Joanna Jensen: Don’t avoid the nitty gritty
The entrepreneur and angel investor explains a common issue she encounters with start-up founders
In this instalment of our weekly video series, My Business Leader Secret, we talk to Joanna Jensen, the founder of Childs Farm.
The former investment banker was inspired to start the skincare brand in 2010 by the experience of her daughters. They both developed issues with sensitive skin as babies.
Jensen was 40 when she started Childs Farm, her first company. She sold her majority share of the business in 2022 for over £36m, when it was bought by PZ Cussons.
Jensen is now an angel investor and advises start-ups, working closely with groups like Buy Women Built, which champions female founders. Too often she finds that founders seeking advice are reluctant to have their head in the “nitty gritty” of the business, she says.
“When I talk about the nitty gritty, what I’m talking about is understanding how each element of your business works,” explains Jensen. “Too often as an angel investor, I get founders coming to me and saying, ‘Oh, I don’t understand the numbers, someone else does it for me’.
“Learn, go out and do a course,” is Jensen’s advice.
Eventually, you will grow and have experts handling roles like finance, marketing and distribution, says Jensen.
“But always know that you have a position that allows you to question what they’re doing. Don’t lead blindly and accept that everything that everyone says to you is gospel truth – because sometimes it isn’t.”
