How to Know If You're Ready for Investment - and Which Type of Money Is Actually Right for You
Breakout Beauty UK's lunchtime webinar series, built to give UK beauty founders the tactical, no-BS playbook they need to scale.
What Is This Session?
Scaling any founder-led beauty brand is expensive, and the reality is that you’ll probably need external funding at some stage of your growth journey in order to get into retail, invest in a team, develop new product lines, generate PR, and so on. Yet raising money in the current environment, especially for a founder of beauty and wellness brands, is tough.
We are here to help you understand how to raise money for your company, what type of money is available, whether to go to the bank or an investor, and what you should expect along the way. Our aim is to give you the practical tips, watch-outs and need-to-knows so you go into it with your eyes wide open, avoid common mistakes, and don’t have regrets further down the line.
So whether you are just starting out, or you’re looking to raise a couple of million, this session breaks down what you need to do, know, prepare for, and expect.
We are joined by two incredible experts who bridge both sides of capital; debt and investment, who’ll be offering you their inside advice.
Nicole Scola is Senior Vice President at HSBC Innovation Banking - one of the leading banking partners for high-growth, founder-led businesses in the UK. Nicole works with scaling brands every day and has a sharp eye for what separates a founder who is investment-ready from one who only thinks they are.
Ciara Byrne is Founder and General Partner at Vestra Partners. She backs ambitious consumer brands and knows what it looks like when a founder pitches with conviction and when they pitch with confusion. Ciara sits on the other side of the table from most beauty founders and she is here to tell you exactly what she sees.
Hosted by Paul Finch, co-founder of Growth Studio and architect of Breakout Beauty UK. As the programme designer who has helped accelerate over 2,500 startups across 18 countries, Paul will draw out the tactical insights that matter and push Nicole and Ciara with the questions founders are usually too nervous to ask.
What You'll Walk Away With
We want you to go into raising money with your eyes wide open, to get the right money, at the right time, on the best terms.
We’ll demystify the funding landscape; what are the differences between debts, loans, grants, and equity - what each one actually means for a beauty brand, who it is for, when you should consider getting it, and what comes attached to it.
The vocabulary you’ll need to know before any funding conversation; what are unit economics, working capital, bridge financing, growth capital - the terminology founders routinely get wrong, and why getting it right changes every conversation you have with a lender or investor.
What funders actually look for; deep dive into the commercial, financial, and operational signals that HSBC Innovation Banking and Vestra Partners use to assess whether a brand is genuinely ready.
How your business changes when you take on money. What shifts in your decision-making, your reporting obligations, your cap table, and your relationship with the business - so you are not blindsided six months in.
Who Should Attend?
Self-funded beauty founders weighing their first raise. Early-stage founders who are starting to wonder whether external capital is the right next step -and want to know exactly what they're walking into before they start any conversations.
Founders already in early funding conversations. Beauty founders deep in their first investor or lender chats who want clarity on what type of money is actually right for their business and what each one demands of them in return.
Founders preparing a serious raise. Beauty founders gearing up to raise growth capital who want to walk in with the vocabulary, the signals, and the self-awareness that lenders and investors actually take seriously.
Applications now open until 15 June 2026. Programme launches July 2026.
Founders: Apply here to earn the chance to breakout your beauty brand this year.
Partners: Express your interest and let's talk about partnership for 2026.
If you're serious about scaling your beauty brand, this is your starting point.
🗓 Thursday 28 May 2026 | 12:00–13:00 GMT
🎙 Host: Paul Finch, Growth Studio
👥 Guests: Nicole Scola, SVP at HSBC Innovation Banking & Ciara Byrne, Founder & General Partner at Vestra Partners
Register now. Come with questions