How to build a purpose-led brand, Siff Haider, Arrae

In today’s episode, we’re joined by Siff Haider one part of the co-founders due behind Arrae - the wellness brand that’s redefining the supplement space with elegant, effective, natural solutions for issues like bloating, anxiety and sleep. Since launching in 2020, Arrae has gained a cult following thanks to its minimalist aesthetic, loyal community, and commitment to solving real, everyday problems - all while standing out in a saturated and often sceptical market.

Stay tuned to hear how Siff and Nish approached brand-building with intention from day one, why storytelling and science go hand-in-hand and what it takes to grow in a crowded category.

Siff's advice: 

• Founder mindset tip: Have faith in yourself and trust your abilities.
• Leadership advice: Don’t be ruled by ego; stay flexible and be prepared to change direction if necessary.
• Motivation lesson: Take one step at a time, steady progress is sustainable progress.
• Resilience insight: There will always be challenges; this is normal, and you can cope with them.
• Growth advice: Learn from your mistakes, apply the lessons, and keep moving forward.
• Perspective shift: Don’t take challenges personally, they’re all part of evolving and growing.
• Purpose-driven business tip: Think about your primary driver, which hopefully isn’t just profit; purpose will motivate you to keep going.
• Lifestyle principle: Make personal rules about your life, your fitness, and your happiness and stick to them.
• Customer connection advice: Communicating with customers will always be worthwhile and deeply satisfying.
• Workplace culture tip: Create an environment that others will appreciate and thrive in.
• Branding advice: Be honest and clear in your branding, and always stay relevant to the customer.
• Inspiration insight: Look for motivation and new ideas in the world around you.
• Entrepreneurship lesson: If you’re not making some mistakes, you’re not truly pushing yourself or innovating.

FF&M enables you to own your own PR & produces podcasts.
Recorded, edited & published by Juliet Fallowfield, 2024 MD & Founder of PR & Communications consultancy for startups Fallow, Field & Mason.  Email us at hello@fallowfieldmason.com or DM us on instagram @fallowfieldmason. 

FF&M recommends: 

• LastPass the password-keeping site that syncs between devices.
• Google Workspace is brilliant for small businesses
• Buzzsprout podcast 'how to' & hosting directory
• Canva has proved invaluable for creating all the social media assets and audio bites.

MUSIC CREDIT Funk Game Loop by Kevin MacLeod.  Link &  Licence

Chapters

• 4:57 Purpose
• 10:31 Growing pains
• 15:33 Work life balance
• 24:13 Storytelling & PR
• 27:20 Best worst quality

Transcript

[00:00:00] 

Juliet Fallowfield: Welcome to How To Start Up, the podcast that dives into stories of startups told directly by the founders. I'm Juliet Fallowfield, founder of Fallow, Field and Mason, the communications consultancy that teaches founders how to confidently run their own PR and podcasting in-house. In today's episode, we are joined by Siff Haider one part of the co-founder, duo behind Arrae the wellness brand that's redefining the supplement space with elegant, effective natural solutions for issues like bloating, anxiety, and sleep. Something that all the listeners of How To Start Up will need in their lives, no doubt. Since launching in 2020, Arrae has gained a cult following thanks to its minimalist aesthetic, loyal community, and commitment to solving real everyday problems. And while standing out in a saturated and often skeptical market, they have done great things. Stay tuned to hear how Siff approached building her brand with intention from day one and why storytelling is at the heart of everything they do at Arrae.

Hi [00:01:00] Siff, It is wonderful to have you on How To Start Up today. and you and your partner have co-founded Arrae 

beautiful brand. a little bit about the brand that you started and also when did you start? ‘Cause you have, I think, grown really quickly.

Siff Haider: Yeah, so we started the brand in 2020. And as you said, I started it with my husband. I've been with him for 13 years, but we got married, like, in actually 2021. So we were, I guess, still like just dating then. But yeah, we started it in 2020, but we had started to work on the brand back in 2018, so it took a while for it to come together, just because of the category that we are in.

But for your listeners who may not be familiar with our brand, it's a wellness brand, and we create what we like to say, targeted supplements for life's unsexy problems. And, we launched the brand in 2020 with two products, bloat and calm and really kind of took off within the first year, I would say.

