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Technology executive with global leadership experience
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Tom Aveston shared thisExcited for our next chapter as Playlist and EGYM plan to join forces! https://lnkd.in/gnxumtM9
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Tom Aveston reposted thisExcited to announce our new parent brand, Playlist! Playlist unites Mindbody, Booker, and ClassPass under one roof through shared technology, AI, partnerships, and leadership. While nothing is changing about our products or how we serve our customers today, this new identity represents a shift in how we’re thinking about and building for the future. I’ve always believed in the potential of tech to bring about profound good in the world. That belief still holds. But it’s been disheartening to see how, over the past 15 years, so much tech innovation has been focused on keeping us glued to our screens. And the evidence is clear: study after study shows that these products are like modern-day cigarettes - they're designed to be addictive and they're ultimately harmful to our physical and mental well-being (especially our kids!) We’re trying to do something different. We're building a tech company with the goal of getting people *off* their screens, spending their time instead on IRL experiences that help improve their wellness, build their community and bring more "play" into their lives. We will achieve this by continuing to build great, AI-enabled software that helps entrepreneurs curate delightfully rewarding local experiences and maximize their impact and reach. And we will also provide consumers with UX's that get them off their couches and into the world. I'll spare you the belabored "Day One" cliche. Those who have followed our story know that it's been a decade of hard grinding: business model reinventions & brand evolutions, one-in-a-hundred-year pandemics, and software transformations. "Hard things" as Ben Horowitz coined it. But that 10-year grind is also why I have never been more confident that we're going to win. I have seen my team take down challenge after challenge, year after year; each time blowing past my sky-high expectations and redefining what "good" looks like. They run at challenges as opportunities to engage in deep work they can be proud of, to push their creativity, to push themselves and each other. And to deliver for our customers. Yes, having a great mission, strategy, product etc. matters, but the single best lesson for me on this journey has been that teams matter more than anything—and should be judged by the adversity they've overcome rather than whether they were able to land a job at the "hot company du jour”, riding on network effects rather than salty blood, sweat and tears. Underestimate this team at your own peril. Finally, this isn’t just a “marketing” pivot. Our software powers more enriching IRL experiences a year than any company I know of—everything from workouts and spa treatments to blowouts to kids’ chess classes and cooking lessons. And we're going bigger. We are building the "playlist" of our lives.Tom Aveston reposted thisToday, we’re proud to announce Playlist, a new parent brand bringing Mindbody, Booker, and ClassPass together under one unified identity with a mission to drive more wellness in the world and help people live better lives, away from screens. This move reflects how far we’ve come—over the past two decades, we’ve evolved into a diversified portfolio of industry-leading brands across fitness, wellness, beauty, and lifestyle. Playlist is the next step in that evolution. We power the businesses that bring you workouts, wellness, recovery, self-care, and more. We’re not here to keep you scrolling. We’re here to get you moving, connecting, and living. Learn more at playlist.com
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Tom Aveston shared thisTom Aveston shared thisMisinformation is one of the most pressing issues we face as a society and something I think a lot about both as a new parent, and in my work on Google Search. As I prepare to send my pandemic baby to school this month 🥲, I’ve been reflecting on how to best support her in becoming an independent and confident learner, and how this relates to some of the work we’re driving at Google to help equip young people with information literacy skills. #googlesearch #informationliteracy Tessa Lueth Rossa Hsieh Meredith Harvey
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Tom Aveston shared thishttps://lnkd.in/gpRUjBYpMindbody acquires ClassPass in all-stock deal and secures $500 million investment | TechCrunchMindbody acquires ClassPass in all-stock deal and secures $500 million investment | TechCrunch
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Tom Aveston shared thishttps://lnkd.in/g7qwcapClassPass Raised $285 Million—and Now It's a Unicorn | FortuneClassPass Raised $285 Million—and Now It's a Unicorn | Fortune
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Tom Aveston shared thisClassPass is in good company!The 11 most important retail products and services of the decade, according to a team of product journalists and reviewersThe 11 most important retail products and services of the decade, according to a team of product journalists and reviewers
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Tom Aveston shared thishttps://lnkd.in/gZDRhRrClassPass acquires Asia-based competitor GuavaPass for $4.2 millionClassPass acquires Asia-based competitor GuavaPass for $4.2 million
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Tom Aveston shared thisTom Aveston shared thisDid you know ClassPass has a Corporate Program? We are excited to announce our customizable Corporate Program, enabling companies to enhance their overall employee wellness through the world's largest network of 10,000+ studio and gym partners! Corporate Partners unlock access to unique perks such as live streaming & guided audio workouts for all employees, engagement tracking, marketing support and more! Find out more below or email us at trycorporate@classpass.com
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Tom Aveston liked thisToday is my last day at Vista Equity Partners. I arrived over nine years ago as an associate, coming from credit, with no shortage of people politely suggesting private equity wasn't an obvious fit. I will be forever grateful to have found a firm that took a chance on me, invested in me, and helped open doors I never thought possible growing up in a tiny town in New Hampshire. What I will carry with me most are the incredible people I had the privilege to meet and partner with, and the friendships I hope will last for many years to come. I deeply believe that good people are at the core of any great business, and I feel lucky to have worked alongside so many outstanding ones. Thank you to the colleagues who trusted me, the operators who taught me so much, and the mentors who were so generous in helping me along the way. I am better at this, and a better human, because of all of you. More to come on my next chapter. In the meantime, happy Halloween!!!
