreneurship is, is stuff you've faced in our really passionate about. So basically, men are creating the products that women end up buying. Sometimes that happens. And I think that has been a problem. And I think like that to me is a huge opportunity, right? Of what women can build out there. And I see that. And I think that's why there's so much potential

of what we can all do. The other thing I would say is, I think everything in our lives that makes us unique, whether it is our gender, whether it's our height, being four, eleven, you know, tiny but mighty. Tiny but mighty. Or, you know, I don't know,

I just feel like in every situation, you can walk in and people, there's this idea of either people are looking at me with doubts or they're looking at me thinking I'm incredible. And it's up to you to walk into the room and believe whichever one and by the way, like the more you walk in being like,

I'm incredible, right? And whatever, however you have to set yourself up to walk in the room and believe you're on that side of it, I just believe it's, you're going to be able to accomplish more, you're going to just be more confident. It's one of those, it's like actually a self belief thing. And I really want women to know, like they're not at a disadvantage. Like I really don't believe, I, like, they're not at a disadvantage.

Like, I really don't, I've never felt like I was at a disadvantage. And I say that in the sense of, from a, you know, once again, my mom taught me, like, if you want to accomplish something in your life, you go and do it. And of course, like, there's some stats, like, we still need to fix it. We need, we need more women giving money. Like, there's these things that we definitely need to shift in the world, absolutely. But at the end of the day, I want women to know that they're incredibly exceptional and they're going to build the next billion dollar companies

because there's billion dollar problems that we need to solve for women. Yeah, absolutely. Self-belief is not that everyone would like me, but self-belief is, I'll be okay if they don't. Yeah. Because I've learned to walk in with that person to myself. It's a great way to put it. Yeah, I feel like that. If I ever had a daughter, like I think about they don't. Yeah. Because I've learned to walk in with that person to myself. It's a great way to put it.

Yeah, I feel like that. If I ever had a daughter, like I think about it through that, like the closest I can connect with the challenge on the other side. And if I ever had a daughter, I'd want her to be able to dream of being a founder if that's what she wanted to do. Right. Because she sees role models in that set. Right.

And I wanted to dream of being an athlete or whatever she wants to be. Yep. Because she sees female role models. Seeing other people who've done it. Who look like her. Yeah. Who act like her. Who think like her.

Who came from the same sort of background as she did. Absolutely. I think, and I think what's great right now, and I see it all the time, is women sharing how they got there. And like their entire life. Like when I started consulting and I would meet some female partners,

I didn't know anything about their life. Like I'm like, are you married? Are you not saying everyone wants that, but I'm like, are you gonna, like is that the life I want? Are you happy? Like any of those things, like do have anything else going on in your life? How do you play?

Any, and I couldn't see that. And I think what's really amazing, and I think like Instagram's been great for this, and even I do this like at work. It's like sharing more of my life, you know, with people is important. So they realize like, yeah, like be, you know, be kick ass and all that you do, but you can also be like a human being and have a family and all those things, which I think wasn't always something that we saw.

Yeah. Absolutely awesome. So my final five, the final five minutes, five questions, quick, quick questions that I love asking. So your number one, a number one entrepreneur dance collaboration. Like if you could do it, if you could do a dance collaboration with any other entrepreneur, what would it be? Well, I wanted to dance Beyonce and J-Lo. I'm like, I'm just going to say they're entrepreneurs. They're both entrepreneurs? They give us, yeah, exactly. They're both entrepreneurs? Yeah, okay, that's it.

Yeah, totally. There we go. We're putting it out to the universe. Yeah, that's it, J-Lo. I love it. There's gonna be a collaboration one day, exactly. I love it. How do you play apart from dance? How do I play apart from dance?

Yeah. Or does there need to be another one? Is dance enough? No, I mean, I think, you know, for me going to class is a huge thing. I also I mean, I think, you know, for me going to class is a huge thing. I also, like, I love movies. Like, I love going to see movies. I know, we've gone to see movies together all the time.

Like, I don't know, I love seeing, like, other people's creativity. Like, that's a great way I play. It's like, you know, whether it's going to see shows and over, I love being inspired by other people. That's a great answer. We saw a star as born release. Yes, so good. So good. Yeah, now I agree with you. I so agree that I literally watch movies to get inspired. Yeah, exactly. It's like it's play time in a different way, you know, exactly.

Okay, the best advice you ever received. The Sun, I will, my father, I think, you know, he always and he still says it's, you know, the only thing confidence changed. So you have to always remain adaptable. Oh, I like it. Adaptability. In every way. One of the hardest skills. Yeah. I mean, I think we crave, as human beings, we crave security and sometimes, you know, finding the sense of like, even this idea of home and what that is, but at the end of the day, I think you have to kind of always realize

like life's always changing and that's okay. Yeah, this one you can give a bit more of a longer answer, but it's about what's next, what are you building, what's exciting, what's, you know, whatever you want to do. Yeah, I mean, so many things. I mean, class bus just launched internationally and we're continuing to launch. Correct.

It's amazing. More places. And I think what's really cool is the vision of Classbest and I've been talking a lot about time. Of course, it started with fitness classes, but we obviously, the vision and everything I'm talking about has to do with much more than just going to a fitness class. And it's people being able to go to more experiences. This idea of playtime is even going to see a show, right? Or doing other types of classes and photography

and, you know, cooking or other things that people are passionate about. It's the same thing I feel in dance, but I think other people feel doing other things. So we continue, we will continue to expand categories, which we're excited to do. Like the vision of the company for me has always been this idea of a life pass where we're the destination for all your exciting free time. So that's really exciting. And then continuing to dance, I think, for me, doing the show, which we just had a few weeks go here in LA, was like another, I hadn't put work out there

actually in a few years personally. And so just putting work out there as an artist, I think it just opened my mind up to so much more, or I want to create what dance for my culture, for women, for this idea of freedom and equality that's needed in the world today. Amazing. And in the future, when you'll be invited to give a MIT

commencement speech for new grads. What will be your advice or message to them, rewinding back to yourself being in their shoes and their seats? I remember writing my MIT essay on how my life revolved around the number two. Like literally, I was born off every second and I think I always had like two identities. Yeah, and my screen name was pile two to two. So I think there was like this idea of numbers. That was was very a big part of my life.

But let's see, what would I tell them? Oh my god. I think, you know, I think my biggest message for people is to live life on their terms. And I think as you graduate, I think you spend some time learning about what everyone else wants you to do. And I think that's fine. Like I said, I don't regret those times. It's about knowing when to get off the train and to start walking your own journey. And I just hope everyone starts walking their own journey at some point, right? And the train is empty. I love it. Thank you for having me today.

Absolutely. Thank you for having me today. You're incredible. Your answer is anyone has been listening today. I love the fact that we talked about entrepreneurship, we talked about dance, we talked about creativity, we talked about purpose intention intention, and mission, we talked about women in business, you know, we've talked about so many things, but what I love about you is that you're someone that I can go from being philosophical to being really practical with. And we can go from being really like, okay, how do we break that down? To like, let's get our head up in the clouds and dream. Yeah, and I love, yeah, thank you for being such an amazing friend. Thank you for being in my life Don't ever leave. Yeah, and yeah, thank you so much for doing this

I really hope people are gonna learn a lot from it. Thanks for sharing these stories with other people. Thank you Thank you so much for listening through to the end of that episode I hope you're gonna share this all across social media. Let people know that you're subscribed to on purpose. Let me know. Post it. Tell me what a difference it's making in your life. I would love to see your thoughts. I can't wait for this incredibly conscious community we're creating of purposeful people. You're now a part of the tribe, a part of the squad.

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