Hello Roses,

So this week I wanted to highlight a disappointment that I had in regards to Lucy Rose. I am documenting my journey and I think it’s only right to take you through not only the highs, but the lows too. Over the summer, I applied for an Innovate UK Grant which are highly competitive. I found out last week that unfortunately, I didn’t get it.

Instagram has often been described as a highlights reel of reality. I believe it is important, especially for start-ups to show the setbacks, the ‘no’s’ that once you become successful, no one sees. I read a story this morning on how a brand set up in 2012 is now worth hundreds of millions of pounds, which of course is fantastic, but my gripe with these stories is that the reader comes away thinking it took off overnight and they underwent minimal disappointments. Every entrepreneur knows however, that this is not true.

So this is my way of sharing my story with you, the good and the bad. I’m not viewing any of this a failure, and I have learnt so much on the application journey. I just feel for those who are told the ending of a story to not compare to your beginning or middle. Despite the amazing achievements being documented in the press, they sometimes leave me feeling demotivated because I want to be where they are.

However, a recent piece of advice I heard was to not rush to get to your destination. Look around and enjoy where you are right now, be proud of yourself and keep moving forwards. Slowly but surely, you’ll get there too.

So thank you InnovateUK, although it wasn’t meant to be this time, I have built up my ammunition for next time. Resilience can’t be given, only earned.

Until next time,

Em x