Fear, funding and Lazy Flora

I wanted to share some very big news with you regarding Lazy Flora.

I am delighted to announce that we’ve recently closed a Seed funding round. We’ve received half a million pounds’ investment into the business from a venture capital firm.

Raising investment like this is a huge achievement for any business, and it will mean we can continue to improve so much about Lazy Flora for you. I have never been so excited about anything in my entire life.

Now I’m not sharing this with you because I think it’s very important that you know anything about the finances of this business. I’m sharing this with you because I did this, and I think it important that you know that.

I do not have a business background. I’m not a banker, or a management consultant. I’m not a man. I am not rich, I do not have wealthy parents or friends. I have struggled with confidence my entire life.

But I am smart. And I work hard. And I believe in this idea more than anything I’ve ever believed in. I want you to know that I did this because I did not know what I was capable of until I started doing it, and I want that to be an example to anyone who needs to hear it.

It has taken huge sacrifice. It has also taken risks that, four years ago, I would have considered unacceptable. It has taken me so far out of my comfort zone that I do not recognize myself.

I want you to know that this has happened, because I didn’t have an example to follow. I never had anyone in my ‘circle’ who was doing something like this, who was building something from scratch, and therefore I believed that running a startup was something of a fairytale: something that I would never achieve, that was not accessible to me. I thought that all business was done by people with connections, people who were smarter than me, people who were full of confidence and who never doubted themselves, who were born entrepreneurs.

But somehow, without all of that, but with an unshakeable belief in this concept, this is where we’ve ended up.

I am incredibly proud of Lazy Flora. Part of me always knew I could do this, and another part can’t quite believe it’s happened.

But we have just scratched the surface as to what we can deliver to you. There are so many thousands of ways we can build a better business for you, our customers. And that is the thing I care most about right now.

So this message is for you: if you are wondering whether 2021 is your year, it is. I am so damn sure it will be my year, I’m just daring the universe to send more challenges my way because right now, having juggled the combined challenges of Covid, Brexit, loneliness, and plant shortages, I know we can achieve just about anything.

If you’re wondering whether you should take that new job, or start a business, or take on a challenge of any kind, it is. If you need encouragement or an example to follow, here it is. There are people just waiting to cheer you on.

You already have everything you need to get started. You will never feel ready. So just get started.

Claire. xxx
CEO and Founder, Lazy Flora