From her kitchen table, Fiona bootstrapped Naydaya into one of the UK’s boldest body care brands, proving that scaling isn’t about funding, it’s about clarity, courage, and the right financial tools.
They covered everything from dodging debt traps to dressing up as a vulva (yes, really) to own the category.
Here’s how Naydaya tripled revenue without raising and four lessons you can apply today.
Lesson 1: The Finance Wake-Up Call Every Founder Needs
Fiona was profitable. Yet she still couldn’t pay her suppliers.
Why? A lack of visibility into working capital. Like many founders, she had revenue coming in but cash was flowing out even faster, drained by daily repayments on quick-access debt from Shopify, PayPal, and Wayflyer.
Everything changed when she joined Triffin. With real-time financial visibility, she shifted from reactive firefighting to proactive control. Not only did this relieve pressure, it unlocked smarter, sustainable growth.
Takeaway
Profit is vanity. Cashflow is sanity. You can’t fix what you can’t see. Get live visibility and stay ahead of the curve.
Lesson 2: You Might Not Need Investment After All
Fiona assumed she’d need to raise capital because everyone else was. But once she had clarity over her numbers, she realised funding wasn’t the solution—visibility was.
With Triffin, Naydaya scaled 3x without raising a penny. Now, she’s in a position to raise only if she wants to not because she has to.
Takeway
Don’t raise just because everyone else is. Clarity beats capital. Get a grip on cashflow and grow from strength.
Lesson 3: From Panic Loans to Financial Freedom
Like many founders, Fiona relied on short-term revenue-based finance to bridge cashflow gaps. But the daily repayments became a nightmare.
“They weaned me off the loans like I was on a drug. But once I had a 13-week cashflow plan and daily live P&L—I could finally breathe.”
With Triffin, she saw financial pressure points before they hitand built a plan before panic set in.
Takeaway
Easy loans are expensive distractions. Know your cashflow and reclaim control.
Lesson 4: Scaling Fast with a Lean Team
No FD. No CFO. No large headcount.
Instead, Naydaya runs on a lean, high-performing team:
- A senior eComm lead owning the P&L
- A head of supply chain keeping operations tight
- Fractional support for performance marketing
- Triffin powering the finance layer
“I assumed I’d need a CFO by now but with Triffin, I’ve got everything I need at my fingertips.”
The team sees the numbers daily, makes real-time decisions, and moves fast. No bottlenecks. No surprises.
🎥 Want to hear the full conversation?
Catch the replay of Founder Stories: Finance Journeys with Fiona Toomey and get the full breakdown of how Naydaya built a profitable brand with no outside funding and no financial guesswork? If you’re ready to get real-time visibility and make better financial decisions for your brand, let’s chat. Get in touch today and see how Triffin can help your brand scale.
