S Factor

What S Factor does

S Factor is a feminine movement practice and wellness company that combines pole dancing, yoga, dance, Pilates, and erotic movement into proprietary methodologies centered on body confidence and feminine empowerment. Founded by actress Sheila Kelley around 2001 in Los Angeles and operated through the legal entity SK Movement, Inc., the company has built a multi-format portfolio that includes licensed studio classes, online programs, destination retreats, teacher training certification, and private party packages. The underlying methodology is built around a proprietary "Erotic Creature" framework of 10 archetypal feminine energy types, paired with copyrighted movement systems including Fluid Feminine Movement and S Core Pole technique, and protected by registered trademarks on S Factor, Sheila Kelley S Factor, Erotic Creature, and Fluid Feminine Movement.

Revenue is generated through per-class and package pricing at studio locations, recurring online cohort programs (most prominently the 6-month Strip & Rise journey and the entry-level Feel Radiantly Alive program delivered on Thinkific), premium multi-day destination retreats with Sheila Kelley, annual teacher training certification across Foundational, Intermediate, and Advanced tiers, and private event bookings for groups such as bachelorette parties. Distribution combines company-affiliated and licensed studios in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Costa Mesa, Chicago, and Houston with international locations including Tallinn, Estonia, plus a self-serve digital channel accessible globally. The customer base is a long tail of individual women seeking body reconnection and feminine empowerment, with celebrity practitioners (Kate Hudson, Eva Longoria, Teri Hatcher, Amy Adams, Martha Stewart, Gabby Bernstein) providing earned-media social proof rather than contracted revenue.

The company has operated for over 20 years without disclosed external funding, acquisitions, or institutional ownership, and remains privately held under founder control. Brand visibility has been amplified through appearances on The Oprah Show (2003), The Martha Stewart Show (2010), a TEDx talk (2012), and the Netflix documentary "Strip Down, Rise Up" (2021). GTM motions are community-led, event-driven, and direct-to-consumer, with the licensed-teacher model functioning as a franchise-like growth lever that converts trained ambassadors into local studio operators under the S Factor brand.

Name

S Factor

Legal name

SK Movement, Inc.

Website

https://sfactor.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Studio Classes: In-person classes at licensed S Factor studio locations. Students pay per class or package rates to attend sessions led by licensed instructors.
2. Online Programs: Digital courses including the 6-month Strip & Rise journey with Sheila Kelley, 'Feel Radiantly Alive' introductory program, and other remote learning offerings.
3. Live Retreats and Destination Events: Premium in-person experiences over multi-day retreats with Sheila Kelley and community of women. Higher-priced immersive experiences.
4. Teacher Training Certification: Foundational, Intermediate, and Advanced teacher training programs. Trainers become licensed teachers who may teach using the S Factor brand name worldwide.
5. Private Events: Private party packages for bridal parties, bachelorettes, birthdays, and group bookings at various studio locations. Priced per guest or flat rates.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

S Factor is a feminine movement practice and wellness company offering pole dancing classes, sensuous workouts, and feminine embodiment programs through licensed studio locations, live destination retreats, online programs (Strip & Rise and Feel Radiantly Alive), and tiered teacher training certification. Its proprietary methodology combines elements of yoga, dance, Pilates, erotic movement, and pole dancing, organized around the trademarked 'Erotic Creature' framework of 10 archetypal feminine energy types.

Product overview

S Factor is a feminine movement practice and wellness company offering a multi-format portfolio of in-person and digital programs centered on pole dancing, sensuous workouts, and feminine embodiment. The core offerings include Live Retreats (destination events), Studio Classes (at licensed locations), Online Programs (remote courses including the flagship 6-month Strip & Rise journey and entry-level 'Feel Radiantly Alive' program), and Teacher Training certification (Foundational, Intermediate, and Advanced levels). The company also offers Private Party Packages for group events. S Factor was featured in the 2021 Netflix documentary 'Strip Down, Rise Up' and operates under founder Sheila Kelley, who pioneered the practice over 20 years ago.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Studio Classes

Quantifiable outcome

• Women report feeling 'insanely vibrant' in their own skin and experiencing 'fountain of youth' effects

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Tony RobbinsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerTony Robbins is mentioned as one of the notable partnerships S Factor has developed, appearing alongside Mama Gena as a collaboration partner. S Factor creator Sheila Kelley has taught at Tony Robbins events.
• Mama GenaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMama Gena is referenced as a collaboration partner for S Factor. Special content and events have been developed for Mama Gena Mastery Goddesses, including a guide to masculine and feminine energies.
• MindvalleyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSheila Kelley has taught on Mindvalley stages as part of her feminine empowerment work. Mindvalley is a global education platform featuring transformation and wellness content.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• SLT: SLT is a premium boutique women's fitness franchise with subscription-based studio classes and a brand-led positioning, comparable to S Factor in target demographic, premium pricing, and boutique recurring-revenue model.
• Barre3: Barre3 is a women's-focused boutique barre fitness brand combining studio classes with digital streaming, closely comparable in its dual studio-plus-online model and female-empowerment positioning.
• Crunch Fitness: Crunch is a large national gym chain that has offered pole fitness and dance-based group classes as part of broader programming, competing for the same female fitness customer with much wider class variety but no specialty in sensual/feminine movement.
• Pure Barre: Pure Barre is a large boutique women-focused barre franchise with subscription-based studio classes — comparable in its female-skewed, boutique-studio, recurring-revenue model even though the modality (barre vs pole/movement) differs.
• Barry's Bootcamp: Barry's is a large premium boutique fitness brand with celebrity following and franchised studio economics; comparable as a scaled boutique fitness incumbent competing for the same premium female wellness consumer, though in HIIT rather than sensual movement.

Others

• Mindvalley: Mindvalley is a global personal transformation education platform on which Sheila Kelley has taught; it is adjacent rather than directly competitive, but functions as both a partnership channel and a comparable online wellness-education distribution model.

Direct peers

• Vixen Workout: Vixen Workout is a sensual pole-dance fitness brand for women that is essentially the closest direct analog to S Factor's combination of pole choreography, feminine empowerment, and studio/retreat/online model. Highly comparable in product, target customer, and erotic-movement positioning.
• Pole Divas: Pole Divas is a multi-location pole-dance studio chain offering women-only pole and sensual fitness classes with licensed teacher training, closely mirroring S Factor's licensed-studio, teacher-certification, and women-focused pole practice.
• Tracy Anderson Method: Tracy Anderson is a celebrity-founded women's fitness brand offering studio classes, online streaming, and a strong founder-driven brand — closely comparable in the celebrity-founder, women-focused, studio-plus-digital structure, though differentiated by modality.
• 305 Fitness: 305 Fitness is a dance-cardio studio brand offering high-energy group dance fitness classes — comparable to S Factor as a dance-as-fitness concept with female-skewed audiences and group class delivery.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/sfactorinoc
• Facebookfacebook.com/sfactorglobalpage
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/s-factor

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about S Factor