When Bryan Ercolano moved to Southern Nevada in 2013, he had his eye on creating a business that could be expanded nationwide. He worked at Zappos for a couple of years and then became a franchisee for an established fitness studio. But he never forgot his dream of launching his own brand.
Last year, he took that leap, opening the first location of Redemption Fitness, a boutique group fitness studio, in Summerlin. He’s preparing to open a second studio in Henderson in March, and is negotiating a deal to franchise several dozen locations in Florida.
Vegas Inc recently sat down with Ercolano at his Summerlin studio to talk about the business of franchising and the fitness industry.
Group fitness has become more and more popular in recent years. Why?
It’s really a niche market. People have kind of gone away from the big-box gym mentality where it’s not very personal. At those places, you go in, scan your key card, grab some weights and you don’t really know what to do. Group fitness is more of a social atmosphere. ... The three most popular concepts are indoor cycling, boot camp and boxing. Those are the three that Redemption Fitness incorporates.
You created this studio with the idea of franchising it and taking it nationwide. Take us through that thought process.
I traveled around the country and looked at about 60 boutique fitness studios. ... A lot of studios are just cycling or just boxing. I really think the market is going to condense over the next couple of years. Redemption, and whatever other businesses that are around that offer more than one modality, are here to stay. This is a value play.
How did you end up in Southern Nevada?
I went to school at James Madison [University] and lived in Washington, D.C., for a while. My background is project management consulting.
You could have gotten this idea off the ground anywhere. Why here?
I think Vegas is a unique market. You have a lot of industry people here who are working out and very health-conscious because they have to be for their jobs. In general, I think Vegas has a lot of opportunity from a cost perspective, as far as rents, construction and labor costs.
What’s the ceiling for Redemption Fitness?
At the end of the day, we want to sell regional development models throughout the United States. We’re interested in expanding rapidly, so we’re going to be partnering with people who have the capital to do that. We’re in discussions to sell the whole state of Florida for 60 locations. A lot of franchises will sell five locations, but we’re not interested in that. The biggest thing for us is competition and getting out there quickly.
Is it hard to find those types of high net worth investors?
People are really hot on the fitness space right now. It’s a lot of networking. But, also, people are starting to find us. We’re starting to get our name out there. As we advertise and open more locations, I think this is going to naturally grow itself.
As an entrepreneur, has it been scary going out on your own? Were there times when you thought it wasn’t worth it?
This has been several years in the making, just creating the brand, raising capital and negotiating. There have been more dark moments than happy moments, but those happy moments kind of get you to the end of the tunnel with the larger vision. There are lots of ups and downs in business, but I’m excited. I know these studios will be successful.