Anne Mahlum: she put all $175,000 of her savings into one studio and walked away with about $90 million
She grew up in North Dakota. Her dad gambled away $50,000 the family did not have. She started a nonprofit that ran with homeless men, then bet everything she had on a single Pilates studio. Here is how Solidcore grew, the numbers, and what you can copy.
Overview
Anne Mahlum grew up in North Dakota. Her dad sold insurance and "always just kind of made enough for today." Her mom was a schoolteacher who saved every penny. When Anne was a teenager, her dad's gambling addiction surfaced. "My dad took 50 grand we didn't have and gambled it away." Her parents divorced.
She was a runner. In Philadelphia she ran past the same homeless shelter hundreds of times until she asked herself: why do I get to be the runner and these guys get to be the homeless guys on the corner? At 27 she started Back on My Feet, a nonprofit that helps homeless people through running. It grew to $6.5 million a year with chapters across the country.
She saved everything: her salary and $10,000 speaking fees, four or five a year. Then in New York she tried a Pilates class at a studio with ten machines at $30 a spot. "That's $300 per class times ten classes. That's $3,000 a day... This thing is making $90,000 a month. This is insane."
She put her entire savings, $175,000, into starting Solidcore. Someone offered $75,000 for 30% before it opened. She said no. "If I take this money, all I'm doing is saying I doubt myself."
How it really happened
- The nonprofit. She started Back on My Feet in Philadelphia in 2007. Every time she met someone, she asked for three introductions to other runners and executives. That is how it opened 12 chapters in four and a half years, each one funded locally.
- The class. She was living in New York for a while to launch a chapter there, and went to a studio called SLT. Ten machines, $30 a spot, ten classes a day. "This thing is making $90,000 a month. This is insane." No one had built a real brand around this kind of workout.
- Where. She picked Washington, DC, a city she knew from graduate school at American University.
- What the $175,000 paid for. Contractors, a $35,000 security deposit, and the machines, which she financed. "I just made it work, but it was pretty much all of it."
- The first month. Solidcore opened in November 2013 and was cash-flow positive in month one. "As soon as I saw that, I was ready to sign my second lease." The second studio opened that February.
- The plan from day one. She went in planning to sell once she reached 100 studios.
- The sale. In 2023 she sold her stake to the private equity firm Kohlberg & Company for $88.4 million.
Timeline
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| Teen years | Her dad gambles away $50,000. Her parents divorce |
| Age 27 | Starts Back on My Feet, a nonprofit for homeless people, in Philadelphia |
| Later | Back on My Feet reaches $6.5 million a year. She banks her salary and speaking fees |
| 2013 | Puts her whole $175,000 savings into the first Solidcore studio. Turns down $75,000 for 30% |
| Month one | Profitable. The first studio does $100,000 in its first month |
| 2015 | Makes over $1 million in personal income, two years in |
| 2017 | 25 studios in four years. Raises $18 million from private equity, takes $6 million for herself |
| 2021 | Second deal, takes another $9 million |
| Nine years in | Sells Solidcore, netting about $90 million |
The numbers
| Figure | Number |
|---|---|
| Net worth | About $100 million |
| Starting money | $175,000, her entire savings |
| Offer she turned down before opening | $75,000 for 30% |
| First studio, first month | $100,000 in sales, profitable |
| Profit margins per studio | 40% to 60% |
| Personal income, year two | Over $1 million |
| Studios after four years | 25 |
| First private equity deal (2017) | $18 million raised, $6 million to her |
| Second deal (2021) | Another $9 million to her |
| Final exit | About $90 million to her |
| Spending today | $200,000 to $300,000 a month |
How it makes money
Solidcore runs boutique Pilates-style classes on special machines. Each class is small and every spot is paid, so a single busy studio fills ten machines, many times a day, every day.
- Simple math per studio. Spots per class, times price, times classes a day.
- Low staff. "We just didn't have a ton of staff," which is why studios ran at 40% to 60% profit.
- Copy and repeat. Once one studio worked, she opened more, then raised money to open 20 to 30 a year instead of 4 or 5.
What they did right
1. She did the math on someone else's business
Sitting in a class, she counted machines, price and classes, and worked out the studio was making about $90,000 a month.
2. She went all in
Her whole $175,000 savings, and she turned down outside money before opening. "I just knew I had to go all in, and if I wasn't comfortable going all in, I shouldn't do it at all."
3. She proved it in different cities
Atlanta, Philadelphia, DC, Maryland, North Dakota. Showing it worked everywhere is what private equity wanted to see.
4. She took some money off the table at every step
$6 million in 2017 and $9 million in 2021, so a big check at the end would not change her overnight. "If you think I'm in this for $6 million, you're kidding yourself."
Do what they did: step by step
1. Count the money in a business you already visit.
Anne worked out a studio's revenue from her spot on the floor.
Do this: pick one busy local business you go to. Count customers, price and hours, and estimate what it makes a month.
2. Look for high margins and low staff.
Do this: ask what the business really needs to run. If it is a room, some equipment and one person, it can be very profitable.
3. Make one location work before you open the next.
Do this: write down what your first location, product or service earns after all costs. Repeat only once that is clearly positive.
4. Save before you start.
She banked every speaking fee for years without knowing exactly what for.
Do this: set aside a fixed amount every month for your first business, starting now.
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Sources
- U.S. Chamber of Commerce, CO, "The Leap": Solidcore
- American University alumni profile, Anne Mahlum
- Hampton, Moneywise with Sam Parr, "Anne Mahlum's Net Worth is $100M. Her Goal? Turn Past Pain Into Purpose and Power" (interview and full transcript), March 2025
