And What Else?
Welcome to 'And What Else?', your source for thoughtful and meaningful conversations about personal and professional growth. Host Wendy O'Beirne is an internationally recognised coach and consultant with a passion for exploring the layers of topics surrounding self-development. Together, we'll dig beneath the surface of subjects, stories, and possible solutions to uncover new perspectives we may not have seen before. With curiosity and open minds, let's embark on an adventure of self-discovery and uncover the possibilities of 'and what else'. Stay Curious!
And What Else?
Sixways: A Founder's Journey
Georgie, co-founder of Six Ways, shares her journey from struggling with PCOS and celiac disease to creating a functional mushroom and wellness brand that helps people find balance in their health journeys.
• Six Ways started after Georgie's frustration with traditional medical approaches to PCOS
• Her doctor told her "you will never heal your PCOS through diet and lifestyle alone" which motivated her to find alternative solutions
• Functional mushrooms and adaptogens helped manage stress, which has strong links to hormonal health
• The first product was a sleep blend mixing cacao powder with reishi mushroom and ashwagandha
• Building a business revealed personal challenges around perfectionism and control
• Initially hesitant to share her personal health story as part of the brand
• Now available in Holland & Barrett stores nationwide with a new hydration range
• Female founders face unique challenges including investment disparities and gender bias
• The brand name "Six Ways" comes from an idiom meaning to do something thoroughly and completely
Find Six Ways products at Holland & Barrett stores nationwide, on sixwaysco.com, Amazon, and Ocado. Follow on Instagram @sixwayssunday.
If you've enjoyed this episode, please leave me a review and subscribe! And if you want to learn more from me, come and say hello on Instagram @thecompletioncoach or via email at wendy@thecompletioncoach.co.uk or find out more about working with me on my website, thecompletioncoach.co.uk.
Welcome to, and what Else, the podcast with me, wendy O'Byrne, also known as the Completion Coach, and today we're in conversation, and it's been a little while since we've been in conversation, so I'm going to welcome Georgie and just ask you to introduce yourself and tell everybody who you are.
Speaker 2:Yeah, thank you so much for having me. I'm Georgie, co-founder of Six Ways. So Six Ways is a functional mushrooms and wellness brand. We founded the brand just over two years ago and it started off, as I said, in the functional mushroom space, but we've kind of now moved into more of a wellness space. It came from my experience with celiac disease and PCOS.
Speaker 1:mainly that was the starting point with my brother, I saw that you started in 2023 and that surprised me a little bit, because in my mind it feels like I've seen your brand around for a lot longer. The first question I want to ask is what does Six Ways mean?
Speaker 2:So Six Ways is an idiom. So it comes well, it comes from Six Ways to Sunday. So Six Ways to Sunday is an idiom, and it means to do something thoroughly, completely and in every way possible. So, with six ways, we want our products to be almost like your daily routine and they fall in a way that makes it easy for you to take them, something that you look forward to I think we were speaking about this before Something that you look forward to in your day, but you're doing it in a thorough, complete way.
Speaker 1:And by what we were talking about beforehand, before we pressed record. I was talking about the fact that the decaffeinated mushroom coffee blend is one that I look forward to. It's one that I seek out about three o'clock and look to make. It's the best I've tried, and I've tried a lot of these. I know that your journey started with your health journey and things that were going on. What was it that provoked you to seek out another way?
Speaker 2:So, yeah, I think, to being honest, it was my health journey that started when I was about 20-21, but I'd always struggled with symptoms of since well, since I was a teenager. But I was told that it wasn't PCOS. So I spent probably five years going backwards and forwards from the doctor and they would say you don't look like someone who has PCOS, therefore you don't have it. Basically there's no, don't worry, go on the pill. And so I did that for a long period of time and unfortunately, it just wasn't working for me personally. Eventually I did get diagnosed with PCOS, but as a result of my celiac disease, and so I was really frustrated that I'd almost let all of that time lip for a start, in terms of like not knowing where I stood with things.
