International Women's Day

Conversations With Our Co-Founder

Co-Founder Conversations

To mark International Women's Day, we sat down with our Co-Founder and Brand Director, Rosie, to chat about life as a woman in business, and the challenges of leading a fast-growing fashion brand.

Did you always want to start your own business, or was this something you pursued when the opportunity presented itself?

Honestly, it wasn’t something I planned from the start. I always loved my job in fashion, but the idea of being in control of my own success came a little later. Despite Zoe & I founding the business in lockdown, it really felt like the right opportunity presented itself at the right time. Once I started seeing the business grow and how everything could come together, I realised how much running the brand was something I loved doing and wanted to give my whole energy and dedication to.

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What does success look like to you?

Success to me is finding the balance between achieving my professional goals and maintaining meaningful personal relationships. It's not always easy when running a business, but if you surround yourself with the right people it makes things a lot easier!

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What’s a myth about entrepreneurship that you wish more people knew the truth about?

That it's glamorous! It is all about 'getting your hands dirty’ and literally doing every single job yourself at some point or another to get things done. I would love to say life running a fashion brand is all photoshoots abroad and networking but in reality that's only a small part of it – the majority of it is very hard work!

How can women support each other in business?

For me, I think mentorship and guidance is absolutely invaluable support women can give one another. Being able to speak to women who are further on in their careers and who can share insights, guidance and personal experience can really help you navigate challenges and avoid similar pitfalls. Also, it is vital that women support each other by sharing resources or opportunities, such as job leads or business connections. It helps to lift everyone up and creates a strong support system where we feel empowered to do whatever we set our minds to.

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What has been the biggest challenge since starting Ro&Zo? How have you managed that?

The biggest challenge since starting Ro&Zo has been about balancing the company's growth with maintaining the brand's integrity and quality. As a small business, there's always pressure to scale quickly, and we've learnt so much in the last four years. We've learnt there's nothing more important than listening to customer's feedback, and to ensuring we stay true to our original vision whilst still growing. 

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If you could go back, what’s one boundary you would set sooner in your career?

Honestly… I am still at the stage where I have to give a lot to the business as we are in such a period of growth. However I am trying to really carve out time to spend with my husband and my son, and to put my phone down and be present. At the beginning of this year I set a boundary to not look at my phone past 8pm until 7am the next day!

Co-founders Wardrobe

Co-founders Wardrobe

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Do you feel there are different pressures on female business founders than on male founders?

Definitely – it is far more difficult for female founders to get investment; the gender funding gap still exists, leaving significant potential unrealised. In the last few years, only 2% of VCT funding went to female-founded companies across all industries. So even just knowing that statistic makes it a lot harder for women to believe they can raise funding. 

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What are you most proud of achieving since the brand’s launch?

Building our team. We have an amazing group of people (mainly women) who all believe in our brand, its vision, and what we are building and that, for me, is incredible validation.

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What is the best piece of advice given to you by another woman?

Always recruit people cleverer than you!

For me, I think mentorship and guidance is invaluable support women can give one another

-Rosie Bowden