Sophie Cornish

Read the transcript from our live chat

Our newly appointed business ambassadorStylist's newly appointed business columnist, co-founder and managing director of cult fashion and gift website, notonthehighstreet.com recently joined us for a Lunchtime Masterclass. If you missed the live chat you can catch up on the transcript here.

Together with her business parter Holly Tucker, Sophie has grown notonthehighstreet.com from £100,000 to £15 million in four years. The site provides a retail platform for over 1800 small creative and entrepreneurial businesses, and checkout sales have grown on average 130% every year since its launch in 2006.

Previously both a journalist and marketer, Sophie started her career as a beauty editor on women’s magazines, then in brand development and advertising. She has always embraced an entrepreneurial approach, having set up her own small event styling business as well as working on a number of internet start-ups.

She has won a number of awards and is regularly invited to speak at business events, giving advice on topics such as balancing the marketing mix, growing a successful e-commerce business and predicting future trends.

Earlier this year, Sophie was named as Stylist's official new business ambassador, and will begin writing weekly business columns for us from August. She will also appear at Stylist Network events.

"Becoming a great businesswoman is a very personal thing,” Sophie said. “It’s about what’s in your gut. Building a business has been a pretty terrifying ride at times, and I’m looking forward to sharing some of the knowledge that got it safely off the ground.”

Sophie answered questions from how to find investment, to her motivations and talked about her relationship with her business partner Holly - they joke that they are each other's "husbands". Read the full transcript here below.

Tags: lunchtime masterclass, business advice, career advice, web chat