C O S M O P O L I TA N · 91

WORLD DOMIN ATION

What do these 11 women all have in common? Their inventions and

business ideas will soon grace your phone, wish list or mantelpiece... ›

N E X T S T O P :

C O S M O P O L I TA N · 93 92 · C O S M O P O L I TA N

G i v e u s y o u r e l e v a t o r p i t c hIf you run a small business, you’re likely to outsource your finances to an accountant and legal issues to a lawyer, so why not your HR? I help clients with everything from contracts to maternity leave. The idea came about as my dad runs his own company and, I realised, if he were to hire someone, he wouldn’t know the correct procedures.

H o w d i d y o u f u n d t h e b u s i n e s s ?I started with £0 – because it’s all done over the phone and Skype, I have no overheads and can work from home. That’s the beauty of being your own product. The costs have been smaller things, like buying my business cards and web-domain hosting. Once I’d secured my first regular client, I quit my HR day job and focused on running Out Of Hours full-time.

B e s t p i e c e o f b u s i n e s s a d v i c e ?Make the most of untapped connections – you have more than you think. Branding is also really important. I laboured over getting the perfect business cards and had them designed by a professional (they advised me to pick colours that help tell my story). Never miss a chance to make a great first impression. ›

GIVE US YOUR ELEVATOR PITCHWe make boobs look awesome and focus on women with a small band and large cup size. We combine beautiful design with an uplift that’s unrivalled.HOW DID YOU FUND THE BUSINESS?We won two competitions – one through Santander’s University Entrepreneur Awards scheme – and got £3,000 together in order to start working with a designer and making samples. At the start we spread ourselves too thinly, pitching to loads of different people – we wasted a lot of energy on those not immersed in the worlds of retail or fashion. We got our first investors in 2016 and that allowed us to work on Attollo full-time.BEST PIECE OF BUSINESS ADVICE?Add a personal touch – we handwrite thank-you letters. And think outside the box. The majority of investors we pitch to are men, who don’t know what wearing an ill-fitting bra feels like. We made our first investor wear shoes that were two sizes too small for him for our entire two-hour meeting so he could understand the pain.

GIVE US YOUR ELEVATOR PITCHAfter reading about ‘earthing’ (the practice of walking barefoot to connect your body to the earth, which studies suggest can reduce stress and anxiety), I wanted to try it, but it wasn’t practical for city living. So I designed Oiroyer sandals, which contain a copper conductor to help you feel grounded to the earth.HOW DID YOU FUND THE BUSINESS?I’m freelancing at a design agency while developing my prototype. I’ve not yet pitched to investors.BEST PIECE OF BUSINESS ADVICE?Know your numbers; they’re everything. I say that as a designer who doesn’t have the best grasp of them, but I’m working on it. The main reason people fail is not because their idea isn’t good, but because they didn’t manage their finances properly. Organisations like the Prince’s Trust and Virgin StartUp can help.

CHARLOTTE FORDYCE2 5 , N O R T H A M P T O NFo u n d e r a n d d i re c to r of O u t O f H o u r s , a 24- h o u r H R c o n s u l ta n c y

Alice Holden & Fleurette Mulcahy B O T H 2 5 , L O N D O NC o - f o u n d e r s o f Attollo Lingerie , b e a u t i f u l u n d e r w e a r s t o c ke d i n s i ze s 28 D t o 3 4 G G

Ella Royer2 6 , L O N D O N Fo u n d e r o f O i r o y e r , s a n d a l s w i t h h e a l t h b e n e f i t s

GIVE US YOUR ELEVATOR PITCHI’m a chartered surveyor, and while visiting houses I kept having allergic reactions to the plug-in air fresheners in people’s homes. The Divine Hag products are blended to not only smell good naturally, but help with conditions such as sleeplessness or nausea, too.HOW DID YOU FUND THE BUSINESS?I saved between £5,000 to £10,000 and joined an organisation called Enterprise Nation for £4 per month. It runs events and has helped me pitch to huge companies, such as John Lewis.BEST PIECE OF BUSINESS ADVICE?Surround yourself with people who understand what you’re going through and will support you, then follow the path that you think is right.

