Built by a studio owner, for studio owners
John got tired of clunky software that felt like it was built in 2005. Kyle built something better.
The Problem
In 2024, John Scharfe was running E8 Yoga in Longmont, Colorado. The studio was thriving - packed classes, engaged community, great teachers. But the software? A nightmare.
Mindbody was charging hundreds per month plus taking a cut of every transaction. The interface looked like Windows XP. Members complained about the clunky booking experience. Teachers hated the backend. And John was paying way too much for software that fought him at every turn.
He needed something modern. Something that actually worked. Something that didn't take a percentage of his hard-earned revenue.
So he called his friend Kyle.
The Solution
Kyle Donovan is a Colorado-based entrepreneur who has worked as a music producer and performer, interpersonal mediator, software designer, and a yoga instructor. Completing a coding bootcamp in 2025 sparked the curiosity that supercharged his excitement to help others with modern software. When John described the pain points, Kyle saw the opportunity immediately: the entire yoga studio software industry was stuck in the past.
Legacy platforms were built before smartphones existed. Before React. Before modern payment processing. They were charging premium prices for outdated technology, and studios had no better option.
Kyle and John decided to build Wellspring - modern studio management software that actually works.
Meet the Team
Two people who care about making studio management not suck.
Kyle Donovan
Founder & Creator
Kyle is an entrepreneur, yoga instructor, musician, and software developer who built Wellspring from the ground up. Combining his love for the yoga community with his technical skills, he worked closely with John Scharfe and E8 Yoga to create this innovative "studio-in-a-box." Based in Colorado, he believes good software should feel invisible and cares deeply about community connection.
"If your software needs a manual, you've already lost."
John Scharfe
Co-Founder & Flagship Studio Owner
John owns and operates E8 Yoga in Longmont, Colorado. He's lived the pain of bad studio software firsthand and knows exactly what studios need. He's not a developer - he's the customer who keeps Kyle honest. E8 runs on Wellspring, and John uses it every single day.
"We built this for studios like mine. If it works for E8, it'll work for you."
How We Built It
Six months from idea to production.
We Started with E8
John's studio became our first customer. We migrated E8 off Mindbody and onto Wellspring. Every feature we built had to work for real members, real classes, real revenue.
We Obsessed Over UX
E8's members tested every feature. If something was confusing, we redesigned it. If something took too many clicks, we simplified it. The goal: make booking a class feel effortless.
We Built Multi-Tenant from Day One
Even though E8 was our only customer, we architected Wellspring to support multiple studios from the start. Complete data isolation, white-label branding, custom domains.
We Chose Modern Tech
React, TypeScript, Prisma, PostgreSQL. Mobile-first design. Helcim for payments. Every decision was made to create software that's fast, reliable, and maintainable.
We Leveraged the Power of Claude and Codex
Kyle utilized powerful tools like OpenAI's Codex and Anthropic's Claude Code to accelerate development and harden security.
We Launched
In January 2026, E8 Yoga went live on Wellspring. Real bookings, real payments, real members. It worked. Now we're ready to bring Wellspring to more studios.
What We Believe
Simple > Complex
The best software feels invisible. We strip away everything unnecessary and focus on what actually matters.
You Keep Your Revenue
We charge a flat fee. No transaction fees, no revenue sharing. Your money should go to you, not us.
Modern Beats Legacy
Studios deserve software built in this decade. Fast, beautiful, mobile-first - that's the baseline.
Want to see if it's right for your studio?
I'll give you a personal walkthrough and we can talk about whether Wellspring is a fit.
Built in Colorado • Custom branded • No setup fees