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Aimee Smale on building Odd Muse into a $30M brand, why her wedding can wait, and the reality of out-earning your partner

Hot Smart Rich with Maggie Sellers Reum

Hosted by Maggie Sellers Reum

1h 22m
Transcript

Original podcast

Summary

Written by a model from the transcript; not yet reviewed.

This episode features Aimee Smale discussing how she bootstrapped her fashion brand, Odd Muse, into a thirty million dollar company without outside investors. She talks about the realities of building a business from scratch, moving past the fear of being underestimated, and how her personal brand unlocked new levels of financial freedom. The conversation explores the challenges of scaling international retail stores in London and New York, navigating shifting trade policies, and maintaining a healthy relationship while out-earning your partner.

  • Treating a business as a hobby and testing ideas for two years before launch builds deep confidence in the product. 26:59
  • Founders must constantly put themselves in terrifying situations and embrace discomfort to build professional resilience. 15:44
  • Establishing a strict life rule of either laughing or learning ensures continuous personal growth during difficult work days. 19:50
  • Utilizing a pre-order model allows founders with limited capital to fund stock production directly through customer demand. 35:56
  • Setting a clear boundary with daily silence and stepping away from technology helps maintain mental clarity as a founder. 1:17:32

Chapters

  1. 0:00
    Podcast Intro & Sponsor Spotlight

    The hosts open the episode, introduce the sponsor Northwest Registered Agent, and set the stage for the conversation.

  2. 1:33
    Introducing Amy Smale & Odd Muse

    Amy Smale shares her background, the founding of Odd Muse, and her bootstrapped success to $30M.

  3. 2:06
    Early Challenges & Pre‑Order Model

    Amy explains the initial hurdles, the pre‑order strategy, and how community trust drove early sales.

  4. 3:20
    Vulnerability as a Female Founder

    Amy talks about the power of vulnerability, crying on social media, and how it builds authentic connections.

  5. 20:32
    Team Building & Leadership Lessons

    She shares insights from hiring senior leaders and learning to delegate and lead effectively.

  6. 37:20
    Future Growth & 100M Goal

    Amy outlines her ambition to reach $100M revenue without investors and the strategies to get there.

  7. 38:10
    Closing Reflections & Takeaways

    The hosts wrap up with key lessons on authenticity, resilience, and the importance of financial independence for founders.

  8. 46:29
    Odd Muse’s New York Store Launch

    The founder recounts the challenges and triumphs of opening Odd Muse’s first New York store, including a demanding deposit and unexpected obstacles.

  9. 47:10
    Women in Business: Challenges and Resilience

    Discussion about gender dynamics in entrepreneurship, highlighting the founder’s experiences with bias and her perspective on being underestimated.

  10. 49:05
    Building a Global Brand Across Markets

    Exploration of strategies for expanding Odd Muse into the US, UK, and Middle East, focusing on cultural adaptation and market research.

  11. 52:50
    Navigating Political and Trade Turbulence

    The founder shares how U.S. tariffs and political uncertainty impacted supply chains and her decision to stay in New York despite challenges.

  12. 54:32
    Maintaining Friendships While Scaling

    An overview of the founder’s “Wednesday waffle” routine and other tactics to stay connected with friends amid business growth.

Highlights

  • 1:46

    Bootstrapping to Thirty Milliondata

    The guest explains how she started Odd Muse during the pandemic with twelve thousand pounds of personal savings, zero investors, and scaled it into a thirty million dollar business.

  • 2:06

    Unreasonable Deposit Demandsstory

    Sharing a wild anecdote from retail expansion, the guest reveals how she was asked to wire an extra one hundred thousand dollars just to prove she could pay her upcoming store deposit.

  • 7:19

    The Power of Vulnerabilityinsight

    The discussion explores why posting raw, emotional videos of the struggles of entrepreneurship created a deeper connection with customers than a curated facade ever could.

  • 22:21

    Embracing the Dumbest Rolestrategy

    The host and guest discuss the importance of hiring senior C-suite executives and wanting to be the least knowledgeable person in the room to absorb new leadership skills.