So we launched during COVID. We launched because I was very passionate about [00:02:00] health and wellness, and had gone through my own journey with health and wellness that got me really passionate about holistic wellness, and I just wanted to provide women with better solutions, more straightforward solutions and solutions that made them feel really excited to use the product.

And so that's why we launched Arrae, and we launched it during 2020, which. It was kind of like launching in the wild West because it was March 2020. The world had essentially shut down. We had just launched a business. We didn't even know if products were shipping out to customers because so much was unknown, but at the same time, even though it was an operational nightmare, it was a blessing in terms of when we launched the business, because people were at home. They needed products to help them feel better because they were more anxious and more bloated than ever. And there we were with the solution. So that's a little bit about how we started the brand.

Juliet Fallowfield: Under a captive audience as well. I think that was what's so interesting, and I started the podcast exactly then [00:03:00], and I started my business exactly then as well. So I'm in there with you, and a lot of our listeners are the same. So I saw a 7% increase at company's house of new businesses being registered in Q2 2020.

And there was so many people going, you know what? The world is falling apart, now is the time I'm, if I don't do it now. A lot of people being made redundant and feeling their way, and I think a lot of our listeners. Have either started in scale businesses or thinking of starting and scaling a business, and we offer them that reassurance and that comfort that it is possible.

But it's so interesting because you go into it having no idea what you are doing or what to expect, and every guest says that. If you told me now what? I would have had to do to get here today. That's probably not a rational bone in my body that would've done it. That for you, you just went for it anyway.

You could see the pandemic coming, you launched, and you have scaled so quickly. But also for our listeners, I think there's a product that we all need more calm and less. You know, the stress comes through your body in many different ways, so you need these products. But for you, [00:04:00] what was the biggest barrier to entry to starting, do you think in yourself?

Siff Haider: So I come from an entrepreneurial family, and so I was never scared of going out on my own. I think because that was something that I saw my dad do, and he's quite successful, and I've had him as a role model. I was never afraid to take a bet on myself, and I think that was just something that I was taught early on.

That being said, I'm a very purpose-driven person, and so I didn't just want to start a business for the sake of starting a business, but because I felt so-called to work on Arrae in order to help people. I was just like, I'm gonna go for it.

Juliet Fallowfield: It's happening. 

Siff Haider: Yeah, exactly. It's happening. And I think in my brain, this is gonna sound very odd, but I never had a doubt that it was gonna work. I was like, I'm just gonna figure it out. And while there's a lot of challenges when you're building a business, because essentially you're learning on the job, [00:05:00] I never let myself believe that it was going to fail. Now, of course, when you're building a business, something that I think all entrepreneurs need to have in mind is that you can never lead with ego. So, for example, if you are working on something and something isn't working, like a methodology or a product idea that you had or whatever it is, I think you need to be able to iterate based on the feedback that you're getting, or instead of just holding onto it because you thought you were right.

So my thing was that I knew Arrae was going to succeed because I was going to figure it out. I had a lot of faith in myself, and my husband is my co-founder and he's also incredibly intelligent and hardworking, and I just knew that us together as a team, we'd be able to figure it out. And so-

Juliet Fallowfield: There's no risk on your betting on yourself.

Siff Haider: Exactly. So in terms of barriers, I would say that they were just the typical barriers that you go through as you're building a business, so for us it was the fact that we had launched at a time where no one knew what was happening. And so just that grit and resilience to just keep [00:06:00] going and pushing when we didn't know what was going on.

You know, there were issues with shipping, there were issues with things arriving late. At one point, UPS lost this massive shipment of products that were coming to our house that we were going to ship to customers that were already late. Dealing with all of those things.

So I think as you're building a business, the scale of problems that you're dealing with, there's always challenges, essentially. And so for us, the barriers were dealing with those challenges, but I think it's something that all entrepreneurs can, I guess, resonate with.

And also, I think for anyone who is thinking of getting started and they're intimidated, because I remember sitting there being like, what do I even do first? There's so many things, it's just you have to put one foot in front of the other, so it's Okay. I have a product idea, how can I even just get started with the product before the branding, before the social media, before the website, So it's one foot in front of the other.

