647: I Started a Jewelry Brand With $25K and the WRONG Business Model | Noura Sakkijha

Noura Sakkijha is a third generation jeweler who realized the entire fine jewelry industry was fundamentally broken—built on the outdated idea that men buy diamonds for women, not that women buy the diamonds themselves. In 2013, she launched Mejuri with a radical mission: create fine jewelry for women to buy for themselves. What started as a crowdsourcing platform quickly pivoted after just one year when sales didn't materialize. Over 11 years, Mejuri has sold 6.5 million pieces of jewelry and is now expanding globally. In this interview, the founder and CEO of Mejuri breaks down why she completely pivoted the business model after realizing there was no product-market fit, the brutal 2021 lesson about hiring ahead of growth that forced her to revise her entire approach to team building, and why she now refuses to hire until the team feels real pain. What you'll learn in this interview: • Why Noura pivoted from a crowdsourcing platform to direct-to-consumer after one year • How she started Mejuri with a $25,000 CAD grant while working full time • The moment she realized building a brand requires a specific POV and staying consistent • Why she prioritizes culture fit over skills when hiring every single time • The 2021 market crash lesson: why hiring ahead of growth is dangerous advice • How she rebuilt her hiring philosophy around waiting until the team feels pain • Why a bad culture hire creates noise that kills momentum and collaboration • Her mission to build one of the most loved jewelry brands in the world • How Mejuri is expanding internationally into Australia and the Middle East • Why she obsesses about brand distinctiveness more than ever in changing markets • Her biggest regret: returning to work three months postpartum instead of taking more time • Why 50% of the work is just showing up every single day and doing your best If you're building a DTC brand, navigating team growth decisions, or trying to challenge an industry that's been doing things the same way for generations, this conversation will fundamentally change how you think about brand building, hiring strategy, and sustainable scaling. SAVE 50% ON OMNISEND FOR 3 MONTHS Get 50% off your first 3 months of email and SMS marketing with Omnisend with the code FOUNDR50. Just head to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://your.omnisend.com/foundr⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to get started. WANT TO GROW YOUR BRAND WITH META ADS? Join the Foundr Operators Waitlist → ⁠https://foundr.com/operators⁠ HOW WE CAN HELP YOU SCALE YOUR BUSINESS FASTER Learn directly from 7, 8 & 9-figure founders inside Foundr+ Start your $1 trial → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.foundr.com/startdollartrial⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ PREFER A CUSTOM ROADMAP AND 1-ON-1 COACHING? → Starting from scratch? Apply here → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-start-application⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ → Already have a store? Apply here → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-growth-application⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ CONNECT WITH NATHAN CHAN Instagram → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/nathanchan⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ LinkedIn → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanhchan/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ CONNECT WITH NOURA SAKKIJHA Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/nourasakkijha/ LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/noura-sakkijha-8b229741/ Website → https://mejuri.com/ FOLLOW FOUNDR FOR MORE BUSINESS GROWTH STRATEGIES YouTube → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bit.ly/2uyvzdt⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Website → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.foundr.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/foundr/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Facebook → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/foundr⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Twitter → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.twitter.com/foundr⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ LinkedIn → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/foundr/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Podcast → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.foundr.com/podcast⁠