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Meet Laura Rudoe- Founder of Evolve Organic Beauty
In 2008 Laura (mumma & beauty entrepreneur) set up Good Ventures which is as an ethical development company with the mission to create organic personal care brands that make a difference. She wanted to make organic beauty desirable, affordable and accessible to a wider audience. Evolve is a modern apothecary-style brand made with the purest and most effective organic oils and natural superfoods. Each product is vegan, cruelty free and hand-crafted in small batches in their eco studio in Hertfordshire.
What does a typical day look like for you from eyes open to eyes shut?
I normally get woken up by a child at about 6 o’clock in the morning! If I’m feeling energetic I tend to do yoga and then make my way into the office and have a late breakfast. Every day is different as my role is so varied which I love. I head home around 5 o’clock and I spend time with my family before eating around six. Around 9 o’clock I have a bath with Epsom salts to detox and then I try to go to bed around 10 if I can!
What does a typical day look like for you from eyes open to eyes shut?
I normally get woken up by a child at about 6 o’clock in the morning! If I’m feeling energetic I tend to do yoga and then make my way into the office and have a late breakfast. Every day is different as my role is so varied which I love. I head home around 5 o’clock and I spend time with my family before eating around six. Around 9 o’clock I have a bath with Epsom salts to detox and then I try to go to bed around 10 if I can!
What was the best piece of advice (or support) you got early on that really helped build Evolve?
A key turning point for us was when we decided to create our own studio in 2015. I was working with the British library on their innovation acceleration program at this point and I found their advice incredibly helpful. Insourcing production really turbocharged innovation and our business and led to the creation of all of the wonderful evolve products we have in our range today. We now have an eco-studio based in Radlett Herts which is wind powered and we are truly the masters of our own destiny! We make our products by hand in our studio with our team of artisans which enables us to be completely flexible and responsive.
What do you wish someone had told you before going solo?
Creating a business takes a lot longer than you think! It’s taken me 10 years to get this far and I don’t think that is uncommon. Before the days of Internet businesses I think every business took this long to set up. I have loved every minute of the journey though and learnt so much along the way.
Creating a business takes a lot longer than you think! It’s taken me 10 years to get this far and I don’t think that is uncommon. Before the days of Internet businesses I think every business took this long to set up. I have loved every minute of the journey though and learnt so much along the way.
If you went for a cocktail with your 18 year old self, what would you say?
Don’t worry that you have no idea what to do at this point! Build your general business and life experience and focus on doing what you love. My career path gradually evolved as I was on a skincare journey because I had problems with my own skin and I turned to natural wellness to resolve them. I then combined this with my interest in ethical business and I started working in the green and clean skincare industry when it was just beginning in 2005. At 18 I had no idea that any of this was going to happen!
How did you choose who to go into business with?
Gut instinct plays a huge part for me. I am quite rational in many decision-making processes but when it comes to people I tend to go with my instincts. I’ve been working with many people in my team for a long time. My head of product Violaine Bargues started working with me in 2005 when I helped to set up a brand called nude skincare. She had previously worked in product development to LMS for many years. My head of operations Freya Krauskopf and I have known each other for more than 10 years.
Gut instinct plays a huge part for me. I am quite rational in many decision-making processes but when it comes to people I tend to go with my instincts. I’ve been working with many people in my team for a long time. My head of product Violaine Bargues started working with me in 2005 when I helped to set up a brand called nude skincare. She had previously worked in product development to LMS for many years. My head of operations Freya Krauskopf and I have known each other for more than 10 years.
What does the future look like for you and your brand?
Our mission is to help as many people as possible by creating beautiful and effective, clean and green beauty products that people love and helping to make our industry more sustainable and better for people. In the future I can see we will do this by selling more products in more countries and also by creating more brands to help different people with their skin.
Where do you pull inspiration from in your daily life?
My favourite moment is when a customer tells me that I have helped them in some way. I struggled with my own skin for many years and so if somebody tells me I have helped them with their skin I feel incredibly happy to have played a small part in improving their life.