Paopanga "Pao" Siddhigu and Bussabhawan "Pook" Siddhigu are the founders of FITCRAZE (www.fitcrazeth.com), an online store for fashionable sportswear. But don't let their sweet-looking faces fool you — they have every intention of building their start-up into a sportswear empire. Pao ingeniously combines her experience in e-commerce with Pook's extensive knowledge of the high-end fashion industry and together they have created an online community catered to those who like to shop and share their passions for their active and fashionable lifestyle. Guru chats to the siblings to find out more about their business, the latest trends and which IG accounts to follow for some fitness inspiration.
Tell us about FITCRAZE.
FITCRAZE is the result of our desire to deliver premium and fashionable sportswear to our customers' door. The word FITCRAZE implies an obsession with being fit, the idea that you crave it and that you work hard to achieve your fitness goals. "Fit" for us also means looking good, inside and out. We want our customers to feel good about themselves and to be imbued with confident mindsets.
Our goal is to create an online community where consumers can buy our products (ranging from apparel to accessories and expanding to nutrition supplements and menswear), read quality content and exchange ideas both on the website and on our social media channels such as Facebook and Instagram.
What's your best-selling product?
Sportsbras. We have an extensive collection of bras to offer depending on our customers' activities and body types. The bras' brands are both local (Training Lab, Wakingbee, Jenim, Kalis Activewear, Zanim etc) and International (Jaggad, L'URV, Vie Active, VPL, LNDR etc).
What's the latest sportswear trend we need to get on board?
The current trend of healthy-living makes sportswear so much more accessible to everyone (not just gym goers). We can see the increase in the number of women wearing their workout leggings or tank tops as everyday-wear. You can even mix your sports bra with jeans or a skirt then finish the look with a jacket.
Limited edition sneakers are also a must-have for any fashionista. You can wear them with a dress to get the perfect casual look.
Has the journey from day one of starting the business gone as you expected? What were some of the challenges you faced?
Starting an e-commerce business is not easy. We faced challenges since day one -- and have continued to do so pretty much every single day since then. We were met with a variety of problems; from developing the brand's identity, creating a website, approaching brands to partner with us to differentiating ourselves from competitors and promoting the website platform. But we never gave up. We work extremely hard to ensure that our customers get the best service and information to ensure we have recurring traffic from them and that they organically recommend our service to friends and family.
Working with your sibling: what's that been like?
Pao: Honestly, there are pros and cons. Luckily, for us, the pros outweigh the cons. I think that I am very fortunate to have Pook, because she works tirelessly and we share the same vision, ethos and even jokes -- which is very important in any partnership. Some problems can get pretty personal but we always talk things through. Pook has a great eye for fashion and a very logical mindset. As for me, I'm more of an artist and prefer to work on the creative side of business development.
Are there any style icons you look up to?
Our muses are Beyoncé, Olivia Palermo, Kendall Jenner, Gigi Hadid, Sophia Amoruso and Rachel Zoe. These women work hard to achieve their dreams and have their own distinctive styles.
What Instagram accounts should we follow for some fitness inspiration?
Skinny Bitch collective (@russelsbc)
Khloe Kardashian (@khloekardashian)
Hannah Bronfman (@hannahbronfman, founder of HBFIT.com)
Kayla Itsines (@Kayla_itsines)
Nicole Winhoffer (@nicolewinhoffer).
