Hellooo, I hope you had an amazing week! We have so many exciting female entrepreneur wins in this newsletter, so let’s dive right in ⬇️ 

Real Behind-The-Scenes…

Val Eves Launch

This week, I’m celebrating my client, Valerie the founder of Val Eves — a sustainable accessories brand that's as chic as it is intentional 🪭

This launch has been years in the making, and I couldn’t be more proud of her. She’s built a brand that is redefining sustainable fashion — making it feel luxurious, beautiful, and rooted in real values.

Her episode on Confessions of a Conscious CEO just dropped, and it’s a must-listen.

We get into the real reel:
➡️ How she launched without a fashion background
➡️ What happened when she had to fire a previous consultant
➡️ The shady Spanish factory story (we dodged a major bullet)
➡️ How she built this dream business while still working her 9–5

If you haven’t tuned in yet, you can listen on Apple Podcasts, listen or watch on Spotify, and listen or watch on YouTube.

But in today’s newsletter, I wanted to share a few behind-the-scenes lessons from Valerie’s journey that I think will resonate if you're building your own purpose-driven brand ⬇️ 

1. Know When to Walk Away

Valerie started Val Eves with a clear mission: to build a sustainable brand the right way.

But without a traditional fashion background, she initially hired consultants to guide her. And it quickly became clear that they didn’t share her values. They pushed quick wins, fast timelines, and shortcuts she wasn’t comfortable with.

Instead of staying in the relationship because she’d already invested time and money (cue sunk cost fallacy), she trusted her gut and walked away.

She found me through the good old Google, and the rest is history 💫 

And not to toot my own horn, but she says she couldn’t have done it without me and that working together has been invaluable 🥹

The takeaway: You are allowed to change your mind. If something or someone is no longer aligned — in business or life — walk away so you can find a better fit.

2. Don’t Let Others Pressure You

The wildest part of Valerie’s story? Our first production trip to Spain. We thought we’d found the right atelier. We were ready to sign on the dotted line. Everything was lined up.

But when we arrived in person… red flags started popping up left, right, and center…
🚩 They refused to sign a contract
🚩 Their payment terms were outrageous
🚩 And to be honest, as three women walking into that meeting, we weren’t taken seriously

We had a tough decision to make: stick to our launch timeline… or delay everything by a year in the hopes of finding a better production partner.

Valerie made the difficult decision to walk away.

And because she held her ground, we ended up finding and partnering with a woman-owned atelier with generations of fan-making expertise instead. This resulted in a better product that’s not only stunning, but crafted with intention, care, and legacy.

Take a look at the transition and behind-the-scenes 👀 

The reminder here: Launch when you’re ready — not just when you’re “supposed” to. Integrity over urgency, always.

3. You Can Build Your Dream While Working a 9–5

Throughout this entire journey, Valerie has also been working a full-time job in healthcare. She didn't quit everything to chase her dream. She built both.

She shared so honestly in the episode about how she compartmentalizes, manages her time, and takes care of her energy to avoid burnout. And she dropped one line that stuck with me:

“If I’m going to get my dream, I want to be the kind of person who can sustain it.”

Valerie is proof that you don’t have to go all-in on Day 1 to build something meaningful. You just need clarity, consistency, and community.

Want to Start a Sustainable Brand?

Have an idea for a conscious brand but not sure how to bring it to life intentionally?

Valerie took my signature Launch Your Brand course — the complete A to Z roadmap for starting a sustainable fashion or accessories brand — and turned her vision into Val Eves, a beautiful, thoughtful, and impactful brand rooted in values and artistry.

The LYB course gives you everything you need to go from idea to launch without the overwhelm:
✅ Proven strategy
✅ Sustainable tactics
✅ Plug-and-play templates
✅ Step-by-step support

If you’ve been dreaming about starting your own brand, let this be your gentle nudge — the world needs more intentional brands.

You can learn more about the Launch Your Brand course here, and use code “NEWSLETTER” for $100 off ✨ 

P.S. Valerie and I also worked together 1:1 alongside the Launch Your Brand course to customize her business strategy, refine her product, and source her production partners.

I only take on a limited number of sustainable fashion founders for private consulting each year — and a few spots just opened up.

✨ Click here to learn more and book a time to chat if you’d like to explore working together

Real Business Updates…

Rhode’s $1B Exit 💰️ 

A while back, I mentioned Hailey Bieber was reportedly shopping Rhode around for a $1B valuation. Given the recent slowdown in VC funding for consumer brands, there was a lot of side-eye and speculation. Well… she pulled it off!

