As we approach closing out the year, it’s the perfect time to reflect on the best moments of the year. From the most powerful enhancements released to the impact our industries have made, 2021 is definitely something to celebrate together!
Jackrabbit Class 2021 Year in Review
Let’s recap the top 21 moments of 2021 with Jackrabbit Class:
1. 2021 Product Roadmap debut
At the beginning of 2021, the Jackrabbit team released a full line-up of enhancements that make managing your business easier than ever because we know we are bigger, better and smarter as ONE. The roadmap included automated billing and payment processing, upgrading the parent experience, multiple policies and much more. (—>Take me to the 2021 Product Roadmap)
2. 2021 Industry Benchmarks Report
The Jackrabbit team analyzed over 9,000 businesses in the dance, gymnastics, swim cheer and music industries to publish the first-ever Industry Benchmark Report. The report was complete with key findings, industry insights and takeaways to help business owners in the youth activity space measure how they stacked up to the industry standard.
3. Launch of Magical Minute with Marie video series
Magical Minute with Marie, a bite-sized informative video series focused on new features or common questions from Jackrabbit clients was launched earlier this year, as a supplement to additional help resources Jackrabbit offers. These videos help you get started in the right direction in the time it takes to enjoy your morning coffee or afternoon tea.
4. First international virtual training
After pivoting classroom training to a virtual platform in 2020, it was a no-brainer to offer our very first international Jackrabbit Foundations virtual training in 2021. For three days, our training team worked exclusively with international clients on how to better use Jackrabbit and uncovered ways to help improve processes through this technical training course.
5. Thought leadership podcast featuring our CEO & COO
Jackrabbit leaders, Mark Mahoney and Darin Soll, took to the Anything But Typical podcast to chat about leadership roles and how they impact business growth. With stories about the infancy of Jackrabbit and reflections on its accelerated growth, Mark and Darin give insight into how you can make sure people in your growing company are right where they’re supposed to be!
6. Company Culture Video
One of the most unique things about Jackrabbit is its positive company culture and the best way to show that was to capture the essence through a video. The tone from the top is that we are who we are because of our people and the culture they create. (—>Watch the Jackrabbit Culture Video here)
7. Jackrabbit Plus launch
This summer, Jackrabbit and Mobile Inventor took the existing integration to a new level to offer Jackrabbit Plus – a bundled subscription that gives you both class management software and a custom-branded mobile app for parents. With one monthly subscription, our clients get the best of both worlds while saving money. That’s what we call a win-win here at Jackrabbit!
8. The return of in-person trade shows
To say that we missed seeing people face-to-face at trade shows in 2020 is an understatement. We were ecstatic to return to the trade show floor, from coast to coast, seeing familiar faces and meeting new people along the way.
9. Presentation at USAG Congress
Jackrabbit CEO and former gymnast, Mark Mahoney, had the opportunity to speak at USAG Congress about ‘Maintaining Personal Connections in a Contactless World’. As the head bunny of a company with a fully-remote workforce since day one, creating virtual connections is definitely an area of expertise for him.
10. Continued company growth
Over the 12 months, Jackrabbit has added 10 new employees to the family. All together, Jackrabbit now has 88 people who are passionate about and dedicated to helping youth activity centers reach their goals across the world.
11. Launch of Jackrabbit’s new menu
Even the most powerful platforms can be easy-to-use. Enter Jackrabbit’s Simplified Menu. After a long beta period and extensive user-testing, the new menu was released with robust new pages and features designed to make tasks more centralized. With a more organized menu of features, the sky’s the limit!
12. Ranked on best dance studio software of 2021
Jackrabbit was ecstatic to be included on Digital.com’s list as one of the best dance studio software platforms of the year. With innovative features, reliable integrations and robust reporting, Jackrabbit allows dance studio owners to have powerful insights into their data while engaging with customers.
13. Ranked on Inc. 5000 list for the 11th year
The Inc. 5000 list is composed of America’s fastest-growing privately held companies and for the 11th year in a row, Jackrabbit made an appearance on the list. This is an award that we celebrate with our clients as we all continue to grow together!
14. Youth impacted worldwide
Thanks to our successful clients and youth activity programs that Jackrabbit supports, 3,380,993 students have been impacted across the world. A big ‘way to go’ to our dance studios, swim schools, cheer and gymnastics gyms and music schools from all of us here at Jackrabbit!
15. Building our client relationships
If you ask anyone on the Jackrabbit team, they will agree that we have the best clients. With over 6,500 clients worldwide with unique programs and activity centers, we couldn’t be more honored than to partner with each and every one of you – thank you for trusting us to help you build your business!
16. BOOST 2021 Virtual Conference
While we miss being able to host our annual BOOST conference in person, there’s no denying that we are able to reach a larger audience when presenting a virtual conference. This year, you all showed up and showed out to make BOOST 2021 our biggest and most fun-filled conference in Jackrabbit history.
17. Trends on the Rise main stage session from BOOST 2021
This year’s BOOST conference included an information-packed session hosted by CEO – Mark Mahoney, COO – Darin Soll, and Director of Marketing – Emily Correa, with three trends that youth activity business owners should be aware of when looking ahead to 2022. The session was a fan-favorite across all industries as there were numerous takeaways for owners to focus on when planning for the next year.
18. Product roadmap update at BOOST 2021
Knowing how amazing the product footprint has been in 2021, we were more than excited when our Product Team joined the agenda at BOOST to give an update on what has been done so far and what’s to come in 2022. From staff availability as a major part of starting on private lessons to classes that meet on different days at different times, the Product team continues to raise the bar on enhancement releases year after year.
19. Surprise confetti moment at BOOST 2021
There’s nothing like having a confetti surprise during a live conference. As Emily Correa – Director of Marketing and Molly Stroud – Marketing Manager were presenting the next steps for getting connected with Jackrabbit, confetti covered the screen and the live reaction was one of the most memorable moments from BOOST 2021.
20. Release of automated billing
Also known as Set It and Forget It, the Product team delivered the most powerful enhancement to date, automated billing. From posting tuition fees to processing owed fees on accounts, you can truly automate your entire billing process to save time and eliminate human error – just to name a few benefits!
21. Community involvement
Jackrabbit Bunnies were able to get back to one of their favorite things in the second half of 2021 – community involvement! While Jackrabbit contributes to support organizations across the country, we were able to volunteer in person at the Second Harvest Food Bank, a local organization whose mission is important to us.
As you can see, this was an amazing year thanks to our wonderful clients and industry friends and we can’t wait to top it in 2022!
What was your favorite Jackrabbit moment this year? Share in the comments below!
