This week on Slay The Gatekeeper, I’m joined by Anne Mahlum, founder of Solidcore, builder of a 100+ studio empire, and the force behind one of the most iconic nine-figure exits in boutique fitness.
Before scaling Solidcore into a nationwide powerhouse, Anne founded Back on My Feet, a nonprofit that empowers individuals experiencing homelessness through running, structure, and community. Years later, she took a completely different idea: a Pilates-inspired concept she discovered by accident, and turned it into a category-defining brand she eventually sold for $98.4 million.
In this episode, Anne breaks down the cheat codes that shaped her life and career: why having a Plan B is really just planning to fail, how to build a culture people rise to meet, what separates high performers from excuse-makers, and how she built a company that eventually ran without her, giving her the leverage to negotiate the exit on her terms.
This conversation is direct, unfiltered, and loaded with founder wisdom. If you’re building something big, leading a team, or trying to level up your resilience, this episode will show you what going all in actually looks like.
02:30 Finding purpose in unexpected places
05:45 The Pilates class that sparked solidcore
08:10 Identifying your unfair advantage
11:25 The first-to-market window that changed everything
18:40 Building culture through standards, not slogans
22:05 Money literacy: why information isn’t the problem
27:20 Turning down $75K to stay all-in
32:15 Why EQ matters more than experience
36:50 Letting go: building a company that outlasts you
‼️🔗 Resources Mentioned
• Rich Dad Poor Dad – Robert Kiyosaki
• How to Win Friends & Influence People – Dale Carnegie
• You Are a Badass at Making Money – Jen Sincero
• Tony Robbins (Date With Destiny, plus his free content)
• The Moneywise Podcast
• Content by Sam Parr
About Anne Mahlum
Anne Mahlum is an entrepreneur and female motivational speaker who's passionate about empowering people to live life on their own terms. The beginning of Anne’s entrepreneurial journey is nothing short of extraordinary. In 2007, she found herself running by a homeless shelter in Philadelphia, and had the foresight to realize that running and community could be the catalyst to truly change lives. She engaged the shelter to start a running club, which she quickly transformed into a national non-profit called Back on My Feet. The organization, now with an $8M annual budget, uses running as a vehicle to help those experiencing homelessness become empowered to change their lives. Under Anne’s leadership as CEO, she grew the organization to 14 cities. Since its inception, Back on My Feet has helped thousands of individuals achieve employment and more self-sufficient living.
But Anne didn’t stop there. She created success again when she founded pilates-inspired [solidcore] in 2013. As its founder and CEO, she grew it into one of the country’s most successful fitness companies in less than a decade by raising more than $200M through private equity to scale it to more than 115 locations across the U.S.
The company currently has thousands of employees and hundreds of thousands of clients across 30 states, including former First Lady Michelle Obama Anne successfully exited [solidcore] in April 2023 and shared millions with her employees after the sale.
Connect with Anne:

📱 Instagram: @annemahlum
💼 LinkedIn: Anne Mahlum
🌐 solidcore.co
Stay connected with me
📧 Contact: courtney@smoothmedia.co
👍 Instagram: @courtlynnjohnson
💼 LinkedIn: Courtney Johnson
🎶 TikTok: @courtney..johnson