Speaker 2:And, to be honest, in this beginning I continued with the general advice and went back on the pill for my PCOS, and then I kind of got to a point where I was like this isn't working for me. I don't feel happy in myself and I know that this works for so many people, so this isn't. I want to disclaim that, but for me I just felt not myself and it wasn't working. So at the time there wasn't as much information as there is now, and it's so great that there is now this kind of wealth of held information. I mean, with that comes misinformation.
Speaker 2:Equally, it's a lot easier to kind of get to the bones of what you can do to help your PCOS, whereas when I was diagnosed there wasn't really that same level. So I was kind of deep diving, looking into research, and it was essentially just because of frustration of where I was at and I didn't want to feel that way anymore. Basically, I felt kind of like I wasn't really controlling my symptoms. I was just pushing something further down the road. The problem is do you want to get pregnant, yes or no? If it's a yes, then we'll give you all of these things. If not, then just come back when you do. I got to a point where that no longer made sense to me.
Speaker 1:And what were you doing before all of this? What did your career look like?
Speaker 2:So I worked in the personal care industry. Basically I was in a similar field in terms of marketing side of things and to be honest, though it wasn't, my career was never something that I'm not one of those people that's like driven by that, like I don't define myself by my career personally, but obviously with that that's our shame. But previously I wouldn't have said that I was that person, and I think that is because I naturally feel that I don't handle stress as well as other people might. But having been through this journey, I think that that's also not necessarily true. It's just a belief that I held about myself that almost was a buffer to protect from that feeling of like uncomfortableness. I guess.
Speaker 1:Which impact was this health issue having on your beliefs about yourself?
Speaker 2:Oh, like, like massively impacting my health. I went through quite a bad breakup. That was quite stressful and I found that quite traumatic, but that was obviously paired with all of these health issues. So, again, I was very low self-esteem, didn't really want to leave my comfort and I yeah, my comfort blanket, I would say, and also like the rejection sensitivity, still something I struggle with at the moment and that's one of the things that doesn't make me a good fit for my role, whereas there are things that make me a great fit, I would say. But yeah, I really struggled with putting myself out there and taking risks, essentially because I was perfectly happy, happy enough, but it was all controlled. Basically, it was always in a controlled circumstance and I didn't like things that weren't in my control.
Speaker 1:basically, and in that element of micromanaging, trying to control everything, what's it taken to really push you to want to do something that you know is going to expose you to losing control in some degree? What's that driving force that's made you really want to increase your capacity to handle that challenge?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think it is predominantly the personal experience of, like what I went through and then seeing that there is kind of a need for that product and I feel like I find I have a story to tell that that kind of gives the brand kudos and essentially allows me to kind of do something that I'm really passionate about.
Speaker 1:How did you find the functional mushrooms and how did you create where you are now? What part of you went and looked into this side of this?
Speaker 2:So I've always been a bit of a like I need to know everything, I need all of the information, essentially. So that was a big part of it and it's like once I do something I kind of hyper fixate on that thing. And for me that was nutrition and supplements, essentially because prior to this I had no real interest. I didn't I never, never, ate terribly or anything, but I had quite like a standard western diet I'd happily polish off like two dairy milks in one sitting, um. But I realized obviously it wasn't great for my PCOS. So I think a lot of it came from that wanting to understand more.
Speaker 2:So then with the functional mushrooms, just doing a lot of research into obviously predominantly whole foods, eating clean meat etc.
Speaker 2:But the benefits of adaptogens and although the research was limited, basically there was a lot about the power of adaptogens, which was the stress management which again was really heavily linked to my PCOS and PCOS had like a really strong link with stress and cortisol and adrenaline and all of those hormones that come with it. So it was just something that I wanted to try but ultimately they didn't taste great on their own. I had all these extracts in my cupboard gathering dust because I just really didn't like the taste. I was having to hold my nose. So then I ended up making my own kind of sleep blend. That was the first one, so I just used to mix cacao powder with reishi, mushroom, ashwagandha and take all of the individual bits and make it palatable, because I wanted to take them as powders rather than capsule. And then that's where the idea kind of came from and obviously saw the positive benefits on my cycle, on my energy levels, on my migraines, and from there that was yeah, that was the start of six ways. Really.
