Blumka and Borenstein invested a combined $50,000 in savings to get their side hustle off the ground. One year later, the co-founders took the business full-time and now it's on track to double annual revenue year over year. This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features New York City-based friends and co-founders Millie Blumka, 31, and Taylor Borenstein, 31. The pair started a side hustle in 2021 called Stakt, an adaptable workout accessories brand. Blumka was a director of brand partnerships at Showfields and Borenstein was a product implementation manager at Bloomberg when they invested about $50,000 of their personal savings into the business. The co-founders have since grown it from a two-person operation to a lucrative business on track for $10 million in revenue in 2025 as it scales across DTC and B2B channels.
Blumka and Borenstein had the idea for Stakt back in 2020 when home workouts became the norm and their old yoga mats weren’t cutting it. They needed more support and versatility for the variety of workouts they were doing, and they couldn’t find a mat that could keep up. They found inspiration through their own personal need and noticing many trainers were rolling their mat in half to get extra support, realizing there had to be a better way.
Neither had started a business before, so their first step was a lot of networking. They spoke with friends to understand how to create a product and did a lot of surveying to see if this was an issue others were facing as well. They each invested $25,000 of their savings to launch the business and have been reinvesting profits since.
Blumka noted that if she could go back, she would establish clearer roles earlier in their journey. In the beginning, they both tried to touch everything, but defining ownership made things smoother. Borenstein mentioned she wished they had hired customer service support sooner, as they spent a lot of time on customer experience when they could have focused on building the business.
Borenstein reflected on the challenges of starting a consumer brand, realizing that growing a business takes discipline, hard work, and networking beyond just having a good product. They experienced issues, such as a damaged container of inventory, but turned the situation into a marketing opportunity by donating the mats to local organizations. It was about a year before they saw consistent monthly revenue, but now they are on track to do $10 million in revenue this year, doubling what they achieved in 2024.
What they enjoy most about running the business is the blend of creativity and community. Blumka loves turning ideas into products that people connect with, while Borenstein appreciates working alongside friends and family and the rewards that come with the growth of their own business. They emphasize there is never a perfect time to start, but progress begins once you launch, and trusting one’s instincts is crucial in navigating the entrepreneurial journey.