A former journalist and UX Designer who's now running an eCommerce clothing business. I launched The Rainbow Stores in 2021 because I found there was nowhere to buy clothes that allowed LGBTQ+ people to express themselves quietly. To be able to feel part of their community without having to wear a huge pride flag. I'm managing the overall business, designing the clothing and overseeing all the creative aspects of the business. We started relatively small, with a capsule launch collection, but now we have built that up and we're growing. Targeting a niche audience that's inaccessible through social advertising has posed a few challenges. On top of that we launched in a pandemic, followed by a war and a recession. Far from ideal for a clothing startup. Before this I worked for Haymarket Media Group for 24 years, as a journalist and editor on motorsport titles, editor in chief across all digital content and Head of UX at the company's content marketing agency. I worked across a number of global brands from Castrol and British American Tobacco to World Athletics. In the last two years I led the UX on WhatCar! Buying, which moved the brand from pure review magazine to a car buying portal.Those years at Haymarket gave me the tools to create this business. Not just the work tools, but many of the emotional tools too. Like any start up this is going to be a wild ride for a few years.