Bootstrap Empire: The Bala Blueprint for Building a $100M Brand from the Ground Up

by Natalie Holloway

Start, fund, and scale your business with expert advice from a proven entrepreneur

In Bootstrap The Definitive Guide to Building a Viral Brand From Scratch, Natalie Holloway, co-founder of the hit fitness equipment brand, Bala, delivers the ultimate guide to successfully transforming your best business idea into a thriving enterprise. The book is a start-to-finish playbook for building a brand that rises above the competition and the noise, explaining the mindset you need to develop, the mistakes you must avoid, and giving you the tools you need to succeed. You'll learn how to pitch, budget, finance, market, and hire for your new company. Holloway relies on the tried-and-tested methods she used to grow Bala from an initial $5,000 investment to a fitness juggernaut doing $30 million in annual sales. The author shares the insights she gained from building a company that caused a 5-way bidding war on the hit show Shark Tank and earned investments from Mark Cuban and Maria Sharapova.

You'll also

A comprehensive roadmap to growing your new company, including the mindset, toolkit, step-by-step guidance, and long-term strategy necessary to make your idea a reality Hands-on techniques for bootstrapping your business, with or without existing funding, and strategies for demolishing common obstacles to success Specific tips for how to conduct early-stage marketing, knowing when to start hiring, how to pitch effectively, and how to take advantage of momentum
Perfect for aspiring entrepreneurs and founders, Bootstrap Empire is a must-read guide for everyone interested in finding the most effective and efficient way to entrepreneurial success.

Genres: Business

240 pages, Hardcover

Published March 3, 2026

Reviews

[Megan Hailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very practical. Some of the specifics might be obsolete in a few years (tech stacks etc) but there is no doubt that she is a boss and built a great business, keeping it very lean. Only problem was with the AI voice narration- it was so robotic and lacked emotion. Please create an author-read version. Thank you Natalie for sharing everything with us. 🙏

[Heidi Richards Mooney · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Every successful brand begins as a seed of possibility... and in Bootstrap Empire, Natalie Holloway shows you how to nurture that seed into something extraordinary. This book is both a blueprint and a belief system for building a business that grows with purpose, resilience, and heart.”

— Heidi Richards Mooney
Author, The Expectant Author

[Sophia M · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wealth of information. Unique perspectives and well written. This is a must for any business owner or hopeful. I was curious about the story as I’m a fan and user of bala bangles and was pleasantly surprised by all of the details that the founder provided.

[Terra Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bala blueprint! Love seeing how brands came about