Team Row House

At the forefront of fitness innovation, School of Management alumna Debra Strougo Frohlich ’00 harnessed her entrepreneurial skills to turn the sport of crew into a thriving business and New York City’s latest workout trend.

In 2014, Frohlich and her husband, Eric, co-founded Row House — “effective boutique fitness classes [that] combine cardio and strength training with authentic crew rowing techniques,” according to the company’s website.

The group rowing classes offer clients a low-impact, full-body workout.

In just over two years, the fitness pioneers’ business grew so much that they expanded to three locations in Manhattan. A fourth facility, in Brooklyn’s Dumbo neighborhood, opened in the fall.

Row House combines Frohlich’s two passions: business and fitness. While a student at Binghamton, Frohlich taught step aerobics at FitSpace. After graduating with a degree in business administration, she worked in marketing and digital publishing while teaching fitness on the side.

“I really wanted to work in business and fitness, and there weren’t a lot of opportunities out there, so I found a way to create that opportunity for myself. I thought about what would make me tick and love the work that I do so that I wouldn’t spend time looking at the clock. Through Row House I found a way, and it was great that Eric wanted to pursue the same dream with me.”

Frohlich says they’re still developing their brand’s market niche, but they have already created a subculture of “rowing evangelists,” targeting people who hadn’t yet found their favorite workout.

“This wasn’t just about a rowing machine. It was about starting a social community. There’s a specific culture, environment and feel that we strive for at Row House. Crew teams are made up of people who have different jobs and strengths, and we celebrate those qualities at Row House,” Frohlich says. “It’s about driving yourself further but not about competition. It’s about welcoming the group, highfiving them because we all worktogether as one. We push further as a group.”

Frohlich says they wanted to create an inclusive fitness center that would give people of all fitness levels an opportunity to exercise.

“By creating the Row House workout, we’ve been able to attract people from a wide breadth of backgrounds. Some of them are athletes, some of them are looking to drop 50 pounds, some of them haven’t been working out at all, some of them have but want more.”

When asked if running a business with a spouse is considered best practice, Frohlich laughs.

“I definitely recognize this would not be for everyone, but it works for us. My husband and I are wonderful business partners,” she says. “Part of the reason we’ve had so much growth this quickly is because we live and breathe it. We find a lot of personal connections through what we’ve created together, so it’s good for our relationship. I’ve heard a lot of entrepreneurs feel isolated at certain points, and having my husband as my business partner means I’m not alone when problems arise.”

Frohlich says she also calls upon the broad-based business knowledge she gained at the School of Management to overcome hurdles at Row House.

“Over the course of developing this business and looking at balance sheets and income statements, I found myself referring back to my education, whether it was accounting, marketing or human resources — just all the tools that helped me think things through to get to the next level of the business.”

At the same time, she’s not afraid to lean on her college contacts for advice. “Binghamton certainly gave me a wide network of people in New York City. Every entrepreneur gets to a place where they’re like, ‘I have no idea what to do with this!’ and tapping into your network helps you get over the hump of fear.”