The Midlife Entrepreneur

This week Jo Glynn-Smith interviews Marielle Wyse, founder of Wyse London, launched in 2014 from five cashmere jumpers after a TV production career and a separation at 49 prompted her to rethink finances. With no formal training and a small loan from her father, she took her designs to a factory, sold £15,000 of stock at a June trade fair, repeated it in November, and saw sales grow from 15 to 75, later building a business now with six UK stores, 170,000 Instagram followers, and over £18 million turnover with no outside investment. Wyse says COVID drove major growth by dropping wholesale, selling direct via honest Instagram content, and navigating chaotic stock demands, growing fivefold from about £2M to £10M. She describes post-COVID pressures, losing money after hiring “experts,” opening her first store in Marylebone, focusing on customer experience for midlife women, prioritizing fitness, adding a CEO for structure, and shifting from pre-orders to holding more stock while emphasising kindness and team development.
00:00 Welcome and Subscribe
00:30 Meet Marielle Wyse
01:54 From Mum to Founder
05:42 Leading Left Field
08:18 COVID Growth Surge
10:20 Chaos and Customer Connection
15:35 After the Boom Lessons
17:41 Opening Physical Stores
21:05 Design Structure and Teams
22:04 What She Loves Now
23:04 Just Do It Mindset
23:25 Founder Leadership Challenges
26:21 Building Trust and Safety
27:38 Surviving a Tough Market
29:36 Energy Fitness and Rest
31:43 Hiring a CEO for Structure
33:31 Three Two One Reflections
37:40 Kindness and Proud Wins
39:20 What Comes Next
40:28 Closing and Listener Call
https://www.wyselondon.com/
Follow on insta @wyselondon
Support the show
Edited and produced by Jo Glynn-Smith 2025.
Recorded at Eight Works Podcast Studios, 1 Dysart Street, London, EC2A 2BX
For bookings: eightworks@eightclub.co.uk

Jo Glynn-Smith is an entrepreneur, professional coach, writer, and speaker from London, she is an expert in career transformation and change.

Instagram @jojoglynnsmith and @themidlifeentrepreneur
Contact: enquiries@joglynnsmith.com
www.joglynnsmith.com

MUSIC CREDIT Easy Money by REX BANNER licensed by Artlist.io
PHOTOGRAPHY by JONATHAN GLYNN-SMITH www.jonathanglynnsmith.com

This week Jo sits down with Claire Burrows, founder of London footwear brand Air & Grace, to discuss building a business in midlife by solving the style-versus-comfort problem. Claire shares how redundancy pushed her to launch in 2014 after 20+ years in buying, design, and product development, funding early work with her life savings, renting out her home, and borrowing money. She explains developing the patented Tender Loving Air technology with technologist Kevin Ban, including setbacks like rejecting the first production run, running out of money, and later winning a Metro Newspaper competition that enabled a pivot from a failed wholesale plan to direct-to-consumer via Shopify. Claire describes learning marketing, e-commerce, and cashflow management, using consumer events to drive early sales and feedback, and later refocusing online. Her advice highlights investing in legal support and knowledge, keeping teams lean, and trusting red flags earlier.
 
00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro
01:47 Redundancy Sparks the Leap
02:39 Finding the Comfort Gap
04:25 Building the First Prototype Team
08:02 Naming Air and Grace
09:21 First Product and Early Setbacks
12:51 Tender Loving Air Tech
15:03 Funding and Cost Realities
16:38 Pivot to Direct to Consumer
19:24 Shopify Site and Winning Investment
21:04 Learning D2C Marketing and Finance
22:40 Money Mindset Shift
22:57 First Hire Milestone
23:22 Selling Comfort Online
23:42 Consumer Events Playbook
25:30 Trade Show Chaos Story
26:18 Online Focus Tipping Point
26:59 Back To In Person
27:40 New Product Evolution
28:22 Best Selling Flat
29:27 Color Range Strategy
30:12 Surviving Tough Markets
31:51 Streamlining For Growth
32:54 Team Culture Energy
33:33 Business Owner Surprises
34:40 Shoemaking Complexity
35:46 Three Two One Framework
36:06 Worth Every Penny
40:44 Team Size Regrets
42:25 Quit Earlier Lesson
44:07 Thanking The Technologist
45:02 Final Wrap And Goodbye
Visit at https://airandgracelondon.com/
Follow on Instagram @airandgrace
Support the show
Edited and produced by Jo Glynn-Smith 2025.
Recorded at Eight Works Podcast Studios, 1 Dysart Street, London, EC2A 2BX
For bookings: eightworks@eightclub.co.uk

Jo Glynn-Smith is an entrepreneur, professional coach, writer, and speaker from London, she is an expert in career transformation and change.

Instagram @jojoglynnsmith and @themidlifeentrepreneur
Contact: enquiries@joglynnsmith.com
www.joglynnsmith.com

MUSIC CREDIT Easy Money by REX BANNER licensed by Artlist.io
PHOTOGRAPHY by JONATHAN GLYNN-SMITH www.jonathanglynnsmith.com

This week Jo sits down with Melisse Shaban, CEO of Aramore, a US-based longevity science company, to share three ways to innovate when everyone else is copying you in a low-barrier, noisy market. First, Melisse advises pursuing technical innovation by identifying unmet, unknown, or evolving needs, and reframing familiar problems (such as “longevity” versus “anti-aging”) while staying open to new formats and delivery systems across categories, from GLP-1s and peptides to sleep and recovery tools. Second, she stresses being honest and authentic in a world where it’s hard to tell what’s real, arguing that trust and truth-telling drive meaningful innovation. Third, she recommends constant discovery—looking in unexpected places, staying curious, and using practices like affirmation—while remaining focused and credible, as Aramore does by targeting cellular health in skin through long-term science.
 