MARGARET MORRISON-MACLEOD5 6 , O B A N ,S C O T L A N DFo u n d e r o f T h e D i v i n e H a g , o r g a n i c a r o m a t h e ra p y s p ra y s

here was only supposed to be one winner. One woman who, after hundreds had queued and pitched their business ideas to our panel of experts at the inaugural Self Made Summit, took away the coveted prize: an office in one of the most connected workspaces in the UK, Second Home. The problem? There were just too many good, no, great ideas. The solution: award

10 female founders the chance to incubate their businesses for a month, and the overall winner (see page 95), a six-month residency. Meet the first alumni of the Cosmopolitan Pitch Palace…

T G i v e u s y o u r e l e v a t o r p i t c hWe handpick a capsule wardrobe and deliver it in a monthly box for women who struggle to find the time to shop, or who fancy a style revamp [prices start from £19.99]. Style Lyrical boxes also come with cards to show you how best to style each of the eight to 10 items of clothing received. Keep what you love

ADELA HUSSAIN3 7 , L O N D O NFo u n d e r o f Style Lyrica l , a curated fashion subscr ipt ion box

and send back what you don’t, free of charge. I used to fly every week for work – the only time I could shop was at 6am in Terminal 5. I was desperate for a better way. I started hearing of ‘style box’ companies, which were becoming successful in the US, and set about bringing one to the UK.

H o w d i d y o u f u n d t h e b u s i n e s s ?We received a £30,000 start-up loan through Fashion Angel, and I invested £20,000 of my own savings, too. I quit my job in December 2015 to make a real go of it, moved to Bali, as living is cheaper there, and put my house on Airbnb to get funds together. I also gained an extra two hours per day by ditching my commute.

B e s t p i e c e o f b u s i n e s s a d v i c e ?Test your idea early on. I picked 10 women I wanted to style and offered a really basic version of my services, so I could analyse the results. From their positive feedback, I knew I was on to something.

ALI

CE

: TO

P, R

EIS

S. S

KIR

T, T

OP

SHO

P. F

LEU

RE

TTE

: TO

P, N

EW

LO

OK

. SK

IRT,

TO

PSH

OP.

AD

ELA

: TO

P A

ND

SK

IRT,

DA

NTE

6 A

T ST

YLE

LYR

ICA

L.C

OM

. ELL

A:

DR

ESS

, NE

W L

OO

K. S

HO

ES,

OIR

OY

ER

. MA

RG

AR

ET:

SH

IRT

AN

D T

RO

USE

RS,

NE

W L

OO

K. C

HA

RLO

TTE

: JU

MP

ER

, NE

W L

OO

K. T

RO

USE

RS,

TO

PSH

OP

C O S M O P O L I TA N · 95

GIVE US YOUR ELEVATOR PITCHMean Mail makes greetings cards for those you love and love to hate – our slogan is ‘beautiful cards, brutal words’. The idea came about when I was looking for a Valentine’s Day card for my boyfriend, but everything was too… nice. I wanted to offer something different.HOW DID YOU FUND THE BUSINESS?I saved around £4,500, and went freelance as an art director in order to save money and work on the business. The reconditioning machine that prints the cards was the biggest expense (my mum came out of retirement to print all the cards in a studio in her living room), and I do everything else from my house, or the office space I won at Second Home. The vibe there is really conducive to being creative. BEST PIECE OF BUSINESS ADVICE?Find your uniqueness, and ensure that everything represents that core message. All our mail-order deliveries arrive in holographic packaging and each envelope has our logo on the back, for consistency. ◆

VICKY SIMMONS 3 3 , L O N D O NFounder of M e a n M a i l , greet ings cards with a de l ic ious ly rude streak

SELF MADE

WINNER2017

GIVE US YOUR ELEVATOR PITCHThe chance to borrow different pieces of jewellery from up-and-coming designers every month, and either decide to buy something, or send it all back and get new things the next month. The classic box is £39 and contains £300 worth of jewels.HOW DID YOU FUND THE BUSINESS?I saved about £4,000 myself, borrowed some money from my parents and applied for a small business loan, totalling £10,000. I spent this on launching the website and pop-up events. Previously, I worked as an account manager for Not On The High Street, but when I missed out on a promotion, I took the plunge and went freelance as a jewellery consultant. Then I built my website and social-media channels. BEST PIECE OF BUSINESS ADVICE?

Force yourself out of your comfort zone on a daily basis. If you don’t push yourself by going to events (even if you’re intimidated),

testing ideas (even if you aren’t sure they’re right) and asking questions (even if you’re worried you’ll sound naive), you’ll stagnate.

