I Started a Business With $42M Revenue: FORM, Sami Clarke

This as-told-to story is based on a conversation with Sami Clarke, co-founder with Sami Spalter of Los Angeles-based lifestyle platform and activewear brand FORM. The business, which launched as a fitness platform in 2020 and expanded into activewear in 2023, boasts 60,000 subscribers and more than $42 million in total revenue. The piece has been edited for length and clarity.

In the beginning of my career, I was a model and really in the health and wellness space, where I saw a lot of people who didn’t know how to take care of themselves. So I got certified as a fitness trainer and started training different models. I dove into movement and nutrition journaling — recording it raw and real for social media in 2017. I shared the ups and downs of life, what it feels like to be in your body and how to show up on the days you don’t want to show up. 

Leading 30-minute workouts and live conversations

A few years later, the pandemic hit. It was a moment for me to show up for the community that I’d already built. We were all struggling mentally and needed to prioritize our wellbeing. So I decided to go live five times a week on Instagram. I offered free movement and conversation for everyone. So I was doing 30-minute workouts online and hosting live conversations, where I would bring in therapists and different experts to learn about how we could take care of ourselves. 

I didn’t make any money in those early days. It was a project driven by passion and the desire to help people. But since going into business with my co-founder, FORM has become a full-blown lifestyle brand seeing considerable growth. FORM generated $22 million in revenue in 2025, bringing total revenue to more than $42 million. 

Starting a fitness business during the pandemic

During the pandemic, I met my amazing co-founder Sami through a friend. We connected over her health and wellness journey too, the way she chose herself and lost 85 pounds. She had a dream of operating a business in the health and wellness space, and I had this community, so, in August 2021, we created FORM. We took a bootstrapped, scrappy approach. We actually started the business in the back of a coffee shop. We filmed in its little back room and had to unplug the fridge every time because it was so loud. 

FORM has always been a community-led business. Being online and building trust with my community is the No. 1 goal. So Sami and I always ask, Is this what the community wants? We focus on that rather than just the trends. And it was a natural progression into activewear. I’d wear activewear every day. People kept asking me about my favorite brands and which ones I’d wear for certain workouts. A lot of the time, I’d love the fabric but maybe not the design, or vice versa. It reached the point where it made sense to develop our own activewear brand. Right off the bat, we strategized with our community. We led design calls where people could share their thoughts on color and fit. 

Navigating manufacturing challenges in the early days

I’d been doing social media for so long that it always felt like we had more control over our digital presence than the activewear product side. With products, we have to rely on so many other people, like manufacturers. We’ve had some hiccups where manufacturers sent out products to influencers, who sweated in the clothes which led to color rubbing off — and dyed them all blue. Because the apparel hadn’t been washed properly. It feels like a disaster in the moment but is funny looking back. Now, we make sure someone double checks the products before they go out. 

Since the business entered the apparel market in 2023, nearly every drop has sold out within hours, with each launch outperforming the last by more than 130%. Additionally, FORM has built a global network of more than 60,000 subscribers, with projections to reach 120,000 members in 2026. 

Building an inclusive brand and community with intention

Our goal was always to build an inclusive brand — for every body. But that also takes time. Because we wanted to ensure the products met the same quality and design standards. We wanted everyone to feel proud, confident and sexy in our brand. FORM’s Every Body collection, which launched March 30 and boasts a partnership with model Ella Halikas, marked the brand’s expansion through XXXL. Expanding the size range has been so fun, and our community has received it so well. A couple of weeks ago, we had an event where we gathered women from all walks of life in the room. It was really powerful to see so many women in the room with different stories, different bodies, different lives, coming together and just wanting to feel good.

We’ll always put our community first and build this business with intention. 

We do a lot of meetups online, especially with movement. We have Monday mat meetups, where trainers or someone from the community will lead a session. Those are our kind of ambassadors; we call them community leads and have them all over the world. We also have monthly Zoom calls where the trainers and Sami and I give health and wellness workshops. And we have WhatsApp groups, which are really powerful. All over the world, women are chatting it up, sharing the best places to go out, have a first date, etc. 

Hosting in-person events and pop-ups in multiple cities

Our in-person events are my favorite thing on the planet. I wish we could do them all the time, but obviously they take so much intention and so much work in the way that we do them. We usually do about two to three a year in our main cities, New York and Los Angeles. Last year, in New York, it took place in a two-story building in Union Square; trainers led class upstairs, and  people could shop downstairs. And we hosted a live podcast with Jay Shetty. This year we’re doing an event in Chicago, which is really exciting. FORM’s pop-ups have accounted for 7.39% of FORM’s total sales to date.

Entrepreneurs should show up as their authentic selves

I’d encourage anyone who wants to start a business to show up as their authentic selves. Your customers want to see how the business operates behind the scenes. Also, personal growth is the way to business growth. The more you can show up as a leader, forward-facing for your brand and community, the less distracted you’ll be by what other businesses are doing. Of course you can be inspired by other people, but you’ll know what your truth is and your gut punches are, and that is the way you have a successful business.

Finally, whether your community consists of 10 people or millions, you need to stay connected with it. Get on Zoom calls with people. Learn about their lifestyles. People are so happy to share. To this day, we have calls with community members every month to see how we can improve the business.  If entrepreneurs don’t understand their community and instead try to create for everyone, that can be a really slippery slope. On the platform and activewear side, the more we can get to know our people and nurture genuine connections, the better we’ll be.

This as-told-to story is based on a conversation with Sami Clarke, co-founder with Sami Spalter of Los Angeles-based lifestyle platform and activewear brand FORM. The business, which launched as a fitness platform in 2020 and expanded into activewear in 2023, boasts 60,000 subscribers and more than $42 million in total revenue. The piece has been edited for length and clarity.

In the beginning of my career, I was a model and really in the health and wellness space, where I saw a lot of people who didn’t know how to take care of themselves. So I got certified as a fitness trainer and started training different models. I dove into movement and nutrition journaling — recording it raw and real for social media in 2017. I shared the ups and downs of life, what it feels like to be in your body and how to show up on the days you don’t want to show up. 

Leading 30-minute workouts and live conversations

A few years later, the pandemic hit. It was a moment for me to show up for the community that I’d already built. We were all struggling mentally and needed to prioritize our wellbeing. So I decided to go live five times a week on Instagram. I offered free movement and conversation for everyone. So I was doing 30-minute workouts online and hosting live conversations, where I would bring in therapists and different experts to learn about how we could take care of ourselves.