She Built the School Nobody Else Would—And the Admin Doesn’t Get in the Way.
3 Age When Mersina Started Training in Karate
2019 Founded in Ancaster, Ontario
4+ Years on Gymdesk
95 Active Members & Counting
A Lifetime’s Worth of Work.
Mersina Giampapa earned her first black belt at thirteen. By twenty-one she had her third. Today she holds a fourth-degree black belt in karate, a national championship title in continuous sparring, and two Team Canada appearances at the World Championships. She opened Lion’s Heart at twenty-four — not because she ran out of titles to chase, but because she wanted to build something the dojos she grew up in had lost.
Diana Valliant joined at seventeen as an extra set of eyes on the floor, started training in 2021, and earned her black belt by twenty-one. She and Mersina have competed together on Team Canada, landing on the podium in Buffalo. They coach the same way they built the school: meeting every student exactly where they are.
Her Needs Shifted. Her Software Wasn’t Prepared.
Lion’s Heart opened in February 2019 — a year before COVID changed everything. When restrictions forced class-size limits, Mersina adopted studio management software to handle bookings. It worked — until the price went up without the product improving to match. Meanwhile her memberships kept multiplying: once-a-week, unlimited, specialty programs. Spreadsheets couldn’t hold it together. She needed something that fit what Lion’s Heart actually was — and she needed it to work without her having to become a tech person to use it.
“I couldn’t keep track anymore. We have once-a-week option memberships, unlimited, other programs, and I was like, I don’t know how to organize all of this on a spreadsheet anymore.”
Software Built for What She Actually Needed.
Mersina found Gymdesk searching for something that matched where Lion’s Heart was, not where it might eventually go. She got on it and didn’t have to think about it again. Booking, attendance, memberships, and the shop all run through one place now. When she needed help, there was a real person on live chat. When features improved, they just showed up. Two years in, she discovered booking and a full storefront she hadn’t known were there — and started using both the same week.
The Operational Shift
Without the Right Tools
- Multiple membership types tracked manually on spreadsheets
- Paying rising fees for software with features she didn’t need
- E-commerce managed through a separate tool
- No reliable way to surface attendance gaps across membership types
- Live chat that felt like a dead end
- Admin pulling her away from the mat
With Gymdesk
- All membership types managed in one place
- Paying for a platform she actually uses
- Built-in shop linked directly to the website
- Daily attendance tracking — missed students flag automatically
- Real people on live chat who understand what she’s asking
- Booking, memberships, shop, and attendance — all in one place
Every Kid Gets a Spot on the Mat.
Lion’s Heart welcomes students with ADHD, autism, physical disabilities, and hearing impairments. When a parent called to ask whether her deaf daughter could train, Mersina’s answer was simply: okay. Within weeks, the staff had started learning basic sign language. That family now drives thirty to forty minutes each way for a single class — because everywhere else, they were told she couldn’t do it.
“I couldn’t keep track anymore. We have once-a-week option memberships, unlimited, other programs, and I was like, I don’t know how to organize all of this on a spreadsheet anymore.”
“Make money to do karate. Don’t do karate to make money.”
Run Your Academy. Not Your Inbox.
Gymdesk handles the admin so you can stay on the mat.
