Maria Hatzistefanis on Motherhood, Building Rodial, and Ambition Without Apology.
Photo Courtesy of Maria Hatzistefanis
Maria Hatzistefanis has built the kind of career that can look almost inevitable in hindsight. But behind Rodial, Nip + Fab, the bestselling books and more than 25 years in beauty is a story shaped by rejection, instinct, risk and an extraordinary determination to keep going.
After being fired from a banking job she hated, Maria returned to writing about beauty and spotted an opportunity she could not ignore. When investors turned her down, she put £20,000 of her own savings into Rodial and began building the business from a back room at home. There was no glamorous founder story, no large team and no guarantee that it would work — just an idea, an instinct and a willingness to back herself. That same instinct would go on to shape some of the defining moments of her career, from the launch of Snake Serum to creating Nip + Fab and recognising the power of celebrity and social media long before they became part of the modern beauty playbook.
Motherhood arrived while Rodial was still young, bringing with it another kind of challenge. Maria became a mother three years after starting the business and was determined, from the beginning, that she did not have to choose between loving her children deeply and continuing to pursue her ambition. She built structure around both, learnt to ask for and rely on support, and discovered that having less time could, in some ways, make her a better entrepreneur. Motherhood made her more disciplined, but it also softened her — bringing greater empathy and patience into the way she leads.
There was guilt, too. Maria speaks candidly about wondering whether working so much would affect the relationship she would one day have with her sons, and about looking at mothers who seemed able to be everywhere and questioning whether she was doing enough. Today, with both of her sons grown, she looks back differently. Their relationship is incredibly close, and what she once feared might take something away from them instead gave them another example of what motherhood could look like: a mother who adored her children, but who also worked, created and built something of her own.
In this conversation with Luminary Mothers, Maria reflects on the reality behind building a successful beauty business, the risks that changed the trajectory of her businesses, working with Kylie Jenner before influencer partnerships became the industry norm, and why longevity matters more to her than a fleeting moment of success. She also speaks about becoming an author, building financial independence, trusting your own decisions and why women should never feel embarrassed about wanting money, success or more for themselves.
What emerges is a refreshingly unapologetic perspective on motherhood and ambition. Maria does not pretend that balance is perfect, that support is optional or that building something meaningful comes without sacrifice. Instead, she makes the case for constantly recalibrating — for recognising that different seasons will ask different things of us, while refusing to lose sight of the woman behind the mother.
Her message to the Luminary Mothers community perhaps captures it best: “Don’t make yourself smaller because you became a mother.”
By Alice Codford
ON MOTHERHOOD
Alice Codford: How has becoming a mother changed you, both personally and professionally?
Maria Hatzistefanis: Personally, it made me deprioritise myself. You move from thinking about me to having these two people who suddenly become the priority. Professionally, it made me the ultimate multitasker. I’ve always had a lot of plates spinning, but motherhood taught me how to make decisions quickly, compartmentalise and keep moving. There simply isn’t time to overthink everything.
Rodial was still in its early years when you became a mother. What do you remember most about trying to build a young business while also navigating those early years of motherhood?
Maria Hatzistefanis: I had my first son three years after starting Rodial, and from day one I had a very clear idea: I loved my children enormously, but I didn’t want motherhood to take over my entire life. I wanted my children to fit into a structure and routine that allowed me to continue working.
That might be controversial to say now, but it worked for me. Within the first month, I had created a system. I had a little office where I worked, I spent time with the baby first thing in the morning, the nanny came during the day, I saw him at lunchtime and again at the end of the day. Weekends were sacred.
It wasn’t easy. But I’m an incredibly structured person and I realised very early that if I could create a system around my life, I could be both a present mother and continue building my business. I never believed it had to be one or the other.
“Don’t make yourself smaller because you became a mother.”
What has been one of the hardest seasons of motherhood for you, and what helped you move through it?
Maria Hatzistefanis: Whenever my support system collapsed. When the children were young, if a nanny resigned, I would go into complete panic mode. Suddenly this carefully constructed machine that allowed me to be a mother and run a business stopped working. And finding someone you trust with your children is incredibly difficult.
