Convergence_V42

Fashion
Comfortable? Check. Versatile and durable? Check. Cheap?
Double check. Malaysian sportswear company 'ash be nimble'
is a fairly new kid on the block having been around since 2014
but the brand is both literally and figuratively climbing ranks.
Hui said, "It's about every day, ordinary people doing
extraordinary things in fitness. The overworked corporate dad
trying to find time to train for a triathlon, the insecure new
mother trying to get back into shape, the grandmother battling
age-related weakness who wants to start hiking, the overweight
student who wants to start running, the single mum who finds
time and support to train for a marathon to inspire her kids."
In a nutshell, Hui says her brand is all about "approachable
people going the extra mile to aspire and inspire the people
around them".
The sportswear company was not something Hui had on her
mind especially when she had a full-time job as a management
consultant with The Boston Consulting Group here in Kuala
Lumpur. However, being an avid fitness junkie and always on
the lookout for good sports attire brought about a different
side of Hui to life.
Realising there was a need for quality yet stylish sports attire
especially in Malaysia, Hui's brand launch took place at a
booth located at the Malaysia Women's Marathon in 2014.
She only had two designs for her sports bra and two running
shorts. But, the rest as they say, is history.
She began to entertain the idea of starting her own company
despite already bagging her corporate dream job. Hui said,
"I had never started anything of my own or run a business. So
everything was new, difficult, challenging but immensely
interesting. I was finally able to exercise a lot of my creativity
and get to touch, feel and create a real product. It was very
different to everything I had done in the past, where you rarely
get to engage directly with the end-consumer or product."
As she continued to learn that the bulk of excitement was
indeed coming from ash be nimble, Hui decided to take a
leap of faith and quit her job at the consulting firm and focus
on her sportswear.
Things did not exactly turn for the better as she had bills to
pay and fund the business. To this, Hui took a part time job
but something else happened in 2015. She got pregnant!
"After I gave birth to baby Asha at the end of 2015, I knew I
could not juggle three things at the same time as I would not
be doing either justice which was being a mother, an
entrepreneur and a part time consultant. I decided to quit my
part time job and focus on ash be nimble and Asha full time.
It was a tough decision as I no longer had a safety net of
regular income on the side, plus expenses increased with a
baby... and are still rising!"
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