169. Max Kislevitz, Co-founder of Bala

Today, I’m joined by Max Kislevitz, co-founder of Bala, maker of design-focused functional fitness accessories.

Founded in 2018, Max and his wife Natalie took on Bala as a side project with the goal of making ankle and arm weights more practical and attractive. Their creation: weighted accessories called Bangles. After appearing on Shark Tank and hosting successful retail pop-ups, Bala has become a rapidly growing business, selling a variety of at-home fitness accessories and launching a digital fitness platform, Balacize.

In this episode, we discuss the company’s design-forward approach to fitness equipment, and Max shares the company’s vision to “Balaify” fitness for all ages and ability levels.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How Bala started as a side project and turned into a booming business
• The role Shark Tank played in its exponential growth
• Bala’s plan to double their product line in the coming year

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Chapters:
(00:00) Introduction
(01:17) About Bala
(02:41) Bala’s journey
(03:48) Max’s journey to starting Bala
(05:25) Marketing strategies
(10:09) Bala’s growth during the  pandemic
(11:40) Shark Tank
(14:30) Iterative approach to business
(15:46) The team
(17:21) Future growth plans
(19:51) Bala’s products
(22:28) Brand marketing
(25:12) Building a fitness brand that resonates with people 
(26:27) Bala’s vision
(28:18) Future roadmap
(30:31) New products to look out for
(31:33) Conclusion