She loves red lips - but has never gotten ones with natural cosmetics. So Swantje van Uehm founded her own cosmetics label NUI cosmetics - exclusively vegan and natural. With Judith Williams as an investor, she's now really getting started - and here she talks about the "perfect match", 70-hour weeks, the best make-up tip and her great motivation for becoming self-employed. Swantje van Uehm in an interview.

I was sitting on the couch with my boyfriend one evening and watching the show. Then he suddenly asked me: “Why aren’t you standing there?” A few days later I simply wrote a few lines to the production company and was promptly invited to a casting in Dresden. There you pitch the same way you would later do it on the show. After that everything went quickly and I quickly got the confirmation that they wanted me.

Everything was very strictly regulated, which I thought was good. For example, I wasn't allowed to touch the goodie bags that I had brought with me, I wasn't allowed to step over a certain step, and when the deal with Judith was perfect, she just raised her hand. Of course we weren't allowed to hit it, which was a bit of a shame.

Yes, my pitch and the subsequent conversation with the lions was so long! Of course it will be shortened and edited together for television. My turn was late in the afternoon, one of the last people there that day. My concentration was a bit gone, but of course you're full of adrenaline when you're standing in the cave. After the pitch, the lions have time to ask us founders questions. I talked to Judith for so long that the others were getting impatient. Georg Kofler even asked to end the conversation, otherwise he would like to go for a coffee. (laughs) After a short time, Judith and I realized that we were a good fit and I think the others did too.

I was open to anything, but of course Judith is the perfect match!

Yes, exactly. I think you could tell that I was really keen on the deal. Even if we were already profitable and growing steadily beforehand. I kept 100 percent myself, which is why it wasn't a problem for me to give up 40 percent. You don't actually want to go above 25 percent, but in the end it depends on how you draft contracts and whether you bring a partner with expertise on board. I'm looking forward to working together and everything that comes next.

Judith's team examined my company in a so-called "due diligence audit" (see info box) examined. When we decided to work together, I presented my marketing strategy to Judith and her team at headquarters. At the same time, our lawyers negotiated the contracts for around six months.

I can't help it. (laughs) When I told my mother that I wanted to start my own business, she said: “I already knew that when you were a baby!”. What I really like: As a founder, you can decide everything freely. You do what you fully support and don't accept any compromises. You have to breathe and live your idea through every pore. Then 70 hours isn't as bad as it sounds. (laughs)

Of course, everyone has times when they're just tired. But that's part of it. If you don't understand this, you should stay away from entrepreneurship.

I say that starting a business is damn hard. But at the same time it's great because you can make a difference to something that's important to you.

Yes, I started with Savue. This is a multi-channel company, meaning it sells through multiple channels. With Savue we supply customers and retailers with international niche natural cosmetics.

After a year of independence, we launched NUI as our own brand. But that was planned from the start because I originally came from product management and of course it made sense. In addition, for years I couldn't find what I was looking for: I wanted vegan, natural cosmetics and found: pale colors, crumbly creams, musty scents - hand on heart: many sustainable products were well-intentioned, but not exactly sexy. A bright red lipstick without carmine? Impossible. Sustainable and stylish – that didn’t seem to work. Beauty boutique OR organic health food store. Nothing in between for a long time. So it would be a few more years before I would switch to a vegan yet bright red lipstick. Because: I first had to develop it myself. NUI was born.

That was crazy! There was a real rush; we immediately had an incredible number of inquiries. At Douglas we were the first niche brand in the natural cosmetics sector. I am very pleased that conventional retailers have also become more open to natural cosmetics over the years. That wasn't the case five years ago.

Good skincare is the be-all and end-all! The skin must be well cared for in order for the make-up to be effective. I would invest in a quality cleanser, a toner and good moisturizing serums. If you use toner and serum, you can almost save yourself the cream, I would say. When it comes to make-up, I would make sure that it also includes care. For example, our foundation contains aloe vera, which makes the skin incredibly radiant and visually refines the complexion. I also swear by facial massages. For example, you can stroke upwards from your eyebrows or start at the bridge of your nose and then stroke outwards.

Not at all! We are well positioned and our quality has to be achieved first. I'm not afraid of competition. I always say: May the better man win!

"Starting a business is damn hard. But at the same time it's great because you can make a difference to something that's important to you."