Speaker 1:Obviously took a while to get to that point, but yeah, that's where it started and what made you take the leap and put this yeah, because there's a lot of loops to get a product to market. There's a lot of loops and difficulties in selling a physical thing as well. What, what was it that came in? I know you've said you've co-founded with your brother. How did you get to the point where you guys were taking this leap and thinking we'll go all in?
Speaker 2:yeah, being honest my brother, I would say he's very much more of that personality. He had previous experience in founding a business and so a lot of that driving force in the in the get-go, because I had these, we had these ideas. And it's quite interesting kind of balancing their two personalities because we are very similar but also very different in that respect. So it's kind of like done is better than perfect and learning all of those mentalities, because I think ultimately it's not a fit your mind, that isn't fixed, but it's just getting yourself out of that initial comfort zone.
Speaker 1:I'd say going into partnership, where you're going to lose a little bit of that control and have to surrender it? How open were you to doing it with somebody rather than doing it alone and having ultimate control? Or how were you, in going into partnership and thinking I need somebody? That's going to make me lose a little bit of my perfectionist traits here.
Speaker 2:I think it was overall positive. It works really well because essentially in terms of like the product and the overall kind of branding etc. That's obviously something that I really enjoy and and have a lot of experience in, whereas Alex obviously brings that kind of and just like the general push. So it was a real positive that we could work together in that way.
Speaker 2:But ultimately, yeah, it has taken time just outside of a partnership more just myself in getting used to the fact that there are things beyond my control. I can't control a lot that goes on in this kind of role, compared to a role where I'm being given x tasks in a day and those are the tasks I have to complete. And, being honest, I think there are days when I do feel that, oh, I would suit that so much better, that fits my current needs so much more, because I might be feeling stressed. But then I have to remind myself of all positives of not having that full control but having control of other aspects of my life that I wouldn't otherwise, I guess and I think it is.
Speaker 1:I mean, there are times where I'm like somebody needs to give me a job because I need somebody to direct me, I need somebody to challenge me. It's really easy to stretch yourself sometimes in business and to do the thing that you know that you're good at, and I don't know whether you have a business place. I know you've got a partner to work with there, but sometimes it's really isolating to be on your own and to think I just I need to be in a meeting where somebody tells me what I can do next, what the next plan is, and having to create this yourself constantly. I don't hear many people talking about it in business.
Speaker 2:I just hear people talking the positives and I'm like sometimes I would love somebody to come in and manage me yeah, 100%, and I think the way that we work is that, like my full day today is on six ways, whereas Alex is on other projects also. So it is. It can be like, being honest, it can be lonely and you have to manage yourself and self-start yourself and in a day it's like okay, I have x calls, but outside of that it's on me to manage my own time and we'll have catch-ups. But ultimately the lot, a lot of it comes down to you do in a day.
Speaker 1:I can see yeah, I just take myself out to be in an area like co-working or somewhere else where people are working. Just it can be like okay, everyone's working, if I can get on board with this and do it. And just because it can really sometimes be when it's your baby as well, it's your idea, it's your thing that you're really passionate about, when there's nobody else really in it day to day with you. It can just be sometimes like, oh, what do I do next? What's going to come next? What do I do?
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I also think that when you have a problem like if, for example, for me it's like supply issues, or if I get a call and something's delayed and it's delaying a launch in Holland Barrett et cetera, that's just an example. But if I'm on my own at home rather than in a co-working space, immediately it feels 10 times worse. I can't get that off my chest and also, like you said, your business is your baby and that's the same. It feels like this is the end of the world.
