This interview with Melanie Whelan, C.E.O. of SoulCycle, was conducted and condensed by Adam Bryant.

Q. What were some early influences for you?

A. My father is an entrepreneur. We lived in Baltimore, but all of his companies were based out of D.C. He got up every morning at 5 to work out, then he would commute an hour and a half each way to these companies. He probably started between five and six companies that I can remember.

He was a huge role model for me because of his work ethic and discipline. He was like the mailman — come rain, come shine, come anything, he was out that door at 5 in the morning. And there was a big creative aspect to his work — he would start something, and when it grew large enough, he would sell it and do the next thing.

Did you have an idea of what you wanted to do for a career when you were in college?

I thought I wanted to be an architect. I was fascinated by building structures and engineering. I loved physics and calculus. After two and a half years, though, my interest started shifting to business. I realized I wanted to be part of a team and I wanted to build a company.