Until the boys were teenagers, every time a nanny left I had that same feeling: How am I going to make all of this work now? It taught me something we sometimes avoid saying about working motherhood: you cannot do everything alone. You need support. There’s absolutely no shame in that.
What has been one of the greatest joys of motherhood so far?
Maria Hatzistefanis: The relationship I have with my boys today. When they were little, I worried a lot about whether working so much would somehow affect our relationship later. Now they’re at university and we have the best relationship.
I’m always there when they need me, and looking back I realise I didn’t need to feel so guilty. I was giving them a different example of motherhood — a mother who loved them enormously but also had ambition, worked and built something of her own. Seeing our relationship today makes me feel that I did the right thing.
What has motherhood taught you about leadership, ambition and letting go of control?
Maria Hatzistefanis: I’m naturally very direct. I know what I want, I’m good at communicating a vision and I know how to push people towards it. Motherhood gave me the other side of leadership. It taught me that you can be demanding while still being nurturing. You can have very high expectations of someone and also coach them, mentor them and help them become better. That has become one of the most satisfying parts of leadership for me. I don’t just want people to execute my vision. I want to see them grow.
Looking back on those early years, is there anything you worried about as a working mother that you wish you could tell your younger self not to worry about?
Maria Hatzistefanis: The guilt. At school, I often felt like I was the only working mother in my group. I would look at mothers who were able to be there all the time and wonder whether my boys and I would have the same relationship when they grew up. I wish I could go back and tell myself: stop worrying. My relationship with my sons today is incredibly close. Working didn’t make them love me less. It didn’t make us less connected. I spent years worrying about something that, in the end, simply didn’t happen.
ON BUILDING RODIAL & NIP + FAB
Can you take us back to the beginning of Rodial? What gave you the idea to create the brand?
Maria Hatzistefanis: I got fired from a job in banking that I hated, which turned out to be one of the best things that ever
happened to me. I went back to something I had done while I was at university - freelance writing - and started writing a lot about beauty. Through that, I saw a gap in the market. Ironically, sitting here in 2026, I’m not sure there are many gaps left in beauty! But back then there absolutely were. I wanted to create targeted treatments for specific skin concerns, but with unusual ingredients and names that made people stop and pay attention. That eventually became things like Dragon’s Blood, Snake Serum and Bee Venom. I tried to raise investment. Nobody wanted to invest. So I started Rodial from a back room at home with £20,000 of my own savings.
“Confidence usually comes after you start, not before.”
Was there a moment when you realised Rodial had the potential to become something truly significant?
Maria Hatzistefanis: Snake Serum. Naming it that was a huge risk. It could have been ridiculous, or it could have been brilliant. But I knew people would talk about it. The product went viral, opened new international markets for us and suddenly our revenues multiplied. That was the first time I thought, Okay. We really have something here. It taught me something I’ve carried with me ever since: safe decisions rarely create extraordinary results.
Photo Courtesy of Maria Hatzistefanis
What did those first few years of Rodial really look like behind the scenes?
Maria Hatzistefanis: Lonely. I was a one-woman show working from a back room at home. I had a part-time accountant and used my local Starbucks as my meeting room. There were no beautiful offices, no big team and no co-working spaces full of founders. It was me, my laptop and an idea I was trying to convince people to believe in. People see entrepreneurship now as quite glamorous. Mine certainly wasn’t.
What was the biggest misconception you had about entrepreneurship?
Maria Hatzistefanis: That you need to have everything figured out before you start. You don’t. I figured things out as I went along. I made mistakes, corrected them and kept moving. I still do that today. Sometimes waiting until you’re completely ready is just another form of procrastination.
What kept you going when walking away might have been the easier option?
Maria Hatzistefanis: I’ve had this need to prove myself since I was very young. There were plenty of people who didn’t believe I would succeed and, if I’m completely truthful, proving them wrong was incredibly motivating. Maybe that’s not the textbook answer. But sometimes a little bit of a chip on your shoulder is useful. I had an enormous belief that I could make it work. Every time I was rejected, I wanted it more.
