Episode Details

Building Aspiga: Sustainable Fashion, Slow Growth, and ADHD in Entrepreneurship

This week Jo speaks with Lucy Macnamara, founder of Aspiga, an award-winning sustainable fashion brand built on ethical production and positive impact. Lucy shares how she started with 250 hand-beaded sandals from Kenya sold through friends while working full time, then left her charity role after gaining early wholesale traction. She explains Aspiga’s steady, long-term growth through wholesale, online and pop-ups, later moving operations to London and building teams, and how retail stores began unexpectedly during lockdown through low-risk landlord offers, eventually expanding to around 10 shops. Lucy discusses the realities of managing staff, cashflow, supplier problems, and crises, her ADHD diagnosis in her 50s and how openness helped the team adapt, and her focus now on creating a sustainable business that can rely less on her while maintaining long-standing investments in artisans and community projects in Kenya.

00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro

01:42 Slow Growth Mindset

02:49 First Product and Early Sales

03:32 Leaving Charity to Go Full Time

05:10 Wholesale Growth and Cash Flow

05:56 Early Money Struggles

06:46 Midlife Advantage and Self Belief

08:53 Hiring and Building a Team

11:33 Managing Staff Expectations

14:27 Going Above and Beyond

15:47 From Pop Ups to Stores

18:29 Retail Expansion Challenges

20:11 ADHD Energy and Routines

21:52 Sleep and Night Worries

23:34 Entrepreneurship Ups and Downs

24:25 ADHD and Crisis Mode

25:18 Late Diagnosis Realizations

26:34 School Struggles and Self Doubt

28:38 Leading Teams with ADHD

32:13 Future Plans and Ownership

34:12 Funding and Industry Know How

36:40 Three Two One Advice

37:01 Sustainability Roots in Kenya

41:15 Money Mistakes and AI Checks

44:40 Mentors and Asking for Help

46:26 Final Thanks and Wrap Up

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Edited and produced by Jo Glynn-Smith 2025.
Recorded at Eight Works Podcast Studios, 1 Dysart Street, London, EC2A 2BX
For bookings: eightworks@eightclub.co.uk

Jo Glynn-Smith is an entrepreneur, professional coach, writer, and speaker from London, she is an expert in career transformation and change.

Instagram @jojoglynnsmith and @themidlifeentrepreneur

Contact: enquiries@joglynnsmith.com
www.joglynnsmith.com

MUSIC CREDIT Easy Money by REX BANNER licensed by Artlist.io
PHOTOGRAPHY by JONATHAN GLYNN-SMITH www.jonathanglynnsmith.com