Ellie Farrer on Young Entrepreneurs and Online Abuse

Imagine creating a product that flies off the shelf so quickly that you hit £1m in sales in the first hour. Incredible, right? You would rightly feel that you had every reason to celebrate and even be celebrated for creating something that resonates so clearly with customers.

It was no surprise then that when Grace Beverley, founder of activewear brand TALA, saw the brand’s new puffer jacket rack up £1m in its first hour, she made a social media post of herself ringing a bell and opening the Champagne to celebrate with her team. At the same time, of course, she kicked open the floodgates to a wave of criticism.

From questions about the sustainability claims made by the brand to asking how she can sell product with wars going on around the world via a very serious allegation that she was the “queen of illegal ad practices”, which she addressed directly in a now deleted TikTok post, Grace received a torrent of trolling, snide comments and abuse for celebrating her success so openly.

In this age of social media, however, online abuse, unsolicited opinions, and the like are all just part of the deal, aren’t they? As a young entrepreneur and founder of several businesses, all in apparel, wellness and fitness, Oxford graduate Grace knows a thing or two about social media. Her regular posts about her fitness regime, personal life and business insight and tips have built her a loyal community; she understands the game and how it all works, so what’s the problem?

Well, let’s zoom out for a moment and consider another influencer-led product phenomenon that has been inescapable – Prime. The drinks brand created by YouTubers Logan Paul and KSI has been lauded for its success despite some cynical marketing tactics and a questionable product that ultimately is bought by kids. Prime is reported to have hit sales of $250m in 2022, becoming second only to PepsiCo-owned Gatorade in the US hydration market in just 18 months.

From its scarcity marketing strategy that saw bottles of the stuff selling for ten times – sometimes more - its £2 retail price to staged footage of Paul and KSI being pelted with empty bottles, there may have been questions about the caffeine content of the energy variant or whether it is suitable for kids, but little if any criticism has been levelled at either of them for celebrating Prime’s unprecedented success.

Indeed, the pair shamelessly promoted the brand at their recent boxing bout, stepping out in Prime coloured gowns and sporting the logo on a chain during their recent boxing outing. Meanwhile, this summer, they signed lucrative hydration deals with teams including Arsenal and Golden Boot winner Erling Haaland, garnering positive headlines.

Two stories of social media-based businesses creating a storm with products, and yet one has more than a whiff of double standards about it. If you strip away the context, what is actually happening here? Grace is denigrated for celebrating her success because she is being too bold, too brash, daring to talk about it and seen to be enjoying it. The others are the very definition of bold and brash, and they never stop talking up their success and, yet, that is seemingly to be applauded.

Even in the so-called democratised world of social media, where anyone can become an influencer with thousands of followers and anyone can launch products and businesses, women still have to be careful about how they act and what they say to avoid misinterpretation.

Sadly, it’s not surprising that just 2% of venture capital-funded businesses are owned by women when so many face harsh criticism and judgement when they dare get out there, do their own thing and - shock, horror - succeed. It is time we leave the strangely catty, playground attitude behind and, as an industry, start recognising and celebrating that some of our brightest founders and innovators are women. 

The fact that we still need to draw attention to this is a problem in itself, and making positive changes will not be simple; however, if we start with intent, perhaps the first step is women supporting women rather than finding reasons to tear each other down.