Female Founders: Orangetheory, Eventbrite, & Hopscotch
Every Friday we highlight 3 brands that were founded by females. This week, we invite you to meet Ellen Latham of Orangetheory Fitness, Julia Hartz of Eventbrite, and Jocelyn Leavitt of Hopscotch.
Orangetheory Fitness by Ellen Latham
Ellen Latham is the Creator and Co-Founder of Orangetheory Fitness, a heart rate-based fitness program.
Before creating Orangetheory, Ellen Latham was the spa director and owner of Eden Roc Spa and Williams Island Spa. When she was laid off from her dream job, she used her own experience of managing high-end spas mixed with her master’s degree in exercise physiology (along with her certificate in pilates) to create something new. It started small as a one-on-one pilates class in a spare room in Ellen’s house, and eventually, it became what we know of today as Orangetheory.
Orangetheory Fitness is a high-intensity workout class that is based on your heart rate, so your body continues to burn calories even after the workout is complete. It’s a great workout for people of all ages – regardless of their physical shape. Each person wears a heart rate monitor while doing a series of workouts on the treadmill, the rowing machine, and the weight floor. Through the monitor and app, you can compete against yourself as well as others in the class.
Orangetheory now has over 800,000 members, 1,200 gym locations in 22 different countries, and over $1 billion in sales!
Eventbrite by Julia Hartz
Julia Hartz is the CEO and Co-Founder of Eventbrite, a global ticketing and event technology platform.
Before co-founding Eventbrite, Julie worked in entertainment. After graduating from Pepperdine University in 2001, Julia worked for MTV Networks as the Coordinator of Series Development. And in 2003, Hartz began working as the Manager of Current Series for Fox Networks. After years of working in the entertainment industry, Julie had the idea for Eventbrite.
Eventbrite was founded in 2005 by Julie and her husband, Kevin Hartz, as well as Renaud Visage. Today, it is the largest marketplace for live experiences. They power millions of events in over 180 different countries, and they use technology to allow anyone to create, share, find, and go to all kinds of events. Whether it’s music festivals, concerts, marathons, conferences, political rallies, fundraisers, you name it – Eventbrite has it. Through the platform, you can even create your own event to sell tickets and keep track of ticket sales.
Eventbrite was voted one of the “Best Places to Work in the San Fransisco Bay Area”. And Julie has been named as one of Inc.’s 35 Under 35 in 2014 and was one of Fortune’s Most Powerful Entrepreneurs in 2013.
Hopscotch by Jocelyn Leavitt
Jocelyn Leavitt is the Co-Founder and recent CEO of Hopscotch, a children’s programming tool.
Jocelyn went to Dartmouth College, where she graduated with a BA in Geography, and then she got her MBA in Real Estate and Finance from Columbia University.
She became a history teacher, first in Hawaii and then in New York, before becoming an associate at Kennedy Wilson. After that, she became the Principal for a real estate company called Greencastle Partners. And then in 2013, she had the idea of an app that children could use on their touchscreen devices.
Hopscotch Technologies is a programming app to boost children’s creativity. They can build and create games on their devices by dragging and dropping blocks. Once the games are complete, children can publish their work to the community, and other children can play the game as well. Another cool feature is that children get the opportunity to collaborate with others and learn from one another.
Hopscotch was given the award of Best App in Education-Tech by Parents Magazine, the Parent’s Choice Gold Award, and the Children’s Technology Review Gold Award, as well. The app has been featured in Fast Company, The Wall Street Journal, Wired, and The New York Times and more!
Do you have a female founder that you think we need to know about? We would love to hear about her! Let us know in the comments below or reach out to us here.
Alyson Pittman is a contributing writer for WBD and a JR marketing associate for Excite Creative Studios, an Atlanta-based creative agency.
Alyson graduated from Kennesaw State University with a Bachelors of Business Administration and a concentration in Marketing. She was in multiple organizations at KSU where she held leadership positions. As a part of the Delta Phi Epsilon Sorority, Alyson held the Social Coordinator position and planned/promoted large events.
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