Honest Talk From Female Founders.
Each week, Emmie Faust and Mae Yip break down what it actually takes to build a business - funding, growth, burnout, parenting, and everything in between. Regularly joined by founders, investors and operators who've either raised a million, made a million or raised millions.
Just the conversations female founders need, every week.
Brought to you by Female Founders Rise - a community of 11,000+ female entrepreneurs.
Why Most B2C Brands Fail, Lessons From a £40M Exit | With Joanna Jenson
Why do most B2C brands fail and what does it actually take to build one to a £40M exit?In this conversation, hosts Emmie and Mae sit down with exit founder and angel investor Joanna Jensen to break down how a kids skincare brand for eczema (Childs Farm) went from kitchen-table idea to a £40M acquisition. We cover product sampling over paid ads, knowing your customer to lower acquisition costs, packaging as 'packvertising', and the biggest mistakes B2C founders make around growth pace and patience.We also go inside the exit itself - investor relations, corporate governance, cap table red flags, and what angel investors wish founders knew before raising. If you are building a B2C business and thinking about a future startup exit strategy , this is your playbook for building to sell without burning out.In this episode we cover:- Why naivety can help you disrupt FMCG giants- Sampling and word of mouth vs paid ads- How to know your consumer and track key metrics- Packaging, differentiation and challenger brand thinking- How to plan for an exit from day one- Angel investor red flagsConnect with Joanna on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joannajensenuk/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/joannajensenuk/)Connect with us→ Join Female Founders Rise Free: https://femalefoundersrise.com/ (https://femalefoundersrise.com/)→ Emmie on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/emmiefaust (https://linkedin.com/in/emmiefaust)→ Mae on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mae-yip-9017b238/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/mae-yip-9017b238/)→ Female Founders Rise Show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ffr.show (https://www.instagram.com/ffr.show)→ Watch on youtube:
29 Sept 2026
How She Built a £1 billion Business with Mia Drennan
Mia Drennan got passed over for promotion, quit, then needed 400 meetings to land deal one. Ten years later she bootstrapped to profit, then scaled 10X in 3 years to a £1billion valuation.
In this honest conversation we dig into bootstrapping vs private equity, the equity trap for women founders, referral-led growth, and building a team that shares in the win. Real tactics for funding, scaling, and confidence.
In this episode we cover:
Why she bootstrapped for 10 years before taking investment
The equity mistake every female founder must avoid
How 400 meetings turned into deal one and referral-led growth
Growing 10X in 3 years with private equity and 4 acquisitions
Building a 500-person team with real ownership culture
Find out more about Mia Drennan : https://glas.agency/member/mia-drennan/ (https://ameliasordell.com/)
Mia Drennan on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/miadrennan/ (http://linkedin.com/in/ameliasordell)
Join Female Founders Rise Free: https://femalefoundersrise.com/ (https://femalefoundersrise.com/)
Emmie on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/emmiefaust (https://linkedin.com/in/emmiefaust)
Mae on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/mae-yip-9017b238 (https://linkedin.com/in/mae-yip-9017b238)
Download the episode playbook: https://femalefoundersriseshow.com/ (https://femalefoundersriseshow.com/)
Female Founders Rise Show on Instagram: https://instagram.com/ffr.show (https://instagram.com/ffr.show)
Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icKi5eb_fXM (https://youtu.be/ULn2e8e-0D0)
22 Sept 2026
She Turned Her Personal Brand Into a £3M Business. Here's the Exact Playbook | Amelia Sordell
What if your personal brand & posts brought in clients instead of just likes? This is the playbook behind a £3M bootstrapped business founded by Amelia Sordell.
Find out more about our upcoming personal branding challenge with Amelia here: https://femalefoundersrise.com/personal-branding-challenge (https://femalefoundersrise.com/personal-branding-challenge)
In this episode of the Female Founders Rise Show, we break down how to turn a personal brand into a client-winning asset - with a clear focus on founder led marketing , trust-building content, and selling without feeling salesy.
We also cover what it takes to grow a bootstrapped business to £3M+, how to talk about money and charge your worth, and the mindset shift that helps female founders stay consistent.
