March 4, 2025
Empowering Mindbody merchants with flexible financing solutions
Discover how Mindbody partnered with Parafin to offer Mindbody Capital — flexible financing tailored for small businesses.
Mindbody is the global leader in experience technology for the fitness, wellness, and beauty industries. With 20+ years of expertise, Mindbody provides a seamless, all-in-one platform that empowers fitness studios, salons, spas, and integrative health centers — ranging from ambitious entrepreneurs to global franchises—to run, market, and grow their businesses. With industry-leading software, payment solutions, and powerful marketing tools, Mindbody supports over 41,000 businesses globally and 2.4 million consumer app users.
Mindbody partnered with Parafin to offer Mindbody Capital, a tailored financing solution for small businesses in the fitness, wellness, and beauty industries. Traditional funding options are often time-consuming and inflexible, but Mindbody Capital provides fast, accessible, and flexible financing to help businesses grow. With high satisfaction rates and 85% of merchants recommending the program, Mindbody Capital has become a trusted tool for expansion, offering a successful model for embedded capital solutions. The case study walks you through why Mindbody chose to collaborate with Parafin, the strategies they employed, and the success they have achieved.
Businesses must constantly evolve and innovate to stay successful, whether that means upgrading equipment, hiring more staff, or expanding their offerings. However, these necessary improvements often come with significant costs that can be difficult to manage, especially for SMBs. To cover these expenses, many turn to traditional funding options such as banks or other lenders. Unfortunately, processes are typically time — consuming and come with strict requirements, high interest rates, and complex, lengthy applications.
For industries like fitness, wellness, and beauty, the challenges can be even greater. These businesses often have unique needs, such as specialized equipment, customized spaces, or flexible payment terms for clients, which rigid loan terms may not fully accommodate. As a result, many SMBs in these industries may find themselves feeling stuck, unable to access the funding they need to maintain or grow their businesses effectively. This lack of flexibility can hinder growth and limit the potential for long-term success.
Understanding what their customers needed, they worked with Parafin to launch Mindbody Capital: A dedicated financing solution tailored to meet the needs of Mindbody merchants. Mindbody’s decision to partner with Parafin was straightforward once they compared Parafin's unique offerings to other providers in the market.
First, Parafin’s capital experience is embedded. This allows Mindbody merchants to remain within the existing platform, creating a seamless experience.
Second, Parafin’s underwriting model is based on sales history. This means merchants don’t need to meet typical financing requirements like credit checks, extra documentation, and collateral that slow funding processes down. As a result, most approved merchants apply and get funds within 1-2 business days.
Finally, the onboarding process is simple: A single data integration. Once Mindbody and Parafin successfully set up the sales data share, Parafin handles the rest of the capital program, from sourcing funds to the product flow to servicing and managing risk. All Mindbody has to do is spread the word to their merchants.
From the beginning, Mindbody merchants embraced the opportunity of embedded capital. Satisfaction has remained high since the launch, and reports of growth and recovery continue to come in. The program's success is reflected in the data.
For example, a typical bank loan application process takes an average of 45 days, often requiring various documents, collateral, and credit checks. The Mindbody Capital application review process is largely automated, so most approvals are instantaneous.
In a 2024 survey, over 93% of Mindbody merchants found the capital application process easier and vastly more straightforward to traditional lending applications. In the same survey, 85% of these merchants have credited the capital with playing a role in their business growth, underscoring the effectiveness and impact of the embedded capital program.
Merchants are so enthused with their experience that 85% state that they would likely recommend Mindbody Capital to a friend or colleague. This trust and perceived value of the program are further underscored by testimonials like that of Favad Malik, founder of Yoga London, who highlighted how the ease, accessibility, and efficiency of Mindbody Capital have been instrumental in helping his business thrive.
Among Mindbody merchants, the capital program partnership has increased trust and satisfaction in the platform. Mindbody Capital is now an indispensable tool for merchants looking to expand and improve their operations. For technology platforms serving small businesses considering offering similar solutions, the Mindbody case study serves as a compelling example of how embedded capital can drive tangible, long-term benefits for businesses.
Since the launch of Mindbody Capital in 2022, Parafin has funded over $100M to Mindbody merchants. Building on this success, Mindbody has now expanded the program to Canada, extending its support to even more small businesses.
By leveraging embedded capital, Mindbody has strengthened merchant relationships and positioned itself as a key partner in their growth. Mindbody’s success highlights a growing shift in what merchants seek from their financial services experience. Embedded capital solutions meet merchants’ specific needs, offering fast access to funding and a simpler alternative to traditional financing. For platforms aiming to boost merchant satisfaction and drive growth, Mindbody’s approach is a strong example of innovation aligned with merchant success.
