Stuck Between Starting and Scaling? A Party Business, a Premature Baby Charity and a Creative Find Their Next Step

Not every founder is at the same stage, and that is what made this episode of The Legacy Bench so useful. Our host Princely was joined by Jane Elizabeth Dillon, a party business owner and nominated filmmaker; Danielle Vassell, a motivational speaker and founder of Little Might; Favour, a creative with a background in tech and data; and business host Tom Scholey. Between them, they covered starting, stalling, scaling and starting again.

Jane Dillon: taking a stag and hen business to the USA

Jane fell into the stag and hen industry as a hostess before starting her own business, Epic Me, offering activities for groups, from pub tours and dance classes for hen parties to entertainment for stags. One of her best-known services, Bar Crawl Bunnies, sees bunny-girl hostesses take stag parties on a pub crawl before dropping them at a nightclub. After a few years of "figuring it out" and a pause during COVID, the business expanded in 2022 when she pitched her services to a bigger agency. At its peak, she said, it was making under £200,000.

But as a one-woman operation up against much bigger competitors, she put it on hold and turned to her film, which has picked up five festival nominations, including two for best actress. Now she wants to take the brand to the USA, starting in New York, where she believes the market is less saturated and people "love the Brits". "I'm going to be a bit of a Richard Branson," she said.

Danielle advised her to study her competitors closely. Tom reminded her that "you cannot do everything on your own", especially when scaling, and that investment could give her the capital to grow. Asked what she would do differently, Jane was clear: stop working in the business, running it and managing it all at once, and put systems and an assistant in place. With a million pounds, she would build a website with a proper booking funnel, then put most of it into advertising, including radio. Was she happy at her peak? "I was satisfied," she said. "Every vision is never as glamorous as it is in reality."

Danielle Vassell: from a 1lb premature baby to motivational speaker

Danielle was born prematurely, weighing 1lb. She founded Little Might, a premature baby organisation that raises awareness and encourages parents in neonatal units, through speaking engagements and children's books that parents can read to their babies on the ward. Her books have even reached a NICU in Canada. She also produced a short documentary, Women of Impact, and hosted a podcast, Tiny Tots to Tiny Tots, with guests from the UK, South Africa and the United States.

Her next goal is a clothing line for premature babies, inspired by her own story: nothing fitted her as a baby. Funding is the main barrier. Favour, who once tried a clothing line himself, told her people "are not just buying the clothes... they're buying the story behind it". Tom encouraged her to try crowdfunding again, since a first attempt during COVID was a tough time for everyone.

Princely asked about the hardest part of being a motivational speaker: inspiring others while your own dream is off to a slow start. Danielle's answer was daily affirmations. Her advice for anyone nervous about public speaking? Believe in yourself, build confidence step by step, and remember "there's always someone that will believe in you." For her, it was a teacher.

Favour: a creative finding his next step

Favour has a background in tech and data and creates under the name Bluezy, exploring animation, art and music. He is also writing his first book, built around creativity, motivation and life lessons. On AI, he was relaxed: "It's just the people who know how to use AI that might have more benefits." Danielle told him to keep writing a page at a time, think about the end goal, and use press and interviews to market the book once it is done.

Network or talent?

Princely closed with a question for everyone: is being around the right people more important than talent? Tom said it is a bit of both, and shared the 70-20-10 learning model: around 10% from watching and reading, 20% from learning from others, and 70% from doing it yourself and making mistakes. Jane, coming from acting, said talent matters, but "you can be the most talented person ever and if you're around the wrong people and the wrong environment, it can stop your growth". Danielle agreed: "people can either stagnate your growth or they can help you thrive."

The common thread from the bench was simple: whatever stage you are at, there is always a next step. Watch the full episode, and tell us which stage you're at right now.