Ellie Carlile sits down with us to share how a £2,000 lip balm experiment turned into one of the UK’s fastest-growing beauty brands, built almost entirely through storytelling and community.What started as a personal struggle with acne, confidence and cracked lips became a solution-led brand now stocked in Sephora, backed by a fiercely loyal audience and tens of millions of social views. Ellie built ByEllie the hard way. Bootstrapped, solo, and entirely on her own terms.She opens up about:◼️ Losing confidence & the moment the first product was born◼️ Ordering 20,000 lip balms that were wrong and fixing them by hand◼️ Building a brand through TikTok, Instagram and YouTube◼️ Why community always comes before polish◼️ Personally calling customers, refunding orders and creating real moments◼️ The pressure of fast growth, burnout and being “on” all the time◼️ Going viral overnight and selling stock she didn’t even have◼️ Getting into Sephora by emailing relentlessly until one person replied◼️ Barcoding 60,000 products by hand with friends, family and takeaway fuel◼️ The mistakes, the chaos and why she’d still do it all again

Prime Time founders Harvey and Sam sit down with us to share how two lads who met over a beer on a train at 19 went on to build one of the UK’s fastest growing “better for you” beer brands. From Made in Chelsea mayhem to major supermarket shelves, their journey is a brilliant mix of disruption, graft and accidental chaos. What started as two mates frustrated with heavy beers holding back their training has become a fully fledged challenger brand now stocked in Waitrose and Tesco, pioneering the low calorie, low carb, functional beer movement.They open up about:◼️ Using Made in Chelsea strategically to boost the brand◼️ Landing Waitrose, Tesco & proving the “better beer” category is exploding◼️ The festival nightmare where their beer never arrived◼️ Biting off more than they could chew and “chewing it like mad”◼️ What happens when big brewers start copying you◼️ Building a community through events, live music and their network◼️ Crowdfunding choosing the right strategic backers◼️ Their co-founder dynamic and how they keep it healthy under pressure◼️ Creating a culture so strong their team has Prime Time at their weddingsThis episode is full of energy, honesty and proper entrepreneurial grit.Two friends, a challenger mindset and a category-defining mission.Prime Time aren’t just brewing lager. They’re reshaping how a new generation enjoys beer.

Only Curls founders Lizzie and Hugo join us in The Founder Lock-In pub to share how a £500 kitchen-table experiment became one of Britain’s most trusted curly hair brands. What began with a single microfibre towel and a sewing machine has grown into a movement built on confidence, community and curls. From posting orders with a pram to becoming a top curly hair brand in Boots, their journey is as relatable as it is impressive.They open up about:◼️ How a simple idea in 2016 grew into a multi-million-pound brand◼️ Building a business while raising two children and juggling full-time jobs◼️ Growing through Instagram, UGC and influencer gifting before it was a trend◼️ The emotional side of curly hair and why community is their North Star◼️ Bootstrapping everything and avoiding investment for almost a decade◼️ Taking Only Curls into Boots and learning retail from scratch◼️ Why customer service is the heartbeat of the business◼️ The reality of running a company as husband and wife, rows and all◼️ Embracing TikTok early, hiring too late and surviving burnoutA story of graft, family, frizz, and the founders who turned a personal struggle into a beloved British brand.

Solar Buddies founders Kelli and Laura join us in The Founder's Lock-Inn pub to share how two mums who’d only known each other three weeks built one of the UK’s most loved family-product brands.What started with a sun cream disaster in the school playground became a patented invention that caught the attention of Dragons’ Den and earned investment from Deborah Meaden. From makeshift prototypes to running a UK production facility, their journey has been anything but smooth.They open up about:◼️ The playground moment that sparked the Solar Buddies idea◼️ How they went from zero experience to becoming patent-holders◼️ Surviving sudden viral growth, sold-out summers and warehouse chaos◼️ What Dragons’ Den really did for the brand◼️ How Deborah Meaden guides them, challenges them and pushes them to celebrate their wins◼️ Navigating co-founder life as “work spouses” through kids, stress and burnout◼️ Imposter syndrome, copycats and the day Laura nearly walked awayThis episode is heartfelt, funny and full of proper entrepreneurial honesty.Two friends, a clever idea and a decade of sheer determination.Solar Buddies didn’t just make sun care easier. They built a brand that families genuinely rely on.

