Start Scale Succeed

Stopping the scroll and making the sale

Mastering Cashflow in your product business

Christmas Trends 2026

On this episode of Start Scale Succeed, Nicole chats with Louisa Booth, the inspiring founder behind Pop Mask and Blushing LA. Louisa shares her entrepreneurial journey from investment banking to bootstrapping and building a global beauty and wellness brand, now found in over 35,000 retail doors worldwide—including CVS, Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, Superdrug, and Boots. Nicole and Louisa chat about: The story behind Louisa’s first product, Pop Band (the hair ties that don’t damage hair), and her accidental pivot into the US market. How Louisa grew Pop Mask into a brand that brings joy and innovation to everyday essentials—from sleep masks to femcare solutions. The logistics of scaling internationally: cracking the US market, dealing with retail red tape, vendor setups, and surviving cash flow challenges. The reality of copycat competitors and how Louisa kept innovating and moving forward. Product development inspiration—how her own family’s needs and feedback from a multigenerational team drive new ideas. Navigating tariffs, Trump policies, and the need for dogged focus on margins The shift to showing up as the face of the brand and connecting with customers on a relatable, human level. The rollercoaster of founder life: bootstrapping, remortgaging, 18-hour days, pinch-me moments, and finally seeing her products in major UK retailers. Louisa’s best advice for founders at every stage: trust your instincts, scrutinize every penny spent, focus on margins, and remember—there are no shortcuts in scaling a product business. https://www.instagram.com/lovethepopmask/ https://popmasklondon.com/ https://blushingla.com/en-gb Host Nicole Higgins The Buyer and retail coach Nicole Higgins Links https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk/ https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/ https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/ https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/free-discovery-call/ https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/blog/ Sponsor Neon Digital Clicks Are you ready to scale your ecommerce store?This episode is brought to you by Neon Digital Clicks, the agency dedicated to helping kids’ and family brands achieve explosive growth with high-performing digital marketing campaigns. Neon’s new Runway to Results programme is a revolutionary paid-advertising service that will help you understand your brand’s true potential and reach the heights of success you dream of. Over the course of 60 days, Neon’s expert team will test and optimise your Meta and Google ad accounts to establish your business KPIs and optimum Cost Per Acquisition. At the end of the Runway period, they’ll analyse your data to establish what profitable scaling looks like and arm you with knowledge, confidence and a clear plan for the next phase of your growth. If you’re ready to elevate your e-commerce game, Neon is the navigator you need on your flight deck. https://runwaytoresults.com/ https://neondigitalclicks.co.uk/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this value-packed episode, Nicole Higgins sits down with Dean Johnson—AI consultant, and experienced product business founder—to dive into the game-changing ways artificial intelligence is transforming product businesses. Whether you're a founder at the start of your journey or running an established e-commerce brand, you’ll learn actionable strategies for using AI to streamline operations, save time, and scale efficiently without losing that crucial human connection. Highlights include Smart ways to use AI for inventory forecasting, automating reporting, customer service, and content creation The strengths of custom ChatGPTs for more intuitive, tailored results Workflow automation using tools like Make.com Integrating AI with Shopify Leveraging AI while maintaining authenticity and personal connection with your customers Practical steps to map your business workflows and identify automation opportunities Using AI for deep trend research and actionable business insights Key Takeaways: Start by mapping your business workflows to identify where AI and automation will help the most. Focus on repetitive, data-heavy tasks—freeing yourself and your team to focus on creativity and customer relationships. ChatGPT’s custom GPT feature is a powerful way to make business analysis fast and personalized. Trend research and strategic planning can be augmented with AI, Links https://www.gorgias.com/ https://www.make.com/en https://n8n.io/ai/ Guest Dean Johnston https://aiefficiencyhubb.com/ https://www.instagram.com/deanjohnstonai https://www.tiktok.com/@deanjohnstonai https://form.typeform.com/to/izHind8W Host Nicole Higgins The Buyer and retail coach Nicole Higgins Links https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk/ https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/ https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/ https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/free-discovery-call/ https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/blog/ Sponsor Neon Digital Clicks Are you ready to scale your ecommerce store?This episode is brought to you by Neon Digital Clicks, the agency dedicated to helping kids’ and family brands achieve explosive growth with high-performing digital marketing campaigns. Neon’s new Runway to Results programme is a revolutionary paid-advertising service that will help you understand your brand’s true potential and reach the heights of success you dream of. Over the course of 60 days, Neon’s expert team will test and optimise your Meta and Google ad accounts to establish your business KPIs and optimum Cost Per Acquisition. At the end of the Runway period, they’ll analyse your data to establish what profitable scaling looks like and arm you with knowledge, confidence and a clear plan for the next phase of your growth. If you’re ready to elevate your e-commerce game, Neon is the navigator you need on your flight deck. https://runwaytoresults.com/ https://neondigitalclicks.co.uk/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.