Franchising, Scaling, and Selling a Business with Jillian Lorenz & Ariana Chernin

February 19, 2024

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“You really, really need to trust your gut. Human nature is everything. It's like your first date where everyone's on their best behavior. But when there's smoke, there's fire. If you feel something in your intuition, it's not right.” -Ariana Chernin

In this episode of Entreprenista, we sat down with Jillian Lorenz and Ariana Chernin, co-founders of The Barre Code, a boutique fitness franchise centered around a comprehensive fitness program for women that blends the ballet barre with choreography and classroom instruction. Jillian and Ariana recently sold their business and are now continuing their partnership through a new venture, Inner Light Events. Tune in to hear what Jillian and Ariana wish they knew about starting a franchise business, how they built and scaled The Barre Code, and some of their best business advice.

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Guests

Jillian Lorenz

Hosts

Stephanie Cartin

Co-founder of Socialfly and Entreprenista.

Stephanie Cartin is the co-founder and CEO of Entreprenista, an all-in-one platform – which includes a private community & business membership called The Entreprenista League that's made up of over 2,000 women founders at all stages of business, a weekly newsletter received by 60,000 readers, two podcasts, in-person educational & networking events, and an award program – that women founders at all stages can turn to for everything they need to grow.

Stephanie is also the co-founder of Socialfly (acquired by Truform Media Group in 2024), Markid, and Pearl Influential Capital. She has won countless awards, including the SmartCEO Brava award, which recognizes the top women CEOs in New York, and a Stevie Award for Women-Run Workplace of the Year. She has also appeared in Bloomberg, Forbes, Entrepreneur, Refinery29, and more.

Courtney Spritzer

Co-founder of Entreprenista.

Courtney Spritzer is a serial entrepreneur, angel investor, author, and community builder with a passion for creating brands and platforms that empower women to lead, grow, and thrive.

In 2012, she co-founded Socialfly, a leading social-first digital and influencer marketing agency. Over the course of a decade, she helped scale the business into an award-winning agency working with Fortune 500 brands and emerging startups, building a powerhouse team and culture along the way. In 2024, Socialfly was acquired.

In 2018, Courtney launched the Entreprenista Podcast to spotlight the stories of inspiring women founders. That passion evolved into Entreprenista Media in 2021, a media platform and community supporting women entrepreneurs at every stage of growth. She now co-leads the continued expansion of The Entreprenista League, a membership-driven community and ecosystem for founders.

As an angel investor, Courtney supports female-led and mission-driven startups aligned with her vision for a more inclusive and equitable business landscape.

She is the co-author of Like, Love, Follow: The Entreprenista’s Guide to Using Social Media to Grow Your Business (2015), a strategic guide for leveraging social platforms to drive business success.

Her work and ventures have been featured in Bloomberg, Forbes, Inc., Entrepreneur, and The New York Times. She is committed to championing visionary founders and helping build the next generation of impactful, community-driven businesses.

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