Entrepreneur Kristen Nicholson left a 22-year corporate career to build Urban Sweat, a luxury wellness studio offering infrared sauna, red light therapy, and cold plunge.
The decision built over years. What pushed her over the edge was when in 2022,
"I heard three times in one day that I should bet on myself.”
She later acquired a multi-site sauna studio and also co-founded Comfort Imaging, a center delivering non-compression, gravity-based breast CT for pain-free, high-clarity imaging.
We discuss the emotional rollercoaster of entrepreneurship (why it feels like a cold plunge), the discipline and meaning that replaced her old “safe” paycheck, and how she hires, empowers, and leads. We dig into sleep as a keystone for health, proactive wellness vs. sick-care, and why she’s betting big on a more dignified approach to women’s imaging.
Mentions
- Urban Sweat — infrared sauna, red light, cold plunge: https://urban-sweat.squarespace.com/
- Comfort Imaging (Breast CT) — non-compression, gravity-based imaging: comfortimagingtn.com
- EO (Entrepreneurs’ Organization) & Catalyst (Nashville Entrepreneur Center) — peer forums & accountability
- The E-Myth Revisited (Michael Gerber) — on working on vs. in the business
- EMDR & binaural beats — mentioned as tools for anxiety regulation and perspective
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