Who's brave enough to start over

If you’ve ever thought candles were just pretty jars of wax that smell nice, let me stop you right there. Because when I sat down with Braid, founder of One of Seven, it became clear that her candles aren’t just candles, they’re a whole mood reset.

“I wanted it to be a bit different,” she told me. “Not just about candles, but about meaning. About energy. About words.”

And honestly? That hit. Because as founders, we’re all craving anchors, those little rituals that stop our brains spinning at a hundred miles an hour. For Braid, that anchor came in the form of scent and spirituality, with each candle linked to one of the seven chakras. Rooted, grounded, heart open, whatever you need, there’s a fragrance designed to bring you back to yourself.

But here’s the thing no one tells you when you fall in love with an idea: the reality is messy. Burnt wicks, dodgy suppliers, blackened windowsills (yes, that was me, I once kept burning a cheap candle until my windows looked like I’d been hosting a chimney sweep convention).

The behind-the-scenes of candles? Way harder than you think. Testing wick sizes, sourcing sustainable wax, triple-checking ingredients so your living room doesn’t smell like a chemistry lab gone rogue. “Test, test, test,” Braid insisted. “It’s detrimental to your brand if you don’t.”

And then there’s the founder trauma we all know too well, the scam. Hers came at Christmas, in the desperate hunt for packaging. No reviews checked, no invoice, just blind hope and a quick transfer. Money gone, lesson learnt. “Don’t pay via link. Always ask for an invoice,” she warned. Honestly? It should be on the national curriculum for small business owners.

We talked about community too, because it always circles back to that. Whether it’s candle-making workshops or our Orlune coffee mornings, people want to feel part of the story. They want to believe they’ve left a fingerprint on your brand.

And that’s why chats like this matter. Because you don’t learn about due diligence, supply chains, or the taxman’s favourite £5,000 fines (yes, hi, that was me) at school. You learn them by sitting across from other founders, swapping stories over lattes and Prosecco, glitter swirling at the bottom of your glass.

Candles and chakras might not be your thing. But the bigger story? Finding meaning in your work, pivoting when it doesn’t go to plan, and remembering that we’re all just winging it together, that’s universal.

Head to our podcast to listen to the full episode: Off The Course