Made Millions and Still Almost Went Broke

In this episode, Yaw shares how a homemade skincare solution for his wife turned into Ava Estell, a brand that’s now made over £25 million. It started as a personal project to address her hyperpigmentation with natural ingredients and quickly evolved into a viral success during the COVID lockdown. He explains how his background in engineering and natural products helped him formulate the product, and how an unexpected legal battle forced a full rebrand early on, leading to the name "Ava Estell," a tribute to both his wife and daughter. Yaw also dives into the key drivers behind Ava Estell’s success: building a strong brand story, having the right skills from past startup experience, and understanding marketing and operations at scale. He shares why he turned down £2M in funding, and the tough lessons that followed. The episode also covers: Why execution matters more than ideas The downside of starting with product-based businesses too early The power of starting with service-based businesses to generate cash flow Why documenting your journey, even publicly, builds trust How collaboration beats competition in niche markets The balance (and tension) between marriage and entrepreneurship The freedom of building a remote-first business that allowed him to move his family to Dubai Biggest win: Building a meaningful, scalable brand rooted in love and purpose.Biggest lesson: Saying no to early investment can be costly in the long run. An inspiring and insightful conversation packed with lessons on resilience, strategy, and building something that lasts. 🎧 Tap in now, and don’t forget to Like, Share & Subscribe! The Bread and Butter by Emmanuel Asuquo & Tayo Oguntonade is not your typical finance or business podcast, it explores real-life stories of how money plays a part in our day-to-day life - with no boundaries, no secrets and no censorship. In each episode we invite you to be a fly in the room when we discuss money taboos, key financial advice and some of the hottest money topics online, often with well-known guests from influencers, athletes to musicians. Together we discuss money in a super relatable way, talk about the impacts it's had on their journey and the role it plays today. Topics will revolve around how money plays a part in parenting, living and working abroad, entrepreneurship and content creation & more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices