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HALO Academy 2 Minute Financial Drill-Funds Flow Closing

HALO Talks: Elevating Wellness

Release Date: 07/30/2025

Episode #575: Scaling Planet Fitness-Lessons in Execution and Growth from CJ Bouchard show art Episode #575: Scaling Planet Fitness-Lessons in Execution and Growth from CJ Bouchard

HALO Talks: Elevating Wellness

In this episode of HALO Talks, industry veteran CJ Bouchard opens up to host Pete Moore about the realities of entrepreneurship in the fitness industry, sharing candid stories of risk, resilience, and what it really means to build from the ground up. From betting his savings on a fledgling franchise in North Carolina and initially making daily two-hour commutes, to pivoting and learning tough lessons about club size, site selection, and market expansion, CJ reveals how grit, adaptability, and a clear mission have fueled Excel Fitnessโ€™s phenomenal growth. Planet Fitness (NYSE:PLNT) is one of...

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Episode #574: Elevate Fitness Evolution-Real Estate, Recovery, and Community Impact With Tom Muller show art Episode #574: Elevate Fitness Evolution-Real Estate, Recovery, and Community Impact With Tom Muller

HALO Talks: Elevating Wellness

In this episode of HALO Talks, host Pete Moore sits down with long-time friend and industry veteran Tom Muller, owner of Elevate Fitness in Syracuse, NY. With roots that stretch back to the Gold's Gym days, Tom shares his journey through decades of shifting trends, club expansions, and the pivotal decision to rebrand and tech-enable his business for the modern member experience. From innovative fitness programming and thriving tennis and swim programs to the impact of major local investments like Micron and Amazon, Tom reveals the strategies that have kept Elevate thriving in a stable,...

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HALO Talks Fast Break: Pickleball Consulting, Court Installs, and Industry Trends With Kaitlin Miller from Court Kings show art HALO Talks Fast Break: Pickleball Consulting, Court Installs, and Industry Trends With Kaitlin Miller from Court Kings

HALO Talks: Elevating Wellness

Excited to share highlights from this weekโ€™s HALO Talks FastBreak featuring Kaitlin Miller from Court Kings. A level 5 player herself, Kaitlin and Pete dive deep into the rapid growth of pickleball and how Court Kings innovative court solutions are shaping the industryโ€”especially for health and fitness facilities. 3 key takeaways: Booming Demand: Pickleball courts in NYC (especially at ) are booked solid from open to closeโ€”sometimes with waitlists to join! If your facility hasnโ€™t added pickleball yet, now is the time. Turnkey Court Solutions: Court Kings was recently named the...

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Episode #573: How LightStim Revolutionized LED Beds and the Med Spa Industry with Steve Marchese show art Episode #573: How LightStim Revolutionized LED Beds and the Med Spa Industry with Steve Marchese

HALO Talks: Elevating Wellness

Welcome to another episode of HALO Talks! In todayโ€™s episode, Integrity Square Founder and host Pete Moore sits down with Steve Marchese, the founder of LightStim, to dig into the transformative power of LED light technology and its growing role in med spas and wellness centers across the country. Steve shares the LightStim origin story, which was born out of a personal mission to help his own son combat dangerously high blood pressure when traditional medicine offered no solutions. What started as a family "Hail Mary" turned into years of rigorous innovation, FDA collaboration,...

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Episode #572: Building Hone Fitness-Jim Solomonโ€™s Urban Strategy and Lessons from Torontoโ€™s Fitness Scene show art Episode #572: Building Hone Fitness-Jim Solomonโ€™s Urban Strategy and Lessons from Torontoโ€™s Fitness Scene

HALO Talks: Elevating Wellness

Welcome to HALO Talks, where we dive into the entrepreneurial journeys and strategic insights shaping the HALO sector! (Health, Active Lifestyle, Outdoors.) In this episode, host Pete Moore sits down with longtime friend and industry veteran Jim Solomon, founder of Hone Fitness. Broadcasting on location from Toronto, Jim shares his story of more than 26 years in the fitness space, from his early days as a senior associate at Goldโ€™s Gym to building and selling clubs in Torontoโ€™s unique urban neighborhoods. They talk candidly about the โ€œpuzzleโ€ that is site selection in metropolitan...

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Episode #571: Why Personalized Menโ€™s Health Is the Future-Insights from MNLY's Founder, Luke Hartelust show art Episode #571: Why Personalized Menโ€™s Health Is the Future-Insights from MNLY's Founder, Luke Hartelust

HALO Talks: Elevating Wellness

Welcome to another episode of HALO Talks! Today, host Pete Moore sits down with Luke Hartelust--a dynamic entrepreneur and now the founder of MNLY--who made the leap from the oil and gas rigs off the coast of Australia to Californiaโ€™s innovative health tech scene. Luke shares his journey from the grueling world of offshore drilling to launching and scaling fitness businesses, including his instrumental role in bringing F45 Training to Southern California.  The conversation dives deep into his latest venture, a groundbreaking menโ€™s health platform that uses AI, cutting-edge blood...

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Episode #570: Lessons from Three Decades in Fitness-Rick Dennisโ€™s Approach to Member Experience and Club Operations show art Episode #570: Lessons from Three Decades in Fitness-Rick Dennisโ€™s Approach to Member Experience and Club Operations

HALO Talks: Elevating Wellness

Welcome to HALO Talks! In todayโ€™s episode, host Pete Moore sits down with Rick Dennis, Co-Founder of Bakersfieldโ€™s Body Xchange and a definite "OG" in the HALO sector. With over 30 years of experienceโ€”including a storied career at Family Fitness, 24 Hour Fitness, and launching successful clubs with longtime partner John Ovanessianโ€”Rick shares insights on evolving gym models, member experience, and responding to changing trends. Rick and Pete chat about how Body Xchange became a place โ€œwhere everybody trains,โ€ adapting to the post-COVID demand for more strength training, flexible...

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Episode #569: Essence Over Analytics: Duff McDonald Explores Purpose, Presence, and People in Entrepreneurship show art Episode #569: Essence Over Analytics: Duff McDonald Explores Purpose, Presence, and People in Entrepreneurship

HALO Talks: Elevating Wellness

Welcome to another episode of HALO Talks! Today, host Pete Moore sits down with Duff McDonald, former investment banker and well known business journalist, for a fantastic chat. Duff, whose career has spanned investment banking, business journalism, and bestselling books like โ€œThe Golden Passportโ€ and โ€œTickled,โ€ shares insights on how numbers and data have come to dominate our understanding of business and lifeโ€”but why they often fail to capture what really matters. In this episode, youโ€™ll hear Duff break down the difference between โ€œexpertsโ€ and โ€œspecialists,โ€ challenge...

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HALO Talks: Elevating Wellness

On this episode of HALO Talks, host Pete Moore sits down with Logan Chierotti, founder of Physicianโ€™s Choice supplements, to dig into the in's and out's of building a high-growth company in the HALO space. Logan discusses his journey from working in digital marketing to launching what is now the top probiotic brand on Amazon, with annual revenues approaching $250 million. He opens up about the importance of focusing on value and science-backed products, the challenges of navigating both e-com and retail distribution, and the lessons learned in building a top-tier executive team. Whether...

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HALO Talks: Elevating Wellness

In todayโ€™s episode, host Pete Moore sits down with returning guest Jason Moore, CEO and founder of Spren (formerly Elite HRV.) Jason shares the journey of his companyโ€™s cutting-edge technology, which transforms any smartphone into an advanced biomarker and body composition analysis tool. With over a million users and thousands of coaches trained, Sprenโ€™s platform is accelerating how gyms, coaches, and fitness enthusiasts track results and stay motivated. Pete and Jason dive into the evolution of Sprenโ€™s technology, lessons learned from the pandemic, and how partnerships with industry...

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๐—›๐—”๐—Ÿ๐—ข ๐—”๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐˜† ๐—ง๐˜„๐—ผ ๐— ๐—ถ๐—ป๐˜‚๐˜๐—ฒ ๐—™๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐—ฎ๐—น ๐——๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—น๐—น๐˜€: ๐—™๐˜‚๐—ป๐—ฑ๐˜€ ๐—™๐—น๐—ผ๐˜„ ๐—–๐—น๐—ผ๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด

This week we're finally at the ninth-inning in closing our deal. 

We've gone through all the prior steps. . . club financials continue to perform andโ€”against all odds (!) โ€”every landlord signed their lease assignments. No last-minute disasters, no drama. (This never happens, but work with me for the sake of illustration. Ha)! 

๐—ช๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜โ€™๐˜€ ๐—™๐˜‚๐—ป๐—ฑ๐˜€ ๐—™๐—น๐—ผ๐˜„, ๐—”๐—ป๐˜†๐˜„๐—ฎ๐˜†?

All parties expecting cash are listed in a Funds Flow Excel sheet.

In this case, $3 million is set aside into an escrow account for two years, ready for any unforeseen surprises.

Equipment lenders (like Macrolease) get paid directly by the buyers, ensuring all liens are cleared before ownership fully transfers.

Every last closing costโ€”success fees, accountants, landlord paymentsโ€”is disbursed.

๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฉ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐˜๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜† ๐—Ÿ๐—ฎ๐—ฝ

With all wires sent and debts cleared, whatโ€™s left? A classic โ€œtombstoneโ€ celebration for the team, and a HUGE sense of accomplishment. 

These deals take a long time to close. . .anyone who says otherwise is lying (or doesn't truly know the space.) Our shortest deal in the history of ISQ took 60 days. Our longest? About 14 months. 

Until next weekโ€”Go HALO!

We go into much more detail in the HALO Academy. Registration open now for our September cohort: https://www.thehaloacademy.com