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Sonya Lennon: ‘I stood in a pharmacy and cried because I didn't have €7.99 to pay for a foot exfoliator'

Sonya Lennon: ‘I stood in a pharmacy and cried because I didn't have €7.99 to pay for a foot exfoliator'

'I had three start-ups on the go – I had Dress for Success, FrockAdvisor, and Lennon Courtney, all in start-up mode,' she says. 'And I stood in a pharmacy and cried because I didn't have €7.99 to pay for a foot exfoliator. I couldn't justify spending that money because things were so tight.'
Told with a knowing chuckle on the latest episode of the Money Talks podcast, the memory stands as a salutary tale for the popular business leader, social entrepreneur and fashion icon.
Lennon, who later had to close down FrockAdvisor, also talks about bouncing back from entrepreneurial defeat. 'We had an extreme failure with FrockAdvisor… it hurt like hell, but that's OK,' she tells host Katie Byrne.
' But over time, that emotional response recedes and you're left with the facts. So when you can assess the facts, what happened? What did I learn? What can I do next?
'What opportunities does this unearth that wouldn't have happened otherwise. All of the biggest opportunities that came to me in my life were dressed as challenges and failures.'
Elsewhere on the episode, Lennon talks about the Irish cultural awkwardness that comes with discussing money with friends, the financial inequalities of being in a cohabiting couple, and her love of the simple things in life.
Money Talks is available wherever you get your podcasts, with new episodes landing on Wednesdays.
The content of this podcast is for information purposes and does not constitute investment advice or recommendation of any investment product.
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