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Tom Aveston liked thisTom Aveston liked thisPlum Guide has been named one of the best Villa Rental Companies in the Condé Nast Traveler Readers Choice Awards 2026 - our fourth consecutive year on the list. Behind that recognition is our team with unreasonably high standards. From selecting the homes in our collection to looking after the guests who stay in them, they care about the details that turn a good vacation into one you'll talk about for years. Thank you to everyone who voted for us, and to our team for giving us plenty to be proud of.
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Tom Aveston liked thisTom Aveston liked thisQuickly reflecting on what it means to have worked at Google for 23 years… so I thought I’d share 23 reasons why this company still has my heart, and why there is nowhere else I would rather be.
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Tom Aveston liked thisTom Aveston liked thisMy American sports education continues... and there’s so much to learn during football season! 🏈 We just launched our newest spot celebrating fan curiosity - because whether you’re a complete newbie or a diehard superfan, you can truly "never know enough." From figuring out what actually counts as a catch to decrypting complex formations, digging into game lore, or keeping tabs on your fantasy matchups - Google Search has got you. Incredible to feature legends like Justin Jefferson, Joe Burrow, and Travis Kelce in this one. Huge shout out to Jonathan Johnsongriffin, Lauren Dale Paves, and the Google Brand Studio and Search Marketing teams who brought this spot to life - and to Denise Ho and the Product team who built a Search experience truly designed for fans!
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Tom Aveston liked thisTom Aveston liked thisToday marks my final day at Vista. When I joined 11 years ago, I had no investing or technology experience. What drew me to Vista was its hands-on approach to building businesses and its deep commitment to developing people. I couldn’t have imagined just how much I would learn—or how much the people I met along the way would shape me. I’m especially grateful to the colleagues who challenged me, advocated for me, and gave me a seat at the table before I necessarily knew what to do with it. And to the founders and executives who trusted me as a partner: thank you. Working alongside you taught me what is possible when smart, motivated people come together around an ambitious goal, and how much can be accomplished when you pair high expectations with genuine partnership. Most of all, I leave with an incredible group of friendships and relationships that I know will extend far beyond my time at Vista. I am a better person, teammate, and investor because of the people I’ve had the privilege to work with over these 11 years. You brought joy to the journey! I’m incredibly grateful for this chapter and equally as excited for the next one. More to come soon.
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Tom Aveston liked thisTom Aveston liked thisI spent YEARS saying no to ClassPass, as a small studio owner, you may have had exactly the same thought process I did… “Does it devalue my brand?” “Will it cannibalise my memberships?” “Why would I sell a space for less than it’s worth?” Yep. I hear you, and honestly? It was never really pitched to me in a way that made me think differently... until this week. At the Mindbody Playlist Summit in Denver, I was lucky enough to sit in front of Jeff from ClassPass and hear him explain the model in a way that completely reframed it for me. And, ladies (& gentlemen), let me put it VERY simply… Your studio is running at 80% occupancy. You’ve got 20% of your spaces sitting empty. The class is going ahead. The instructor is already being paid. The lights are already on. The rent is already being paid. So why wouldn’t you use another channel to help fill those spaces? Sometimes, as founders, we become so protective of what we’ve built that we can become closed off to things we decided weren’t right for us years ago. But businesses change, platforms change, the market changes, and sometimes we need to change our minds too. I came away genuinely inspired by how intelligently Jeff spoke about the model, the data behind it and where ClassPass sits within a studio’s wider acquisition strategy. We had such a great conversation, and it made me look at something I’d previously dismissed through a completely different lens. One of my biggest takeaways from this week? Don’t become so attached to an old business decision that you stop being curious about whether it’s still the right one. Eight years into building The Reformer Studio, and I’m still learning, still questioning, and, apparently, still changing my mind. Fellow studio owners — I’d genuinely love to know where you sit on ClassPass?
