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Listen "601: The Couple Who Built a 9-FIGURE Brand While Working Full-Time Jobs | Natalie Holloway"
Episode Synopsis
Natalie Holloway turned a $5,000 side hustle into Bala — a globally recognized fitness brand worn by millions and backed by Mark Cuban and Maria Sharapova.
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.
SAVE 50% ON OMNISEND FOR 3 MONTHS
Get 50% off your first 3 months of email and SMS marketing with Omnisend
with the code FOUNDR50. Just head to https://your.omnisend.com/foundr to get started.
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/
FOLLOW FOUNDR FOR MORE BUSINESS GROWTH STRATEGIES
YouTube → https://bit.ly/2uyvzdt
Website → https://www.foundr.com
Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/foundr/
Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/foundr
Twitter → https://www.twitter.com/foundr
LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/company/foundr/
Podcast → https://www.foundr.com/podcast
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.
SAVE 50% ON OMNISEND FOR 3 MONTHS
Get 50% off your first 3 months of email and SMS marketing with Omnisend
with the code FOUNDR50. Just head to https://your.omnisend.com/foundr to get started.
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/
FOLLOW FOUNDR FOR MORE BUSINESS GROWTH STRATEGIES
YouTube → https://bit.ly/2uyvzdt
Website → https://www.foundr.com
Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/foundr/
Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/foundr
Twitter → https://www.twitter.com/foundr
LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/company/foundr/
Podcast → https://www.foundr.com/podcast
More episodes of the podcast The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan
606: (Solo) The Week Before Black Friday: What Smart Ecommerce Founders Are Doing Differently
18/11/2025
605: He Bought an Airline for $0.30 (and made BILLIONS) | Tony Fernendes (Best of Foundr)
13/11/2025
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