How endota scaled “feeling better” into Australia’s largest wellness network
January 27, 2026
Imagine walking into a spa stressed, shoulders tense, mind racing with the weight of your day. Then, after a single treatment, something shifts. Your shoulders drop. Your breathing deepens. The mental chatter quiets. You leave feeling not just relaxed, but genuinely restored, as if you’ve pressed a reset button on your entire being.
In this episode of Growth Diaries, host Sudheer Koneru is joined by Melanie Gleeson, the founding CEO of endota, to unpack how a single spa launched in 2000 grew into Australia’s largest wellness network, delivering roughly 850,000 treatments a year while staying anchored to a clear intention: helping people feel better.
Imagine walking into a spa stressed, shoulders tense, mind racing with the weight of your day. Then, after a single treatment, something shifts. Your shoulders drop. Your breathing deepens. The mental chatter quiets. You leave feeling not just relaxed, but genuinely restored, as if you’ve pressed a reset button on your entire being.
In this episode of Growth Diaries, host Sudheer Koneru is joined by Melanie Gleeson, the founding CEO of endota, to unpack how a single spa launched in 2000 grew into Australia’s largest wellness network, delivering roughly 850,000 treatments a year while staying anchored to a clear intention: helping people feel better.
What You’ll Learn:
- How to build brand loyalty through experience gifting
- The framework for scaling service-based businesses without losing quality
- Why values-aligned hiring attracts the right talent at every stage
- How to transition from a scrappy startup to a multi-location franchise model
- The strategic advantage of building from service first, then adding products
- How to protect therapist energy and prevent burnout in high-touch industries
Melanie Gleeson is the founding CEO of endota. She began her journey at 15 years old with a life-changing visit to an ashram that sparked her passion for wellbeing. In 2000, driven by the simple goal of helping people feel better, she opened the first endota Spa. That single spa has since grown into Australia’s largest wellness network, expanding into endota Organics skincare and the digital endota Retreat.
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