Founder in focus

The following interview is an extract from our fourth annual Top 200 Women-Powered Businesses Report, produced in collaboration with Beauhurst.

Click here to read the full account. 

How does it feel to be recognised as one of the fastest growing women-powered businesses in the J.P. Morgan report for the second year running?

It’s an honour to be on this list again, especially as I’m being recognised alongside so many incredible female entrepreneurs. As we know, female-powered businesses are underrepresented, so I think it’s great that J.P. Morgan are championing women.

Could you share the journey that led you to become an entrepreneur?

My parents, grandparents and many members of my family were business owners so I grew up seeing all the highs and lows that can come with being an entrepreneur from an early age. I understood entrepreneurship is high risk, high reward and watching them hustle gave me the guts to start out on my own. I wanted to buy my mum a house and help her pay the bills, but I realised that aged 15 and still at school, I’d never be able to earn enough working part-time for minimum wage. So, I decided to go down the route of being an entrepreneur and headed to Greenwich Market to sell body scrubs. I sold out on my first day and made £980, which motivated me to continue even though I knew it would mean sacrificing evenings and weekends. I was hyper-focused on my goal and after two years of hard work, I managed to save the house deposit.

How has your business model evolved as your company has grown?

I started out making products in my kitchen, training my friends and getting them to help me sell at markets and events on 20% commission. Now, 20 years later, our products are made in a much bigger kitchen at our Surrey HQ, we have over 20,000 Ambassadors selling our products who we support in growing their businesses, so our model hasn’t really changed that much! I think the beliefs that you have in your business at the beginning stay true for a long time, and our foundations have always been about freshly made, efficacious, quality skincare products sold by people, to people.

Can you discuss how you have balanced scaling your business with maintaining profitability?

I learned the importance of fixed and variable costs while studying for my Economics degree, so I do a lot of planning to keep the costs as variable as possible to make sure we’re always profitable. There’s no point in making lots of money if you’re not making profit, and my approach means I can invest in business growth, support my team and share our success, which is the most fulfilling part of my role.

What do you find most exciting about your business now? What is exciting about the future?

Since regaining 100% control of the business last year, I just feel like anything is possible, so I’m really excited about our potential and how we can expand into different categories that empower women. The things we can do as part of our Infinite Purpose also really excite me, and there are more schools to build, more trees to plant and more charities to support. I really want to leave a legacy, both for myself and everyone who works at and supports Tropic so they can look back and feel proud that they’ve helped make the world a better place.

Reflecting on your entrepreneurial journey, what is one thing you wish you had known at the beginning?

I started Tropic at 15 so I didn’t know about investment or mentorship, so I did absolutely everything myself. I never asked for help, but I wish I’d known there were networks where you could get advice. There were lots of important things I didn’t know, like how to properly value my business because I didn’t ask and as women you sometimes feel like you don’t have the space to do that.

Are there any specific challenges for women-powered businesses like yours that want to grow rapidly and where is support needed the most?

Even though women-powered businesses regularly outperform male-founded ones, we’re still seeing investors denying women funding because there’s an assumption that if they choose to start a family, they’re not going to be able to continue to run their business. I’d like to see more female investors being championed and more women with decision making power at investment funds.

What key piece of advice would you give to founders and leaders navigating tough times?

It’s a classic but always go back to your why when making difficult decisions to see if what you’re trying to do aligns with that fundamental purpose of your business. I also truly believe the best investment you can ever make is in yourself, so if you have that passion and determination, you just have to go for it. And crucially, it’s important to acknowledge that you’re not always the best person to make decisions about your company alone – Tropic wouldn’t be what it is today without my incredible team who drive the business forward.