This week on Slay The Gatekeeper, I sit down with Bill Perkins, investor, author of Die With Zero, and one of the most interesting thinkers on risk, courage, and intentional living.
Bill has spent decades around millionaires, billionaires, and people who take massive bets in life and business. In this conversation, he shares the success pattern he sees over and over again at the top: agency, speed, and the courage to move.
We talk about why ideas fail, how ego keeps people small, and why most adults fear looking foolish more than they fear wasting their entire life. Bill also shares the “minimize regret” framework he uses to make big decisions, the habit ultra-successful people rely on to stay in motion, and why he thinks you should spend money when the memory value is highest, not when your bank account looks the best.
If you’ve ever found yourself stuck, overthinking, or dipping your toe instead of going all in, this conversation is a wake-up call to bet on yourself while you still have time left on the clock.
02:10 The success pattern Bill sees in every millionaire: agency, speed, and action
04:40 Why ideas fail: the people who win are the ones who move
08:05 Toe-dippers vs. all-in people — the courage gap
10:45 Ego risk: the real reason people stay small
14:20 Bill’s “future self” test for making hard decisions
17:55 Starting from zero: what Bill would do at 25 with $500
24:30 Why people secretly love failure (and how it validates their own fear)
33:50 Thinking about death as a tool for intentional living
53:05 Memory dividends: spend money when the value is highest
59:20 The fear of wasting your life vs. the fear of running out of money
About Bill Perkins
Bill Perkins is an investor, entrepreneur, and author best known for his book Die With Zero and his unconventional approach to money, risk, and fulfillment. Nicknamed the “Natural Gas King” and “Cowboy of Wall Street,” Bill built his career trading energy markets and is the founder and managing partner of Skylar Capital.
He’s also backed and built companies across tech and media, including SkyFi and SynMax, and has produced several feature films. Beyond business, Bill is heavily involved in philanthropy and lives in Texas with his wife, Lara, and his daughters, Skye and Brisa.
Connect with Bill:

📱 Instagram: @billperkins
📘 Die With Zero: diewithzerobook.com
🌐 SkyFi: skyfi.com/
Stay connected with me
📧 Contact: courtney@smoothmedia.co
👍 Instagram: @courtlynnjohnson
💼 LinkedIn: Courtney Johnson
🎶 TikTok: @courtney..johnson

This week on Slay The Gatekeeper, I’m joined by Lara Acosta, creator, strategist, and one of the most trusted voices on LinkedIn. Lara has built a multi–six-figure business using one platform, one funnel, and a level of consistency most people only talk about.
In this conversation, Lara opens up about the posting habits, content styles, and small decisions that helped her grow an audience of hundreds of thousands, without trends, hacks, or cold outreach. She shares how she thinks about visibility, why simple posts outperform complicated ones, and how creators can stand out in a space where most people quit long before the results show up.
We go deep into discipline, niche clarity, momentum, and the email-first approach that drives most of her revenue. If you're serious about growing on LinkedIn, making money from your expertise, or building a brand that people remember, this episode will give you the spark and the direction.
03:10 The content style dominating LinkedIn right now (and why simple posts outperform polished ones)
11:20 How to use your own story when you don’t feel “expert enough”
15:50 The funnel that drives most of Lara’s revenue (LinkedIn → email → conversion)
23:40 Who benefits from building a personal brand, and who doesn’t
33:20 The posting rhythm that grows almost anyone within six months
38:05 Authority vs. relatability: why people buy from creators who feel “close,” not perfect
41:40 The trap of chasing big ideas and the one thing that actually moves a business forward
49:20 Why waiting to feel ready keeps creators stuck for years
58:40 Repetition, memory, and becoming known for something real
1:15:15 The origin story of Kleo: how a problem they had turned into a fast-scaling product
About Lara Acosta
Lara Acosta is a creator and entrepreneur known for her no-nonsense approach to personal branding and business growth. She has built multiple six-figure companies through organic content, a high-retention newsletter, and a simple conversion system that doesn’t rely on cold outreach or heavy sales tactics.
She is the co-founder of Kleo, an AI-supported content tool built by top LinkedIn creators to help entrepreneurs write better posts, store ideas, and stay consistent without overthinking.
Lara teaches creators, founders, and service providers how to grow with clarity, consistency, and a tone that feels like them, not a template.
Connect with Lara:

📱 Instagram: @laraacostar
💼 LinkedIn: Lara Acosta
🌐 kleo.so
🎙️YouTube: Lara Acosta
Stay connected with me
📧 Contact: courtney@smoothmedia.co
👍 Instagram: @courtlynnjohnson
💼 LinkedIn: Courtney Johnson
🎶 TikTok: @courtney..johnson