Juliet Fallowfield: Exactly, and it's that's such good advice of, take the breath, do one step, then the next step and the next step, and managing that overwhelm. I think I should rebrand this podcast [00:07:00] because every single guest talks about, 'you need to manage the weight responsibility, the rollercoaster, the overwhelm, do not burn out.'

Those common phrases come through from everyone because you are doing something that's never been done before. You are doing something that you've never done before. You are potentially creating a service or a product that the world isn't familiar with. So everything is new. How do you build that muscle of resilience?

Siff Haider: It is, it's practice, to be honest, and I think you just keep getting back up. And I know that sounds so generic, but it really is true. It's a practice thing. I remember initially when we started, I felt like I was letting customers down if we ever made a mistake or, you know, if something would arrive late and someone would send an upset email, I'd be like, oh my gosh.

I'm failing as a founder. And, I remember calling my dad and I was like, really distraught about something or the other, and he was like, dealing with problems like this is just what you sign up for when you're deciding to go down the path of entrepreneurship, so you need [00:08:00] to be able to handle it 'cause it's a part of your job description.

And if you can't, then you're not to be an entrepreneur because this is just stuff that's gonna come your way. So I think. Yeah, like just understanding how to deal with it mentally. And from then obviously, it's realising that you can't let it take a toll on you emotionally because as you scale, those challenges are gonna get bigger.

And now I look back on the things that I would get upset over year one, and I'm like, oh my gosh. Come on now. And so I think the reminder here is that if you're in it, of course, every challenge that you're dealing with will feel really big. But you do get ahead of it, and you're gonna look back and you're gonna be like, oh, that was nothing.

And also something that. Brings me a lot of calm as I'm in the trenches, is I look at bigger entrepreneurs and I know that they have gone through much bigger problems than me, and they're still standing. And I think that the sign of a good entrepreneur is just how many times can you get up again?

like you will of course [00:09:00] take a beating. You will of course, go through challenges, but you just keep moving and you don't let it affect you. You learn from your mistakes, and you just keep going.

Juliet Fallowfield: It's such good advice because I think you have to just accept that you are gonna have problems and challenges and issues, and you're gonna have bad days at work. And knowing that it's like, it's not personal. It's just business and separating yourself from the business. I have a job and this is what the job entails, and it takes the pressure off as well. And then you just keep going. 

Siff Haider: Exactly. And the other thing that I have learned is that when you're going through a challenge, when it comes to the business, you can let it make you feel like, Ugh, I can't believe this is happening to me. Or like, why me? Like, why now I did everything right, blah, blah, blah. Instead, I think a real mindset shift is, oh, I'm going through this because this is like the next stage of my business.

You welcome the growing pains, if you will, because you're growing, if you were just in a place where [00:10:00] nothing was changing and you were just in this place of calm at all times, it would probably mean that you're not growing as fast as you would like to because with growth comes challenges, and that means that you're just learning new things.

Juliet Fallowfield: Yes, it's so true. And the more you do, the more you will have to deal with. And so someone else said the don't plan for failure, plan for success because if you succeed, what? Impact does that have on your life and is that you don't have any time off or you don't have a second to yourself to think anything through? Because I think I've gone through five years of business, and it's a rollercoaster with people, clients, up, down, left, right? God knows the world fell apart a hundred times in the last five years. And for me, I've learned the last 12 months, less is more. And I was thinking we have more clients, we have more people, we have more people, we have more clients, and go, go, go.

We're a service-based business. That might not be success for me, and my success metric might be different, and I wanted more time in my life for not working. So that meant less clients, less [00:11:00] people, richer work, and that might change again in the next couple of years.

Once I've done some work and some personal development, I might come back and scale again. But it really is important to work at what success looks like to you. But for you guys, it was obviously coming from a personal passion. You wanted to create these supplements and clearly you are taking the supplements 'cause everything you're doing is working. 

you've done everything with intention. Why was that so important to you?

Siff Haider: for both Nish and I, authenticity is a very core part of who we are, and we are both very high integrity people. I said to you right at the beginning that I'm a very purpose-driven person, and so for me, I have. Always felt like my goal is to, for me specifically help women feel like the best versions of themselves.