Hailey just sold Rhode to e.l.f. Beauty in a deal worth up to $1 billion — making it one of the fastest-growing beauty brand exits ever.

Here’s the breakdown:
💰 $800M upfront in cash and stock (subject to the usual closing adjustments)
📈 $200M in potential additional earnouts tied to Rhode’s growth over the next 3 years

Not bad for a three-year-old brand.

And this isn’t just a “thanks and goodbye” moment — Hailey is staying on as Chief Creative Officer and strategic advisor to e.l.f., which says a lot about the long-term vision.

It’s also an interesting move on e.l.f.’s part. Known for their drugstore accessibility, they’re now leaning into prestige — something CEO Tarang Amin acknowledged, saying: “rhode further diversifies our portfolio with a fast-growing brand that makes the best of prestige accessible… we believe [it] is ready for rocketship growth.”

Still, it’ll be interesting to see how Rhode’s clean-girl luxe identity evolves under a mass-market player like e.l.f. The brand’s power has always been its strong aesthetic, quality formulas, and Hailey’s influence — so keeping that intact while scaling will be key.

With a recent Sephora expansion and this new influx of capital and distribution muscle, Rhode is positioned for serious growth. But as always, the challenge will be scaling without diluting the brand.

Either way, it’s a huge founder-led win—and a bold signal to anyone building in beauty: the exits are still happening. You just have to build something people genuinely want ✨ 

TALA’s Experiential Marketing Masterclass

Grace Beverley just gave us all a crash course in how to do experiential marketing right.

This past week, she opened the flagship TALA store on Carnaby Street in London and it was executed so intentionally that I had to break it down. It wasn’t just a store launch, it was a fully immersive brand experience.

Here’s what really stood out to me ⬇️ 

1. They really know their audience
Everything from the iced matchas and cinnamon buns to the curated selfie moments and the photobooth setup was crafted with the “TALA girl” in mind. This wasn’t a sterile retail environment. It was a vibe. A physical extension of the TALA brand and the lifestyle it represents. When you walked in, you didn’t just feel like a customer — you felt like you belonged.

2. The lead-up was just as strategic as the launch
The launch wasn’t a one-day splash. It was a slow build. Grace shared behind-the-scenes content every single day leading up to the opening across Instagram Reels and TikTok.

She documented the chaos, the mishaps, the stress, and the wins. Her videos have been some of my favourite content pieces in a long time because they were real, vulnerable, and showed the humanness behind the brand.

When you share the messy middle — not just the polished final product, you invite your audience into your journey and make them root for you.

And that’s exactly what happened! When the store finally opened, people showed up not just to shop, but to celebrate.

Here’s one of the Reels I’ve sent to all my clients as a perfect example of what I mean when I say “create behind-the-scenes content!!”

Big congrats to Grace and the entire TALA team. This was a masterclass 👏 

Real Growth…

Your Network = Your Networth

I’ve always believed in this, and my friend Elizabeth behind the Conscious Fashion Collective does too.

They’re hosting a free virtual Conscious Fashion Freelancer x Founder Mixer on June 17, and if you’re a founder or freelancer in the sustainable fashion space — you’ll want to be there.

This isn’t one of those awkward, forced networking things. It’s a low-pressure, highly intentional space to connect with other service providers and brand founders in the conscious fashion world. Think breakout rooms, real conversations, and the potential for future collabs.

Spots are limited — save your seat here 🎟️ 

P.S. I’m also leading a Sustainable Sales workshop with them in July (!!!) and I’ll share more details soon. I can’t wait to support even more conscious founders like you 💚 

Real Self-Care…

Self-Care Challenge

This week, experiment with softening your digital habits. You don’t need to go completely offline — just create small windows of space between you and your screen. Try beginning one morning or ending one evening without your phone. Go for a walk without headphones and notice what comes up when you allow silence in. Carve out an hour to do something analog — journal, read, paint, or cook — and be fully present. If you’re feeling bold, turn off your notifications for a day and observe the difference in your nervous system.

Journal Prompt:

What is my current relationship with technology, and how does it impact my energy? Where might I set boundaries—not out of restriction, but as an act of care?

And that’s it for this week! I hope you have a lovely upcoming week 🤍