Tell Us Who You Are!

Hi! We’re Millie Blumka and Taylor Borenstein, the co-founders of Stakt.

In 2020, as besties and workout buddies, we noticed a gap in the market: traditional yoga mats just weren’t cutting it for our diverse workout regimens! So, we set out to design something better. Soon, we’d created the Stakt Mat, a versatile, supportive mat that quickly caught, well, everyone’s, attention. (And most importantly, will make all of your workouts better!)

The Stakt Mat was named one of Time’s Best Inventions of 2023 and wow-ed Shark Tank investors in 2022. Nowadays, we’re still focused on developing functional, convenient and versatile fitness products that inspire movement.

Keep up with all of our happenings and follow us on IG! 

7:30 AM - 9:00 AM  → Coffee & Exercise Class, Please ☕

Millie: The first thing I do is take out my dog! Then I get my workout in—either at a class or at home. I love sculpt and pilates-type workouts. Then I make coffee in my Nespresso with lavender syrup (it’s amazing) and frothed almond milk. 

Taylor: I’m less regimented in the morning, because I’m not a morning person. That said, I do try to get my workouts done in the morning. (When I workout in a fitness studio, I always bring my Beia Refresh Wipes!) 

9:30 AM - 6:00 PM → Deep Work 🧑🏼💻

Millie: I start working at 9-ish. It’s just ingrained in me from corporate jobs. I work all day, taking internal and external meetings and making Stakt magic. (We love incorporating management tools like Notion & Google Drive!) 

Taylor: A lot of the work I do is deep work. I can’t be talking to anyone. I need my headphones in and one hour with a spreadsheet. I try doing that work between 9-ish and noon. Then, like Millie, I’ll also be taking meetings. 

6:30 PM - 9:30  PM → Cooking Dinner (Or Trying To, At Least!) 👩🏻🍳

Millie: Around 6-ish, my husband and I cook dinner. Afterward, he watches sports and unwinds while I tie up loose ends on my laptop before we head to sleep.

Taylor: Once dinnertime rolls around I try my best to cook. (But I don’t succeed everyday, hah!)

How do you balance your friendship and running a business together? 

Taylor: We have something really important, which is trust. We trust that we would never do wrong to each other. We’re friends first, after all. We also are in the same group of friends, so when we all hangout, we don’t talk about Stakt. We relax. We carve out time to get our nails done and talk about things that aren’t work-related, too. 

Millie: With your co-founder, you should each have different areas of expertise or focus. Then we don’t butt heads. We let each other own different aspects of the business management. Ultimately, we’re able to lift each other up. If one of us is having a bad day, the other is there to remind us why we’re doing this. 

How did you get on Shark Tank? What did you learn from the process?

Millie: A producer found us through a viral TikTok! They asked us to apply to be on the show, so it forced us to get really organized and send in our materials, which was great. 

Taylor: There’s the showmanship side of Shark Tank, which means you have to work on your pitch, wow the Sharks with your set. Then there’s the Q&A part, which you can’t prepare for besides knowing the complete ins and outs of your business. On the weekend that we aired, we did over 250K in sales. It was huge for brand awareness. 

Tell us your skincare secrets! Any favorite products?

Millie: Skincare is such a relaxing ritual for me! I love Inna’s Face Lotion. In the shower, I use the Beia Bikini & Body Scrub. 

Taylor: I switch up my skincare routine all the time. But right now I’m loving the Bubble Face Moisturizer and, like Millie, the Beia Bikini & Body Scrub for the shower. 

Our go-to advice is…

There’s no secret sauce! Running a successful business takes hard work, good products, and doing the right thing for your customers.