And so I feel like I've always been rooted in that mission. And so of course, the intentionality behind what we do and what we release and how we message things out, it just goes part and parcel of that because,I think women [00:12:00] deserve to be seen and heard. I like to be spoken to in a certain way, and I just hope that through our brand we can also help women feel the same way that I want to feel when I'm spoken to, if that makes sense.

Juliet Fallowfield: So there's that higher calling. so yes, you set up a business, you want it to succeed, but you want it to succeed for bigger reasons than just profit.

Siff Haider: For sure. And I think that I've noticed this with a lot of other business owners as well, that I think, money and success and whatever, you value from that. Standpoint. It can't be the primary driver. I feel like the primary driver is what are you wanting to do in the world? What mark are you wanting to leave?

What is really driving you when you wake up in the morning? And I think the money and the success and the accolades, there are all a sum or product of the difference that you're trying to make in the world. So if you go into business and your primary motive is chasing money.

Unfortunately, that doesn't happen right at the beginning. You are really slumming it at the beginning, and you are having to be [00:13:00] scrappy and it's not glamorous. And no matter how big your business gets, you still have moments where it's not glamorous and it's not easy. And so I feel like you have to be driven by something more than just that.

Juliet Fallowfield: Oh God. Yeah. And this year I'm doing a course with a friend who's a coach, six months worth of course. And coaching on purpose. So we became a B-Corp certified business two years ago, and I thought, if I'm gonna work this bloody hard, I need to know it's the right work and I'm doing it For the right people cause it's not about money. Money's the means is an enabler to do the work. And what does that work look like in terms of sole reward or purpose reward. And it's bigger than just being B Corp as well. And for me that taking the time outta the business to do the work to then come back to the business has been really rewarding. But it's because I hit five years. It's like, God, that went fast.

Siff Haider: Yeah. It does go fast.

Juliet Fallowfield: Suddenly gonna wake up in five years time and be sort of over 50 and be like,what happened? Where's it all gone? So you need to know you're spending your time wisely. For you, given you are a wellness brand and you have to practice what you preach, how do you [00:14:00] manage that work-life balance? 

Siff Haider: So I am personally not someone who believes in the concept of work life balance. And I say this because I think when you do what you love, it's just normal for it to bleed into every facet of your life. That being said, I really do believe in having non-negotiables and those are things that allow you to show up as your best self day over day and also allow you to sustainably run a business.

So, as an example for me, going to the gym, prioritising the physical health and then also the mental health component. So as an example, I don't look at my phone first thing in the morning. I give myself an hour in the beginning of the day and then an hour without my phone at the end of the day.

Juliet Fallowfield: And those are things I'm just not really willing to compromise on unless I don't know the world is ending and there's something like truly egregious happening, which, truthfully, like nothing that bad has ever happened to this day. So you know yourself. Know what you need to tick better, to be the best version of yourself.

Siff Haider: Exactly. And the [00:15:00] idea of work-life balance, and I put that in air quotes, right? So it's like, I have set hours that I'm going to work, and I have set days, and I am very rigid in terms of that balance. What I'm trying to say is that you have certain non-negotiables, and that's what you need in order to do this in a sustainable way.

Other examples, like I will always make time for my friends and my family no matter what. Okay? I will always make time to go for date night once a week with my husband again, no matter what. So I feel like once you have. Those non-negotiables. That's how you have the balance, because those are the tools that you need in order to live life sustainably.

And also, you wanna have fun along the way, I don't want to just be a slave to my work either. I love what I do, but I have interests outside of this. And so I like to have the flexibility to do that as well.

Juliet Fallowfield: I was chatting to a friend recently about this. I said I, it took me years to work out. The business will always need more than I can give it. 

So what am I prepared to give it and where's that line and where do I stop? Because if I am not healthy and [00:16:00] functioning, the business is definitely not gonna be either.

Juliet: We're taking a quick 30-second break from this episode to ask, are you thinking of starting your own podcast? If so, this is great news because we run a course that will train you how to produce your own podcast yourself. This course is for people who do not want to outsource and pay someone else to do it.

You want to learn how to do it yourself. We teach you everything that you need to get up and running with your own podcast show, and so much more. Just DM us at hello@fallowfieldmason to book your spot.

Juliet Fallowfield: And for you, how do you work out what fun looks like outside of work?

