P.volve’s Rachel Katzman Leads a Boutique Fitness Franchise Revolution

P.volve is a leading fitness franchise that has set out to revolutionize the on-demand movement of the fitness industry. The brand’s digital platform has taken off with full fitness class listings, patented equipment, live virtual sessions, and brick-and-mortar studios in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles — and in just four years of operation, the franchise model is quickly setting itself apart within the fitness space.

Rachel Katzman, co-founder of P.volve, brings a customer-focused mentality to the brand’s digital offerings. “P.volve exists to help every woman feel powerful in her mind and body throughout their lifetime,” Katzman said. “We believe you should move your body the way it was designed to move, and when you feel good from the inside out, anything is possible.”

Katzman spoke with 1851 Franchise on how the P.volve brand was first designed, and what went into the franchise model that is quickly taking the fitness industry by storm.

Racheal Katzman: Through my own personal health evolution, I found a huge void in fitness: Traditional fitness brands were breaking the body down, rather than building it up. Women were left feeling depleted or not achieving their goals, or it was simply unattainable for those who were in pain.

We wanted to build a brand that prioritized the body’s function, leaving women feeling strong and powerful and without pain — while supporting them throughout their entire life.

We created a new science-backed fitness method that uses functional movement, paired with our patented resistance equipment to build strength, balance, mobility and flexibility throughout the body. Our studio classes range from sculpting to cardio to recovery, and the energy in a class is fun, intense and infectious. People leave classes feeling toned, energized, and better than they did before.

Katzman: We want to make sure our members get the best experience and results possible, and we brought on a full Clinical Advisory Board to work closely with our expert trainers in developing content for women to achieve all their goals. This has helped us create the understanding that everyone has their own personal, unique wellness journey.

We are truly bridging the gap between fitness and health care, and have a full library of Movement Therapy content. This is content that is co-created with our resident physical therapists and CAB to help those managing with certain body sensitivities, injuries and symptoms.

These programs are designed with physical-therapy-inspired exercises that will help one build greater overall awareness of their imbalances and strategies to help recover from injuries and sensitivities. They range from programs for members with bad knees, back pain and tight hips to women who are experiencing endometriosis, have pelvic floor dysfunction, or experience bad PMS with our cycle-syncing program Phase & Function.

Katzman: After bouncing around the fitness scene in New York City, I found myself at a worse place than when I started getting into fitness: depleted, not seeing physical results, and my body was in massive pain. I found out I had scoliosis and still continued to push through the pain.

When I met my other co-founder, he introduced me to the world of functional movement. After learning about a new way to work out that actually felt good on my body, I started seeing the physical results I was after, but more importantly my pain was gone. I knew women needed a new way to move their bodies that would help them not only reach vanity-driven goals, but to feel good from the inside out.

We have been on an evolution since, bringing on doctors to sit on our board to work alongside our trainers to help co-create our content that continues to drive our mission forward.

Katzman: From day one, my go-to phrase has always been “Better is Better.” In the startup world, so much is about speed-to-market, testing and iterating. If you spend most of your time trying to perfect a concept, your business will die a slow death.

When there is concern about moving on an idea or trying something for the first time, staff members will hear me in meetings yell out, “Better is better. Let’s move!” I hope that gives my team the sense that they can fail and try things that don’t work.

That’s what innovation is all about. Focus on the small and quick wins, and you will get to that finish line so much faster.

Katzman: Our ideal franchisee is passionate, experienced and driven. They prioritize health and wellness in their own life, they may have a background in business management, and they are a natural-born leader, willing to do what it takes to launch a successful business and bring P.volve to their communities. The types of people we bring into the P.volve family and the culture we maintain are so incredibly important to us, and that extends to our franchisees.

Katzman: Our goals are to revolutionize the way people look at movement and to help women understand the life-changing power of daily, functional movement — understanding your own unique body better and giving it the right type of movement can truly change how you feel each and every day.

When you move better, you live better. It’s as simple as that.