“I’ve always believed you can have it all. Just not all at the same time.”
How did motherhood strengthen the way you were building Rodial?
Maria Hatzistefanis: Motherhood made me much more disciplined with my time. Before children, you can convince yourself that everything is urgent and work endlessly. Once I became a mother, I had fixed boundaries in my day. I had to make decisions faster, delegate and focus on what was actually going to move the business forward. In some ways, having less time made me a better entrepreneur.
What made you feel there was space for Nip + Fab?
Maria Hatzistefanis: It actually started with Boots. They approached me because they were interested in Rodial, but Rodial wasn’t right for that level of mass distribution. During those conversations they talked about a gap they saw in the market, and I basically said, I’ll create a brand for you.
I was inspired by what was happening in fashion, designers like Karl Lagerfeld, Lanvin and Balmain collaborating with H&M and bringing designer fashion to a much broader audience. I thought: Why can’t I do that with skincare? So I took some of the innovation and luxury DNA behind Rodial and translated it into something younger, more accessible and suitable for wider distribution. That became Nip + Fab.
Photo Courtesy of Maria Hatzistefanis
Were you concerned Nip + Fab might compete with Rodial?
Maria Hatzistefanis: Nip + Fab was an experiment. I didn’t know exactly what it would become. Very quickly, though, it developed its own customer, voice and identity. Today the two businesses are completely different. Nip + Fab has its own team running it and I’m involved much more at investor and strategic level. Rodial remains much more closely connected to me personally and creatively.
Where does your instinct for marketing, celebrity, social media and visibility come from?
Maria Hatzistefanis: Curiosity. My first job was as a beauty writer for Seventeen magazine, so I think I’ve always had an instinct for PR, marketing and what makes people pay attention. But I also work at staying relevant. I read constantly, take seminars, study what’s happening culturally and on social media and I’m always asking, what’s next?
Sometimes I’ll walk into the office with a new social media idea and say to my team, “At my age, you guys should be telling me this!” I never want to be the founder sitting in an office talking about what worked ten years ago. We worked with Kylie Jenner and the Kardashians very early, before celebrity and influencer partnerships became the beauty-industry playbook. I was paying attention.
Did you know you were doing something disruptive, or were you simply following your instinct?
Maria Hatzistefanis: Pure instinct. That’s how I’ve made many of the biggest decisions of my career. You don’t always have data for something that hasn’t been done yet. If you wait until everybody agrees something is a good idea, you’re probably already too late.
What did working with Kylie Jenner teach you about recognising an opportunity?
Maria Hatzistefanis: Timing is everything. Working with Kylie was a risk, but it was also a very particular cultural moment. We moved quickly and it became incredibly powerful for the brand. I actually think celebrity and influencer partnerships are harder today.
Consumers see someone promoting one beauty brand on Monday and another on Friday. The message becomes diluted, credibility becomes harder to establish and the costs have become enormous. The lesson wasn’t hire a celebrity. The lesson was recognise the cultural moment before everyone else does and be brave enough to act on it.
What have you learned about making decisions from instinct?
Maria Hatzistefanis: My instinct is usually right. The mistakes I’ve made have often happened when I’ve ignored it because someone else had a stronger opinion, more data or supposedly knew better. Of course I listen to people. I look at the numbers. But ultimately, if it’s my business, I have to be prepared to make the call. And live with it.
Is there a decision that looked risky but changed the trajectory of the business?
Maria Hatzistefanis: There wasn’t one decision. There was a pattern of them. Calling a product Snake Serum was a risk. Launching a completely separate mass-market brand while already running Rodial was a risk. Working with Kylie Jenner before that kind of partnership became standard beauty marketing was a risk. Any one of those decisions could have failed. One of the biggest dangers as a business grows is becoming so protective of what you’ve built that you stop taking the risks that created it in the first place.
ON BECOMING AN AUTHOR
What inspired you to share your experiences through your first book, How to Be an Overnight Success?