Siff Haider: So it's just the things that bring me joy. So for me,again, I love spending time with friends and family. For example, I just got back from, some time that I spent in Istanbul with my family. And, I did that over Labor Day weekend. I think I went for six days total.

But that stuff is really important because those are things that I always look back on and I'm like, I'm so glad I [00:17:00] made time for that. So once a year, I do my family vacation, and no matter what, I will be there. Other things are just, a couple of times a year and Nish and I take trips as well. If one of my best friends is having a destination wedding, I will always go.

And then just like outside of the travel bit, of course, I love to read, and so I always make time for that. It's my hobby, I like to cook, and that's also something I make time for. While I may not do it every day, I still make time for it, a couple of times a week, because it's also really nice to do something with my hands.

So just yesterday, actually, we had a product meeting for like a bunch of launches that we have coming up, and that was done towards the end of the day at 5:00 PM. And so I was just making dinner while. We were having that meeting, and so we had that meeting like in my kitchen on like the big countertop, and so I was just cooking and roasting things while we were having this meeting, so I feel like I make time for these things because they bring me joy and they just make life a lot more fun.

Juliet Fallowfield: Oh God. God, yeah. Especially when [00:18:00] you're cooking for yourself and you are nourishing yourself, and it's a virtuous circle. It's all feeding into the bigger pot of energy.

But I love what you're saying. It's like I'm sitting here thinking, you make time for this, and you make time for the travel.

It's like, how do we make more time? There's only 24 hours in the day. Like if we had a magic time recipe, that would be wonderful.

But that's it. You have a limiting factor that you cannot control. And time is it. And we always talk about this in entrepreneurship, that money will flow, money will come and go, but time is of the essence.

And I was giving a talk earlier this, today, at Soho Farmhouse on podcasting and saying how you have to invest time in it and you need to work out what you're doing, who your audience is, what? Problem you're solving for the listener, because if you are gonna commit this time, you want to make sure it's worth it. So, for you, what has been the biggest reward with Arrae since you started five years ago?

Siff Haider: I love that question. We get emails and DMs often, and some of them really do. Blow me away. And they remind me why I am doing what I'm [00:19:00] doing. They will be messages and emails from customers, like, oh, I've dealt with this problem, and this has really helped me.

Or I'm postpartum and this product has really helped me. And again, my purpose is to make people's lives better. And so to hear from customers knowing that I have helped them even a little bit, makes me feel really happy and allows me to keep going. The other thing is, in the same vein when we were building Arrae.

Our goal was also to build a really strong culture and create a workplace where people were excited to come to work and really loyal about where they worked. And yeah, cherish every single day because again, life is short and you spend a lot of time at work, so you may as well love what you're doing.

And so we really wanted to create that kind of workplace. And so, to hear from our team, and by the way, we have basically no turnover in our company. Our first employee is still with us. She's like my sister. [00:20:00] everyone in our company has been here for years, and so to hear from our team members being like, this is the healthiest workplace we've ever been a part of, or, I'm so happy to come to work every day, or if I miss an in-person day, then I feel like I missed outm, that's crazy to me as a founder. I'm like, that is like the biggest pride for me. It's so rewarding, and I see our team, and it just brings me so much joy to know that I love every single person that I work with and we're all working towards a shared goal, and we have so much fun along the way.

Juliet Fallowfield: Oh, I love this because I think when we work for other people, we don't realise how important teams are. And when you employ people, you f. So when you work for someone else, your customer and your client, you are outward-facing. Stakeholders are really important, but when you have a team and you employ people, they are your number one priority above everything else. And when they have a good day at work, or I remember seeing this whole kind of murmur of conversations happening with the colleagues, and I was nothing to do with it. I was like. Wow, they are all having fun together without [00:21:00] me, and it's because of this business that they're all here together.

And it gave me such a moment of joy, of like, these people are awesome and they're all talking to each other about work we're all working on, and I created that. So the validation of giving other people that opportunity is fantastic as well. But if anybody's listening and they have a favourite business or product or supplier or podcast.

Go and tell that business how much you love them because it can feel like such a one-way street. You are putting a lot of your content out into the world, and you've got an amazingly engaged audience on your socials, but you are constantly feeling that beast. But to have that feedback back is so, so important.

Siff Haider: It's the best feeling.

