Six months in: the highs and the lows of building Elevate

Six months ago, Elevate opened its doors at the Royal Exchange. In some ways, it feels like yesterday; in others, it feels like I’ve been living inside these walls forever. The days have blurred into a cycle of 5 am alarms, endless to-do lists, and a business that is seriously taking off.

When I slow down enough to reflect, what stands out most isn’t a single moment, but the contrast. The highs have been extraordinary. The lows have been humbling. And both have shaped this chapter far more than I expected.

If I pause long enough to look at the milestones, the list still surprises me. We became profitable in our very first month and revenue has surpassed any expectations I had. People who walked in on opening day have now become regulars, stopping by daily, sometimes twice. Elevate has been fortunate to collaborate with brands I deeply admire, from Dyson Beauty to ASOS, Barbour, Bremont, and even the London Stock Exchange. We’ve been featured in Forbes, The Times, The Standard, Sheerluxe, and Marie Claire just to name a few. And our community has grown to nearly 20,000 across Instagram and TikTok. We’re even beginning to map out what a second and third locations in 2026 could look like.

The Top 3 Highs

• Seeing the doors of Elevate open for the first time and welcoming our very first customer. A moment that made everything suddenly feel real

• Going to buy The Times one week after opening and seeing Elevate featured in print

• Sitting down to negotiate a deal for our second location and seeing the long-term vision unfolding

From the outside, all of this might appear as pure momentum, the kind of trajectory you dream about before you start. And yes, there were moments of exhilaration like standing behind the counter when the line stretches out the door, or spotting Elevate in a publication I’ve read for years. But the truth is, these moments are only half of the story.

The Top 3 Lows

• The week before opening, when renovation delays piled up, anxiety peaked, and I genuinely wondered if anyone would show up at all

• Waking up at 3:30 a.m. two weeks in a row in September to prepare 300 smoothies before the store opens, while working on a new menu launch and covering shifts. Physically and mentally exhausting

• The first post-summer down week, when seasonality hit and sales slowed down. I questioned my life choices

These moments were harder to talk about, and harder to live through. My social life has narrowed, switching off feels almost impossible, and even documenting the journey can fall behind when the work itself demands everything. I’ve also noticed how difficult it is to pause and appreciate progress when your instinct is always to look ahead.

Holding both at the same time

What I’m starting to understand, six months in, is that discomfort isn’t a sign that something is wrong. It’s often the clearest signal that something meaningful is happening. Being outside of your comfort zone is the essence of entrepreneurship and the price of building something ambitious.

Growth isn’t neat, and it isn’t balanced in real time. But it is real. And while I don’t have all the answers yet, I’m learning to trust that this process is part of the work.

Six months in, Elevate is growing. I’m growing with it. And that, more than anything, feels like progress.

Thank you for reading, and thank you for being part of this journey so early on.