It’s back! Our 'In Conversation With…’ series returns for an unmissable event in June. Taking place every three months, these events offer the rare chance to sit down with one remarkable person and uncover, in-depth and unfiltered, the founder behind the business.
This June, we are so excited to be joined by the founder of one of the UK’s fastest growing companies: Susie Ma from Tropic Skincare. Famously started as a joint venture with Alan Sugar after her appearance on The Apprentice, Susie founded the multi-award-winning, scientifically-backed, all-natural, vegan and cruelty-free beauty brand in 2012 - and has never looked back.
Susie is a lifelong entrepreneur, whose first brush with business started with her selling home-made body scrubs at Greenwich Market at the age of 15. Inspired by her grandmother’s recipe, and her mother’s job as a street seller in Australia, Susie’s humble beginnings have helped her build a multimillion-pound business, whilst remaining firmly grounded in herself.
Born in Shanghai, Susie has come a long way from when she moved to the UK from Australia in 2002, and believes that taking the time to find appreciation for the smaller moments in life helps find perspective when growing with her business’ success.
She says that it’s not about the end goal, but about the “passion of the journey”.
On that first day at the market stall, Susie sold £980 worth of her products. It was definitely a sign of things to come. Today, Tropic Skincare has been featured on Fast Track 100, as one of the 100 fastest growing companies in the UK. One of only nine other founders under the age of 30 on the list, Susie was also featured in Forbes' 30 under 30, which recognises the rising stars of business around the world.
Serial founder and lover of all things startup, host Ben Keene will be interviewing Susie and finding out what it’s like running such a rapidly growing business, and what’s behind Tropic’s purpose of creating a healthier, greener, more empowered world.
Thanks to our partnership with Virgin Money, we’re able to make our MeetUp events free to attend, providing thousands of early-stage founders with the support they need to start and scale businesses in the UK.
So grab your free ticket to our MeetUp to hear from Susie and get the chance to network with other founders and the Virgin StartUp community after the interview.
Virgin Money are here to disrupt the status quo. They want everyone to have a much happier relationship with money. Through their brilliant colleagues, inspiring spaces and digital solutions, they are doing everything they can to offer a life more Virgin. They provide a full range of banking products and services to help founders at every stage of their business journey.
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