Speaker 2:But I think in a way this journey has kind of been like exposure therapy for me, because I think I've realized that even when the worst thing I can imagine happens and I and I have those first few days where my body does not respond well to the stress, I have all of those symptoms, after a certain period of time you kind of realize well, actually I'm okay, things are okay, the worst thing that could happen happened, and so the, the goalposts moved, everyone moved to accommodate and like that fear of people pleasing or not meeting the expectations that people have set out for you, when you, when you don't, and it's beyond your control. It had been exposure therapy for me to realize, okay, it's not great, it doesn't make me feel great, but also they understand and people understand, so yeah, I agree.
Speaker 1:I think owning a business, especially when it's a passion-based business, coming from that space, it wouldn't also highlight every single part of your self-development, your worst features, everything about you.
Speaker 2:You just suddenly think this is exposing all of me to me, and I'm learning so much about myself that perhaps in an employed position I didn't notice about myself, because we can turn that differently for other people, yeah, yeah and I think as well, like I definitely agree with that and, like you said, everyone glamorizes the, the positive side, and I do think we're very lucky to be in this position, but ultimately that doesn't mean there aren't still those, those really hard elements and the negatives that you have to outweigh with the positives.
Speaker 1:I'd say yeah, I think online. I see, I saw it this morning. Actually, somebody was like Wednesday I'm on the beach, life's so great, I do this, I'm like fucking hell. That is great and we can choose to do those things when you're self-employed, but it's also the Sunday morning at 6am when you're sat at your laptop dealing with a problem that we're not glamorized and put out there. That it's. It's both right, especially in the beginning years and the foundational years of really building the brand's reputation and what it stands for, and being able to do whatever you can to create momentum around that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I think for me it's like an interesting concept of that, like, oh, wednesday 2pm I don't have to be at my desk For me. I'm very much still in that mindset of I think. Obviously, as you said said, we're in very early days, so I do work a nine to nine to five, nine to six most of the time, and then additional when required, because, a for me it helped me structurally, but b I think it's that it's not guilt, but it's almost trying to manage what will actually make you feel better, like. If taking time out is going to make you more productive long term, then great. But I'm still personally struggling with that balance of moving away to that model and I think as well it is because I'm not surrounded by many people like that, which I think changes things quite a lot. So, yeah, we're very much, not very much in the normal nine to nine six model.
Speaker 1:I would say yeah, and I, in reality, a lot of people are, but it just isn't again spoken about so much Realistically. A lot of business happens in those hours. A lot of businesses are open in those hours. What I also know is and the word I picked up on there is even guilt. I think we have such a huge conditioning anyway on working hours, even back in the school hours of you know, be productive in these times and this is what you should be doing. There can be a lot of guilt around the hours that we're not working, that feel like they should be working hours, and that's a conversation I have a lot different people in real life. It can feel, if you're not working and you're not doing something, that you're wasting time or you're costing the company, you're costing the brand in some way and there is room for that. Yeah, so it's um, it's a difficult compromise right in the beginning.
Speaker 2:Yeah, definitely and then there's the whole argument around I see this in general about productivity is it's the not knowing, because obviously you're not told. So it's something you need to decide for yourself and and what works best for your business. And I think as well it's a learning game and and for me it's still very early days, so it's like I don't quite know what works yet, but I'm hoping that I'll find out soon how it, how it best works thing. Going back to that question of like what, what made us start six ways?
Speaker 2:Being honest, like I think it really has been evident that the the general vibe around who starts a business that you, you sell, sell, sell, you, you bleed your brand and like, obviously to a degree, like, I am very proud of my brand, but I didn't want my personal brand to be tied to it initially. So when we first launched, we didn't really speak about my personal story at all. It was just these are the products, this is our range, and only in the last year or so have we really started talking about that more. And, being honest, that probably did hinder us slightly initially because it needed that personal story, it needed the background, and that really helps to kind of provide authenticity, but, yeah, I'd say that understanding of what an entrepreneur or someone who doesn't have a standard nine-to-five is um is also quite not damaging, but it can limit people from actually deciding that it's something that they want to do, I think.
