E5: She had the dream job — and realised she hated every bit of it

In this episode, Gilly Ridley Whittle — founder of Peach House — shares how she stepped out of a 25‑year corporate career and into the unknown. She opens up about the fear of losing her job when Topshop went into administration and the unexpected redundancy payout that became the launchpad for her entrepreneurial leap. As she says, “I honestly had no idea how I was going to make this happen… I was terrified” .Gilly reflects on the harsh reality of launching a sustainable underwear brand into a declining market — from cash‑flow crises to failed wholesale attempts. A single retailer meeting became the breaking point: “I literally… lost it. I am not being beholden to anyone” . That moment sparked a full reset, revealing what had been working all along: bra fitting. From festivals to pop‑ups to workplace activations, every event proved the same thing — women were desperate for comfort, confidence, and proper fit.What followed was a bold pivot into a service‑led bra‑fitting model, now entering corporate workplaces to tackle women’s health, productivity, and wellbeing. Julie shares how she convinced her investor, built a scalable framework, and stepped into a mission far bigger than product — “We’re building a movement… I’m going to be the number one bra‑fit service in the UK in 18 months” . It’s a conversation about intuition, resilience, reinvention, and turning up exactly where women are.