BACK in 2012, Natasha Oakley had no idea her little hobby would end up becoming a £47 million business.
She was just 22 when she began sharing bikini snaps with her friend, Devin Brugman, on Instagram, something they both thought was unlikely to lead anywhere.
Despite this, Tash explained on the podcast Working hard, hardly working with Grace Beverly that she’d wanted to be a “boss” since she saw her parents grow their own businesses from the ground up.
Now Natasha is exactly that, with the same Instagram account boasting over 450k followers, and her personal account has a whopping 3.6 million followers too.
But the Aussie stunner’s business ventures don’t end there, she also launched the label Monday Swimwear, as well as online exercises platform The Pilates Class, plus a growing investor portfolio – it’s really no surprise she debuted on Australian Financial Review’s Young Rich List in 2021.
“We were just posting the Cali girl lifestyle, down in Malibu, we went on a trip to Mexico, and everyone else at the time was just posting a coffee cup, the most basic stuff,” she said, explaining how the Instagram account @abikiniaday started.
Since no one else was sharing bikini snaps at the time, Tash and Devin’s account sky rocketed.
“For us it just took off overnight,” she said.
The account quickly became “the largest marketing platform in the world for swimwear and people were aspiring to have their suits featured.”
“We just ended up wearing bikinis 365 days out of the year,” she said.
Tash also got lucky because her success on Instagram coincided with the birth of the first social media influencers, which meant she started making money from the get-go.
The entrepreneur charged £100 per post to begin with, with brands and designers paying for their swimwear to be featured on the account.
In fact, things were going so well Tash was able to focus on taking bikini snaps for the account full-time.
“We were just shooting non-stop,” She said.
Although the the lifestyle of taking pictures on the beach all day was an incredibly fun one, Tash was also working until the early hours of the morning most days, making sure the blog was also up to date.
“It was so fun, it was something we were so passionate about and everything it’s turned into is a huge bonus,” she said.
From there, Tash and Devin started their own swimwear line, something they created after they realised there was a gap in the market for inclusive more inclusive sizing.
“When we creating Monday Swimwear it was about changing that experience every woman has, which is such a negative one, of putting on swimwear and feeling uncomfortable and not feeling good about yourself,” Tash said.
“We just ended up wearing bikinis 365 days out of the year.
It took a while to really nail the first swim collection though, with both Tash and Devin wanting to make sure everything was perfect.
Mistakes were made early on she Monday Swimwear was launched too, and one production issue meant the brand had no black swimwear for six months.
These hiccups aren’t just mistakes for Tash though, “I don’t don’t think of them as mistakes, it’s all just a part of business, it’s not personal,” she said.
It’s all an opportunity to learn for Tash, who now heads a 40-person team and remains involved in every aspect of the brand to this day.
From marketing and PR to, finances and design, Tash has a clear vision for the bran and it’s only now it’s been going for a decade she feels ready to really focus on expanding.
“It feels like the start line for us because we’ve got all of our ducks in a row, we’ve got our dream team, our products are where we want them to be, and now we can really aim for that more aggressive growth,” she said.
Speaking to Elle, the business woman shared some advice for any other aspiring entrepreneurs: “Stay consistent, stay focused, and start with small goals and work your way up.”
“We live in a time where entrepreneurialism is so tangible and can look so different from brand to brand, so stay focused on your brand and your mission,” she added.
And despite her brands seemingly rapid growth, it’s always been about consistency, as far as she’s concerned.
“For me, consistency has been key,” she said.
“Creating and sharing content in a consistent way has been vital for my growth on the platform.
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