Juliet Fallowfield: Well, speaking of your brand, we can't leave this conversation with asking you how you identified your branding. 

Siff Haider: So our goal when it came to building Arrae, the parallel I like to draw is skincare. So when I was younger, I would go into my mom's dressing room, and this is like when I was young, and I would look at her skincare, and it was very [00:22:00] clinical looking. It was very sterile looking, and

now we see the skincare industry, and this has happened right in front of our eyes, where there's so much joy in using skincare. Women aren't afraid to talk about the skin issues that they have. You're excited to go shop for your skincare. And it's this thing that you take joy in when you, you know, have it as a ritual that you do every day and night.

And the reason behind that was number one, skincare all of a sudden has become easy for the consumer to understand. So you can walk into wherever you're going to shop for your things, like Sephora, Boots, wherever people are going. And you know, you're finding things for your acne or your dark circles, or your fine lines and wrinkles.

And the product has been packaged in a beautiful way. It's science forward, so you know that you're using these things and it's making a difference. And so that was really the, concept that we had when it came to building Arrae that we wanted to build products that really worked, people would take it and they'd feel the impact and they'd know what [00:23:00] they were taking it for.

Our products, for example, they're named Bloat. You know what you're using it for, Tri biotic, constipation, like these are things that, you know what you're using it for tone, which is like a creatine gummy. So again, like it's simple to understand and we also really wanted the branding to speak to people, and we knew that that was an important piece of things because no matter how efficacious your product is, if the customer doesn't resonate with it, they'll just.

Buy it and shove it to the back of their pantry and forget about it forever. And so we knew that we needed to make packaging really beautiful, and we knew that we also needed to be relevant in terms of just. the overarching culture. So making sure that we had a strong social media presence, that we had the right partnerships, that we were able to speak to the consumer in a way that allowed them to feel seen and heard, and not like a snooty wellness brand that felt out of reach, you know? And so that was really the concept behind how we have, designed the brand and how we speak to consumers.

Juliet Fallowfield: it's so simple [00:24:00] now you see it, but the work that goes in behind the scenes to make it simple is so hard. 

Siff Haider: Absolutely, yeah.

Juliet Fallowfield: How important is storytelling and PR in your business as well?

Siff Haider: Storytelling is everything for us, we do everything very 360. So, you know, when we launch something as an example, we make sure that every team is talking to each other and working like a well-oiled machine. That's everyone from marketing to email to performance marketing, like ads and stuff like that to our website. The photo shoot needs to look a certain way so everyone's working together. So that everything looks and feels really, really cohesive, and that really is a part of the storytelling. The same thing when we do a partnership with another brand. It is really like a company-wide effort in order to make that the most successful thing ever.

And I think that in order to break the taboos around health and wellness and talking about tougher things like the storytelling piece was really, really important for our brand. So I would say it is like everything to us [00:25:00] and we really value doing everything very 360.

Juliet Fallowfield: Yeah, and that just that organisation. Behind it. I think that consistency, we work with clients a lot on their, we do sort of paid owned and earned audit and making sure that everything's just talking to each other. And

it sounds so simple, but the customer can get so confused if it doesn't sit well, and they're getting one message from one touchpoint and one message from another, and it doesn't work, and they lose trust. I think so.

Yeah. So interesting to hear you say that. And something that we do is we have a question from our previous guests. So, Ella was the founder of Fatso, which is a really fun UK-based chocolate brand. She wanted to make chocolate fun again and enjoyable. And my God, has she done such an amazing job with it from packaging to the even the size of the chunks.

She's done an amazing job. But she said her question for you was, what is your best, worst habit, and how has it helped you in your business? And the context of this is she's like. I know that I work well in chaotic frenzy. busy, and I'm my most productive when I'm chaotic. And that's not for everybody, but for her, [00:26:00] she knows that's her flow state, and she calls it her best, worst habit when she's like that because she knows it works for her, but it probably isn't great for the people.

So what would your best, worst habit be?

Siff Haider: Ooh, this is an interesting one. Okay, Best, worst habit.

Juliet Fallowfield: Take your time. There's no rush.

Siff Haider: Yeah, it's a really good question. So I like, I want to make sure that I give a. Good answer. 

okay. so I wonder if this would qualify

I like to get my inspiration from places other than just wellness. I actually do not look to competition or what other people are doing at all. And instead I look at a lot of history truthfully. and so I guess sometimes I'm trying to like, I guess tell people what my idea is.

