LONDON ENTREPRENEURS CELEBRATED AS FEMALE FOUNDERS DEFY A CHALLENGING YEAR

December 3, 2025December 3, 2025 NewsDesk beauty sector entrepreneurs, business growth UK, CEO Tide UK/Europe, Daisy Kelly, Daisy Knatchbull, entrepreneurship awards London, fashion entrepreneurship UK, female entrepreneurs UK, female entrepreneurship statistics, flexible working UK, Founder & CEO Glow For It, Founder & CEO Knatchbull, Founder & CEO Molto Music Group, Founder Aegle’s, Founder Flexible Working People, Gemma Hamilton, George Schmidt, Head of Origination BGF, Joint Managing Director AllBright everywoman, Katy Fridman, live music industry UK, London, London female founders, Managing Director The Gluten Free Bakery, Nicole Goodwin, Rana Righton, Rosie Skuse, Sophie Catto, Tide everywoman awards, UK business innovation, Women in Business, women in leadership, women starting businesses, women-led SMEs, Zoe Williams

London Female Founders Recognised as Entrepreneurial Resilience Defines a Challenging Year

Six London-based businesswomen have been named among the UK’s most outstanding female founders, following a year in which women-led enterprises navigated some of the toughest economic conditions in recent memory. The winners were celebrated at the Tide everywoman Entrepreneur Awards, held at The Londoner Hotel in Leicester Square, where more than 300 industry leaders, investors and advocates gathered to spotlight the country’s most dynamic female-run ventures.

Across sectors as varied as luxury tailoring, beauty, live entertainment, flexible working and specialist food production, the winners reflect the breadth of innovation now driving the UK’s female entrepreneurship landscape. Many have built fast-growing brands despite inflationary pressures, cautious consumer spending and prolonged political uncertainty — conditions highlighted in the 2025 Female Business Owners Index from Tide and everywoman.

Yet, despite these headwinds, the Index shows a striking optimism: 67% of women entrepreneurs expect revenues to rise over the next year. This confidence framed a ceremony defined as much by resilience as by celebration.

Celebrating Founders Who Redefined Their Sectors

This year’s winners include:

Zoe Williams, founder of Aegle’s
Daisy Knatchbull, founder & CEO of Knatchbull
Rana Righton, managing director of The Gluten Free Bakery
Daisy Kelly, founder & CEO of Glow For It
Katy Fridman, founder of Flexible Working People
Rosie Skuse, founder & CEO of Molto Music Group

For many, their achievements are not only commercial; they are emblematic of how purpose-driven leadership is reshaping consumer industries and workplace norms.

Nicole Goodwin and Sophie Catto, joint managing directors of AllBright everywoman, said the awards come at a moment when women are under exceptional strain. “Female entrepreneurs across the UK are demonstrating extraordinary perseverance, optimism and ambition in one of the toughest business climates in recent years. Female founders are working longer hours and navigating multiple pressure points, yet their determination has never been stronger.”

They added that the awards serve not only as recognition but as a launchpad: “By bringing together a powerful community of role models, investors, mentors and partners, these awards not only celebrate success stories but actively create them.”

Aegle’s Founder Wins Tide’s £20,000 Grant

The flagship Tide £20,000 grant was awarded to Zoe Williams, founder of the supplement brand Aegle’s. Williams’s business was born from a personal search for a solution to severe acne. Working with a specialist practitioner, she developed Clear Skin Complex — a natural supplement that has since helped more than 30,000 women and built a dedicated TikTok community.

Balancing entrepreneurship with single motherhood and part-time work, Williams has grown Aegle’s into a brand that positions skin confidence as both accessible and transformative.

On stage she said: “Thank you to Alex, who is here today and has helped me so much over the last few years, I appreciate you so much.”

George Schmidt, Tide UK/Europe CEO, said the winners reflected the inventiveness and tenacity now synonymous with women-led SMEs. “Many women have been navigating tougher conditions, yet the founders recognised today have shown remarkable ambition and creativity in how they are building and growing their businesses.”

Knatchbull Named Brand of the Future

The Brand of the Future Award, sponsored by The White Company, went to Daisy Knatchbull, whose eponymous womenswear label has challenged long-standing traditions on Savile Row.

Knatchbull opened the street’s first female-only shopfront six years ago and now operates a global brand with a bespoke tailoring service, a ready-to-wear line and a recent collaboration with Aerin Lauder. Her business is the first made-to-measure tailoring brand in the UK to achieve B-Corp status.

“I am deeply honoured to be named the Brand of the Future winner,” she said. “Our mission at Knatchbull has been to reimagine tailoring for women and create clothing that inspires confidence and empowers women.”

