News

“I was a massive fan of Laura before we met, and I am an even bigger fan now. I would say the key to this programme is collaboration over competition.”

Mid-April 2025, Wembley Stadium. As the second half of the Women in Football and Xero Small Business Programme kicked off, once again, the entrepreneurs were partnered with Women in Football (WIF) members who have already developed business expertise of their own.

Two of this year’s mentors, Laura Youngson and Kelly Newton, were partnered last year as mentor and mentee – a serendipitous encounter that has seen their relationship flourish since.

If Wembley Stadium is the ‘home of football’, Regent Street is the iconic shopping destination in the heart of London’s West End. On 5 June, Style Of Our Own London (SOOO), a new, immersive pop-up store dedicated to women’s sport, opened its doors for the first time ahead of an exciting summer of women’s sport in the UK.

Founded by Laura, with the support of Mastercard, Westminster City Council and the Crown Estate, SOOO will host an ever-changing rota of carefully selected small businesses, all passionate about creating high-performance and comfortable sports merchandise for women.

Eight-hundred applicants applied to use the prime retail space for five months. It was SOOO that won. The obvious starting question: why?

“I think we just captured the imagination,” says Laura with humility. “The original proposal was to put a football pitch in the centre of London, to create a safe space for women and girls to play. It's one of the reasons that comes up repeatedly for why teenage girls drop out of sports. Then we thought: what would it look like to reimagine a sports store as an experience that makes teenage girls feel really welcome, to try and reverse some of those stats?”

 

 

Since early June, customers have been able to visit a range of innovative and independent sports brands which were only mainly accessible online; test equipment on the shop’s three-a-side football pitch; and attend some of the store’s 200+ events, including talks and workshops. Creating the right environment is a collaborative process with each business able to propose alterations. The initial response has been overwhelmingly positive.

“You see diverse groups coming in," explains Laura. "You get tourists off the street who are like, ‘what is this? This is cool.’ Then you have the group that have seen us on social media. You see them come in and relax; a sense of belonging, that this is a space for them. It's very intentional from our side. Everything is curated to create that welcoming feeling. Whether it’s a grandad and his granddaughter, the LGBTQ community, or two guys getting their new Arsenal shirt, you can come here and find your kind of people.”

What strikes you about both women is how the genesis of their companies is rooted in their own first-hand experiences of playing sport. In 2017, Laura led a group of women to the top of Kilimanjaro to play a record-breaking football match to highlight gender inequalities in sport. During the quest to play the highest-altitude football match ever, Laura discovered they were all wearing boots made for men (or kids), leaving their feet in pain long after the final whistle blew. Researching the topic, she learned that women were putting themselves at risk of injury when they were wearing boots made for men, as women’s feet are shaped differently.

 

Goddesses

Kelly's company NIXI Body, which is part of SOOO, started life in 2019. Sick of little bladder leaks pausing her play on the hockey field, and having dealt with incontinence brought on by childbirth, then early menopause, Kelly tried every pad and knicker on the market and hated the way they looked and felt. She wanted absorbent knickers that would look great under gym leggings and make her look and feel amazing – without worrying about leaks. She designed her first pair of knickers and took the plunge into starting the business.  

Another parallel between the two women lies in the inspiration behind their business names.  

For Kelly and NIXI Body, the name NIXI comes from a group of Greek goddesses who were known to support women across various reproductive health stages – but particularly through childbirth. They were often depicted as squatting – something Kelly and co-founder Coni Longden-Jefferson have occasionally had to do out in the wild when their weak bladders got the better of them! So it seemed the perfect name for their knickers.

The name IDA, in Laura's IDA Sports, is pronounced like the women’s name, which commonly means ‘industrious’ and ‘hard-working’ in various languages. It is also the name of some special women who drove change throughout history. Four of those Idas were celebrated by Laura on International Women’s Day in March.

 

 

So how did the two women first become acquainted? “When Sarah [Collins of Women in Football] called me about my mentor, I said: I hope it's Laura,” says Kelly. “She is somebody that all of us look up to. She is such a supporter of other female founders and to everybody she meets. To be partnered with Laura was the dream.”

