Elle Sera: Building a Profit-First Wellness Brand

When former journalist Elissa Corrigan launched Elle Sera in December 2020, she didn’t have a business plan, an MBA or years of experience in retail. What she did have was a £50k bounce-back loan, a background in storytelling, and the belief that women deserved something better when it came to their health.

Within three months, Elle Sera’s golden capsules were on the shelves at Selfridges. The press called it “the female Viagra.” And despite launching in the middle of a pandemic, the brand was profitable in just six weeks.

From journalism to wellness

Elissa’s first career was in journalism, working long hours and knocking on doors for stories. “It was tough, but it gave me resilience  and taught me how to get a message across quickly,” she says. Skills that, without her realising, would later be vital in building her own brand.

Her passion for health led her to set up wellness retreats. It was there she noticed something missing: women in their 40s and 50s struggling with perimenopause and menopause symptoms, but rarely being given the right support.

When COVID forced her to close the retreats, one message from a client - “What can I do for low libido?”  set her off on a new path. Researching ingredients, exploring supplements, and slowly building what would become Elle Sera.

Profit first, always

From the very beginning, Elissa built the business differently to most start-ups.

“Whatever’s left at the end of the month is what you run the business with,” she says. “I always take profit out first. Cash flow is the business. If you’re just raising and raising, you’re not building, you’re just spending someone else’s money.”

That mindset meant the business broke even in six weeks, something most consumer brands only dream of.

The numbers

• £50k bounce-back loan to start
• £1,000 in sales on launch night
• Broke even in 6 weeks
• On shelves at Selfridges in 3 months

How Elissa uses Triffin

Elissa is the first to admit she’s not a numbers person. “I’m a storyteller at heart , the last thing I want to do is sit crunching figures all day,” she says. But she also knows that without tight financial control, there is no business

That’s where Triffin comes in.

“Every investor, every buyer, every partner - the first thing they’ll look at is your financials. Triffin gives me that clarity every single day, down to the granular level.”

She describes checking the dashboard like a daily pulse check: “If I see more greens than reds, great. If it’s more reds, I’m on the phone straight away.”

Elissa's founder tips:

• Take profit first, not last.
• Don’t confuse fundraising with growing.
• Use financial data to guide your decisions.
• Keep a little aside for bold, creative ideas.

The “Absurdity fund”

Each month, Elissa puts aside a slice of profit into what she calls her “absurdity fund” - money for creative risks that keep the brand exciting.

That’s how Elle Sera ended up launching a magnesium supplement with its own music video, and why the brand uses refillable copper-and-brass packaging inspired by a BBC article she read during lockdown.

“Profit funds the absurdity. And the absurdity keeps us moving forward,”