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Tom Aveston liked thisTom Aveston liked thisAlways fun turning the mic on someone who usually asks the questions. Loved hosting wonderful creator and founder Marina Mogilko (Silicon Valley Girl) for a conversation with Google Marketing leaders. We went behind the scenes on her daily AI stack - like how she layers multiple models to benefit from what each does best, and the structured folder system that ensures all her agents (and team members!) are onboarded with the latest context. We also got into approaches for offloading the mom mental load, like surviving all those back-to-school emails. Beyond the millions of views her content gets, her usefulness bar really resonated: when another parent stops her at drop-off to say, “thank you—that video really helped me.” At 31 weeks along with baby #3, the parenting thread hit especially close to home. (And yes, the bump made a clear stage debut!) Huge thanks to Marina for the rich conversation 💖
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Tom Aveston liked thisTom Aveston liked thisGama has been quiet for a while. Today we step out of the shadows to announce a partnership with Eclipse Space, and to explain what we have been building. Gama makes deployable infrastructure for space: structures that launch folded inside a rocket and deploy to hundreds of square metres in orbit, plus the software to control them. We are starting with power, because every satellite needs it and nobody has industrialised it. The Gama Wing range of modular solar arrays, from 3 kW to over 100 kW per wing, are designed from the outset for constellation production rates. It would be hard to find a partner more aligned with what we are building. Founded by senior engineers who helped build and scale Starlink, Eclipse is now building constellations for nations and enterprises that want to own their own. They have done this at scale before and know exactly what an array has to deliver. They chose Gama to supply theirs, which tells me we are on the right track. Part of why is the team. Gama is an engineering-first company: a talent dense and low ego group who have flown hardware, built factories and scaled companies. On our website you will find Wing, our plans for Factory 02 at 100 MW a year, and where we are heading from there. Link in the first comment. The constellations being planned today will need more solar array capacity than has ever been launched, and someone has to build the factories for that. We intend to. There is more to come from us this autumn, and if you want to be part of it, get in touch. Thank you Derek Huerta and the Eclipse Space team for the trust, and to the Gama team, who did the hard part.
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Tom Aveston liked thisTom Aveston liked thiswe’re launching a new partnership with Jimmy Donaldson (aka MrBeast), expanding beyond YouTube across Gemini and Google Health. this is a big deal. new technology often doesn’t become real to people until people like creators get their hands on it. we saw this back in 2008, when traditional broadcast networks were dragging their feet on upgrading to HD. creators bought the Canon 5d Mark II, shot cinematic 1080p in their bedrooms, and proved high-res video was the new standard years before cable caught up. or when YouTube launched 4k in 2010. almost nobody owned a 4k monitor then. creators uploaded anyway, stress-tested the pipes, and forced hardware makers to catch up. or when podcasting was stuck in its audio-only era. creators put cameras in the studio, proved people wanted to watch the conversation, and turned YouTube into the biggest podcast platform in the world with over a billion people watching every month. today, the creator economy is a massive economic engine - YouTube has paid out $100+ billion to creators over the last four years, contributing $55 billion to US gdp last year alone. top creators are operating like the startups of hollywood, building production studios and green-lighting their own concepts. that's why it’s so important that we’re working with Jimmy to showcase our newest AI technologies. reaching 500 million subscribers requires insane operational precision. Jimmy pushes production to the absolute edge. and when someone with his scale plugs Gemini into their workflow, it’s demystifies what AI actually does. he's not typing prompts into a box to replace human creativity. he's using it as an operational co-pilot to pull off impossible logistics in the real world - starting with surviving three of the most brutal climates on earth. creators have always been how frontier tech meets human context. AI is the next chapter. can’t wait to show this to the world with Jimmy.
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