- Case Study
- The Vault Group Training
The Vault: From 0 to 130+ Members in Under a Year with Kilo & Two-Brain Business
How The Vault Launched Strong and Scaled Fast
The Vault is a strength-focused group training studio in Dundas, Ontario, founded in October 2024 by Jackie Milne and Tyler Ouwendyk. They entered the market with a clear insight: Dundas had plenty of fitness options but almost no strength-centric group training. They set out to build a community-driven space that prioritized technique, consistency, and confidence, especially for women aged 30–50, though members range from teenagers to retirees in their 70s.
The studio opened with 45 founding members, enough to cover payroll and operating costs from day one. By pairing Kilo’s unified platform with Two-Brain Business mentorship well before opening, Jackie and Tyler launched with strong systems, clear pricing, and a business model designed for sustainability—not burnout. In less than a year, The Vault surpassed 130 members, held churn at roughly 1%, and built a thriving coaching team supported by a culture of professionalism and balance.
October 30, 2024
Founded
45 → 130+
Members
~1%
Churn Rate
Above industry standard + PTO
Coach Compensation
Kilo Bundle implemented pre-launch
Platform Timeline
Two-Brain Business partnership from day one
Mentorship
The Problem: What They Refused to Repeat
Both founders had seen the same pattern play out in the gyms they previously managed: owners coached every class to save money, operated without systems or staffing plans, set no boundaries, and inevitably burned out. Fragmented software made everything harder, adding administrative work instead of reducing it. Jackie and Tyler knew exactly what they didn’t want to build, and their requirements were precise.
They needed a system that wouldn’t trap them in full-time coaching, software that functioned as one unified platform rather than a patchwork of disconnected tools, a sustainable pricing strategy from day one, and real support and accountability to stay on track. Above all, they wanted a business designed to protect their time rather than consume it.
Their goal was simple: build the foundation right from day one so they never had to rebuild it later.
The Kilo Solution
Tyler and Jackie chose to invest in the right foundation before opening The Vault. They implemented Kilo’s complete platform—Website, Gym Lead Machine (GLM), and Gym Management Software (GMS)—and paired it with Two-Brain Business mentorship. These are decisions most gym owners only make after years of trial and error.
Pre-Launch Alignment
Tyler had followed Two-Brain Business since 2022 and used many of its systems at his other gym, Momentum Fitness. When building The Vault, he and Jackie formalized the mentorship and selected Kilo as the operational engine.
Seamless Integration
Kilo’s workflows aligned perfectly with the operational model taught by Two-Brain Business. Instead of free trials, The Vault used no-sweat intros paired with a tiered pricing structure, automated 90-day touchpoints, and consistent communication through SMS and email. Every lead flowed into a single visual pipeline, and automations handled immediate responses, allowing Jackie to manage calls and consultations even before the studio’s build-out was complete.
A Platform That Simplified Everything
With Kilo, scheduling, billing, communication, attendance tracking, and reporting were all centralized. Mailchimp and other disconnected tools became unnecessary.
Tyler said it plainly: “One thing I liked about Kilo is metric tracking and KPI tracking. It’s all right there on your dashboard. It’s super easy. When I do KPIs for Momentum, it takes like two hours because I have to run 20 reports and put them in a spreadsheet.”
Proactive Member Retention
Missed visits, failed payments, birthdays, and attendance insights were visible instantly. GLM automations made engagement easier.
For Jackie, the dashboard became a retention engine: “Keeping track of missing members is really important to us. Seeing that so quickly and being on top of it—that has absolutely helped our retention. It cuts down my work because I respond when they respond. Engagement is really high.”
Human Support That Actually Helps
When Tyler began moving his 950-member 24/7 gym to Kilo, the difference in support was unmistakable.
“With my former provider, it took two hours just to get past a chatbot. I spent 90 minutes on the phone trying to change banking information. With Kilo, you talk to a real human and get a quick response.”
Tyler & Jackie
Founder, The Vault Group Training
“Keeping track of missing members is really important to us. Seeing that so quickly and being on top of it—that has absolutely helped our retention. It cuts down my work because I respond when they respond. Engagement is really high.”
45 → 130+
Members
~1%
Churn Rate
Above industry standard + PTO
Coach Compensation
The Results
Immediate Traction & Sustainable Growth
The Vault opened with 45 founding members and grew to 60 in the first month. Less than a year later, they crossed 130+ members with about 1% churn. Growth at every milestone—50, 75, 100, 125—came faster than expected, driven largely by member referrals.
The studio’s downtown location, high-standard coaching, and distinct aesthetic (exposed ducts, cement walls, and a custom backlit logo) created a space members were excited to share with friends.
Scaling Without Burnout
Instead of following the typical “coach everything yourself” approach, Jackie and Tyler invested in a full coaching roster from the start. It required more upfront cost, but it gave them room to grow without sacrificing their personal lives.
As Jackie put it: “We knew we weren’t going to outrun the growth if I was coaching every class to save money.”
Because the foundation was strong, Jackie now works the schedule she chooses, keeps select personal training clients, and maintains more time with family. Coaches are paid above industry standards, and weekend duties rotate across five team members—ensuring no one is overloaded.
A Business Designed for Longevity
With strong retention and stable operations, The Vault naturally expanded its services. They introduced early-morning and Sunday classes, expanded their personal training offering, added small-group programs, and launched nutrition coaching. These additions evolved organically as member demand increased and the systems in place made growth easy to manage. As a result, expansion no longer required more grind or longer hours. It simply required better systems, which Kilo provides.
Platform Proven for Multi-Location Success
The Vault’s success with Kilo ultimately convinced Tyler to migrate his 24/7 access gym, Momentum Fitness—despite the challenge of moving 950 members off his previous software. While any migration is complex, the decision reflects his confidence that Kilo’s unified platform, dashboard clarity, and human support deliver better long-term value.
Conclusion
The Vault proves that starting right matters more than starting cheap. By implementing Kilo’s unified platform and partnering with Two-Brain Business before opening, Tyler and Jackie built a gym that was profitable on day one and scaled to 130+ members in under a year—all while protecting the work-life balance that makes the business worth running.
They didn’t avoid burnout by chance. They designed the business to prevent it by investing in coaches from the start so they weren’t on the floor for every class, pricing with confidence, automating member communication, and relying on systems that kept operations simple rather than complex.
The result is a studio where members stay, coaches thrive, and the owners get to live the life they built the business to support.