“I can't get rid of her now,” laughs Laura about Kelly. “One concept I use is the 'rescuer' checklist. If someone asks you for help, do they want it? Are they willing to do 50 per cent of the work? Are you qualified to help? Can you help?

“When Kelly and I were paired, I went through those things and realised very quickly that she already had an amazing business. She wanted to focus on exports and fundraising, and those are two things that I have experience of. I knew I could help her with that.”

The developing friendship took another positive turn last November as they ‘co-starred’ in a BBC Storyworks content series looking at how Xero and Women in Football are supporting female founders in creating a more inclusive sports industry.

The relationship between the two businesswomen extends beyond commercial discussions. Kelly left school with two qualifications and devoted a large part of her adulthood to being a foster carer, at one time, with six children in her home. It was only at the age of 48 that she had, in her own words, the confidence to start her own business. Naturally, when Laura became a mother, Kelly was the first person she turned to.

“I am in awe of Kelly. Having someone that understood the challenges I was going through was invaluable. It also helps that Kelly is relentlessly positive,” says Laura, laughing.

 

A mentee and a friend

The first half of the Women in Football and Xero Small Business Programme develops participants' enterprise skills, knowledge, and professional networks via seven in-person and online workshop sessions covering topics such as business finance, growing your business, branding and networking. Since SOOO opened, all those skills have been tested, and more.

“I would say the programme helps you find your tribe,” says Laura. “From my side, it not only helped me find a mentee. I found a friend too.”

Kelly is quick to concur with these sentiments. “The programme brought me together with so many other amazing female founders. I was a massive fan of Laura before we met, and I am an even bigger fan now. I would say the key to this programme is collaboration over competition.”

With UEFA Women's EURO 2025 kicking off a summer of women’s sport, and SOOO scheduled to close its doors in mid-October, what would constitute success for the duo?

“I have a detailed set of KPIs [key performance indicators] that I track," says Laura. "I look at revenue, the number of events we host, the number of participants, footfall, AOV [average order value] and conversion rate, to name a few. Already trading for three or four weeks, I understand what kind of gap we are filling. We have proven we can generate sales and generate a PR buzz, and we are selling more than I had expected – which shows me that there's unmet demand for the products we are selling.

“I also want to learn about the consumer. I love being on the shop floor and talking to people. Why have you come in? What brought you here today? What are you looking for? Our whole IDA philosophy is to ask women what they want. Then you listen and you design for them. If you have your listening ears open, I always think you're going to succeed.”

Laura’s response brings a knowing smile from Kelly, setting out her own targets for NIXI Body. “We're a small brand, quite a niche product, and we are talking about taboo subjects. Women can come into the store, see the knickers and they can feel the knickers. We can have conversations with them via our trained staff, so it's a big brand awareness piece.

“We've already had so much PR – just been shortlisted for the Retail Entrepreneur of the Year – and developed bonds with amazing people connected to the other brands. At the end of this, I would love to see retailers coming to all of us saying: ‘we want your stock in our store.’ That is hopefully the end goal. Or we continue and take SOOO worldwide. Then everyone gets to see my knickers and Laura's boots. That would be amazing!”

 

 

Someone following their journey, closely and with pride, is Emilie Watts, Xero's Senior Brand Marketing Manager. Emilie explains how being a small business owner, particularly for women in a male-dominated industry like sports, can often feel incredibly isolating.  

“That's precisely why the Women in Football and Xero Small Business Programme was created," she says. "To empower female entrepreneurs in the sports industry with vital business training and mentorship, while also fostering a strong, supportive community around them.

“It's been incredible to see how close each cohort of women have become and how they've supported each other in taking those next steps to either establish or grow their business. The pop-up store is a brilliant testament to the power of community among small businesses, perfectly illustrating what's possible when you combine essential business skills, invaluable mentorship, and a close network to lean on."

Share this article