ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Anna Reid and Gemma Doyle are the co-founders of Nimbi - the British shave-care brand that chose to build in America first, raised more than £1 million before it could properly launch, and was created with a level of conviction that included putting their own money, savings and even property on the line.
In this episode of At Face Value, we talk about what it actually means to bet on yourself when there is no guarantee it will work.
Anna and Gemma take me through the early days of Nimbi: meeting over a very questionable prototype, convincing each other to go all in, the reality of fundraising, hundreds of investor rejections, and why they made the unusual decision to launch a British beauty brand in the US before the UK.
But, as always on At Face Value, the conversation goes much further than the business.
We talk about money and class, changing the trajectory of your family, the desire to finally know what financial security feels like, and why women are still so often encouraged to be grateful for opportunities rather than unapologetically ambitious about what they want.
We also get into rejection, self-worth, visibility, building a business in your 40s, health and burnout, and Anna and Gemma’s refusal to subscribe to the idea that entrepreneurship has to mean suffering.
We talk about:
• Selling a house to help fund the business
• Raising over £1 million before launch
• Pitching hundreds of investors — and learning not to fear rejection
• Why Nimbi launched in America before Britain
• The difference between UK and US attitudes to ambition and money
• Why women founders are still encouraged to “be grateful”
• Building financial security when you didn’t grow up with it
• Self-worth, visibility and learning to take up space
• Entrepreneurship, health and creating a life that doesn’t require suffering
• What success and “enough” actually look like once the business starts working
WHERE TO FIND NIMBI
WHERE TO FIND RHEA
https://www.instagram.com/its_rhea/
At Face Value is a podcast about the women behind the work — the ambition, money, identity, relationships, choices and contradictions that shape how we build our lives.
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