Ladies Who Launch

Millie Kendall OBE has spent more than 30 years shaping the British beauty industry. She launched Shu Uemura and Aveda in the UK, co-founded the iconic makeup brand Ruby & Millie with Ruby Hammer, and now leads the British Beauty Council as its founding CEO. In this episode of Ladies Who Launch, she shares the wisdom, mistakes and reinventions behind a career that has spanned the early days of modern beauty brands.

Millie tells Rochelle why she helped launch brands that sold for hundreds of millions without ever owning a stake, why she turned down Victoria Beckham, how Boots backed Ruby & Millie with £7 million to launch the brand, and what it really felt like to walk away from a business with her name on it.

In this episode, we cover:
Why Millie says it's "invention, not reinvention"
Launching Shu Uemura in London and turning a loss into a profit in three months
The lesson of not taking equity in the brands she helped build
Building Ruby & Millie, from Harvey Nichols and Selfridges to Boots
The Victoria Beckham lipstick she turned down
Why she and Ruby chose to walk away from Ruby & Millie
Founding the British Beauty Council and raising the reputation of the beauty industry
Millie's advice on pivoting careers, and her money habits

If you're building a brand, thinking about your next career move, or want an honest look at how the beauty industry grew, this one is for you.

We Are Ladies Who Launch!

CHAPTERS
00:00 Millie Kendall Intro
00:36 AD Starling Business
01:08 Reinvention Versus Invention
05:43 Growing Up In Salons
06:32 Shu Uemura Origin Story
10:34 Launching A PR Agency in Beauty
17:13 Meeting Ruby Millie
20:18 £7M Boots Deal And Launch
24:58 Inclusivity And Range Battles
34:30 Control Value Lessons
37:23 Leaving At Peak Growth
43:40 Building British Beauty Council
48:56 Industry Impact In Numbers
52:19 Pivot Advice For Change
57:41 Rocket Round: Money Habits
01:01:30 Financial Mistakes & Lessons
01:03:04 Launch Advice

🔔 New episodes every Wednesday — subscribe so you never miss a launch.

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#LadiesWhoLaunch #MillieKendall #RubyAndMillie #BritishBeautyCouncil #BeautyIndustry #FemaleFounders #BeautyBusiness #RochelleHumes
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This week on Ladies Who Launch, we're doing something a little different. Instead of sitting down with an incredible woman, we're taking you behind the scenes of the biggest moment of Rochelle's business journey so far: the launch of her skincare brand, Eulah.

Watch along as the Eulah launch campaign with Boots comes to life, from the campaign shoot to the launch event, and see what it really takes to build a brand from idea to shelf. The behind-the-scenes moments, the pressure, the people who made it happen, and the launch night that brought it all together.
If you've ever wondered what goes on behind a brand launch, this is your front-row seat.

Shop Eulah now: https://eulahskin.com/?utm_source=ladies_who_launch&utm_medium=partnership&utm_campaign=eulah_launch

We Are Ladies Who Launch!

CHAPTERS
00:00 Countdown To Launch
00:21 Nine Days Out
02:13 Podcast And Press Run
04:13 Launch Week Nerves
05:29 Launch Event Setup
07:30 Challenges Of Brand Building
09:27 Event Wrap And Website Rush
10:32 Eulah Launch Goes Live
12:14 Success And Reflections

🔔 New episodes every Wednesday — subscribe so you never miss a launch.

FOLLOW EULAH SKIN
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eulahskin/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@eulahskin
Website: www.eulahskin.com

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Instagram: www.instagram.com/weareladieswholaunch/
TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@weareladieswholaunch
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@Weareladieswholaunch
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Rochelle sits down with Karlee Zhang, founder of Hello Klean, who opens up about her journey from self-funding an idea that nobody had believed in, to having half a million loyal worldwide customers and expanding into luxury retail spaces.

Karlee unpacks the discovery that turned a plumbing issue into a beauty revelation, and the reality of bootstrapping until you find the right investors. From a sealed social strategy to navigating rapid growth, Karlee shares an insight into her honest founder lessons and top tips.

In this episode we cover:
The moment a plumbing problem became a beauty product
The importance of educating consumers, and how Hello Klean earned trust with a free trial
How to navigate retail launches and streamlining the consumer experience
Building a social strategy that cuts through the noise
Navigating rapid growth and defining your success

If you’re an aspiring innovator with no clue where to start, this one’s for you!

We Are Ladies Who Launch!

