Lucie Macleod

Macleod was born in Pembrokeshire, Wales, and speaks Welsh. She studied English literature at the University of Warwick and graduated. In 2019, aged 21, her hair was dry and damaged after years of bleaching and heat styling; after wasting money on products that did not work, she turned to natural ingredients.⁠[1][2][2][3][3][3]

Unable to find an all-natural hair oil within her tight budget, she experimented with blends in her student kitchen until she found a formula that worked. In 2020, during the UK lockdown, she posted a TikTok video showing her hair transformation; it went viral overnight with 600,000 views, and many viewers asked to buy her “magic syrup.” About six months later she decided to turn the kitchen project into a business, scaling up production, launching a website and producing social media content from her parents’ conservatory; at first she sold on EtsyEtsyEtsy (Etsy, Inc.) is a U.S. public company headquartered in Brooklyn, New York, that operates Etsy, an online marketplace centered on handmade goods, vintage items, and creative products. Founded in 2005, it listed on Nasdaq in 2015 and moved its stock listing to the New York Stock Exchange in 2025. The company acquired the music gear marketplace Reverb, the secondhand fashion marketplace Depop, and the Brazilian handmade marketplace Elo7, then sold all three between 2023 and 2026, returning to operating only the core Etsy marketplace.Open the full entry and spent almost nothing.⁠[3][3][3][3][3][3][2][2]

On July 7, 2021, she was appointed a director of the newly formed HAIR SYRUP LTD. Over the following 18 months Hair Syrup moved into several warehouses across North Pembrokeshire, and its products were taken up by retailers including ASOS, LookFantastic, Boots and BeautyBay.⁠[4][4][3][3]

In January 2025 she appeared on series 22 of the BBCBBCThe BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) is the United Kingdom’s public broadcaster. Its predecessor was the British Broadcasting Company, formed in 1922, and since 1927 it has been established under a Royal Charter. It provides television, radio, and online services in the UK, is funded mainly by the television licence fee, and broadcasts worldwide in multiple languages through BBC World Service.Open the full entry investment show Dragons’ Den, seeking £190,000 for a 3% stake and saying that what she most wanted from an investor was mentorship. Touker Suleyman offered the full £190,000 for 3%, on condition that he got all his money back within three months and kept the stake; Deborah Meaden warned her that she would basically be giving the shares away, and Steven BartlettSteven BartlettSteven Bartlett, born in Botswana in August 1992, is a British entrepreneur, investor, author and podcast host. He co-founded Social Chain and thirdweb, hosts The Diary Of A CEO, and founded FlightStory and Steven.com. He is also known for roles on Dragons’ Den and Shark Tank. His health-related interviews and commercial endorsements have attracted public scrutiny.Open the full entry advised her to take a moment before deciding. Suleyman then withdrew the offer, and she left without investment.⁠[5][6][6][6][6][6][7][8]

In the two days after the episode aired, the brand’s TikTok account gained about 20,000 followers; rather than criticise the investors, she said “the Dragons were really lovely” and had taught her many invaluable lessons.⁠[6][6][6]

In April 2025 she said sales had risen 66% since the programme aired and that the company planned to open a third warehouse and double its staff; around the same time she was named Young Businessperson of the Year at the Swansea Bay Business Awards. She said: “Appearing on Dragons’ Den has completely transformed my business trajectory and my life.”⁠[8][8][8]

Hair Syrup took part in the Accelerated Growth Programme, the flagship high-growth support service of the Welsh Government’s Business Wales. She said the programme introduced the company to an HR manager and supported a brand refresh after Dragons’ Den, allowing her to refocus on brand building, innovation and international expansion; she also said she had never paid influencers to promote Hair Syrup.⁠[1][1][1][1][1][1]

In 2025 Hair Syrup was ranked 13th in the Sunday Times 100 index of Britain’s fastest-growing private companies and began expanding into Scandinavia through a deal with the retailer Lyko. In September 2025, at the Sunday Times 100 awards ceremony at the British Museum, she received The Times Young Founder of the Year award, presented by Gymshark founder Ben Francis and Times business editor Jon Yeomans. She said: “When I started Hair Syrup with just £300, I never imagined it would grow into the UK’s fastest-growing beauty brand.”⁠[9][9][9][9][9][9][9]

On September 30, 2025, The Venture RoomThe Venture RoomThe Venture Room is a UK entrepreneurial media brand centered on the YouTube channel @theventureroom. Through long-form interviews with founders and street interviews such as “Asking Millionaires How They Got Rich?”, it presents entrepreneurs’ stories and advice to aspiring business owners, and runs an entrepreneur community and brand partnerships.Open the full entry published a street-interview video filmed in Marylebone, London; she appears at 15:50, describes Hair Syrup as a viral hair care brand selling mainly pre-wash hair oil treatments, and says the company made £5 million the previous year. She said one big secret of her success was not caring what anyone says about her: she started the business from her parents’ house while at university, her parents were dead set against it and thought she would throw away her studies for a “silly little Etsy business,” and people laughed at her a year later when she said she would get the oils into Boots. She also said she had never read a business book.⁠[10][10][10][10][10][10][10][10]

On January 12, 2026, Hair Syrup was ranked 30th in the Startups 100 2026 index of new UK businesses and was nominated for its Marketing Award; at the time the brand had 436,300 TikTok followers, and its products were stocked by major retailers including Boots and Superdrug.⁠[5][5][5][5][5]

“Hire in all of your blind spots, all of your weak spots.” She said she stays out of the parts of the business she is weaker at, because stepping in would let that area down and also hurt the sales, marketing and front-facing work she thrives at. (at 17:04 in the video)⁠[10][10]

“Don’t say, do.” She believes too many ideas stay as talk and end up in the graveyard, and that you need to just get on with it. (at 17:26 in the video)⁠[10][10]

“Hustle in the background, shine in public.” She said she told no one she was running a business, even when she already had tens of thousands of followers, until it reached the level she wanted. (at 17:57 in the video)⁠[10][10][10]

Hair Syrup: Official website: https://hairsyrup.co.uk/ (opens in a new window).⁠[5]