Born in Bengaluru, India, and raised in Singapore, sisters Shireen Taj and Umme Uzma Mueez grew up with a familiar blueprint for success: Study hard, secure a stable corporate job and climb the career ladder.
Instead, they walked away from the conventional 9-to-5 job to transform two adjoining units at Block 261 on Waterloo Street into a thriving family venture where women can power through a heavy lifting session and step next door for a can of specialty matcha latte.
Today, they run StronGirlys Gym and Waterloo Coffee, spending more time together than they ever did in their corporate lives while fostering a community built around fitness, flavour and connection.
From an HDB window to a cafe storefront
For Ms Uzma, 25, entrepreneurship arrived sooner than expected.
After graduating from the Management Development Institute of Singapore, she joined the events industry as a conference producer in early 2025. The experience lasted exactly one month.
“I just didn’t like corporate,” she said. “I am grateful I had the option to leave and figure things out as I went along.”
Ms Uzma fell back on a long-standing passion. She had worked part-time as a barista since the age of 16, drawn to the precise craft and community culture of speciality coffee. In April 2025, she launched a home-based business, serving drinks straight from the window of her 11th-floor HDB flat at Waterloo street.
“You can’t eyeball it,” Ms Uzma says of her work ethic. “Once somebody drinks a bad coffee, they won’t come back.”
The business quickly developed a following, distinguishing itself through speciality-grade coffee and matcha drinks in airtight cans, alongside fruit-based beverages made with real pulps instead of artificial syrups.
Behind the scenes, it became a family effort. Her husband handled branding and technology, her brother-in-law oversaw finances, and their mother contributed homemade baked goods – initially complimentary brownie bites that quickly became bestsellers.
Six months after launching, a tenant occupying a ground-floor unit in their block mentioned he was moving out. Within two days, Ms Uzma and her husband had signed the lease.
The move transformed Waterloo Coffee into a full-fledged storefront. In January this year, they expanded further with a dedicated seating area next door.
“I often drop by during my lunch break,” said regular customer Reshma Kumaravelu, 27. “They’re always introducing new and interesting flavours, so I look forward to trying each new release.”
Building a gym she wished existed
Next door, StronGirlys was born from a deeply personal experience.
Armed with a degree in biomedical chemistry, 30-year-old Shireen spent more than four years as an account manager at a multinational company. “I always saw myself as a corporate person,” she said.
But strength training ultimately changed the course of her life. Frequently ill as a child, Ms Shireen discovered resistance training while at university and found that it transformed not only her physical health, but also her relationship with food and her self-confidence. Yet, she often felt uncomfortable in commercial gyms.
“I couldn’t try new things without attracting attention,” she recalled. “There was always someone watching, commenting or offering unsolicited advice.”
The experience was particularly challenging for women seeking greater privacy, including Muslim women who wear the hijab. Wanting to create a space where women could train comfortably and confidently, Ms Shireen began coaching female clients part-time in 2019, eventually leaving her corporate career behind to pursue fitness full-time in February 2024.
The opportunity to open her own facility came unexpectedly. A section of the ground-floor space at Block 261 had been subdivided into four smaller units and leased out over the years. When the unit next to Waterloo Coffee became vacant, it caught the attention of Ms Uzma’s husband, whom the sisters jokingly describe as a “serial stalker” of local real estate listings.
“When he realised the space was available, we thought it couldn’t make more sense,” Ms Uzma said. For Ms Shireen, it was the sign she needed to take the leap.
Opened in April 2026, StronGirlys operates as a 24-hour women-only gym pod, offering members a private, air-conditioned training environment equipped with premium machines.
The facility also caters to female personal trainers, who can bring clients in without long-term rental commitments. It is, as Ms Shireen describes, a fitness space for women maintained fully by women.
“There is this idea that lifting heavy weights will make women bulky very quickly,” she said. “But strength is actually an indication of discipline and consistency.”
Gym user Mythili Parathidasan, 21, said she discovered StronGirlys through TikTok and was drawn to its thoughtful design. The space, she noted, considers both women’s physical and mental well-being, while also offering helpful guidance for beginners through its social media platforms.
More than neighbouring businesses
While the sisters launched their brands independently, proximity has fused them into something larger. Customers naturally flow between the two spaces, grabbing a post-workout caffeine fix or discovering the gym while waiting for a latte.
“I didn’t really think of it as us becoming sister brands,” said Ms Shireen. “But eventually we realised we are an ecosystem. Gym and coffee go hand in hand.”
Beyond the business synergy, the arrangement has provided an emotional anchor. Entrepreneurship can be isolating, but the sisters have a built-in support system, constantly trading ideas and troubleshooting together.
Beneath the daily hustle also lies a deep mutual admiration. “She’s a head-on, strong, independent woman. I look up to her so much because she knows how to stand her ground,” Ms Uzma said of her older sister.
For Ms Shireen, watching her younger sister build a thriving brand has been a source of pride. “To see her go from a home-based business to a physical store in six months, I am insanely proud of her,” she said.
Looking ahead, Ms Uzma hopes to expand Waterloo Coffee across Singapore and eventually overseas, while Ms Shireen envisions opening larger StronGirlys facilities, complete with women-only recovery amenities such as saunas and cold plunges.