Speaker 1:That and the level of exposure of personal brand. I think there can be a confusion on personal brand having to be overexposure of your entire life and to be authentic, you must tell people all things. There are several episodes back around this and how that can cause a lot of burnout when you have to do a lot of personal exposure because it's emotionally draining as well as task draining. How do you balance that story with then separating yourself from the business and that story being the motivation behind the business and knowing that they're two different things?
Speaker 2:being honest, is probably one of the harder parts of it. I think initially especially because I have been trying to learn how to separate the success of the harder parts of it. I think initially especially because I have been trying to learn how to separate the success of the business with my personal like me as a person and taking any negatives that come towards the business or any issues that we have, taking that as something that reflects directly on my person. I would say the main thing has just been working on it through journaling, journaling thoughts, talking to people and trying to create value for myself, like you said, outside of what, to seeing myself as having PCOS and having celiac and that's like who I am, because it is really important for the brand story and it is a huge part of who I am because, unfortunately, I can't eat gluten. That's going to change. I have, I have to accept that, but also there are days when I don't want to be that person and so, yeah, it's creating value for yourself. Outside of that, as I said, we are. I'm only really just starting to share more on the personal brand side, because that is something that we need to do, but I'm trying to at the moment with kind of what I'm sharing. It's like keeping it through the lens of six ways, through the products and just like anything that relates to that, rather than like my whole entire life, which I've always had a private Instagram. It's just for me, just for my friends and, yeah, it's an interesting time for me on that question because I'm still working that out.
Speaker 2:But I would say the main thing is just understanding that your value isn't tied to your work, no matter what that is, which I think a lot of people struggle with. But for me it's the initial inertia of my face being on the website or Instagram post and it's like, ok, well, if she doesn't like the product, then she doesn't like me, or like she thinks I'm a fraud, basically that like something we've had to work on. But obviously with that comes all the positives of all the great things that people say about the products and all of the positive stories about helping them sleep or loving the hormone, balanced coffee or really helping with their PCOS. And then I realize obviously, oh, that's kind of what we're doing it for it's the people that have got their cycle back after x months or just feel generally better in themselves or just like it as part of their daily routine. It doesn't have to be life-changing.
Speaker 1:So yeah, looking at positives and trying to separate out, I'd say yeah, I think it's one thing to be the owner of a business and another for the business to own you, and navigating the difference between those I do a lot of talking on here about our purpose is not a job. It's our purpose is what joy drives joy into our lives, for us to be more us, and sometimes that's some of the work we do supports that. But if that job went, your purpose wouldn't leave. You are purpose, you are the thing. So it is understanding that you can have this huge passion and drive and reason why you want people to have a better life and this product could really impact and change things that you know the benefit of. You know if you could have found it x amount of years ago it made, it would have made a huge difference. Now, as you're looking forwards and and starting to see where the company wants to go, what's the idea now? What do you really want to do?
Speaker 2:We really want to boost our retail. So again, we launched in Holland Barrett last year, which is really amazing. But again coming back to those risks, that felt really daunting. It was like, oh okay, we're suddenly exposed to 500 plus stores and if it doesn't work, that really put the hole in the concept quite early days, versus a lot of brands who maybe have a bit more time before they go into retail. Obviously, it was always the dream to go into retail. So for the future I would say we really want to scale retail and just increase our brand awareness, our exposure across all of those like touch points in the UK and then generally, I would say, reaching more people, kind of having more of that story being told.
Speaker 2:And we do have a really strong community, as I said, of people who do have PCOS or do struggle with sleep, and I think a big part of it is just growing that community and allowing people to understand how they can take things into their own hands without having to be this.
