Anne Mahlum is a founder and CEO whose entrepreneurial ventures have resulted in a personal net worth of over 100 million dollars. She founded the non-profit Back on My Feet and grew it into a national organization. She then founded and led Solid Core from 1 location to 130 and sold last year for $90 million.

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The Learning Leader Show

  • “I looked at these guys (homeless) and demanded nothing but pure excellence from them. And it was almost as if they were waiting for someone to do that.” Set high expectations for people. Believe in them. Care for them. Support them. Love them. And watch what happens. This is leadership.
  • Nobody runs by themselves. What a great life motto. We all need people. Anne believes in the importance of community and doing hard things together.
  • Her mindset was fostered, in sometimes complicated ways, by her childhood home life, she says. At age 16, her parents divorced after her father gambled away their family savings. To cope, Mahlum started running and became hyper-focused on the idea of controlling her own life.
  • When others are playing defense, go on offense. When others are scared, get aggressive (easier said than done). Anne did it.
  • “Running is the vehicle we’re using to create community and positive reinforcement.”
  • “If you want to make change, you have to help others see that they can do it. You can’t force it on them.”
  • How to build a great non-profit:
    • Identity – Each group had team names
    • Need team leaders, people to map out logistics, and volunteer coordinators
    • Need to make day 1 incredible. Launch BIG.
    • Target the right people – In Anne’s case, it was executives who were runners… Decision makers who appreciated running.
  • Goals – Work backwards. Set a date and then do whatever it takes to hit that launch date.
  • solidcore — Anne thought big from the beginning. She was opening her second location almost the same time her first location went live. She always wanted to scale it and thought about it from Day 1.
  • Important to hire great coaches. They needed a great personality and had to make every member feel welcome. Learn everyone’s name. Say their name.
    • Anne learned from How to Win Friends and Influence People
  • Risk-Taker – Step into uncertainty. That’s how you build confidence.
    • “I always bet on myself.”
  • Action builds confidence. Push past the uncertainty. Create evidence for yourself. Make the things that were previously uncomfortable for you more comfortable now by taking action. When others are playing defense, go on offense. That creates your edge…
  • Anne’s plan was always to sell Solidcore… Her strength is in bringing concepts to life and building communities, rather than sustaining them over time. The same month she exited the company, she opened her next venture, a New York-based fitness studio chain called Ambition.
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Time Stamps:
04:57 – Finding Purpose Through Running
06:18 – Demanding Excellence from Those Dealing With Homelessness
10:47 – Building a Running Club for the Homeless
16:35 – Expanding the Vision Nationwide
19:34 – Lessons Learned During Growth
25:24 – Transition to Solid Core
31:37 – Scaling Up: The Entrepreneurial Mindset
33:27 – Building SolidCore: From Vision to Reality
38:55 – How to “Figure It Out”
42:46 – Risk Tolerance and Confidence Building
47:30 – Navigating the Sale of SolidCore
54:29 – Are You Playing a Game You Can Win?
56:16 – Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs
Resources:

Time Stamps

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