- Aimee Smale started her Odd Muse fashion brand four years ago, and it’s now a $20 million business.
- On TikTok, she said she was shocked by how much she has grown and felt out of her depth.
- The answer has helped Smale decide what to do and where to take her business next.
This essay is based on a conversation with Aimee Smale, 27, founder of Odd Muse, who lives in London. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
At 27, I own a multi-million dollar fashion brand, Odd Muse, and I seem to be living the dream. But the reality is that it’s been a really stressful time lately, and I’ve come close to quitting.
Returning to TikTok to share my feelings was probably one of the best things I’ve ever done.
I spent 10 minutes debating before I decided to upload a video crying about how shocked I was. But I’m so glad I did. More than 2 million people watched it and the response was amazing.
I started Odd Muse at the age of 22. I was making £20,000 ($26,000) a year at ASOS and thought I’d give it a shot myself. I had no expectations other than it would be nice to match my salary.
I put everything I had into every day. I wasn’t sleeping. I would pack orders in the evening and design all day.
It all happened so fast. I made over $100,000 in three months. I remember thinking, “how on earth did I do that?” Now, it’s much bigger.
When companies scale fast enough, one thing can go viral, and then suddenly, you’re chasing shares and everyone wants your product.
Everything caught up with me. I felt like I didn’t have enough experience for it. I can design amazing dresses and I am very social. But the actual workings of a business—the numbers, the tables, the staff—that’s what you don’t sign up for.
The bigger the company, the bigger the problems. It’s my baby, but I’m starting to think I should sell my company because maybe I’m not the best person for the job.
I’m getting that I want to design the product, but maybe that’s all I want to do.
I feel like I’m in a constant battle because it’s literally everything I’ve ever wanted in life. When I started the brand, I couldn’t imagine selling £1 million a year.
Aimee Smale started her fashion brand Odd Muse four years ago. Courtesy of Aimee Smale
This year, we are over target with £15m in sales and we are moving extremely well towards £20m. Next year, the target is £50m.
I’m still considering if I want to do this and if I want to put this expectation on myself. A breathing space would be great.
I never expected the company to grow to what it is. We are truly leading a change in the way young women shop. So many people say we convince them to stop buying fast fashion.
I want to see how far we can take this. But I don’t want it to be at the expense of myself and my personal life.
On TikTok, I’ve always been honest with the Odd Muse community. I wanted to take the transparency up a notch. I said that I am ready to hire a CEO and share the responsibility of Odd Muse because I understand that it has become bigger than me.
The most amazing part was Steven Bartlett (entrepreneur and investor on the BBC One show Dragons’ Den) contacting me and offering advice. It really validated my feelings because he has felt the same way and been through it tenfold.
He said he would help me find a CEO, which made me feel a lot easier. I really needed something to get me back on my A-game. It’s really nice to experience that level of kindness because I know how precious my time is. I can only imagine how precious his time is.
It’s a sign that I’ll be fine. I have more of a skip in my step and I am very hopeful that I will make it through Christmas and that next year will be great.
I wasn’t sure if I was going to post the video, but I’m so glad I did. TikTok is the weirdest and most wonderful place.