Speaker 2:I think there's a lot of things on the internet. They make really strong claims about holistic healing being a rule or just extremes of both on both sides. So that can be quite damaging and actually probably puts back a lot of the progress that you can have with the holistic treatments or kind of how you manage your own health. But I think having that middle ground of kind of understanding. So I would like for Six Ways to be part of that conversation about balance and growth and seeing where we land with all of the kind of current conversation around health and managing things yourself. For example, pcos is reversible. It doesn't just have to be treated with metformin or the pill, and actually that's not really a treatment. It's more of a management of a problem rather than getting to the root cause. So, um, there's a long way around saying it, but essentially growing our community and kind of scaling our touch points really and I think with these things there can be.
Speaker 1:Loads of people just tell me they're overwhelmed with like where do I start? There's so much out there and people ask me because I'm very into herbals, supplements, natural solutions, looking at ways that we can improve things and get to the root and start to change things, and I see the great place for Western medicine and I see the Queen in going and getting advice and doing things properly. What I think can often be a hindrance here is again that complete spectrum. Some of this may work really great for you over here, some of it over here to the extreme, but most people do sit in the middle where both will work. But actually some of this isn't right for me and some of this is and I can still take advice over here and I don't have to be so stuck in. It's just this way or the wrong way.
Speaker 1:And somebody very close to me has just had some menopause advice through the NHS from a man that absolutely wasn't the right solution. She was like there's no way, I need what they are suggesting I need and has then gone to see really menopause advice and got really different information which was right for her and do I think that's the NHS's fault. I think it's the rules and the parameters. They have to work with it and I think, yeah, having a middle-aged man sit and talk to you about the menopause it probably no matter how good they are is probably not going to be the right solution for somebody that wants to be understood, heard and connected to and I think there's so much within that element perhaps it's the word community of you have experienced something, been told one thing that you knew was wrong for your body. Continue to investigate it yourself and have found ways forward, have found solutions, and do want to share that without saying it's the only solution.
Speaker 2:Yeah, 100% yeah, that's so right, like I was basically told when I was diagnosed. I said I want to try managing it through diet and lifestyle and it was a male, middle-aged man and he basically said you will never heal your PCOS through diet and lifestyle alone. You're not overweight, you can't lose weight, there's nothing you can do. And I said, okay, I'm going to try. I was just like, well, there's no point arguing with you.
Speaker 2:They villainized a lot of what I was kind of saying. They really scaremongered me into not being on the pill and that, again, that was a lot for me to go through. It was like a big decision to make, um, but it was informed decision. I think that throughout all of this you have to make the informed decision about what's right for you and, as you said, it's not. It's always like you can't blame the, the specific person, or you can't blame what's going on. You, it's almost just operating with the awareness of the limitations that the like, the nhs might have for you and the difference that you could have, like your friend, on those two different paths. So, yeah, I would say it really is dependent on so many factors but realistically you have to be aware of the limitations and the time that they have to provide for you, the information that they're provided for you and the fact that they're not going through what you're going through and they haven't been trained in functional medicine. They haven't been trained in prevention versus cure.
Speaker 1:they're very much managing our society's health problems, which are, yeah, difficult to manage, I would say, but a lot of it can be prevented, which is not that yet I agree, and I think functional medicine looking at these different ways is definitely something that I've invested far more time and energy into, whilst respecting and looking at Western medicine at the same time. But it's just knowing and understanding and listening to your own body as well, and just seeing that impact can make a huge difference. So for you, as this founder, as this person that's changed so much of our own health, that's now navigating all of this release of control and helping herself to move forwards and go on, what do you think will be the next growth?
Speaker 2:challenge for you. I think you spoke briefly on hyper independence and letting go. I think I will struggle with letting go of some of that control of the core elements because at the moment, very much myself who is kind of developing the products, talking about marketing how, how is it presented online? How is it prevented on social? I'm preparing myself so that I don't struggle with that's going to going to be a challenge, I think, is getting through that. Next chapter of every business has to go through it. Once you do start the hiring process and you do expand, finding that new place that I sit and how you can still keep your control, keep the end goal in sight.
Speaker 1:Trust people on board to have an envision. I think there's that trust of moving from self-sufficiency to then enabling and allowing other people in and building trust that they can carry the vision in the way that you want it to be carried exactly, and I think it's great.
