Molly shared her Bambi mug in 2023 at such an early stage in naetive. At the time, I didn’t have ready made products available to purchase on the website—because, truthfully, I was making just 15 mugs a week and balancing everything on my own. My little boy was only a year old, and I had little to no help as I wanted to do things myself. My days were carefully divided: playing with him when he was awake and working while he slept so that I could prioritise  our time together.

So when Molly-Mae shared my small business for the first time, I was NOT ready. My phone was hot, pinging non-stop for 24 hours. Within a day, I had gained 25,000 new followers and saw 30,000 email sign-ups flood in. It was overwhelming, exhilarating, and—more than anything—eye-opening. I knew in that moment that I had to scale Naetive fast.

From Side Hustle to Serious Growth

Molly-Mae shared her mug in April 2023 and within two months, I had moved into a 650 sq. ft. unit just across the road from my house. I worked on refining my systems, ensuring that mugs were produced faster, better, and more consistently, so every customer received the same great quality. I finally started asking for help and taking things seriously—this was no longer just a way to make extra money during maternity leave.

By the end of my first year as a sole trader, Naetive had closed on over £170k in sales—something I never could have imagined happening so quickly.

A Promise to Be Ready

I knew that Molly-Mae’s support was an incredibly rare opportunity, and I had no idea if something like that would ever happen again so I made a promise to myself: if we were ever shared again, I wanted Naetive to be in a stronger position—ready to take on demand and make the most of it.

In November 2023, she did it again. Molly-Mae shared Naetive once more, and this time, we were ready. We produced an insane amount of mugs, more than we ever had before, and I finally felt like I had built something sustainable and scalable.

Gratitude & Growth

To this day, I am incredibly grateful for Molly-Mae’s kindness and generosity. She did not have to show the world her mug. Her support not only gave Naetive visibility but also pushed me to build something that could truly grow. It put the pressure on me that I needed and I learnt so much. It’s a testament to how powerful a single act of support can be for a small business.

Thank you, Molly, and thank you to everyone who has been part of this journey. This is just the beginning.