Mother+ Meets… Zoe Williams, Founder of Aegle's
Welcome to Mother+ Meets… our interview series spotlighting women who are building brilliant things while also building a family. These are the stories behind the headlines, from late nights and bold pivots, to the quieter, less visible moments that shape everything.
This week, we meet Zoe Williams, founder of Aegle's, the science-led skin health brand helping women support the systems behind breakouts through supplements, education and community. Zoe built the business after years of her own struggle with adult acne in her mid-twenties, having tried creams, prescriptions and endless diet changes before finding a solution through supplements. Ten years on, she realised women were still being offered the exact same limited options, so she set out to build the business she wished had existed.
We spoke to Zoe about rebuilding Aegle's to over £100,000 in monthly revenue while working just one day a week, why she pulled her son Luca out of nursery, and what she thinks the skin health industry still gets wrong about women's hormones.
Tell us a little about what you do and what led you here.
I'm Zoe, founder of Aegle's, a science-led skin health brand helping women support the systems behind breakouts through supplements, education and community.
I actually started the business because of my own experience with adult acne. I'd always had clear skin and then, in my mid-twenties, developed really bad acne out of nowhere. I spent years trying creams, prescription medication and cutting different foods out, but nothing worked. Then I met an acne practitioner who cleared my skin using supplements.
Ten years later I realised women were still being offered exactly the same solutions I'd tried years before, so I decided to build the business I'd wished had existed when I was struggling.
What does a typical day look like for you, if there is such a thing?
No two days are ever the same. Most mornings start with getting my two-year-old son, Luca, ready. Then I'll usually spend the day switching between product development, strategy, marketing, retail conversations and calls.
I'm much more intentional with my time now than I used to be. I don't try to do everything myself anymore. I try to focus on the things only I can do as founder.
Most founders assume growth comes from doing more. You rebuilt Aegle's to over £100,000 in monthly revenue while working just one day a week. How did that constraint completely change how you built the business?
Having one day a week completely changed how I think about business. When you only have a few hours, you can't waste time on things that don't really matter. I became ruthless about asking, "Will this actually move the business forward?"
Instead of trying to be everywhere, I focused on three things: creating a product that genuinely works, getting customers to share their transformations, and building a community that trusted us. Ironically, having less time made me a much better founder. It forced me to focus on impact rather than activity.
How has motherhood shaped how you work or how you define success?
It's changed everything. Before Luca, success probably looked like working longer hours and constantly chasing the next milestone. Now success is building a business that fits around the life I want, rather than the other way around. I love Aegle's, but I love being Luca's mum more. I want him to grow up seeing someone who is ambitious, but also present.
What do you wish people understood about building something from scratch?
I genuinely think building a business is the most fun, challenging and rewarding thing you can do. It's a constant mix of creativity, problem-solving and learning. One day you're developing a product, the next you're negotiating with retailers or reading customer messages that remind you why you started. It's hard, but I wouldn't swap it for anything. Watching an idea become something that changes people's lives is an incredible privilege.
Where do you find your energy, and what drains it?
I get my energy from our customers. Reading messages from women whose confidence has completely changed because of Aegle's never gets old. Those moments remind me why I started the business in the first place.
What drains me is context switching. Going from finance to operations, to marketing, to customer service all in the same day can be exhausting. One of the biggest lessons I've learned is that you don't have to be good at everything. Outsourcing to people who are better than you in their area doesn't just free up your time, it makes the business stronger because you can focus on the things only you can do.
What's one decision that changed everything?
Choosing to keep Luca at home. When he was one, I put him into nursery because I thought that's what I needed to do to grow the business. He absolutely hated it. I remember thinking, "If I'm building this business to create freedom, why does it feel like I'm sacrificing the thing that matters most?" So I took him out.
It meant building Aegle's during naps and evenings and often working just one day a week. It was harder, but it also showed me what's possible when you have an incredible product and let your customers tell the story.
Aegle's is built around the belief that healthy skin starts from within. Adult acne and hormonal skin concerns affect women through so many stages of life, from pregnancy and postpartum to perimenopause. What do you think we're still getting wrong about how we approach women's skin health, and where do you hope the conversation goes next?
I think we're still treating women's biology as though it's generic. Women's hormones change dramatically throughout life, yet so many skin solutions ignore that completely. We're also far too focused on treating what's happening on the surface rather than asking why the skin is behaving that way in the first place.
I'd love to see the conversation shift from "How do I get rid of this spot?" to "What's my body trying to tell me?" Because when we understand the body better, we make better decisions, not just for our skin, but for our overall health.
What does balance mean to you right now?
Balance isn't doing everything equally. It's knowing what's most important in each phase of life. Right now, I'm growing a business while raising a young child, so some days Aegle's needs more from me and some days Luca does. Balance is giving both what they need, without feeling guilty that I can't give both 100% all of the time.
And finally, what's one thing you'd tell other women who are trying to do both: raise a family and a business?
I would tell them that it is possible. If you're really driven and focused, you don't have to choose between being present for your family and building an incredible business. I think there's often this narrative that you have to sacrifice one for the other, but that hasn't been my experience.
I've learned that you don't need to work the longest hours, you need to spend your time on the things that matter most. Building Aegle's while raising Luca forced me to become incredibly intentional with my time, and I actually think it's made me a better founder.
Your journey might look different from everyone else's, and that's okay. Success doesn't have to follow someone else's timeline.
QUICK FIRE ROUND
Current bedside book? Stick Man. It gets read most nights in our house at the moment!
Go-to podcast or playlist when you need a boost? Aspire with Emma Grede. I love hearing from founders across different industries and learning how they've approached growth, leadership and the challenges of building a business.
Favourite place to eat with kids, and without? I feel very lucky to live in Stoke Newington, which is incredibly family-friendly. With Luca, somewhere like The Clarence Tavern is perfect because it's relaxed and welcoming. Without him, I'm still happiest having a long dinner with friends somewhere I can actually finish a conversation!
A mantra, quote or reminder you come back to? I try to find the positive in every situation. Building a business teaches you that things rarely go to plan, but there's almost always something valuable to take from every setback.