JO TUTCHENER SHARP: I faced the pearly gates and felt regret — Crisis What Crisis with Andy Coulson

Recorded live at BizFest in Essex, this is the story of how a near-death moment became a £16 million business.

Jo Tutchener Sharp had built a successful career – running the beauty division of Purple PR, leading communications at Estée Lauder, then founding her own agency, Beauty Scene, and growing it to a turnover of around £5 million. In 2015, with two young boys at home, she decided to step away. But the stress of the exit took a physical toll, and shortly afterwards she suffered a brain haemorrhage that could bleed again at any moment, with potentially fatal consequences.

Facing what she calls her "pearly gates" moment, Jo was overwhelmed not by fear but by regret – the feeling that, were she to die tomorrow, she would not have made a big enough mark on the world.

So Jo made herself a promise: if she survived, she would dedicate the rest of her life to doing good. Just eleven months after brain surgery, Scamp & Dude was born, a clothing brand with purpose stitched into its heart. Today Scamp & Dude turns over £16 million a year, has donated 4.5 million products to charitable causes, and given more than 95,000 scarves to women starting chemotherapy. For her work Jo was awarded an OBE for services to fashion and charity.

In this business episode, Andy Coulson explores how Jo turned a life-threatening crisis into a moment of opportunity, and what it really takes to build a brand where purpose, family and commercial success pull in the same direction.

I know what it is to have the right legal support around you when facing crisis. Kingsley Napley are the kind of lawyers I wish more people knew about – there to help you make the right decisions, protect what matters, and build real resilience when the pressure is on. This episode is powered by Kingsley Napley. Visit www.kingsleynapley.co.uk for more details.

FOUR LESSONS FROM JO

Take the calculated risk, not the leap of faith. Jo lined up five clients and £25,000 a month in fees before she resigned from Estée Lauder. De-risk the jump before you make it.
Build the business around the life you actually want. Jo walked away from a £5m agency because it cost her time with her kids. Scamp & Dude was designed the opposite way – with her family built into it. Success isn't just the turnover; it's whether the business gives you the life you wanted.
Purpose is the engine that keeps you going when it gets hard. For Jo it's charity; for you it might be something else entirely – but find the reason you're really doing it, because that's what stops you quitting.
Awareness can be worth more than margin. Know which parts of your business are there to make money and which are there to build the brand, and don't confuse the two.

CHAPTERS

07:04 – Why a great job still wasn't enough

08:50 – How to de-risk backing yourself before you jump

10:11 – Walking away from a £5m business to get her life back

10:24 – Stress and the warning she ignored

13:54 – Choosing one last Christmas before brain surgery

15:30 – Waking up alive, and the promise made in a hospital bed

19:42 – Hospital bed to product in eleven months

24:34 – The Super Scarf mission, and 95,000 women starting chemo

26:54 – How to turn your hardest moment into your superpower