Maria Hatzistefanis: I had started doing more keynotes and speaking engagements and realised how much I loved
motivating people, particularly younger women. At the same time, I was sharing more of my journey on Instagram and the DMs became overwhelming. It was always the same questions: I want to start a business. How did you do it? Did you have funding? Where do I start?
I thought, instead of answering these questions one person at a time, why don’t I put everything into a book? I wanted to tell the truth about how I built Rodial — including the rejection, mistakes and years when nobody knew who we were — and hopefully inspire people on a much bigger scale.
“Safe decisions rarely create extraordinary results.”
Did you realise your story could help women beyond the beauty industry?
Maria Hatzistefanis: Absolutely. Because my story isn’t really about beauty. It’s about starting with very little, finding an idea, getting rejected, figuring things out as you go and continuing when it would be much easier to stop.
The product changes. The psychology of building something doesn’t.
Image courtesy of Rodial
Did becoming a writer unlock a different part of your identity?
Maria Hatzistefanis: When you’re building a business, you’re constantly moving forward. You don’t sit there thinking about what you’ve learned because you’re already dealing with the next problem. Writing forced me to stop and connect the dots. I began to recognise that so many things I thought were failures at the time were actually pivotal moments in my career.
Being fired. Not getting investment. Products that didn’t work. Being told no. And I discovered that sharing the failures was often much more powerful than sharing the successes.
Why was How to Make Your First Million the right conversation to have now?
Maria Hatzistefanis: I think women need to talk about money much more openly. For generations we’ve been encouraged to talk about careers, relationships, motherhood, wellness — everything except actually making money and building wealth.
Financial independence gives women choices. That’s what matters to me. It gives you the choice to leave a job you hate. To start something. To invest. To support your family. To walk away from a situation that isn’t right for you. Especially for mothers, I think it’s dangerous to completely outsource your financial future to somebody else.
And I don’t think women should feel embarrassed about wanting to make money. Ambition and motherhood are not mutually exclusive, and neither are femininity and financial power.
How do you distinguish between perseverance and knowing when to walk away?
Maria Hatzistefanis: This is one of the hardest things in business because perseverance is celebrated so much that
sometimes we confuse it with refusing to accept reality. For me, I ask: Is there still evidence that this can work? Something being difficult isn’t a reason to quit. Rejection isn’t a reason to quit. Having a terrible month isn’t a reason to quit.
But if you’ve tried different approaches, listened to the market, looked honestly at the numbers and nothing is changing, perseverance can become ego. I’ve walked away from products, ideas, people and strategies. I haven’t walked away from the bigger vision.
“My ambition hasn’t become smaller. It’s become more focused.”
For a mother with an idea but not enough time, money or confidence, where should she start?
Maria Hatzistefanis: Start with one hour. You don’t need to resign from your job tomorrow, raise a million pounds or have a perfect business plan. Take one hour a day and start building. Research your idea. Build your profile. Start creating an audience. Learn the industry. Speak to potential customers. Put yourself out there. And don’t wait for confidence. Confidence usually comes after you start, not before.
One hour a day doesn’t sound revolutionary. But one hour a day for a year is 365 hours invested in changing your life.
ON AMBITION, IDENTITY & LEADERSHIP
How has your relationship with ambition evolved?
Maria Hatzistefanis: I’m still incredibly ambitious. That hasn’t changed. What has changed is that I no longer feel I have to chase everything. When you’re younger, ambition can feel like constantly needing the next thing — the next milestone, number, validation. Today I’m much more selective. My ambition hasn’t become smaller. It’s become more focused.
What do women need to unlearn to become more confident decision-makers?
Maria Hatzistefanis: The need to be liked. You can be kind, respectful and empathetic, but if you’re making important decisions, not everybody is going to agree with you. Women are often conditioned to explain themselves too much. We apologise before giving an opinion. We soften decisions. We look around the room for reassurance. At some point you have to trust yourself enough to say, This is my decision. Let’s go. Indecision is a decision too.
