Episode
Building NEOM: Nicola Elliott on £45M Turnover, 150 Products & Self-Funding vs Investment
- Podcast
- Ladies Who Launch
- Published
- Jul 1, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 4719
- Processing state
not_requested- Canonical source
- https://weareladieswholaunch.com
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Summary
In this week's episode of Ladies Who Launch, Nicola Elliott, founder of NEOM, takes us behind the scenes of building a brand in a category that barely existed when she started. From the early days of product creation to scaling to 150 products, 150 employees, and £45M in annual turnover, Nicola gets into the mechanics of strategically building for long-term growth. We unpack the real decisions most founders agonise over: the benefits of taking investment versus staying self-funded, and the personal sacrifices that come as a direct consequence of business ambition. Beyond the numbers, this conversation digs into what makes NEOM genuinely stick, how Nicola has built a deep consumer-to-brand connection at scale, and perhaps more importantly, how she's designed the business around the life she actually wants to live. It's an honest, tactical conversation for founders who want to build something substantial without losing themselves in the process. In this episode, we cover: The journey of starting & building NEOM Building in a ‘unique’ category 150 products, 150 employees, £45M in annual turnover Strategically building for long term growth, not pace Benefits of investment vs self funding Real life sacrifices as a consequence of business Creating consumer x brand connection Designing business around your life We Are Ladies Who Launch! CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction 00:43 Before Wellness Was a Thing 03:41 Anxiety Sparking the NEOM Idea 06:15 From Blends to NEOM 08:27 First Products and Candles 11:40 Green Lights to Quitting Your 9-5 14:29 Building the Right Team 17:58 Creating a New Category 23:11 Retailer Placement Challenges 26:32 Sponsor Break: Starling Tools 27:42 Scaling With Steady Growth 33:33 Slow Growth Wins 34:00 Realities of Raising Money…