What we cover:
1/ Bootstrapping to £3M - scaling a service business without outside funding
2/ Founder-led marketing vs personal branding - why people buy from people
3/ The 4 Ps - point of view, personality, proof, product
4/ Authentic niche content - creating posts that bring leads, not just likes
5/ Mindset for self-promotion - charging your worth and staying resilient
6/ Defining your own success - building work around the life you want
Find out more about Amelia Sordell : https://ameliasordell.com/ (https://ameliasordell.com/) Amelia Sordell on LinkedIn here: linkedin.com/in/ameliasordell (http://linkedin.com/in/ameliasordell)
Join Female Founders Rise Free: https://femalefoundersrise.com/ (https://femalefoundersrise.com/)
Emmie on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/emmiefaust (https://linkedin.com/in/emmiefaust)
Mae on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/mae-yip-9017b238 (https://linkedin.com/in/mae-yip-9017b238)
Download the episode playbook: https://femalefoundersriseshow.com/ (https://femalefoundersriseshow.com/)
Female Founders Rise Show on Instagram: https://instagram.com/ffr.show (https://instagram.com/ffr.show)
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ULn2e8e-0D0 (https://youtu.be/ULn2e8e-0D0)
15 Sept 2026
Why you don’t always need VC Money | June Angelides MBE, founder and investor MBE
Hosts Emmie & Mae interview June Angelides MBE, founder and investor, about when to pursue VC funding versus bootstrapping your business.
8 Sept 2026
The Unsexy Product That Built a £8M+ Challenger Brand | Laura Harnett Founder of Seep
Emmie & Mae interview Laura Harnett, founder of Seep, about building a £8M+ challenger brand from an "unsexy" product and retaining equity.
1 Sept 2026
The Truth About Being a Mum and an Entrepreneur
Hosts Emmie Faust and Mae Yip share candid insights on navigating entrepreneurship and motherhood, offering practical strategies for balancing business and family life.
21 Jul 2026
A Multi-Million Pound Events Empire, Survived COVID & Created Glastonbury of Business | Frankie James
Emmie Faust and Mae Yip interview Frankie James, co-founder of Ideas Community, about building a multi-million-pound events empire and navigating business challenges.
14 Jul 2026
From B2B SaaS to Fashion Tech: The Serial Founder Who Exited 33 X & Is Doing It All Again | Vic Peppiatt
Emmie Faust and Mae Yip interview serial founder Vic Peppiatt about her 33X exit from B2B SaaS and her pivot to fashion tech, offering insights into building for acquisition and navigating entrepreneurial life.
6 Jul 2026
The Entrepreneurial Mindset: What It Is & Do You Have It?
Hosts Mae and Emmie explore the five essential mindset traits that define an entrepreneur, helping listeners assess their own potential.
30 Jun 2026
Married Co-Founders, AI, and the Pivot That Raised $1.3m with Emily Kucharksi
Host Emmie Faust interviews Emily Kucharski, former WPP director, about pivoting from a failed venture to co-founding an AI company that raised $1.3 million, exploring fundraising strategies and married co-founder dynamics.
23 Jun 2026
How I Raised £1M From Angel Investors: My Six-Step Playbook
Emmie Faust interviews Mae, a founder, who shares her six-step playbook for raising £1M from angel investors through effective cold outreach.
16 Jun 2026
From Side Hustle To Building A Fashion Empire w Eshita Kabra, Founder of By Rotation
Emmie and Mae interview Eshita Kabra, Founder of By Rotation, about building a fashion empire from a side hustle and navigating venture capital as a woman of color.
9 Jun 2026
Having a Baby & Running 3 Businesses w Lottie Unwin
Emmie Faust and Mae Yip interview Lottie Unwin about balancing three businesses and a baby, revealing strategies for entrepreneurial success without slowing down.
2 Jun 2026
VC Secrets Unlocked With Rupa Popat
Emmie and Mae interview Rupa Popat, VC fund manager, as she reveals crucial insights on VC funding, AI-driven business viability, and essential advice for female founders.
26 May 2026
How To Get To Your First £100K
Emmie Faust and Mae Yip share a practical playbook for founders to reach their first £100k by focusing on pricing, founder-led sales, and human connection.
19 May 2026
Angel vs VC: Why I Chose Angel Investment (And Raised £1M)
Host Emmie and guest Mae, who raised £1M from angel investors, explore why angel investment is often a better choice than venture capital for founders.
12 May 2026
Intro from Emmie & Mae 👋
Welcome to the Female Founders Rise Show, the podcast for women building businesses, hosted by Emmie Faust (serial founder, angel investor, mum of four, founder of Female Founders Rise) and Mae Yip (founder, angel-backed, and expecting her first baby).
Every week they get into the conversations female founders are actually having privately, about money, burnout, parenting, relationships, hiring, growth, and the stuff nobody else is talking about. Joined regularly by founders, investors and operators who've actually done it and are willing to be honest about all of it.
Every episode ends with three actionable takeaways and one closing question to every guest: "what's one piece of advice you'd give a female founder ?"
No fluff. No polished answers. Just the honest conversation and the practical takeaway.
New episode every Tuesday.
Part of Female Founders Rise, a community of 11,000+ women building businesses together.
Who has been a guest on Female Founders Rise Show
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
June Angelides MBE
Laura Harnett
Frankie James
Vic Peppiatt
Emily Kucharski
Contact Female Founders Rise Show
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Books guests
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