What boundaries have you had to set with yourself?
Maria Hatzistefanis: Not everything deserves my attention. I’m naturally curious and I have a lot of ideas, so my biggest boundary is stopping myself from saying yes to everything that looks interesting. I’ve also had to learn that being busy isn’t necessarily the same as being productive.
What does confidence look like to you now?
Maria Hatzistefanis: Confidence looks different on different people. For me, it’s knowing what I want to get done, doing it my way and moving at my own pace. We live in an era of very visible entrepreneurship. There’s the in-your-face entrepreneur. The aggressive entrepreneur. The entrepreneur showing you the private jet, the perfect morning routine
and how they’re supposedly winning at absolutely everything. One of the biggest mistakes we make is comparing ourselves to a personality that doesn’t actually speak to us.
You don’t have to become louder to become more successful. Understand your personality. Own it. And build success in a way that feels like you.
How important has building your personal brand been?
Maria Hatzistefanis: Super important. Today it’s one of the most powerful tools available to any entrepreneur because it costs virtually nothing. Social media has democratised personal branding. You don’t need a publicist or somebody’s permission to start building an audience. You have a phone. Your personal brand is an asset. Build it before you think you need it.
Image courtesy of Rodial
Do founders need to be visible?
Maria Hatzistefanis: Founders have always needed visibility. What’s changed is how accessible it has become. When I started Rodial, you relied much more heavily on traditional PR. You needed editors, magazines and journalists to tell your story. Now you can tell it yourself. Not everybody needs to become an influencer, but people connect with people. A founder gives a business a face, a point of view and a story.
How do you define success today?
Maria Hatzistefanis: Earlier in my career, success was very measurable. Revenue. Growth. Distribution. Recognition. Those things still matter to me — I’m a businesswoman and I’m not going to pretend they don’t. But today success is also freedom. Having control over my time. Being able to choose what I work on, who I work with and where I spend my energy.
What does “having it all” look like to you now?
Maria Hatzistefanis: I’ve always believed you can have it all. Just not all at the same time. There are seasons when the business needs more of you. There are seasons when your children need more of you. There are moments when your relationship, your health or simply yourself needs to come first. I don’t believe in perfect balance. I believe in constantly recalibrating.
What are you most proud of that perhaps isn’t obvious from the outside?
Maria Hatzistefanis: That I still own what I built. I started with £20,000 of my own savings, without outside investment. More than 25 years later, the business generated £35 million in revenue last year, it’s profitable, and I still own it. People tend to celebrate the launch, viral product, big partnership or glamorous moment. But building something independently, keeping ownership and making it profitable year after year is much less visible.
That’s what I’m proud of: the longevity. Starting something is exciting. Staying in the game, and staying profitable, is much harder.
ON STYLE & SELF-CARE
What does beauty mean to you today?
Maria Hatzistefanis: I’m much more confident in my own skin now. When I was younger, beauty was perhaps more about transformation. Today it’s about enhancement. I don’t want to cover myself up or look like somebody else. I want great skin, a little make-up and to look like the best version of myself. You reach a point where you know what suits you — and, importantly, what doesn’t — and you stop chasing every trend.
Are there any products that feel particularly personal to you?
Maria Hatzistefanis: Banana Lowlighter. People see it as one of our overnight successes, but that overnight success took eight years. I launched it, changed it, relaunched it, changed it again. There were eight different iterations before we finally got it right. Sometimes the idea isn’t wrong — the execution just isn’t right yet.
What is your all-time favourite Rodial product?
Maria Hatzistefanis: Dragon’s Blood Sculpting Gel. Always. It’s one of our number-one bestsellers and it’s the ultimate SOS product: hydrating, plumping, lifting. It’s basically everything I want from skincare in one bottle.
Who or what inspires your personal style?