Speaker 2:I'm not sure it's something that's been spoken about before, but growth is such a great thing and that's always the goal. But there's certain elements of my brain and the way I work it's like oh well, the bigger you are, the higher the like, the further you have to fall or the worst it's going to be when something happens. So again, I think that's the other challenge. It's like trying to change that mindset to being so what? Like if that happens, it happens and I can't change that, instead of kind of self-sabotaging yourself to be like well, if we go too much, then it's going to be a real big problem, or going to have massive supply issues, etc. Etc. So, yeah, I'd say that for me personally yeah, I think a lot of people.
Speaker 1:it's interesting because people have said that people have a fear of success and most people don't have a fear of the actual success. They have a fear of the repercussions and the aftermath of success and what could happen post-success, as you say, like that might be that downer or the thing afterwards. That's just like, oh, what now when you think about the company becoming a much bigger vision, when you say about even going into store and getting into retail more, what would be the dream?
Speaker 2:yeah, so seeing us in all the big health stores, all the big kind of waitress sainsbury's getting getting all those listings, seeing us in people's tea and coffee cupboard because I feel like that's where we sit, we are a supplement brand but it's integrating into a daily routine. So, yeah, just seeing it in lots of people's tea and coffee cupboards, part of their evening, part of their morning, just an integrated brand, um, and it does like, being honest, it does scare me like that, that level. I would be so pleased and I'd be so grateful, but it is a scary concept. So, yeah, I think just that widespread awareness and ultimately, how we get there is just through continuing to spread the message. Yeah, and I think there's also potentially a slight gender element to it as well.
Speaker 2:I think like naturally part of like a really great collective called the buy woman built and it's basically not everyone can like start a business as a woman, but everyone can buy from female brands. So it's really powerful and it's been so interesting like speaking to those founders at various different stages in their journey. So some brands have been like for five years, some more kind of like more right around my time. But yeah, the story comes up again and again. It's like if I don't tell my story, no one will. And you do find that people who have more experience or are slightly older are much more open to to kind of just saying I don't care, people can think what they want to think. But there is that element of people think I'm showing off. People will think that I'm self-obsessed. As women, I think it can be very hard to toe that line of cocky versus confident or the age-old kind of bossy versus confident.
Speaker 1:I think some people don't find it as difficult, but I think it is much more prevalent in women it's an interesting conversation because we're seeing women step out more and to show their brilliance more and stand in their own. But, at the same time, a couple of conversations I've had with brilliant female founders recently have been when when a man has come with them to something and people presume that the male runs the company, not them. It's such an interesting thing that it's still a successful woman's name greatest google search. Another person I interviewed shared this with me the greatest search will still be who are they married to? The presumption is still that they were backed by a man in some way, and it wasn't them. And so I do think, regardless of how more prevalent female business owners are becoming, there is still the very idea, the conditioning and the bias, whether we like it or not, that somewhere behind all of that, a businessman is backing this woman's idea. It's an interesting one to navigate.
Speaker 2:Now, I think a lot of that also comes from even though there might be, like you say, lots of brilliant female founders and they are scaling businesses, a lot of the investment still comes from a very male dominated industry. Essentially, the stats just don't back up as well for investments in female founder brands, and if they have a co-founder who's male, that really helps. So, yeah, I'm not sure if that was a bit waffly.
Speaker 1:No, it's exactly that. And ultimately now, then where can people find you, what's next, and how can they buy the product?
Speaker 2:So you can find us at sixwaysco. Online, we're available in Holland and Barrett, pretty much nationwide. We've just launched our hydration range, which is available in over 700 stores, which is super exciting. You can also find us on amazon and ocado as well.
Speaker 1:we're also on instagram, so instagram at six ways sunday and we'll put all of those links in the bio so that you can find the brand quickly. But, georgie, thank you for coming and sharing some of your story and being so open. Thank you, no, thank you. Yeah, it's been great. Thanks so much for having me.