Can you tell us a little about your background and your company?
I started the business in 2020 during lockdown, after doing a degree in musical theatre
at Guilford School of Acting and graduating with an agent. Then, because of COVID, the
theatres shut down and I had some more free time on my hands. I didn’t necessarily
have a background in business, or an agenda to start one, but I’ve always been a very
creative and determined person and I grew up in an environment with my mum being
the CEO of multiple companies, so I have always had this kind of “can do” attitude
towards business and being able to achieve things that you put your mind to.
What inspired you to start your business?
During my time at drama school, I started stress picking out my lashes, which is
something I would probably now describe as an obsessive compulsion to make wishes
with my eyelashes. When I had more auditions, or if I was stressed, I would make a
wish on an eyelash, and it eventually got to the point where I was picking out almost all
of my eyelashes. I ended up getting eyelash extensions for a number of years, and then
when we went into lockdown, beauticians weren’t available either, so I was faced with
the reality of what my natural lashes were looking like. I decided I wanted to grow them
back and whilst looking to purchase a lash serum, I found that the majority were
ineffective or were completely out of my price range. I also noticed that the serums that
seemed quite effective had an ingredient in them called prostaglandin analogues. I was
aware of these synthetic growth hormones because they’re present in the treatment for
glaucoma, which my grandpa has, and the prostaglandin analogues in his eye drops
were causing his lashes to grow super long. Through my broader research, I saw the
majority were causing some harmful side effects, like pigmentation, discolouration,
and even in some cases orbital fat loss, so it sparked an idea in my head about creating
and formulating a serum that didn’t use these ingredients, but could still give you those
desired results.
How did you create awareness for your brand?
Because of my background in theatre, I was very comfortable from the get-go to put
myself as the face of the business and film and create a lot of content myself.
Obviously at the time, I didn’t have the budget or scope to pay for UGC creators so it
was very effective that I could do that myself at a low budget. I started posting
organically on TikTok when it was first really taking off during lockdown, and we quickly
built awareness on the platform and started to build a community who were seeing the
content and my transformation. People then began to ask to purchase the product that
had helped me to see such significant results, and that was literally at the point that
TikTok Shop launched, which meant we were in the initial pilot scheme for it. It quickly
became clear it was the perfect avenue for us as people were already engaging with our
product on the platform, so the ability to purchase directly within TikTok itself removed
any barriers, and we saw some crazy results within a very short space of time.
What strategies helped you secure funding and scale your business?
We’re actually still self-funded to this day, which is something I’m very proud of. I didn’t
really set out with a detailed business plan, so it was more of a passion project – or
what my accountants call a hobby that got out of control! So initially I spoke to a lot of
different manufacturers here in the UK, but many of them had very high MOQs (which is
minimum order quantities) and given the lack of budget available, I couldn’t meet their
minimum order quantities. Luckily, I found a manufacturer who was happy to do a low
MOQ of just 2500 units, and I was able to use the remainder of my student loan
combined with some funding from my mum that I was able to pay back within the first
sales from the business. Since that point, we’ve been completely self-funded by our
own profits and revenue, driven from website sales, retail, and, of course, TikTok Shop.
What have been your biggest successes so far?
This is hard… I think there’s a few I would answer! Initially, the biggest successful
feeling I’ve had is when we’ve been recognized within the wider beauty industry.
Particularly last year, we won several awards, including Beauty Breakthrough Product
of the Year at the Beauty Awards. This was a huge event with industry giants, so to be
recognized in this space was a real ‘pinch-me’ moment. Another moment for me
personally is when I won the great British Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2024,
which was again a real moment of reflection and recognition within the wider industry
for my own journey building the brand. However, I think the biggest success of the
brand so far is that we’ve been approached by the biggest beauty retailer in the UK,
who we’ll be launching in store with at the end of March… that feels like the biggest
success yet. When I also think about the fact that we now have an office and a team of
skilled individuals who are really dedicated to the brand, and that the business is
growing from being almost a one-man band to an established brand that’s got standing
within the industry, as a solo founder that feels very exciting.
What challenges have you faced, and how did you overcome them?
I would say I’ve sometimes found my age to be a challenge. I started the business when
I was twenty, and I’m now only just twenty-five, so I’m definitely a young entrepreneur in
the space. Sometimes I find myself having conversations about topics and with people
that I didn’t ever anticipate. On this, I also think that naivety is such a superpower in the
business space, but I still have so much learning to do. I didn’t come from a corporate
background, so I think I’m learning as I go. The beauty industry is obviously a very
competitive space, so we are always keen to highlight and strengthen our USPs as a
brand, including the fact that we’re Vegan Society and Leaping Bunny approved, and
that our formulas are all made and uniquely formulated here in the UK, as well as the
fact that our products don’t contain any hormones. It’s a very competitive industry but
making sure you have unique points of difference is vital.
