A look back at CEO John Foley and the rise of Peloton

What does it take to build something that isn’t just a business, but a phenomenon? Former Peloton CEO John Foley has answers. John was a guest at Tony’s Business Mastery event, where he shared his secrets to success. Watch the video to learn John’s insider tips for:

● Achieving geometric growth for your business

● Building a community, not just a product

● Focusing on what matters

● Inspiring employees and staying hungry

Who is John Foley?

John Foley is the co-founder and former CEO of Peloton, and currently serves as Executive Chair of its Board. Somehow haven’t heard of Peloton? Peloton creates quality home exercise equipment paired with high-energy virtual workouts. More than that, Peloton is a community of 6.6 million raving fans.

Peloton has seen its fair share of challenges. John received more than 400 rejections from potential investors. And before starting Peloton, John was the president of e-commerce at Barnes and Noble. He’s no stranger to the ups and downs of a market, and through it all, he has remained a fearless and effective leader.

Let your principles guide you

John’s total dedication to principles like “stay hungry and humble” and “don’t use hope as a method” guides every decision he makes, from hiring to office design. He knows hunger destroys the fear of failure, and that’s why he says, “I want to hire people that want to tear down walls with their faces.”

John also knows he needs people who share his vision and optimism, yet complement his strengths and lift him up in moments of weakness. The conviction of his cofounders and early customers saw him through the tough early years and inspired him to keep going – an energy that has also served him well through recent challenges.

John’s focus on aspirational goals plus his ability to inspire his employees to solve problems and stay hungry helped Peloton achieve geometric growth. He created an entirely new category within the fitness industry – and not every entrepreneur can say that. Watch to hear him speak at Business Mastery, then attend the event yourself to dig even deeper into these principles.

Business Mastery helps participants thrive in any economy as they discover critical factors impacting their businesses currently, and design an action plan for the next phase of growth, whether they seek more profits or an exit. This includes marketing tips, maximizing a business’ digital presence to actually get seen and discovered online and how to anticipate and solve the biggest business problems.

Learn more about Business Mastery

Hire the right people

Build a culture of innovation

Find your X factor

Show notes

[00:19] Intro of John Foley, CEO and co-founder of Peloton

[02:41] Foley background, including working at a Skittles Factory

[04:43] Hunger and humility most important to success

[05:46] Foley’s mentor

[07:17] Digital media disruption

[09:09] 400 nos before a single yes

[10:22] Funding Peloton

[11:03] Surround yourself with people who see the vision

[12:37] Consistency and perseverance created traction

[14:02] Goal of growing business 100% and making your life better

[17:11] Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good and minimum viable product

[18:40] Communal motivation in group fitness to make it fun

[20:31] How willing are your customers to recommend your business? Peloton is in low 90s on 1-100 scale

[22:30] Foley’s competitive nature

[24:39] The instructor, the human factor, matters. Scaling via digital media

[27:38] Don’t use hope as a method

[28:03] Don’t plan for failure, plan for success because it becomes self-fulfilling

[29:30] Partnership with Beyonce

[33:15] 8,000 employees globally

[33:22] Marc Benioff is an inspiration. Champion of social change and team culture

[34:13] Internal culture permeates into the brand

[35:48] Audience question: How have your margins increased with COVID?

[36:41] COVID was tailwind for Peloton

[37:41] Had to spend $100M to satisfy the demand but margin structure has increased

[39:13] Audience question: How did you build a team with great people AND establish a culture?

[41:46] Audience question: What did it feel like to see something you created finally succeed?

[42:31] We are not doing a victory dance. Hungry and humble with fire in our belly to get to our goals

[44:01] Audience question: What was your journey as you began putting Peloton together as a company?

[44:48] Bought parts of our business. Decided needed to be good at software, hardware and content. Focused on what will make your business special

[46:27] Find partners that share your work ethic, that you like being around

[47:47] Sign off