Couple behind gym towel business turnover $300k in five days

A young couple who launched a business from their spare room have shared how they turned over $300,000 in just five days – and their huge $50,000 mistake. 

Kalinda Salla, 29, and fiancé Joel Miranda, 34, started Cheeky Winx on March 7, 2021 after becoming fed up with ‘useless’ gym towels.

The Brisbane couple invested $40,000 in savings to design funky gym towels and claim the material is quick drying, odour free, ultra absorbent and lightweight. 

The business wasn’t an overnight success but in the first two years they turned over a staggering $1million dollars.

Their decision to try expand to the US market cost them $50,000 – though thankfully they turned this around with $300,000 of sales during Black Friday. 

Brisbane couple Kalinda Salla, 29, and fiancé Joel Miranda, 34, started Cheeky Winx on March 7, 2021 selling funky gym towels 

The decision to try expand to the US market cost them $50,000 – though thankfully they turned over $300K during Black Friday sales.

Speaking to FEMAIL, Kalinda said the brand has reached significant milestones since 2021. 

The business outgrew the couple’s spare room so they built a 150m2 warehousing space to cater to storage, embroidery and distribution functionality.

‘During the Christmas period we had eight staff helping us! During normal trading we usually only have two casuals but we are now on the lookout for our first full time employee,’ she said.

Their Black Friday sale in November was a great success thanks to strategic marketing which started eight weeks in advance. 

The couple ensured they were ready and had stock prepared to meet customer demands. 

‘We then gradually increased our advertising budget on Instagram and Facebook, coupled with a targeted email blast to our VIP customers, this led to the remarkable $300,000 turnover in five days,’ she said.

Their Black Friday sale in November was a great success thanks to strategic marketing started eight weeks in advance

The brand started from humble beginnings and operated from their spare room to begin with. They now offer more than 30 gym towel styles

But their biggest error to date that caused the ‘most stress’ occurred after deciding to expand Cheeky Winx to America. 

Kalinda explained they experienced a number of costly setbacks and didn’t forecast how pricey the move was going to be. 

‘Unfortunately, setting up in the US incurred unforeseen costs resulting in a $50,000 setback – including fulfilment centre expenses, shipping stock between countries, customs fees, hongkong grand 4d and refunds for incorrect orders,’ she said. 

‘This itself was hugely expensive however we didn’t factor in the costs involved with ordering enough stock for the Australian Christmas period. 

‘When we launched it was during the Australian winter and as a seasonal summer brand, the financial strain hit us hard.’

Kalinda explained they had to borrow money to keep the business afloat despite all their efforts, which led to the difficult decision of withdrawing all stock from the US. 

Over Christmas periods the two founders were working themselves to the bone and working 100-hour weeks for six weeks straight

Kalinda even met singer Jason Derulo on a flight (pictured)