In this interview, the Bala co-founder breaks down how she and her husband Max bootstrapped the brand from their garage to $20M+ in sales, weathered near-bankruptcy after the post-COVID crash, and rebuilt into a nine-figure company with 20+ products and collaborations with brands like Spanx and Pucci.

From surviving massive layoffs to mastering profitability and rebuilding from the ground up, this is a raw, unfiltered look at what it takes to build, lose, and rebuild a modern fitness empire.

What you’ll learn from this interview:

• How Bala grew from a $5K side hustle to a nine-figure global brand

• The story behind their $900K Shark Tank deal with Mark Cuban & Maria Sharapova

• What really happened after the COVID fitness boom — and how they recovered

• The leadership lessons from scaling a 30-person team down to 3 and back again

• How to manage co-founding a company with your partner without burning out

• The strategy behind Bala’s collaborations with Spanx and major lifestyle brands

• How to protect your IP, handle copycats, and stay focused on innovation

• Why Natalie is now mentoring founders and writing The Bala Playbook to share hard-won lessons

By the end of this interview, you’ll walk away with a roadmap for building a resilient, profitable, and enduring brand — and the mindset to navigate every high and low along the journey.

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HOW WE CAN HELP YOU SCALE YOUR BUSINESS FASTER

Learn directly from 7, 8 & 9-figure founders inside Foundr+

Start your $1 trial → ⁠⁠https://www.foundr.com/startdollartrial⁠⁠

PREFER A CUSTOM ROADMAP AND 1-ON-1 COACHING?

→ Starting from scratch? Apply here →

⁠⁠https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-start-application⁠⁠

→ Already have a store? Apply here →

⁠⁠https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-growth-application⁠⁠

CONNECT WITH NATHAN CHAN

Instagram → ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/nathanchan⁠⁠

LinkedIn → ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanhchan/⁠⁠

CONNECT WITH NATALIE HOLLOWAY

Website → https://shopbala.com/

Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/natalieholloway/

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