INBOUND 2018: Julie Rice on Branding and Community Building

September 7, 2018 by Simran Sakshi

Day 2 of  Inbound 2018 ended with the final session by Julie Rice, Co-founder of SoulCycle and Chief Brand Officer of We Work.

An inspiring lady, Julie Rice, talked about her philosophy of branding and how she was building a community within her companies.


As we become digital creatures, we will die of loneliness without community. So building a community of people who bring comfort and empowerment is important.

However, you can’t build a community in office. You need to go beyond. Beyond knowing customers only on the basis of data. And beyond hiring employees and paying them. You need to keep them happy. Because happy employees lead to better customer experiences.

Talking about her company SoulCycle, she mentioned how they realized early on that they could create a brand around dynamic PEOPLE — with an ability to connect — and then worry about their training. They focused on having happy employees who knew how to communicate with each other.

As this would ultimately lead to happier customers with a better experience. 


“There was never anything transactional about SoulCycle. Never any discounts.”

Their customers knew SoulCycle staff will deliver on the experience.

Moving further, she talked about how the word “No” could help you grow your business brand. After all, “No is just the beginning.”


So on the path to your growth, you need to remember that when being told no, take it as a challenge, move further and achieve your dreams. And as she rightly puts it, “You never make mistakes. You either win, or you learn.”


With her philosophy and stories on branding, Julie Rice inspired those present there and out who couldn’t stop appreciating Inbound 2018 for bringing her in!


We are excited to bring you everything that’s on at INBOUND18 – sessions, videos, tweets and more. Follow the event from anywhere in the world with our remote coverage of INBOUND2018.