CHAPTERS
00:00 Introducing Hello Klean
04:24 Identifying The Water Origin Problem
07:40 Turning Plumbing Into A Wellness Brand
10:07 Educating Before Selling
13:35 Building Co-Founder Roles Efficiently
15:05 Funding R&D And Our Subscription Model
16:57 Customers Don’t Understand Category
20:04 Social Was Our First Hire
23:13 Building A Brand Narrative
24:45 Balancing Brand and Conversion
26:52 Creating Creator Partnerships That Feel Real
28:00 My Dragons’ Den Experience
34:39 Post Dragons’ Den Growth Surge - 600%!
36:19 Finding The Right Investor Fit
39:54 Expanding Shower Care Category
41:33 Redefining Success Metrics
44:30 Karlee’s Leaving Advice

🔔 New episodes every Wednesday — subscribe so you never miss a launch.

FOLLOW HELLO KLEAN
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/helloklean/
Karlee: https://www.instagram.com/karleee/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@helloklean

FOLLOW US
Instagram: www.instagram.com/weareladieswholaunch/
TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@weareladieswholaunch
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@Weareladieswholaunch
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Connie Nam founded Astrid & Miyu from her flat in Notting Hill in 2012, with a £500 website and a bold £2,000-a-month bet on PR she funded from her own savings. Since then, the brand has grown to 30+ international stores and a reported £50 million in turnover.

In this episode, Connie breaks down how she built an entirely new jewellery category from scratch, why it took 11 years (not a viral moment) before she felt like she'd actually launched, and the naive assumptions that nearly sank her US and Middle East expansions. She also shares her honest take on why taking investment you don't need might be the biggest mistake a founder can make, and the line she now lives by when it comes to protecting company culture: it takes hundreds of people to build it, and only one to ruin it.

In this episode we cover:

The moment Astrid & Miyu really took off, and why brand awareness changed everything
How to find people as passionate as you and filter out bad apples
How to stand out in an overcrowded market
The realities of launching in the US and what it took to get there
Top founder tips for building a business that lasts

If you’re starting out and you feel like your growth is stunted, this one’s for you!

We Are Ladies Who Launch!

CHAPTERS
00:00 Introducing Connie Nam
01:51 Starting A Category Scratch
03:05 Taking A Risk on PR
04:44 Making Your First Hire
06:21 Finding Your USP
10:16 Competitor Mindset
14:18 Steady Growth Middle
17:39 The Launch of Astrid & Miyu Piercing
20:00 Expanding Into The US
25:32 Creating The Why For Investment
27:55 What’s Next For Astrid & Miyu

🔔 New episodes every Wednesday — subscribe so you never miss a launch.

FOLLOW CONNIE
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/connienam/
Astrid & Miyu: https://www.instagram.com/astridandmiyu/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@unboxed_podcast

FOLLOW US
Instagram: www.instagram.com/weareladieswholaunch/
TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@weareladieswholaunch
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Colette Laxton co-founded The INKEY List in 2018 to make skincare less confusing and has since sold over 90 million products worldwide.

In this episode, she breaks down exactly how she split her first £300K starting budget between stock, marketing and running costs, including why most of her marketing spend went on one person: Caroline Hirons!

We all know the success of The INKEY List but the growth came at a cost. Colette opens up about nearly going bankrupt, the burnout that put her in bed for two weeks straight, and the unpredictability of virality including how a product she never planned to sell became the number one body product on TikTok Shop. It's an honest look at what building a brand from nothing actually takes, budget breakdown included.

In this episode, we cover:
Leaving a decade-long career at Boots to join a scrappy startup
Exactly how she split her first £300K investment
Why most of her marketing budget went on: Caroline Hirons
The Cult Beauty call on launch day that changed everything
Launching The INKEY List into Sephora across North America within six months
Nearly going bankrupt, and what it actually takes to get "retail ready"
The burnout that put her in bed for two weeks straight
How a product she never planned to sell became #1 on TikTok Shop

If you’re looking to launch in the skincare space, this one’s for you!

We Are Ladies Who Launch!

00:00 Cult Beauty Calls Day One
00:55 Introducing Colette Laxton
03:10 Learning the Corporate Ropes at Boots
10:21 Realising The Skincare Gap
18:41 Leveraging PR for Launch
21:44 Early Funding and Brand Blow Up
27:05 Launching in Sephora US
33:10 Figuring Out Stock and Logistics
37:10 Virality and TikTok Shop
39:09 Our 1 Million Unit Order
40:14 Why Micro Influencers Win
46:23 Leadership at 100 Staff
50:47 Founder Burnout Reality
55:32 Rocket Round
01:06:51 Staying in the Game

🔔 New episodes every Wednesday — subscribe so you never miss a launch.

FOLLOW COLETTE
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colette.theinkeylist/
The Inkey List: https://www.instagram.com/theinkeylist/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@colette.laxton

FOLLOW US
Instagram: www.instagram.com/weareladieswholaunch/
TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@weareladieswholaunch
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@Weareladieswholaunch
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