Sometimes it's difficult for them to grasp and so I guess like sometimes it might be a little bit challenging to work with me as a boss because I have these [00:27:00] ideas and sometimes people don't grasp them right away. But maybe that is my best, worst 

Juliet Fallowfield: Yeah, well you are kind of 10 steps ahead already, and if it's any reassurance. When we were at Chanel, I remember them saying that they looked at NASA for heat properties for foundation in rockets.

Siff Haider: Very cool.

Juliet Fallowfield: And trampoline companies for foundation bound us. So the same thing. So if Chanel do it, you clearly are on the right track. But yeah, I love that. So that helps you in your business, 'cause you're getting inspiration from outside of the sector. 

Siff Haider: Yeah, I always say this, but one of my biggest inspirations is the Cartier family. So one of my favourite books is, The Cartiers, it's by Francesca Cartier, I believe. She's like the great-granddaughter of the Cartier family. And she wrote this incredible memoir and, understanding that family, like Louis Cartier as an example.

Like he would draw inspiration from architecture to translate that into jewellery. So I just think that it's really interesting to grab inspiration from things outside of your [00:28:00] field because as I say the story, he's not looking at another jewelry maker and being like, oh yeah, that's really inspiring.

So I feel like getting inspiration from completely different things like Chanel with NASA as an example, or like just historical things. I think that is what really differentiates a company. 

Juliet Fallowfield: And an entrepreneur as well, because you are blue sky thinking and you are doing things that have never been done before. And what would your question be for our next guest? And it could be anything on starting up or an entrepreneurship business.

Siff Haider: Ooh, this is a great question. Is.

Juliet Fallowfield: Anything that's coming up for you this week that you're like, ah, I wish I could ask someone that.

Siff Haider: Okay, so I guess I would ask what's the best mistake you've made?

Juliet Fallowfield: Yes. 'cause everyone I've asked before, I said, well, I wouldn't go and undo anything because it's what's got me here today. But what is the best mistake? 

What's yours? 

Siff Haider: best mistake I've made probably.

okay, so at one point we, we thought we were gonna release a [00:29:00] product, and so we went through the entire process of creating the product, doing the testing. All of that, only to decide to not launch it. And so we gave up all of this money that went into inventory and obviously the time that it took to formulate it.

And the reason we decided not to do it was because we really thought critically about whether it worked with our overarching brand story. And I think that was a very expensive mistake, obviously, but one that kind of taught me to be very discerning as a founder about what steps we were going to take and what we were going to release.

So it was an expensive mistake, but I think it just,I guess taught us how, how much you have to think about what you're doing with a brand in order to make it successful.

Juliet Fallowfield: Also, sunk costs are inevitable, right? You're going to make mistakes and it's when you pull yourself back from the brink of stop keeping going. Pull back, pull back. And that's okay. And someone said to me, this, in the US it's celebrated when you have three failed [00:30:00] startups under your belt.

And then the fourth is the success. Whereas in the UK, you must never get anything wrong, and it all has to be perfect and it's not realistic and it puts a lot of pressure on people. But yes, going down that path, but then knowing when to come back up it, I think is so important. Thank you for sharing that because I think it'll give our listeners a lot of reassurance that that's normal 

Siff Haider: It is. It absolutely is. And I think that if you're not making mistakes along the way and correcting and learning from them, then I don't think you're doing it right.

Juliet Fallowfield: Yeah, exactly. And speaking of our listeners, how can they get, in touch with you? Where should they find you?

Siff Haider: So you can find Arrae at arrae.com or @Arrae on social. I personally am Siff Hyder on all social platforms, and you can find my podcast, the Dream Bigger podcast anywhere podcasts are found.

Juliet Fallowfield: Amazing. Thank you so much for your time. It's been wonderful chatting to you thank you so much.

Siff Haider: Thank you so much. This has been a joy.

Juliet Fallowfield: If you want to contact Siff, you can find all of the details in her show notes along with a recap of the advice that she has so [00:31:00] kindly shared and keep listening to the end to hear her question from Ella at Fatso on what her best, worst habit is.