Lessons from Zumba’s Disruptive Business Model

Alberto Perlman at GEM
Listen

Fitness is an industry filled with disruptive business models.

Before the boom of boutiques or the wave of at-home smart gym options, a dance fitness craze swept the world.

Yes, we’re talking about Zumba®.

Created in the 1990s and trademarked in the early 2000s, Zumba Fitness has since reached 15 million people in 180 countries and has raised a combined $10 million for charitable causes. All by leaning in to a unique business model that they mostly discovered on the fly, says co-founder Alberto Perlman ’98.

Perlman shared his lessons from leading Zumba with entrepreneurship scholars at the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) Annual Meeting and Report Launch in Miami in March.

Listen to Your Brand’s Ambassadors

Zumba began with a more traditional business model. A studio. DVDs. The early years, Perlman said, were filled with experimentation to find what worked.

“We constantly looked at different business models,” said Perlman. “We never stopped.”

It clicked, he said, when they uncovered the passion of their instructors. “We saw the most momentum in our Zumba nation of instructors. It’s like the brand was telling us where to go.”

They landed on an instructor-centric model. They pay for certification. Once certified, they can teach class anywhere. “We didn’t want to interfere with their ability to go out and change lives, so we didn’t want to limit them to only work in Zumba studios. We wanted to be like water, able to flow anywhere.”

Today, Perlman regularly listens to their suggestions. Instructors visit the office regularly for tours, and he makes a point to say hello. “I usually stop everything I’m doing, no matter what meeting I’m having, and talk to them. In those five or 10 minutes, I usually get one or two ideas to bring back and work on.”

The lesson? “Build your business around the people who are the most passionate about it.”

Find Your Niche Then Ride the Wave

Disruptive business models are unique. Perlman’s advice: Don’t fall for the trap of replicating another company.

“The stakes are high,” he said. “We learned it’s not just about the product being unique. The deliver method has to be unique, too.”

Once you find that model, he said, it’s all about spotting, and leaning into, opportunities.

“Be in a position to see a wave coming and ride it. Sometimes waves don’t come. There’s a lot of luck and timing involved. But, if you can recognize the wave, ride it.”

Stay the Course

“When you’re building something, it’s hard to understand what’s going to happen 24 months from now,” he advised. “There is no way to have visibility. Keep trying, creating, and testing.”

Don’t be afraid to problem solve, either.

An example from Zumba: battling DVD piracy. It was rampant in Mexico in 2007. So, Perlman and the team ran with it. “We put advertising inside the DVDs for people to take a class or become an instructor. So, the pirated DVDs became advertising,” he said. “We took something negative and turned it into a positive. There are so many examples of that along the way.”

Posted in Entrepreneurial Leadership

More from Entrepreneurial Leadership »

Latest Stories

Children play outside
What Outdoor Play Taught Me About Entrepreneurship and Human Connection Brian Fitzgerald ’95 co-founded Tinkergarten, building an outdoor, early childhood education business to help solve the dilemma of children’s screen time. Here, he reflects on the lessons he learned about solving problems and the importance of going outside.
By
June 5, 2025

Posted in Entrepreneurial Leadership, Insights

A woman sits at a desk and thinks
How Entrepreneurs Can Navigate This Unpredictable Moment in Business Tariffs, a volatile stock market, and a sense that anything can change in an instant—these are uncertain times to be an entrepreneur. Babson’s Ben Spigel offers strategies for navigating this chaotic moment.
By
John Crawford
Senior Journalist
John Crawford
A writer for Babson Thought & Action and the Babson Magazine, John Crawford has been telling the College’s entrepreneurial story for more than 15 years. Assignments for Babson have taken him from Rwanda to El Salvador, from the sweet-smelling factory of a Pennsylvania candy maker, to the stately Atlanta headquarters of an NFL owner, to the bustling office of a New York City fashion designer. Beyond his work for Babson, he has written articles and essays for The Philadelphia Inquirer, Notre Dame Magazine, The Good Men Project, and other publications. He can be found on Twitter, @crawfordwriter, where he tweets about climate change.
June 4, 2025

Posted in Entrepreneurial Leadership, Insights

Warren Buffett
Buffett Retires: Babson Professors Highlight Lessons from a Historic Transition Warren Buffett’s retirement is more than a milestone, Babson thought leaders say. It’s also a masterclass in thoughtful succession and cultural continuity.
By
Hillary Chabot
Writer
Hillary Chabot
Hillary Chabot is a writer for Babson Thought & Action and Babson Magazine. An award-winning journalist, she is known for her insightful reporting and dedication to detailed storytelling. With a career spanning over two decades, she has covered a wide range of topics, from presidential campaigns and government policy to neighborhood issues and investigative series. As a reporter for The Boston Herald, Hillary earned a reputation for tenacity and integrity. Her work at Babson College fuels her passions—to learn something new every day and conduct thoughtful, empathic interviews. She’s thrilled to be at Babson College, where students, faculty, staff members and classes provide compelling copy daily.
May 30, 2025

Posted in Community, Insights