{"podcast":{"title":"Ladies Who Launch","slug":"ladies-who-launch-7146914","podcast_index_feed_id":7146914,"rss_url":"https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/6762dca9d9cd65ec1eb4ee70","website_url":"https://shows.acast.com/ladies-who-launch","image_url":"https://assets.pippa.io/shows/6762dca9d9cd65ec1eb4ee70/1767193182638-d400b102-ae49-4d36-8140-757f579659e3.jpeg","author":"Rochelle Humes","episode_count":96,"summary":"Ladies Who Launch is an empowering podcast serving up the aspirational journeys of women who have made their mark in the world of business. Starting from scratch to cooking up empires, join our host, Rochelle Humes, as she dives into the successes and challenges faced by female entrepreneurs. Sink your teeth into the inspiring stories of those who have fearlessly pursued their dreams whilst dishing out invaluable insights to listeners. Get ready to be motivated and uplifted as Rochelle elevates the voices of these extraordinary women, showcasing their resilience, creativity and a side of determination to launch. This is your girls’ group chat for business and beyond. FOLLOW US Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/weareladieswholaunch TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@weareladieswholaunch?_t=8sJkmbK9JlQ&_r=1 Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Weareladieswholaunch Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","last_synced_at":"2026-09-16T14:18:05.146140+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/ladies-who-launch-7146914"},"episode":{"title":"Building NEOM: Nicola Elliott on £45M Turnover, 150 Products & Self-Funding vs Investment","slug":"building-neom-nicola-elliott-on-45m-turnover-150-products-self-funding-vs-investment","published_at":"2026-07-01T05:30:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/ladies-who-launch-7146914/building-neom-nicola-elliott-on-45m-turnover-150-products-self-funding-vs-investment","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/ladies-who-launch-7146914","url":"https://weareladieswholaunch.com","audio_url":"https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/6762dca9d9cd65ec1eb4ee70/e/6a43ccb5c7346e2ec262815c/media.mp3","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…","meta_description":"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 exi…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":4719,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/ladies-who-launch-7146914/episodes/building-neom-nicola-elliott-on-45m-turnover-150-products-self-funding-vs-investment/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/ladies-who-launch-7146914/building-neom-nicola-elliott-on-45m-turnover-150-products-self-funding-vs-investment.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}