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The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett

Most Replayed Moment: A Guilt-Free Way to Handle Work and Life

September 25, 2026 • 32m

Summary

⏱️ 10 min read

Overview

Nicola Kilner, co-CEO of Deciem (the company behind The Ordinary), shares her unconventional journey from working at Boots to building a billion-dollar beauty empire. She discusses the importance of corporate experience before entrepreneurship, the unique '10 brands at once' strategy that defied conventional wisdom, creating intense startup culture, and navigating the challenges of scaling while maintaining authenticity and self-awareness as a leader.

The Value of Corporate Experience Before Entrepreneurship

Nicola reflects on how her time at Boots provided invaluable foundational skills that proved essential for entrepreneurship. Working as a buyer and later buying manager, she learned to navigate relationships across departments, understand supply chain and finance, and most importantly, learned how to launch new innovations and create consumer demand. She emphasizes that corporate experience, particularly those placement years, taught her more than university ever could have.

  • Working at Boots taught essential skills in relationships, collaboration, and finding global innovations
  • The 'Latest Finds' program at Boots involved hand-holding entrepreneurs through the launch process, teaching the importance of not just getting a listing but driving consumers to purchase
  • Corporate experience provides exposure to what large organizations do well and their limitations, offering valuable lessons for future entrepreneurs
" I actually would always probably recommend doing a few years in a corporate because I have to say at Boots I learned so much. You learn the things that they do really well, you learn the things that they do not necessarily wrong, but just the drawbacks of being such a big organization. "
" We used to have a saying of like launch and love because actually it's one thing to get a listing at Boots. It's another thing for your product to actually be picked and taken off the shelf. "

Meeting Brandon and the Birth of Deciem

Nicola describes meeting Brandon Truaxe, her future co-founder, while he was running Indeed Labs. His infectious energy and positivity stood out immediately, with emails that always ended 'smiles, Brandon.' When he unexpectedly left Indeed Labs to start Deciem, Nicola shared her own idea for a beauty review platform called Beauty Wise. Brandon proposed they work together, leading Nicola to leave her secure corporate job at age 23-24 to embark on the Deciem journey.

  • Brandon's emails were full of energy and he always signed off 'smiles, Brandon' - his positivity shone through even in written communication
  • Brandon left Indeed Labs, a successful company he founded, which shocked Nicola but opened the door for their collaboration
  • Nicola had an idea for a TripAdvisor-style platform for beauty products that would rank and review items
  • Despite having a good career trajectory at Boots, Nicola knew at 23-24 that she wasn't meant to be there forever
" I always remember like looking for his name because his email was always so full of energy. He always signed off, smiles, Brandon. You know, just someone whose positivity, his passion just kind of really shone through. "

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