Learn extra on this week’s Q&A:
Identify:
Jessica Watson
Enterprise identify:
GLORIAH
Location:
Edinburgh
Enterprise Description:
Menopause targeted private care model
To whom do you promote?
Individuals experiencing signs of the menopause
What number of staff?
Two. Me and co-founder, Isla Telfer
Why did you make the leap?
A detailed pal of ours was chemically induced into the menopause in her mid-twenties. Witnessing what she went by opened our eyes to impression of menopause and the widespread lack of awareness surrounding it – notably at an early stage. Half the inhabitants will expertise menopause at some stage, and we thought that if we, as younger ladies with expertise working within the well being care, knew so little about it and its impression, then how far does that drawback prolong? We carried out analysis and have been shocked on the lack of choices for individuals experiencing menopause.
We additionally noticed an pressing want for accessible wellness merchandise that may assist handle the signs of menopause. There was a direct realisation that one thing wanted to be finished and we wished to be on the forefront of it.
So, we arrange GLORIAH, a menopause targeted private care model that creates premium merchandise to assist individuals handle the primary indicators of the menopause. The merchandise are designed to be much less medical than others in the marketplace, so they might sit alongside another wellness and care merchandise, much like moisturiser or physique lotion.
We’ve additionally created a secure and inclusive group that shares training and empowers different individuals. We’re immensely happy with this – we felt that we grew and discovered along with this group. We ran our first occasion as a part of this final 12 months, and we’re eager to do extra this 12 months.
What have been you doing earlier than?
We’re nonetheless working our different jobs. I at present work a company job at Sky and Isla works full-time in nursing for the NHS – I’d say working these jobs, whereas a balancing act, has been beneficial for the expansion of GLORIAH. We have now a mix of enterprise expertise and healthcare that we discover works very well. We’ve obtained ambitions to work full time on GLORIAH in the summertime – it’s scary however thrilling!
What do you least take pleasure in?
Juggling each roles and worrying I’m not giving both 100% – I all the time suppose I could possibly be giving extra to the enterprise however really feel break up between the 2. There’s a degree of guilt like that, all the time questioning if you happen to could possibly be doing extra however not desirous to burn out utterly. We’ve had superb help from our family and friends, and naturally one another, however it’s a difficult balancing act. We acquired Scottish Edge funding final 12 months and that may assist us take an enormous step in direction of going full time. An enormous studying I’ve taken away from beginning GLORIAH is you could’t put a value by yourself time.
What are your ambitions for the agency?
Finally, it’s our life’s mission to redefine the menopause area: to make it extra accessible, and inclusive.
There may be this stereotype of a “menopausal particular person” has been caught in time for so long as we will keep in mind, however with an increasing number of individuals coming into menopause early, the stigma must be damaged – and we hope to contribute to that.
It appears ridiculous to say, appropriately already, however we wish to assist normalise menopause for everyone. We would like GLORIAH to be a family menopause model throughout Europe and the US. We like to consider GLORIAH as No. 7 for menopause, our ambition is that everyone else does too.
What single factor would most assist?
Funding. Receiving Scottish EDGE Funding has been pivotal for us as a enterprise – it permits is to determine our subsequent steps. We have been awarded £80,000 on the finish of final 12 months, and that has set us up for important progress in 2023.
Nonetheless, you want cash to get cash. It eliminates hurdles about inventory and going for bigger sums of investments.
I’d say we additionally want wider acceptance and recognition of the dialog round menopause – by extra individuals speaking brazenly about menopause, this helps transfer our enterprise ahead and could be very a lot a part of our mission.
What’s the most useful lesson you could have discovered?
Ask the query and have the arrogance to speak in regards to the enterprise.
You’d be shocked at how a lot of a needle mover simply speaking to individuals may be. I used to be in a fragrance store a couple of weeks in the past and left with a collaboration supply – having the arrogance to speak up your online business is highly effective.
What was your finest second?
Successful EDGE, completely. We’d been working in direction of it for thus lengthy and it felt like recognition for the way a lot we’d finished.
What was your worst second?
Considered one of our first huge orders arrived and about 40% of our bottles have been smashed. It was terrible! There’s nothing you are able to do to organize for that. A lot went incorrect that day – a storm was forecast for our first occasion and the colors have been incorrect on the packaging. An enormous ‘why are we doing this’ day, however these all the time come alongside.
How do you chill out?
For me it’s working, if I am going on a run I’ll all the time really feel higher. Everybody tells me that’s odd after I say that, however I’m a marathon runner and that’s how I clear my head. I simply put a podcast in and don’t consider the rest. ‘Name Her Daddy’ is my favorite in the meanwhile.