  • 35:21

    Retaining Complete Equityinsight

    Refusing venture capital is highlighted as a major badge of honor when establishing a luxury retail presence on prestigious streets like New Bond Street and in New York.

  • 52:38

    Navigating Tariff Disruptionsstory

    The guest recounts the shock of facing massive sudden tariff hikes on manufacturing right after opening her permanent New York retail storefront.

  • 1:11:49

    Out-Earning Your Partnerdebate

    The conversation touches on the social discomfort surrounding women out-earning their romantic partners and why mutual support matters more than traditional norms.

Quotes

  • “I was like, pretty little thing. And I started a brand called Odd Muse.”
    Unnamed speaker · 1:42
  • “I had to pay my deposit, and one of the guys phoned me and said, can you send me $100,000 just to prove that you can pay the deposit next week?”
    Unnamed speaker · 2:06
  • “I saved like £12,000 to try and move out one day. And then I thought, I'm just going to risk it all.”
    Unnamed speaker · 34:19
  • “The pre‑order model, and I'm like, the product was that good. The first 100 units would sell out, and people would pay and wait for five weeks.”
    Unnamed speaker · 36:08
  • “I do like, women especially, we just need to scream a bit more about our success. That's why I started my personal brand, because I genuinely didn't realize it was going to be this hard.”
    Unnamed speaker · 1:55
  • “I want to take it to 100 with no investment. And then, because I, I feel like if you watched me in podcasts a few years ago, I'd be like, no, never doing investors, blah, blah, blah.”
    Unnamed speaker · 37:35
  • “I think it's like, okay, I'm brave. I'm more than brave that to be doing this.”
    Unnamed speaker · 47:29
  • “I think the brand has always done really well out there through no marketing, no like real push from us.”
    Unnamed speaker · 49:20
  • Northwest Registered Agent 0:21–1:03
  • SoFi 27:16–29:26
  • Peak 28:29–29:26
  • Fiber Pro 59:02–59:55
  • Lululemon 59:55–1:00:36
  • Michelob Ultra 1:01:10–1:01:53
  • Northwest Registered Agent 1:23:01–1:24:02

About this episode

Odd Muse founder, Aimee Smale, joins Maggie Sellers Reum to reveal how she built a $30M fashion brand with no investors, turning £12K into one of the UK's fastest-growing bootstrapped businesses through community, conviction and long-term thinking. Aimee shares the story behind Odd Muse, why vulnerability became her greatest advantage, the power of doing one scary thing every week, and how sensitivity helped her become a stronger founder. She opens up about building a business without outside funding, taking bold risks, handling criticism online, balancing ambition with relationships, and why she believes her journey to a $100M brand is only just beginning. Get unselfish access to insights that will help you own the room. Sign up now https://linkly.link/2jPXJ ---------- (00:00) Intro (02:28) Building a $30M Brand Without Investors (07:33) Vulnerability Is Her Biggest Advantage (13:40) Do One Scary Thing Weekly (25:37) SoFi Ad (26:56) Pique Ad (27:53) The Story Behind Odd Muse (31:30) How £12K Became $30M (34:45) Building to $100M Bootstrapped (43:11) The Biggest Bet She Ever Made (51:41) Friendship Looks Different For Founders (56:02) Fiverr Pro Ad (57:01) Lululemon Ad (58:02) Why Trolls Don't Matter (1:00:39) Why Sensitivity Is A Superpower (1:08:31) Success Doesn't Intimidate Her Partner (1:10:04) Why Marriage Can Wait (1:11:31) Her $100M Vision (1:12:23) Rapid Fire With Aimee ---------- SoFi - visit SoFi.com/HSRCrypto and get up to $1000 in cryptocurrency when you open and fund a Crypto account. Pique - https://piquelife.com/hsr for 15% off Fiverr - If you are scaling a business, then you need to visit https://pro.fiverr.com Lululemon - http://lululemon.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

0:00
1:22:41

16,482 words · 3 speakers

Speaker names marked are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

Topics

  • Odd Muse
  • US
  • New York
  • UK
  • Bentley
  • London
  • ASOS
  • New York store
  • New Bond Street
  • Boohoo

Page updated · transcript and summary are machine-generated