Blue Wilson played a pivotal role in growing fashion label Nadine Merabi from £30k to £40m.
Now, she’s doing it for herself as the founder of jewellery brand Kouree, which has been worn by celebrities including Lindsay Lohan.
Wilson, who remains co-owner of Nadine Merabi, said: “I spent over a decade building other people’s dreams, and I genuinely loved it.
“I grew a leather jacket brand from £30k to £4m before I was 30, and became a partner at Nadine Merabi at 27, when it was doing only £30k a year.
“By the time I left, it had grown into a £40m global business. Building was always the part I thrived on.
“I also took less than four weeks of maternity leave. I don’t say that proudly or as a badge of honour; it was simply the reality at the time, and it is still the reality many women face.
“I was building someone else’s business while my son was a newborn, managing a team of 90 people and running on empty. I loved what I was doing, but I definitely lost a part of myself in it.”
Wilson spent more than eight years as managing director and chief executive at Nadine Merabi before leaving to launch Manchester-based jewellery brand Kouree in 2025.
“Starting something of your own is a completely different feeling when it is truly yours,” she said. “It’s incredible, but it’s also much more exposing because there is nowhere to hide.
“Yes, you get to build on your own terms, but every slow week hits harder. Self-doubt doesn’t just stay in your head; it shows up in your decisions, your strategy, your pricing, your confidence, and how big you allow yourself to think.
“One thing I have really come to believe is that you become what you surround yourself with.
“This applies not only to people but also to what you choose to consume daily — the books, podcasts and voices you let shape how you think and show up.
“Maya Raichoora, the UK’s leading mental fitness and visualisation expert, has really influenced how I see this.
“She works with exceptional leaders and talks about training your mind the same way athletes train their bodies: how you think under pressure, how you make decisions when things feel uncertain, and how you stay grounded through both the highs and the lows.
“Entrepreneurship brings everything to the surface: fear, self-doubt, and the need for validation from people who aren’t even in the arena.
“If you don’t work on that, your business can start to reflect your limits rather than your potential. The biggest investment you will ever make is in yourself, and it starts with your mind.”
Wilson said she’s doing things differently with Kouree.
“I have redefined what success looks like for me, which is building both a business and a life that I am proud of, and creating something that feels good without sacrificing one for the other,” she explained.
“With Kouree, I want to build a business that leaves the world a better place.
“A little motto I always come back to is: have fun, but get sh*t done. Because I really believe you don’t have to choose between enjoying what you do and being ambitious about where it’s going.
“I’m still learning every day, staying curious, being honest with myself, and doing the inner work. The truth is, your business’s ceiling is usually the ceiling of your own growth.”