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Lessons From the Frontline: What STYLISA FoundHers Is Teaching Me About Building With Purpose

Updated: Aug 18

STYLISA FoundHers wasn’t just born out of passion. It was born from personal truth.

When I launched the series, I thought I was building a platform to amplify others. What I didn’t expect was how deeply it would reflect my own journey back at me. With each conversation, I saw parts of myself. And not the polished, prepared-for-LinkedIn parts. The messy, determined, brave-in-silence parts.


This isn’t just a series. It’s a mirror. And after six powerful interviews with women who are building with boldness and purpose - Marina Fallahi, Jane Hawkes, Dr Giovannie Jean-Louis, Laura and Rachel Grix, and Ellen Widdup, it’s time to share what I’ve learned from the frontlines of female entrepreneurship.

A collage of diverse female founders featured in the STYLISA FoundHers series, smiling and confident, against a soft pink background with the STYLISA FoundHers logo in the corner.
Every story matters. Every voice counts. These are the women redefining what it means to build with purpose.

Burnout, Rejection, and the Courage to Begin Anyway

Marina Fallahi built Bhive after years of struggling to find the right hair products for her own hair. But the real catalyst? Burnout. Corporate life had drained her, and redundancy finally gave her the space (and the push) to go all-in on her idea.


Her story resonated deeply. I too have experienced burnout. I returned to self-employment not because it felt safe, but because staying where I was felt unbearable. Like Marina, I was exhausted by environments that didn’t reflect who I was or what I valued.


What I learned from Marina is this: burnout doesn’t have to be a breakdown. Sometimes, it’s a breakthrough in disguise. And when the noise of everyone else quiets, your own vision gets louder.


You Are the Brand Before the Business Is Born

Jane Hawkes, also known as Lady Janey, didn’t wait for a brand to hire her. She became one. From helping consumers get refunds to becoming a go-to expert on customer service, Jane’s journey is a masterclass in reputation-building.


Her story reminded me of what I tell my own clients. You don’t build a brand by chasing visibility. You build it by standing for something. Jane stands for integrity, fairness, and no-fluff consumer empowerment.


Like Jane, I’ve learnt to let values lead the way. My work in personal branding isn’t about polishing someone up for social media. It’s about helping them get clear on who they are, and how they show up in the world, consistently, confidently, and with conviction. That’s how I built my own brand too, long before the business took shape.


If the System Isn’t Built For You, Build the System

Dr Giovannie Jean-Louis didn’t set out to be a founder. She set out to solve a problem. When she realised how few clinical trials were accessible to people of colour, she didn’t wait for change. She built PROBr.


Her story is a lesson in living your why. In refusing to accept exclusion as the norm. And in standing firm even when mentors, investors, and gatekeepers don’t see the vision.


I saw myself in that. STYLISA FoundHers wasn’t born in a boardroom. It was born in the gaps, in the moments I was overlooked, underfunded, and underestimated. Like Giovannie, I knew the only way forward was through.


Work That Feels Human — Not Just Productive

Laura and Rachel Grix built The Grix Sisters to challenge burnout culture and bring creativity, care, and community back into workplaces. Their ethos? If not now, when?


That urgency resonated with me. I’ve been in roles where rest was seen as weakness, and where creativity was only valued if it fit inside a spreadsheet. Like the Grix Sisters, I’m building a business that doesn’t just produce results. It reflects who I am.


Their story reminded me that joy and strategy are not opposites. That we can design spaces that are as energising as they are effective. And that creativity, when rooted in care, is a powerful act of leadership.


Reinvention Is Not a Detour. It’s the Point.

Ellen Widdup went from award-winning journalist to founder of two businesses, including a digital legacy platform inspired by her own experiences of overwhelm, solo parenting, and admin fatigue.


What struck me most about Ellen was her refusal to choose between motherhood and ambition. She built businesses that worked with life, not against it. Her story reminded me of the pivots I’ve made. Leaving behind the corporate titles. Walking away from "safe" paths. Rewriting what success looks like on my own terms.


Ellen reminded me that reinvention isn’t failure. It’s growth. It’s what happens when your next chapter demands a different kind of courage.


What I Now Know

Across all six stories, one truth echoes: we are not waiting for permission. We are building anyway.

These women’s journeys have affirmed what I’ve always suspected: that resilience is a quiet superpower. That rejection is redirection. That purpose will outlast performance.


From Marina’s clarity after burnout, to Giovannie’s defiance in the face of doubt. From Jane’s unwavering values to the Grix Sisters’ joyful rebellion against burnout culture. From Ellen’s creative chaos to my own instinct to build something that didn’t yet exist.


We are all living case studies.


The Platform Is the Proof

STYLISA FoundHers isn’t just a storytelling series. It’s a body of evidence. A living archive of what it looks like to build from truth, not performance. These women have challenged me, inspired me, and in many ways, held up a mirror to the parts of my own story I hadn’t fully acknowledged.


And I’m not done yet. Because I’m not just the founder of this platform. I’m the FoundHer behind it. And like the women I feature. I’m still building too.


Connect with me and follow my journey:   




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