Welcome toSecond Life, a podcast spotlighting successful women who’ve made major career changes—and fearlessly mastered the pivot. Hosted by Hillary Kerr, co-founder and chief content officer at Who What Wear, each episode gives you a direct line to women who are game changers in their fields. Subscribe to Second Life on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or anywhere you get your podcasts to stay tuned.
A few years ago, a new fitness brand entered the scene, completely innovating they way people worked out through its iconic piece of equipment, the Bala Bangle. Natalie Holloway is the co-founder and visionary behind Bala and has grown the business from the Bangle to a 360 lifestyle brand. As many successful businesses begin, Holloway founded Bala after noticing a need in the market. In fact, her life completely took a turn when she met her future husband and business partner, Max, when they were both working at global ad agency 72andSunny. Holloway began her career in advertising, where she worked with major clients such as Jeep and Starbucks, but once she and Max realized their mutual burnout, they decided to leave their jobs and embark on a yearlong travel adventure.
Throughout their travels, the couple brainstormed various business ideas, and their aha moment came during an unchallenging yoga class in Indonesia. They wondered why no one was creating stylish wrist or ankle weights to amp up workouts like these. With this idea in mind, they returned from their travels and set out to create the now-beloved Bala Bangle, using a successful Kickstarter campaign to launch their business.
In 2020, Bala experienced exponential growth after appearing on Shark Tank, where they received a game-changing offer from Sharks Mark Cuban and Maria Sharapova. The brand’s fitness equipment, designed for convenience and style, can now be found in retailers like Goop and Saks, and as of October 2023, it’s available at Target stores nationwide.
But Holloway’s innovation doesn’t stop there. Bala has expanded its offerings to include a digital fitness platform called Balacize, aimed at educating consumers on how to maximize their workouts using Bala equipment. Listen to the latest episode of Second Life to hear how Holloway transformed a simple need into a burgeoning wellness company.
Keep scrolling to discover some of Bala’s best sellers.
