Lauren Foundos

• Visionary Leadership: Founded and scaled FORTË into a leading B2B SaaS platform and marketplace for gyms, boutique fitness studios, influencers, and sports teams and leagues to enable them to create a community-driven, video monetization strategy merging cutting-edge proprietary technology with user-focused design.
• Strategic Growth: Secured strategic partnerships with the industry's largest global players including the UFC, YMCA, Curves, Exhale Spa, Under Armour, and many others.
• Fundraising: Raised $15M from top institutional investors, including the LA Dodgers, Billie Jean King, Elysian Park, Seventy Six Capital, R/GA Ventures, and notable angels including Rosie Rios (former Treasurer of the United States), Michael Levine (CAA Board Member and former CEO), Lance Bass (singer from NSYNC), and many others to drive innovation and expansion.
• Product Innovation: Lead product development, as well as, spearheaded the development of a proprietary software and hardware solution, integrating seamlessly with fitness studios gym management and payment software systems to deliver high-quality streaming experiences and a seamless member experience.
• Team Building: Built and led a dynamic, cross-functional team, fostering a culture of creativity, accountability, and high performance.
• Operational Excellence: Managed all aspects of business operations, including product development, marketing, sales, and customer engagement, achieving consistent year-over-year growth. Specifically, managed all sales, partnerships and strategic business relationships by negotiating contract terms, handling conflicts, and bolstering the relationship.
• Brand Development: Established FORTË as a recognized name in the fitness tech industry utilizing innovative marketing strategies and never hiring a firm to build the company's well-respected and wildly known brand.
• Industry Impact: Positioned FORTË as a pioneer in the hybrid fitness model, adapting to market demands and shaping the future of fitness accessibility and innovation.

Key Achievements:

• Raised $15M from top institutional investors, including the LA Dodgers, Billie Jean King, Elysian Park, Seventy Six Capital, R/GA Ventures, and many others.
• Successfully launched FORTË in 39 countries worldwide with the fitness industry titans like UFC, YMCA, Curves and others.
• Feature on the TV Show, 'Unicorn Hunters,' and was the first company to get all of the investors to make an investment including Steve Wozniak, Lance Bass, Rosie Rios, Moe Vela, Silvina Moschini, and Alex Konanykhin.
• Doubled overall company revenue in Q3 2024 after the completion of a two-year, $5M development project of a new enterprise SaaS platform that is receiving incredible market reception as reflected by the sales.
• Awarded the EnTERPreneur Award in 2022 from the University of Maryland, as well as the Comcast/NBC Innovation Award of the year at the NAMIC National Conference, she has presented at Amazon's Innovate Conference, Microsoft, The Collision Conference, Motionsoft, IHRSA, Agora's AllThingsRTC, the Connected Fitness Summit, and many other leading tech and fitness conferences.
• Featured on the TV Show, Unicorn Hunters, MVP, Good Morning America, CNBC, and frequently written about in Crains, Business Insider, Forbes, Shape Magazine, and other notable outlets.
• Board member of the Industry Partner Advisory Council (IPAC) which advises the Health & Fitness Association's executive staff and Board of Directors to support the association’s mission “to grow, promote, and protect the health and fitness industry, and help ensure the success of its members.” This is the fitness industry's board that undertakes lobbying efforts on behalf of the entire industry.
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• Identified new revenue generation opportunities to maximize bottom-line profitability.

• Transformed UST Short Coupon and Bill desk from a non-lucrative into a profitable venture.
• Cultivated a broad network of contacts within the financial sector that resulted in valuable leads and business opportunities.
• Developed strong relationships with clients, resulting in increased trust and long-term partnerships.

• Identified Lucrative Market Opportunities: Conducted in-depth market research and analysis to guide clients in selecting high-performing stocks and investment opportunities, resulting in portfolio growth and increased client satisfaction.
• Proven Business Development Success: Built and expanded a robust client base by proactively identifying prospects, delivering tailored investment strategies, and closing new accounts, driving significant revenue growth.

• Supported senior traders by executing trades across various asset classes, ensuring precision and compliance with market regulations at the Global Macro Fund.
• Conducted detailed market analysis and provided real-time data to assist in informed trading decisions.
• Played a key role in improving operational efficiency by streamlining trade execution workflows and reporting processes.

• Collaborated with traders, risk management, and compliance teams to resolve discrepancies and maintain adherence to regulatory standards as trading methodologies continued to get more sophisticated.
• Implemented process improvements to enhance operational efficiency, reduce errors, and streamline reconciliation workflows.
• Provided critical support for trade execution by monitoring trade confirmations, clearing processes, and post-trade settlements to ensure they were reflected properly across the bank.