PerfectTed co-founder Marisa joins us in The Founder Lock-In pub to share how three family members turned a caffeine obsession into the UK’s fastest-growing founder-led brand.From matcha-fuelled library sessions to a £140M valuation, PerfectTed has exploded into supermarkets, cafés and global markets – without selling out the brand to the wrong retailers, and without losing their purpose.Marissa opens up about:◼️ Why they said no to massive retailers to protect brand credibility◼️ How PerfectTed avoided rushing into America and still went global◼️ The mental health battle behind the success – surgeries, depression, burnout◼️ What scaling from 3 people to 40 (and soon 80) really feels like◼️ Why divergent brains build exceptional businesses◼️ The family dynamic of building a business with your husband and brother-in-lawThis one is bold, honest, and surprisingly hilarious.Chaos, focus, culture tests, darts games and a caffeine routine that changed everything.

Suri founders Mark and Gyve join us in The Founder Lock-In pub to reveal how they built one of Britain’s fastest growing oral care brands, turning a simple toothbrush into a product people genuinely love.From exploding into the FEBE Growth 100 to selling out their first 5,000 units, nearly losing the company overnight, and emailing every angry customer by hand, this is a ruthless breakdown of what it takes to build a physical product brand from scratch.We explore:◼️ Why every toothbrush you have ever used still exists◼️ How “Minimum Lovable Product” changed everything◼️ The 1,000-unit disaster that almost killed their business◼️ Why co-founder relationships are harder than marriage◼️ The power of customers who love your product◼️ How to scale teams and systems without breaking everythingIf you are a founder, operator or product nerd, this one is gold. It is honest. It is messy. It is the reality behind fast growth.Listen now and subscribe for new episodes every week from The Unemployables pub with the most exciting founder led brands in the UK.

MOTH co-founder Rob Wallis joins us in The Founder's Lock-Inn to share how a cocktail brand born from chaos became one of the UK’s fastest-growing drinks businesses.From bar shifts to building MOTH (Mix of Total Happiness), a brand now selling a can every five seconds... Rob opens up about the obsession, optimism and sheer persistence that turned a simple idea into a supermarket staple.He reveals:◼️ The wild Selfridges story that changed everything◼️ How being “professionally annoying” got MOTH into Waitrose◼️ Why naivety is a founder’s greatest superpower◼️ The value of focus & doing one thing brilliantly◼️ Why success can be just as dangerous as failureThis is a masterclass in optimism, resilience and brand obsession, all poured into a can.🎧 The Unemployables: Episode 2 with Rob Wallis, Founder of MOTH DrinksRecorded at The Founder's Lock-Inn

MyoMaster founders Joe Gray and Lottie Whyte join us in The Founder Lock-In pub to share the journey from rugby to recovery empire revealing how they built one of Britain’s fastest-growing wellness brands and why they’ll never work for anyone else again.Joe Gray and Lottie Whyte are the husband-and-wife founders of MyoMaster, the performance recovery brand redefining how athletes and everyday people look after their bodies. From a homemade massage gun built out of a jigsaw to a multi-million-pound business, their story is one of determination, innovation and relentless drive.They reveal:◼️ How Joe turned a rugby injury into a business idea that changed everything◼️ The reality of building a company with your partner and surviving it◼️ The Dragon’s Den pitch that went viral and what really happened behind the scenes◼️ How they scaled from £0 to £5 million and nearly lost it all in Westfield◼️ Why being “unemployable” has been their greatest advantageCheck out MyoMaster at - https://myomaster.com/Our socials!  / febegrowth100    / febegrowth100    / febe-growth-100  https://www.febe.com/