The Business of Beauty: Rachel Lowe and She Who Dares

Carrying on our The Business of Beauty series of features, we managed to speak to Rachel Lowe whose career has taken her from driving a taxi to launching her own range of British-made fragrances. All while being the sole breadwinner for her two children.

Rachel, now 36, was at college when she fell pregnant. An unlikely candidate for a teenage mother, she left before her exams. "Back then, I was a bit of a lost soul," Rachel says. "I didn't have much confidence, and wasn't ready for the big wide world. I love my children to bits, but I was too young to be having a baby." Having dropped out of college, Rachel had to find work she could do around caring for her baby. She started party planning, selling Tupperware and then did some delivery driving which eventually led to taxi driving.

"Because I'd dropped out of college, I felt I needed something a bit more to be able to support myself," she adds. So, at 25, Rachel enrolled at the University of Portsmouth. When she graduated in 2006 with a degree in Law with Business, Rachel was over the moon. "I was very proud. I had started it, and finished it! I felt like I had a shot at a future."

Uni also gave Rachel the chance to kick-start her entrepreneurial spirit. "I had the idea for the a board game while working as a taxi driver, which I entered into a competition at university, and won." Rachel used this funding to take the product to market. She went on to BBC2’s Dragons’ Den to pitch for investment, but the Dragons pulled her apart, refusing to invest.

Rachel had the last laugh, though, when Destination London eventually became the number one selling game at Hamleys, out-selling Monopoly. Working alone, Rachel continued to develop the game and negotiated deals with The Walt Disney Corporation and Warner Bros for a Harry Potter-inspired Destination Hogwarts. The money started to roll in and Rachel’s lifestyle changed dramatically.

Sadly, the delays to the Harry Potter movie meant she had to launch her board game early. The resulting debts mounted, and her company went into administration in 2009. "I was devastated," she admits. "It was a very dark time. I'd worked so hard, only to have everything ripped from under my feet, including my home." With bailiffs repossessing her prized possessions, Rachel eventually suffered a nervous breadown.

A year later, Rachel was ready to once again take the business world by storm. And this time, help came in the form of Simon Dolan. Frustrated by the lack of investment opportunities, Simon saw how Twitter could work really well for looking at new business ideas. Simon was prepared to give away £5 million of his own capital to aspiring entrepreneurs who could wow him with a 140-character business pitch. With nothing to lose, Rachel seized the opportunity.

Impressed with her determination, Simon paid a visit to Rachel’s 2-bedroom council house and spied a logo for a fragrance and accessories brand Rachel had been developing, She Who Dares. He loved the idea and decided to invest. The pair have now spent 18 months together developing the brand and the story has come full circle. "I consider myself very lucky to have Simon as my business partner," Rachel says. "He's a delight to work with, very calm and focused."

She Who Dares celebrates motivated, tireless and determined women. The fragrance line Eminence is set to launch in a few months, and will include cosmetics and other lotions and potions. Unusually, it’s a British company with a British founder, something that sets it apart from other fragrances and cosmetics which are largely manufactured abroad. "We have everything for the fragrance produced here in the UK. Also, the recession hit me very hard personally. I'm now in a position to do my bit to support our UK economy."

It's been a long journey for Rachel. From dropping out of college, to losing her home, to starting her own empowering beauty gift brand, she's kept going. "I'm so excited about the fragrance launches," Rachel says, fully admitting it's a competitive industry to be in. "It's not an easy road, but I believe nothing is impossible, so I shall give it my best shot!"

Her tips for anyone interested in following her footsteps?

"Do something you enjoy, and keep your work/life balance in check. If you have a happy home life, your business life also seems to fall into place."

Follow She Who Dares on Twitter, and view the growing collection of luxury gifts at the She Who Dares online store.

Laura is the editor of six out of ten. She has a background in journalism and PR, and loves nothing more than writing. Well. Maybe she loves Eddie Vedder a bit more (a lot more). She lives with her boy and her boycat in a house in Essex. Her favourite things are red lip stains (lipsticks never last), sweet cocktails and fresh, new notebooks.