00:00 Welcome to Masterclass
00:34 Why Copycats Win
01:04 Unmet Needs Drive Innovation
01:27 New Longevity Mindset
03:46 Formats and Recovery Trends
04:56 Authenticity in Noisy Markets
07:24 Brave Truth Tellers
08:11 Discovery and Self Belief
12:02 Aramore Inside Out Skin
14:08 First to Market Focus
15:18 Science Led Differentiation
16:13 Wrap Up and Subscribe
Support the show
Edited and produced by Jo Glynn-Smith 2025.
Recorded at Eight Works Podcast Studios, 1 Dysart Street, London, EC2A 2BX
For bookings: eightworks@eightclub.co.uk

Jo Glynn-Smith is an entrepreneur, professional coach, writer, and speaker from London, she is an expert in career transformation and change.

Instagram @jojoglynnsmith and @themidlifeentrepreneur
Contact: enquiries@joglynnsmith.com
www.joglynnsmith.com

MUSIC CREDIT Easy Money by REX BANNER licensed by Artlist.io
PHOTOGRAPHY by JONATHAN GLYNN-SMITH www.jonathanglynnsmith.com

This week Jo speaks with Antonia Philips, a pediatric nurse and co-founder of Nursem, an award-winning handcare brand created to solve the cracked, bleeding hands caused by constant handwashing with harsh antiseptics. Antonia shares how she and her husband Jonny spent seven years researching and testing products (including Manuka honey) while raising three children and continuing her nursing career, eventually moving to flexible bank shifts after burnout. They discuss finding support through the Newcastle Science City incubator, standing out in a saturated skincare market, listening to customers via a 2,000-person testing panel requiring 90% approval, and scaling a small team as they aim to enter grocery. Antonia explains the Nursem Promise, donating a month of free handcare per product sold, with 700,000 promises delivered and a million targeted by 2027, and reflects on working with her husband, managing energy, and planning for an investor exit without losing purpose. 
00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro
01:50 Balancing Nursing and Business
04:15 Staying Connected to Nursing
07:31 Handwashing Damage Explained
09:01 Searching for a Real Solution
11:46 Building the Formula and Testing
14:57 Packaging and Early Feedback
16:13 Funding and Incubator Support
17:07 Launch and Giving Back
18:38 Burnout and Energy Management
23:36 Sleep and Support
24:13 Running as Therapy
24:24 Standing Out in Skincare
25:58 Customer Led Product Expansion
27:40 Working With Your Spouse
31:36 Team Growth and Grocery Plans
33:38 Exit Pressure and Purpose
39:59 Three Two One Reflections
45:45 Final Thanks and Wrap Up
https://www.nursem.co.uk/
 
Support the show
Edited and produced by Jo Glynn-Smith 2025.
Recorded at Eight Works Podcast Studios, 1 Dysart Street, London, EC2A 2BX
For bookings: eightworks@eightclub.co.uk

Jo Glynn-Smith is an entrepreneur, professional coach, writer, and speaker from London, she is an expert in career transformation and change.

Instagram @jojoglynnsmith and @themidlifeentrepreneur
Contact: enquiries@joglynnsmith.com
www.joglynnsmith.com

MUSIC CREDIT Easy Money by REX BANNER licensed by Artlist.io
PHOTOGRAPHY by JONATHAN GLYNN-SMITH www.jonathanglynnsmith.com

This week Jo speaks with Rosie Nixon, coach, founder of Rosie’s Reinvention Retreats and author of The PRO Method, about three ways to avoid burnout before it derails you and your business. Rosie explains burnout as a workplace-based syndrome where demand outstrips recovery, often showing up as insomnia, irritability, anxiety, overwhelm, low motivation and reduced creativity. Her three tips follow the PRO framework: first, Pause—calm the nervous system through micro-pauses like getting outside, breathwork (count four in, hold two, release six), or exercise, and take longer time away if needed. Second, Reflect—get curious about what’s happening, name emotions, clarify what matters now, and identify unmet needs and values. Third, Organise—map small, values-aligned steps forward, including letting go of responsibilities, work or relationships that no longer serve you.
 
00:00 Welcome to Masterclass
00:34 What Burnout Looks Like
02:11 PRO Method Overview
02:31 Pause to Reset
07:19 Reflect with Curiosity
09:36 Organise Next Steps
12:21 Reinvention Mindset
14:33 Book and Farewell
https://www.rosienixon.co.uk/
Follow on Instagram @rosiejnixon 
Support the show
Edited and produced by Jo Glynn-Smith 2025.
Recorded at Eight Works Podcast Studios, 1 Dysart Street, London, EC2A 2BX
For bookings: eightworks@eightclub.co.uk

Jo Glynn-Smith is an entrepreneur, professional coach, writer, and speaker from London, she is an expert in career transformation and change.

Instagram @jojoglynnsmith and @themidlifeentrepreneur
Contact: enquiries@joglynnsmith.com
www.joglynnsmith.com

MUSIC CREDIT Easy Money by REX BANNER licensed by Artlist.io
PHOTOGRAPHY by JONATHAN GLYNN-SMITH www.jonathanglynnsmith.com