Can SoulCycle Founders’ New Venture Solve Our Nation’s Loneliness Crisis?

By Samantha Walravens

Peoplehood, a new business from SoulCycle co-founders Elizabeth Cutler and Julie Rice, helps people reconnect post-Covid

Four years after the start of the Covid pandemic, and we are still reeling from its effects—not just “long COVID” or the knee jerk reaction we have when the person next to us on the plane starts coughing, but a deep-seated and lingering social malaise.

In a Forbes Health Survey, 59 percent of respondents said they have found it harder to form relationships since the onset of the pandemic. Americans are hanging out less in person, as places for socialization outside the home, like offices, gyms and churches, now offer remote or hybrid options. In 2023, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy called loneliness a public health concern and said our country is experiencing a crisis of social disconnection.

Indeed, since the pandemic, many of us have lost our grasp on basic interpersonal norms, from chatting at the watercooler, to meeting and greeting people, to dating. We are in dire need of a social skills re-boot.

Enter SoulCycle founders Julie Rice and Elizabeth Cutler. Even before COVID hit, the business partners observed a shift in the way people were interacting. People were feeling isolated, lonely, and burned out.

“When we left SoulCycle in 2016, the world felt different,” Rice remembers. “Everyone seemed hyper-connected through social media, yet totally disconnected in real life. People were talking and posting and tweeting and commenting, but no one was listening.”

Social Connection is Key to Longevity

With an eye on their next business, the two spent several years researching how communities form, how to bring people together, and how social connections affect our happiness and health.

In study after study, they learned that social connection— the relationships we have with family, friends, faith communities and even gym buddies- is a key predictor of long-term health, even more so than diet, exercise and sleep. In a 2023 review article published by Rutgers University, researchers estimate that having strong and secure relationships not only increases our happiness but also our longevity by roughly 50 percent.

Despite the evidence, there were few programs available to help people learn the skills needed to “do” relationships well, according to Rice.

In 2023, Rice and Cutler launched Peoplehood, a space where people could gather to work on their interpersonal and communication skills, with the goal of building better relationships. They opened their flagship studio in New York City’s Chelsea District.

Rice calls the program “a workout for your relationships.”

In hour-long “Gathers,” participants are guided by trained group facilitators to “actively listen” to others as they their thoughts on a range of topics including, “What is something you love?” to “What is a story you tell yourself that isn’t serving you?”

A year into the launch, and the program is getting mixed reviews. While some participants appreciate the ‘zen’ atmosphere of the studio and the opportunity to open up, others report that the guided conversations feel forced and superficial, and do not feel that hour-long sessions with total strangers are not conducive to making real, long-lasting friendships.

Business Relationships Need Attention, Too

More promising, perhaps, is the enterprise version of the program, Peoplehood @Work, which aims to improve communication among teams and boost workplace culture and relationships.

Customers, including Northwell Health, theSkimm’, Ever/Body, Bobbie, have reported improved results in employee engagement, communication, and team cohesion after participating in the program. H1, a healthcare data company, reported a measurable impact on team camaraderie and collaboration after participating in a 3-month leadership program. 100% of participants said they knew their team better because of the Peoplehood @Work program. 88% of participants believe the team communicates more effectively across work streams, and 75% of participants trust their team more.

Rice is the first to admit the interpersonal challenges that come with business partnerships. She and Cutler were strangers when they first met in New York City, and despite a shared goal of creating a fitness enterprise that fostered community and connection, they had very different personalities and didn’t always see eye to eye.

“About a year into our relationship, we hit some bumps in the road,” she remembers. “Elizabeth had a panic attack in the middle of the night and Googled ‘life coach NYC.’

The next day, they met with professional coach Meredith Haberfield in a hotel lobby, and they have been seeing her ever since.

“Learning how to be in a partnership is a tangible skill,” Rice explains. “These are the types of skills we teach at Peoplehood. Entrepreneurs spend so much time learning about EBITDA and business models and yet we assume something like partnership will just take care of itself.”

Today, Rice says her relationship with Cutler is one of her greatest accomplishments, both personally and professionally.

“As co-founders and business partners, we understand intimately how much intentional time, practice and commitment it takes to work through conflict, and most importantly how to listen deeply and actually hear each other.”