Balancing Business and Motherhood

The Balance Award recognised Rana Righton, managing director of The Gluten Free Bakery, who built her business while overcoming serious pregnancy-related health conditions, including pre-eclampsia, obstetric cholestasis and gestational diabetes.

Despite hospital visits and physical strain, Righton continued to expand her team and launch new products. Her leadership philosophy centres on fostering a supportive culture for women balancing caregiving and entrepreneurship.

“A big thank you to our team because we would not have a business without them. And thank you to my family for supporting me,” she said.

Glow For It Wins Social Star Award

The Social Star Award went to Daisy Kelly, founder of Glow For It, a beauty brand conceived at her mother’s kitchen table and propelled by remarkable social media engagement.

Leveraging a theatrical background and TikTok’s early rise, Kelly built a community-focused brand where strategic content and responsiveness led to one 12-hour livestream milestone: a product sold every 21 seconds. Glow For It became the first SME to win TikTok of the Year at the platform’s advertising awards.

“Glow For It’s mission is to empower women to feel confident in their natural beauty,” Kelly said.

Championing Flexible Work

The Solopreneur Award was presented to Katy Fridman, founder of Flexible Working People. Initially a small Facebook community created to support mothers returning to work, the business evolved into a full service offering after Fridman began charging modest job-posting fees.

Her model — with 95% of roles filled — now supports more than 1,000 employers, helping women secure flexible roles or re-enter senior positions.

“This is for all the women in my community,” she said. “The reason why I set up this business was to help women work, be parents and have balance in their lives.”

Molto Music Group Wins Small Enterprise Award

Rosie Skuse, founder & CEO of Molto Music Group, took home the Small Enterprise Award, sponsored by Tide.

Launching the business months before the pandemic, Skuse saw five major contracts evaporate almost instantly. But her persistence laid the groundwork for post-lockdown growth, including delivering the launch of The Dorchester Hotel’s roof terrace through an extensive live-music programme. Today the business employs more than 250 musicians monthly.

“I was not expecting this,” Skuse said. “The people in this room are a reminder of how powerful women can be when they are supported by other women.”

Backing the Next Generation of Female Founders

Gemma Hamilton, Head of Origination at BGF, emphasised the wider economic importance of backing women-led companies. “It’s so important to recognise the outstanding contribution that talented female founders make to the wider economy. At BGF, we’re proud to have committed at least £300 million to support female entrepreneurship over the next five years.”

THE 2025 WINNERS ARE:

WOMAN OF THE YEAR AWARD: Toria Chan and Jules Shiel-Boulger, co-founders of STEPS Rehabilitation, from Sheffield.
TIDE GRANT OF £20,000 for an exceptional female-founded SME: Zoe Williams, founder of Aegle’s, from London.
BRAND OF THE FUTURE AWARD – sponsored by The White Company: Daisy Knatchbull, Founder and CEO of Knatchbull, from London.
THE BALANCE AWARD: Rana Righton, managing director of The Gluten Free Bakery, from London.
ENTREPRENEUR FOR GOOD AWARD – sponsored by Specsavers: Ruby Raut, CEO of WUKA Ltd, from Welwyn Garden City.
INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION AWARD – sponsored by Rathbone Financial Planning: Karen Hewitt, chief of retail at Character.com, from Swansea.
THE NEXT LEVEL AWARD – Sponsored by Saffery: Charlotte Stagg and Jessica Lancaster, co-founders and CEOs of Coconut Lane UK and Cocopup London, from Witney.
SCALE UP AWARD – sponsored by BGF: Julie Collison, director of Clear Strategy Limited, from Dublin.
SOCIAL STAR AWARD: Daisy Kelly, founder & CEO of Glow For It, from Hammersmith.
SOLOPRENEUR AWARD: Katy Fridman, founder of Flexible Working People, from London.
SMALL ENTERPRISE AWARD – sponsored by Tide: Rosie Skuse, founder & CEO of Molto Music Group, from London. Tide also presented an additional £1,000 grant to Rosie and Molto Music Group.
TECH INNOVATOR AWARD – Sponsored by Farrer & Co: Emma O’Brien, founder & CEO of Embridge Consulting, from Kent.

The 2025 winners were chosen by a judging panel comprising some of the UK’s most successful women in business, as well as VCS and investors who are at the forefront of closing the funding gap with their diverse portfolios. Judges included Chrissie Rucker (founder of The White Company), Susan Allen (co-founder at Here We Flo), Kelli Aspland (director of Solar Buddies), Yvonne Nagawa (chief of staff at Black Seed Ventures), Sarah Anderson CBE (chief executive at The Listening Place), and Nell Daly (founder & managing partner at Revenge Capital), amongst others.