TAMSIN GORDON 2 6 , L O N D O NFo u n d e r o f Glitzbox , a j e w e l l e r y r e n t a l s u b s c r i p t i o n s e r v i c e

GIVE US YOUR ELEVATOR PITCHMy daughter, Megan, started working for herself aged 19, and I couldn’t find anything that would help her to run her business on the go, so I set out to create an app that would. PocketPA is for anyone who works for themselves, predominantly in a service-based industry. It will manage all of your appointments, billings and accounts.HOW DID YOU FUND THE BUSINESS?I’m entirely self-funded. I already run a property company, so am lucky enough to be able to finance everything myself – people have been keen to invest in the app, but I haven’t wanted to dilute mine and my team’s equity.

Caroline Syson4 9 , H E R T F O R D S H I R E Fo u n d e r o f P o c k e t PA , a n a l l - i n - o n e a p p f o r b u s i n e s s o w n e r s o n t h e g o

BEST PIECE OF BUSINESS ADVICE?Keep on top of everything day to day – don’t leave it till the end of the week or the month. I’ve trained my daughter so that as soon as she gets out her credit card to spend something on her business, she automatically presses the app’s ‘add business expense’ option, takes a photo of that receipt, and records it there and then. She used to store up all her receipts – it would take her half an hour to find them all in the first place – and spend ages adding each one individually onto a spreadsheet. If you process things like this as you go along, you can avoid that headache.

G i v e u s y o u r e l e v a t o r p i t c hShopest is a location-based platform on which you can search for the coolest pop-ups, sample sales, individual stores and products around you in real time. I was working in the Garment District of New York and needed to buy a bikini last-minute, but didn’t know the coolest shops in the area to check out. As a fashion designer by trade, I also knew that incredible labels held sample sales, but barely publicised them. I wanted to create a better way for people to discover independent fashion.

H o w d i d y o u f u n d t h e b u s i n e s s ?My co-founder and I pooled our savings (most of which came from another business I founded). We’ve also had around £57,000 invested in us so far.

B e s t p i e c e o f b u s i n e s s a d v i c e ?Be persistent. If you’re trying to do something different, people will often try to dissuade you, especially family, because it’s not a traditional job. As long as you’ve done your research and understand the market, then keep going. It helps to have a side income while you’re getting started, too.

Sara Ahmadi Derfus 3 5 , L O N D O N & N E W Y O R KFounder & CEO of S h o p e s t , he lp ing yo u d i s c ove r fa s h i o n i n re a l t i m e

Harbouring dreams of launching a business? Hungry for career inspiration? Or simply want to mix with the business, beauty, tech, media and fashion elite? Come to our Self Made Summit in April and sell your idea at Pitch Palace 2018. Visit Cosmopolitan.com/uk/selfmadesummit2018

GIVE US YOUR ELEVATOR PITCHIt’s a website featuring work from all areas of the creative industries, from art and design to music and film. In the not too distant future, I’m also planning to introduce a MiiLKSHAKE subscription box that’s full of work from young, unknown creatives.

HOW DID YOU FUND THE BUSINESS?I’m a third-year university student with tuition fees looming over me, so have f*ck all money. But, equally, this means I’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain. I’m currently applying for a £2,000 grant from my university.

BEST PIECE OF BUSINESS ADVICE?If you want to be successful, then you need to take risks, because either they’ll pay off, or form your learning curve. If something feels really right, then you should go for it.

HARRIET DOUGLAS

2 1 , S O U T H A M P T O NFo u n d e r o f M i i L K S H A K E , a p l a t f o r m f o r y o u n g f e m a l e c r e a t i v e s t o s h a re t h e i r w o r k

WANT TO SELL

YOUR BIG IDEA?

AS

TOLD

TO

JE

NN

IFE

R S

AV

IN. P

HO

TOG

RA

PH

S M

AR

K H

AR

RIS

ON

. HA

IR A

ND

MA

KE

-UP

JE

NN

I DA

VIS

, CH

AR

LOTT

E G

ASK

ELL

, A

MI P

EN

FOLD

AT

LHA

RE

PR

ESE

NTS

. STY

LIN

G K

OU

LLA

SE

RG

I

HA

RR

IET:

JU

MP

ER

AN

D T

RO

USE

RS,

NE

W L

OO

K. C

AR

OLI

NE

: SK

IRT,

DA

NTE

6 A

T ST

YLE

LYR

ICA

L.C

OM

. TA

MSI

N: D

RE

SS,

TOP

SHO

P. S

AR

A: B

LOU

SE A

ND

SK

IRT,

NE

W L

OO

K. V

ICK

Y: T

OP,

DA

NTE

6 A

T ST

YLE

LYR

ICA

L.C

OM

. TR

OU

SER

S, C

OS