What are your plans for the future?
Our major goal for this year is physical retail, which we will be launching in from March,
which is super exciting! It’s been one of my biggest goals for the last couple of years, so
for that to be becoming a reality is very exciting. Other plans are to become a
household name. Our hero product is of course our lash serum, and that’s not a
product that everyone uses or is aware of, so getting more people to understand and
want to use that product is vital. Expanding internationally is another goal, as we’ve got
a huge and engaged community here in the UK, but we’ve already begun our expansion
plans with us launching on TikTok Ireland, and we’ve got even greater plans to launch in
the US and other regions in 2025.
What advice would you give to aspiring female entrepreneurs?
I’ve found the beauty industry to be an incredibly supportive and inclusive place, and
there is genuinely so much help out there through projects and companies, such as
CEW. I’ve found that I’ve been able to build an amazing community and network of
other female founders, not necessarily just in the beauty space, and they provide a lot
of support. For example, with CEW I’m part of their mentorship program and have been
partnered with Amiee, the founder of Sculpted By Aimee. I now have monthly one-to-
ones with Aimee and I think that really leaning into all of the networking opportunities
available within the industry is vital, because people are genuinely so happy to help. My
key piece of advice always is to be very clear on why you’re doing what you’re doing and
what your core values are as a brand, making sure that that’s what drives your decision
making.
What are your top three tips for entrepreneurial success?
Number one, I would say to remember that you need to be steering the ship. It’s very
easy to get tied down into the day-to-day running and operations of the business, but
ultimately you need to be the person who’s steering the ship and deciding what your
next strategy is and how you are going to achieve your growth plan. Making sure you
have time aside from the wider team to really align on what your strategy and plans for
growth are is really important.
Top tip number two is that I think delegation is key. I found that the more you trust your team and the more you feel supported by them, the more the business will thrive. I quickly became aware of the aspects within the
business that weren’t actually my skill set, and finding people who do fit that skill set
has really allowed the business to escalate. Number three is to take care of yourself. If
you’re not in a strong mental and physical position you can’t expect the business to be,
so making sure you take the time to look after yourself is really important. I found that
therapy was a really great way to make sure that my mind was in the best space
possible and that my mental health wasn’t impacting the business itself.
Who are five people who inspire you the most, and why?
Number one is Grace Beverly. I’m a huge Grace Beverly fan, and I feel like what she’s
managed to achieve within TALA, Shreddy and The Productivity Method, whilst still
keeping all of her personal values at their core, is very inspiring. She never
compromises quality for revenue and growth, so that’s a real source of inspiration.
Who else is an inspiration to me? I would say Amy Smale, the founder of Odd Muse. We
founded and started our businesses at a very similar time but how she’s managed to
scale, particularly the US market, is really inspiring. She’s always stayed very true to
what her core values and points of difference are within the industry, so I think that’s
very inspiring. I would also say, Emma Grede, who’s the co-founder of Good American
and supported with Skims. She’s an incredible businesswoman who really holds so
much presence in the rooms that she enters and has so much power, so I think she’s a
real inspiration of what you can achieve if you put your mind to it. I, of course, would
also say my mum is a huge source of inspiration. She always taught me to be
independent and self-sufficient, and both of those are true to the values that I hold dear
within my life. Because of this, I have always strived be as independent and self-
sufficient as possible. Finally, I’m going to say Amiee from Sculped by Aimee, because I
genuinely think her products are incredible and, after getting to know are her on a more
personal basis, I can see that the time, care and dedication she puts into her product
development to make sure that whatever she’s launching is the highest quality
possible. I think if you’ve got a strong and reliable product that does half the work for
you, so really taking the time to make sure that every product you launch is really
unique and as high quality as possible is so important.
What are your favourite inspirational or motivational quotes?
One quote that is always very grounding to me is “this too shall pass”. Whether you’re
having a really thriving month in business, or you’re having a month if things aren’t quite
going to plan… this too shall pass. Just always remaining very present, not sitting in
your laurels, being very reactive to both the negative and the positive, you always need
to make sure you’re making the next steps to progress the business further.
Where can our readers connect with you?
You can find me at:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/daisy-kelly-ba2085231/
https://www.tiktok.com/@daisymaykelly_
https://www.instagram.com/daisymaykelly_/?hl=en
https://glowforitshop.com/
