Most Replayed Moment: A Guilt-Free Way to Handle Work and Life

In the early days of Deciem, the parent company of The Ordinary, co-founder Nicola Kilner and her team would say yes to orders they weren't sure they could fulfill and figure it out afterward. When an order came in from Boots, Kilner, her co-founder Brandon Truaxe, and whoever else was in the office would head to the factory and pull all-nighters making products by hand, using a hand-crimping machine that would cause about one in ten bottles to explode if squeezed too hard. "OK, they can pass," they'd tell themselves. This willingness to wear any hat — to get on the production line, to pack boxes, to do whatever was needed — is what Kilner identifies as the single most important skill in an early-stage startup. But the conversation goes deeper than hustle: it explores the psychology of building a "family" culture, the difference between being nice and being kind as a leader, and why work-life balance is a personal question rather than a universal standard.

The "Focus Is Overrated" Philosophy