I recently went one-on-one with Tamara Galinsky, founder of JETSET Pilates.

Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share your advice. First things first, though, I am sure readers would love to learn more about you. How did you get here? What experiences, failures, setbacks, or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth? 

Tamara: My journey into fitness entrepreneurship began when my family moved to the United States out of Soviet Russia when I was 15 years old. It was during the last big wave when Jews were allowed to leave during the Soviet Union. 

We had $80 allowed for each family member as we left under a 2-month time constraint. Of course, I faced both language and real financial constraints – at that age, going into a high school with no friends, money or language was an eye-opener. Mostly it was seeing my parents struggle, and needing to help them at such an early age. That is when I told myself I wanted to accomplish two things: never be poor again and do something I love. I do think it was a pivotal moment for me because I was naturally a very shy person.  And suddenly I really had to become the head of the family at 15, as my parents went to language school to learn English, and took menial jobs despite really high education. It also gave me resilience:  as you grow your business there are just so many setbacks and challenges.  I also learned how to take on risks at an early age, and was not afraid to fail because I saw how taking on calculated risks helped my growth by leaps and bounds. 

I graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, and initially only did something that prevented me from being poor, so to say, but gave me a lot of skills and corporate learnings. 

It was really with JETSET that I started something I loved. 

Music, a passion of mine, began in Russia through classical piano training and it also became an integral part of JETSET’s mission, which involves creating a musically-inspired Pilates experience. Our Brand is now growing to 600 franchised locations in the US. 

Adam: How did you come up with your business idea? What advice do you have for others on how to come up with great ideas? 

Tamara: I discovered reformer pilates while living in London, where I gave birth to my first daughter.  It changed my body and really helped my busy mind to quiet.  My love is creating experiences. Once I moved to Miami in 2009 – and was only able to find a few studios which could not give me what I was looking for – I started my own: musically driven, community-focused, and aesthetically curated. 

Adam: How did you know your business idea was worth pursuing? What advice do you have on how to best test a business idea? 

Tamara: My decision was driven by a need in the market and following what I really wanted to do.  If I was starting it today – I would probably say I am following a trend – pilates is a hot market today, JETSET I believe really paved the wave for a lot of that growth. However, back in 2010 when I first opened my studio – most people never heard of what reformer pilates is. I always say people don’t know what they like until they try it – and that is what happened when I opened the first JETSET location in Miami Beach. The best advice is also not to listen to any advice.  All of my friends were talking me out of opening JETSET – their argument was who wants a boutique reformer studio when no one knows what reformer is, and most go to gyms. I did not take that advice and did what I believed in. 

Adam: What are the key steps you have taken to grow your business? What advice do you have for others on how to take their businesses to the next level? Adam: What are your best sales and marketing tips? 

Tamara: I started in a business of creating the best reformer pilates experience, and now I am in the business of franchising, which is a business of delivering learning systems. To get from one to the other I had to first create a strong brand value, and strong unit economics.   Even before we started franchising, JETSET was recognized nationally.  However, as I was new to franchising, I realized I had to assemble the best team possible. Those steps took a while.  JETSET is not an overnight success, but a brand that has been now 12 years in the making. However, once the team was in place, and we created the systems which are now in place, franchising took off and beat all of our expectations.

I think you can have the best franchising systems in place, as we do, however, unless you put that franchising hat on a great brand, which is what JETSET is, you won’t get far.  So my advice is to first focus on a great product and great unit economics, then on franchising. Also, as franchised studio sales grew – we had to calibrate our Franchise systems, which is expected because you have to evolve. What you think may work for several studios, may not work for 10, and then for 30, and then for 100. Systems always evolve – they are not static. And leadership has to expect it and evolve with it. 

On the studio client level – it is delivering the best client experience.  Our training academy is not only focused on the nuts and bolts of reforming pilates – but on helping cultivate instructors that integrate with local communities. On the franchise level:  we use a lot of different technologies for our organic growth, and Franchisee support, and have now deep relationships in the Franchise space, as we were able to also hire people with deep franchise sales experience.  

Adam: In your experience, what are the defining qualities of an effective leader? How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level?

Tamara: Firstly, I know it’s a common theme for many great leaders – to me it’s the ability to surround yourself with people smarter than you.  For a founder, like me, this also means giving up some control and knowing mistakes may be made along the way.  Also, when those mistakes are made, great leaders acknowledge those mistakes and see what can be learned.  To me also great leaders are doers.  I always watch what one says and what one does.  If someone speaks too much without seeing or paying attention to what is going on around them, that is a red flag.  Say less, listen more – is that not great advice from the Hamilton musical? Though Aaron Burr said, “Talk less, smile more”.  However, to me, the advice is one and the same. 

 Adam: What is your best advice on building, leading, and managing teams? Adam: What are your three best tips applicable to entrepreneurs, executives, and civic leaders? 

Tamara: My first piece of advice is great management teams are attracted to great products and great cultures. As a founder, focus on creating that.  So that is the building part.  Leading part:  allow your team to lead in their core expertise.  So that is called collaboration. My third piece of advice on managing teams: If you attract the right person for the right job, the actual management becomes seamless because the right person is passionate about what they are doing. I think it’s very challenging to manage someone who does not want to do what they are doing – I have learned it with my two daughters who are 12 and 16, and take a lot of those learnings with me to the workplace. If they are doing something they love – I don’t have to manage them at all, if I push them into activities they rather not do – I start to micro-manage them. And I would rather not do that – so it’s a natural self-election process.  

Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received?

Tamara: My mom told me that hard work wins over talent every time. She was right. 


Adam Mendler is an entrepreneur, writer, speaker, educator, and nationally recognized authority on leadership. Adam is the creator and host of the business and leadership podcast Thirty Minute Mentors, where he goes one-on-one with America's most successful people - Fortune 500 CEOs, founders of household name companies, Hall of Fame and Olympic gold medal-winning athletes, political and military leaders - for intimate half-hour conversations each week. A top leadership speaker, Adam draws upon his insights building and leading businesses and interviewing hundreds of America's top leaders as a top keynote speaker to businesses, universities, and non-profit organizations. Adam has written extensively on leadership and related topics, having authored over 70 articles published in major media outlets including Forbes, Inc. and HuffPost, and has conducted more than 500 one on one interviews with America’s top leaders through his collective media projects. Adam teaches graduate-level courses on leadership at UCLA and is an advisor to numerous companies and leaders. A Los Angeles native, Adam is a lifelong Angels fan and an avid backgammon player.

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