Hellowalla

Market position

Walla competes in boutique fitness studio management software against incumbents including Mindbody, as well as Momence, Arketa and Mariana Tek, and positions itself as purpose-built for boutique fitness rather than general appointment-based businesses. It describes itself as a studio performance software category creator focused on profitability and predictive retention, and its consumer app has roughly 4,500 iOS ratings averaging 4.9 and more than 10,000 Android downloads.

Positioning rests on vertical specialization in boutique fitness (explicitly not spas, salons or other appointment businesses), a product team drawn from studio operators and fitness industry veterans, predictive retention tooling (WallaPredict) rather than purely historical reporting, native coverage of functions that competitors deliver through third-party integrations, hands-on migration and onboarding, and a customer-driven product roadmap.

Technology

A cloud platform with web-based studio administration and native iOS and Android member apps developed by Walla Software, Inc. Proprietary AI components provide predictive insight into member behavior — marketed as WallaPredict churn prediction — along with AI reporting dashboards, automated lead management and personalized marketing campaigns. The platform is designed to cover booking, payments, payroll, marketing and reporting natively to reduce reliance on external integrations.

Go-to-market

Direct sales led by a VP of Sales managing account executives and sales development representatives, with a dedicated franchise sales and engagement lead. Demand generation runs through demos, competitive-switching offers targeting users of Mindbody, Momence and Arketa, free migration and onboarding, webinars, blog and case-study content, customer testimonials, and Google/Meta advertising integrations. Named studio partners and references include Red Light Method, The River Yoga, Barre & Soul, The Dailey Method, Elevate Training, The Bunny Hive and Pilates Collective SLO.

Owners and operators of boutique fitness and wellness studios — yoga, Pilates, barre, Lagree, indoor cycling, circuit training and HIIT — including single-site independents, multi-location groups and emerging franchise networks. The company states the studios it serves are over 70% women-owned and founded.

Geography

Headquartered in San Diego, California (7568 Montien Rd, San Diego, CA 92127), with a customer base primarily in the United States; the member app is listed as available in the U.S. only. The company announced entry into the Canadian market in August 2025 and has stated goals of expanding its footprint internationally.

History

Walla operates as Walla Software, Inc. and is led by CEO and co-founder Doug Hecht and President and co-founder Laura Munkholm. Hecht previously co-founded the digital marketing and technology agency Digitaria (later Mirum) in 1997, serving as President and COO for over 17 years and managing its 2010 acquisition by WPP, and was CEO of wellness app startup Lymber, which was acquired by MINDBODY in early 2017; he subsequently served as Senior Vice President of Consumer Products at MINDBODY. The consumer Walla App was published on the Apple App Store under the Walla Software, Inc. developer account, with user reviews dating from 2023. In August 2024 the company hired Beth Potter, formerly Chief Experience Officer at fitness consultancy Studio Grow, as Vice President of Sales, following the hire of Ashley Umann from Mariana Tek to lead franchise sales. In August 2025 Walla announced its launch in Canada and repositioned its platform as "studio performance software."

Risks & controversies

Consumer app reviews include criticism of the member booking experience, notably limited visibility into how many spots remain in a class and restrictions on last-minute booking; the company responded that some of those behaviors are controlled by individual studio settings. The business depends heavily on winning customers away from larger incumbent platforms and on the boutique fitness studio segment, and no funding, revenue or profitability disclosures appear in public materials.