This interview is with Rebecca Hunter, Founder & CEO, Jolene.
Rebecca, for Featured readers, could you introduce yourself—what Jolene does and the legal and financial responsibilities you handle as a bootstrapped Founder & CEO in the beauty/e‑commerce space?
I’m Rebecca Hunter, Founder and CEO of Jolene, a UK-based beauty and e-commerce brand specialising in premium reusable nipple covers. I launched the business in 2024 with £2,500 after leaving my role as a Marketing Director to build something of my own.
As a bootstrapped founder, I went from leading marketing teams to doing everything myself, and I genuinely love it. I oversee strategy, creative, performance ads, email flows, packaging, partnerships, and customer experience. I get to zoom out and think big-picture brand and then zoom straight back in to tweak conversion rates or rewrite a product page headline.
Alongside that, I manage the legal and financial responsibilities, including:
- Compliance
- Trademarks
- VAT
- Cash flow
However, marketing is still my favourite part. Being able to delve into the details one minute and think five years ahead the next is exactly why I made the leap.
What key experiences—from global marketing leadership to launching Jolene—most shaped how you now approach contract law, intellectual property, compliance, and founder finance?
Leading global marketing teams before launching Jolene taught me two things: brand is an asset, and risk compounds quietly.
In corporate settings, you see the downstream impact of weak contracts, vague supplier terms, unclear IP ownership, or unsubstantiated claims. It might not show up immediately, but eventually, it becomes expensive. That experience made me far more commercially cautious when I started Jolene.
When you are bootstrapping, you cannot afford legal surprises. So I approach contracts with clarity over speed. I care deeply about trademark protection, brand ownership, and ensuring creative assets are properly assigned. I think long-term, even when the business is still small.
From a compliance perspective, my marketing background also shaped how I think about claims. If you are making statements about performance, materials, or results, they need to be defensible. Trust is part of brand equity.
In terms of founder finance, stepping away from a senior salary changed everything. I became obsessed with cash flow, margin, and runway. Every inventory order, ad campaign, and packaging decision ties back to financial resilience.
Global marketing gave me strategic thinking. Launching Jolene gave me accountability. Combining the two means I now build with both ambition and protection in mind.
Building on that brand foundation, what was the single most valuable early step you took to protect Jolene’s IP—from trademarks to domain strategy—and why?
The single most valuable early step I took was securing and trademarking the brand properly before I spent heavily on marketing.
Before scaling ads or investing in larger production runs, I registered the Jolene trademark and ensured the key domains were secured. It felt expensive and slightly premature at the time, especially as a bootstrapped founder, but it forced me to think long-term from day one.
Brand is the asset in a consumer business. If you are building equity through content, PR, marketplaces, and social media, you need to legally own what you are growing. Protecting the name, locking down domains, and being clear on IP ownership for creative work meant I could invest in growth confidently, knowing I was building on solid foundations.
It is not the most glamorous early spend, but it is one of the most strategic.
Staying with go‑to‑market, how do you structure creator and UGC licensing agreements to keep claims compliant and usage rights clear across paid social, email, and marketplaces?
This is such an important question, especially in beauty and body-adjacent products, where claims can easily drift into non-compliant territory.
From day one, I’ve treated creator and UGC agreements as commercial contracts, not casual collaborations.
First, I separate content ownership from usage rights. Creators retain authorship, but Jolene is granted clearly defined usage rights across:
- Paid social
- Organic social
- Website
- Marketplaces
- Where relevant, PR
I specify duration, territories, and whether we can edit, crop, or repurpose the content. That avoids ambiguity later when scaling ads.
Second, I include a claims and compliance clause. Creators cannot make medical, exaggerated, or unsubstantiated claims about the product. We provide guidance on approved language and positioning so messaging aligns with advertising standards and consumer protection laws. In beauty, even something small can become a compliance risk if left unchecked.
Third, I include disclosure requirements. Proper ad labeling is non-negotiable. Transparency protects both the brand and the creator.
Finally, I build in a moral rights and brand protection clause. If content is used in paid media, we retain the right to remove or stop using it if regulations change or claims need adjusting.
For me, it comes back to this: UGC is powerful because it feels authentic, but it still sits within a regulated commercial framework. Clear contracts protect creativity, compliance, and long-term brand equity at the same time.
Because Jolene donates a portion of profits to breast cancer charities, how do you set up charity agreements and disclosures to stay compliant and transparent while still keeping the message simple for customers?
This is something I have been very intentional about from the beginning, because charitable messaging can quickly become misleading if it is not structured properly.
First, the agreement itself is formal. We document the percentage of profits being donated, how “profit” is defined, when payments are calculated and made, and whether the partnership is ongoing or campaign-specific. As a bootstrapped founder, clarity here protects both sides and avoids ambiguity at year-end when profits are finalized.
Second, we separate internal accounting from external messaging. Internally, we calculate the donation based on clearly defined net profit after allowable costs, aligned with our accountant. Externally, we keep the language simple and accurate. We avoid vague phrases like “a portion of proceeds” and instead state the specific percentage of profits being donated.
Third, we are careful not to imply endorsement unless one formally exists. Donating to a charity does not automatically mean you are officially partnered with or endorsed by them, so the wording matters.
Finally, transparency builds trust. If customers ask how much has been donated, we are open about it. The goal is to make the message clear and heartfelt without overcomplicating it or overstating impact.
For me, charitable giving is part of Jolene’s values. But values still need structure. Done properly, it strengthens credibility rather than creating risk.