Discover how profit-first thinking, bold creativity, and financial clarity helped Elissa, founder of Elle Sera turn a lockdown idea into a business on the shelves at Selfridges in 90 days.
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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.
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.
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.”
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,”
Elissa shows that you don’t need millions in investment to build a successful consumer brand. What you do need is clarity, discipline, and the courage to do things differently.
From a journalist to the founder of a premium wellness brand, Elissa Corrigan has shown that profitable growth is possible, even in one of the most crowded industries.
“I honestly don’t know how I’d run the business without Triffin. It gives me clarity, visibility and peace of mind , so I can get on with what I do best: building the brand.”
Elle Sera shows that you don’t need endless investment to build a successful consumer brand — you need profit-first thinking, financial clarity, and the right tools to back your decisions. With Triffin, founders like Elissa are proving that smart, sustainable growth is possible.
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