In this episode of Founder to Founder, Luke Johnstone sits down with Olivia Jenkins, founder of D.LOUISE, to discuss how she built one of the UK's fastest-growing jewellery brands from scratch with no industry experience, no business background and a powerful personal mission.

After losing her mother and facing a period of uncertainty during the pandemic, Olivia channelled her energy into creating D.LOUISE, a jewellery brand built around confidence, resilience and meaningful storytelling.

What started as a side project quickly became a thriving direct-to-consumer business, known for its sustainable, tarnish-free jewellery and loyal community.

Together they discuss grief, entrepreneurship, founder mindset, bootstrapping a product-based business, building confidence, and the realities of scaling a brand while staying true to your values.

This is an honest conversation about resilience, personal growth and what it really means to build a business with purpose.

In this episode:

• Why Olivia started D.LOUISE after losing her mother
• Building a jewellery brand with no industry experience
• Bootstrapping and growing a direct-to-consumer business
• Turning grief into purpose and motivation
• Developing confidence as a first-time founder
• The role mentors, coaches and community play in growth
• Managing founder wellbeing and mental resilience
• Why sustainable growth matters more than overnight success
• Building a brand rooted in authenticity and values

Looking for support on your own founder journey?

Founder to Founder is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start, grow and thrive through funding, mentoring, expert advice and community.

Find out more at virginstartup.org

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