Why Dragonfly Hot Yoga chose Arketa for its multi-location business

Dragonfly Hot Yoga started with a moment of conversion from their founder Megan Ryan. Before Dragonfly, Megan was working in Los Angeles on reality TV productions when a friend convinced her to try Bikram yoga. She initially hated it… but then grew to love it and hoped to continue the practice when she moved back home to Madison, Wisconsin. When she couldn't find a studio that gave her the same feeling, she took it as an opportunity and opened her own, focusing on inclusivity with the mantra, "Every shape, every size, every person," thus introducing Madison to the first Dragonfly Hot Yoga studio.

Running a studio of your own? Schedule time with our team here to see how Arketa helps founders like Megan build the business they imagined

The problem

A growing studio outgrows its software

Dragonfly emerged out of the pandemic with hard decisions to make. The team closed its lowest-performing location to protect the business, then took a build-out offer in Verona where they saw strong growth potential. The Dragonfly footprint was expanding, but so was the complexity of running it.

To help navigate the growth, Dragonfly brought on Kyle Anderson as COO. After a career of management and software development in the high-precision manufacturing industry, Kyle was able to come in with fresh eyes and could clearly see the bottleneck to their growth. The studio was running on Mindbody, a platform that had served it for years. But as Dragonfly grew into a true multi-location business, Kyle saw the team kept reaching the edges of what that software was built to do.

Supporting Dragonfly's model meant working around the platform rather than with it. The team had layered on a stack of third-party modules to cover gaps, leaned on outside integrators, and spent hours each week reconciling reports by hand. Pricing and reporting assumed a one-size-fits-all studio, which did not match Dragonfly’s community of weekenders, commuters, and once-a-week regulars moving between their locations. Additionally, as costs climbed, the support Dragonfly needed to make it all work wasn't keeping pace.

Dragonfly had simply grown past what Mindbody could offer. Changing systems, in Kyle's words, felt like a spine transplant, given how much of the business was built around it. Despite this, he recognized that they needed software that could keep up as their plans of scaling were just beginning.

The solution

A platform that fit, a team that listens

Kyle ran a careful evaluation and focused on newer platforms, expecting they would be more open to how operators actually work. What set Arketa apart was the team and support they received. When Kyle described how Dragonfly ran, the team listened and worked through the implications, instead of redirecting him to a standard setup.

"I would show the team the things we do and build in Excel and some wishlist items. After some time, I would end up seeing them live in the dashboard in some shape. The Arketa Team actually listens to how we used the product, rather than coming at it from here's how you use my product.”

Kyle Anderson
COO of Dragonfly Hot Yoga

The migration moved faster than expected. Kyle and Katie Umhoefer, Dragonfly's Director of Creative Strategy, had the platform configured within a few days, and clients noticed little to no disruption. The real work, reimagining how Dragonfly priced and sold their offerings, could finally begin.

The results

5 studios, 1 platform built to grow with you

Pricing was the first lever. Dragonfly retired its intro promos entirely, restructuring around a renewable $39 weekly pass that could convert cleanly into its recurring memberships. Arketa's clear revenue and attendance reports made the call obvious. In Katie's words, it took the business from limping to thriving in its COVID recovery.

An even bigger unlock was the flexibility Arketa provided. Cross-location memberships enabled Dragonfly to finally price for how its community actually operates: commuters, weekenders, and multi-studio clients all had a path. Reporting showed Kyle how clients flowed between locations and which class times worked for which instructors. When the team went looking for an east-side location, software was no longer the constraint. The new studio slotted into the existing schedule and membership system from day one. Five studios now run on one platform, with one pricing logic, one client experience, and one source of truth.

The switch also let Dragonfly retire tool after tool they had been using to cover gaps they had with Mindbody. MailChimp came off as Arketa's broadcast features took over, saving roughly $400 a month on its own. Retail moved off Shopify. The team is now looking to phase out QuickBooks and OpenPhone as well. For a five-location business run by about half a dozen people, the subscription savings matter, but the time recovered from bridging systems matters more.

Clients felt the upgrade too, through Achievements, Challenges, and self-check-in kiosks at the door. However, the clearest green flag came from what didn't happen during the migration from Mindbody — a multi-location client base moved to a new platform with almost no complaints.

Why Dragonfly recommends Arketa

Kyle now fields referrals from other studio owners weighing the same move. His message is consistent: the migration was great, the experience since has been better, and Arketa is a team that listens. Three years in, that last point is the one he continues to come back to.

“We know our voice will be heard. We know our ideas will be seriously considered. Those dialogues let me know the platform cares and will continue to be a platform that innovates.”

Kyle Anderson
COO of Dragonfly Hot Yoga

For Dragonfly, that has meant the room to run the business they want to run. Premier hot yoga, a welcoming community, five locations across the metro area, and a platform that helps the studio grow instead of telling it what shape to be.

Curious to see how Arketa would work for your multi-location studio? Click here to book a demo.