Maria Hatzistefanis: I think personal style starts with knowing your body rather than blindly following fashion. I know what works for me. I like minimal shapes, clean lines and a slightly masculine, athletic edge. I’m also a ruthless editor. Every eight weeks or so I go through my wardrobe and sell or donate things I’m no longer wearing. If I haven’t worn something for a year, I’d rather it went to someone who will enjoy it. The goal is a relatively tight capsule wardrobe that still feels current. Fewer things, but the right things.
What is on your shopping list for autumn?
Maria Hatzistefanis: I’m looking for pieces that update what I already own rather than an entirely new wardrobe. A great oversized coat, beautiful knitwear, strong trousers, loafers and perhaps one really good jacket. I’m also enjoying bringing more simple T-shirts into my wardrobe and dressing them up with jewellery. I always come back to Totême, Khaite and The Row, but I love discovering smaller independent designers too.
For me, autumn is about great texture and proportion rather than lots of colour: beautiful cashmere, suede, leather and tailoring in black, navy, cream, brown and burgundy.
What is your go-to everyday handbag?
Maria Hatzistefanis: I go between The Row Margaux and an old black Birkin with silver hardware. The Birkin is quite battered, which is exactly why I like it. I hadn’t been particularly interested in Hermès for years, and suddenly I’ve come back to this old bag. I actually prefer it when something that luxurious doesn’t look too precious.
Which skincare, make-up or wellness products do you recommend to friends?
Maria Hatzistefanis: I’m obviously biased when it comes to skincare! Dragon’s Blood Sculpting Gel is the product I
recommend constantly, Salmon DNA is the new classic and Banana Lowlighter is still one of those products people try and immediately understand why it became such a success. More generally, I’m a believer in finding a small number of products that genuinely work rather than having a bathroom full of things you never use. My approach to beauty is becoming quite similar to my wardrobe: edit, edit, edit.
What are the non-negotiables that keep you grounded and protect you from burnout?
Maria Hatzistefanis: Exercise is a huge one for me. I go to my local Barry’s a few times a week. It clears my head as much
as it works my body. Weekends in the Cotswolds are also incredibly important. I love long walks in the countryside with my
dog and having that physical separation from London and the office. We’ve also just finished building our home in Mykonos. It’s incredibly serene and minimal, and we’ve spent the last couple of summers there. I’m actually looking forward to enjoying it more off-season, when the island is quieter and you can really switch off. And my one indulgence is a weekly massage at home. I don’t have an elaborate wellness routine. For me it’s movement, fresh air, escaping to the country or Mykonos, and occasionally switching my phone off.
ON LOOKING AHEAD
After more than 25 years of building businesses, what still excites you about entrepreneurship?
Maria Hatzistefanis: Success is never final. You’re only as good as your last launch. That’s what keeps me excited. I’m constantly learning new ways of building brands, finding new audiences for Rodial and thinking about how we create culturally exciting moments that keep the brand relevant. After 25 years, I don’t want to repeat what worked before. I want to know what’s working next.
Is there anything you still want to build, write or achieve that might surprise people?
Maria Hatzistefanis: I’ve recently become an investor through Dragons’ Den Greece, where I’m originally from, and it’s
opened up a completely new chapter for me. I’m now investing in businesses and mentoring young entrepreneurs, and I’m finding it incredibly exciting. I’ve spent more than 25 years building my own companies, making every possible mistake along the way, so being able to use that experience to identify potential in somebody else, and hopefully accelerate their journey, feels like a natural next step. I definitely see investing becoming a bigger part of what I do.
What kind of example do you hope your sons see in the way you have lived, worked and pursued your ambitions?
Maria Hatzistefanis: It sounds simple, but I want them to follow their own passions and not be afraid to take risks. I don’t need them to follow my path or become entrepreneurs. I want them to create their own path. I hope watching me over the years has shown them that taking a risk doesn’t guarantee success, but being too afraid to take one can guarantee that you never find out what you’re capable of.
What legacy do you hope to create through Rodial, Nip + Fab, your books and the family you have built alongside them?
Maria Hatzistefanis: Longevity. Beauty is an incredibly competitive industry. I’ve watched hundreds of brands launch with enormous excitement, investment and publicity, only to disappear a few years later. Rodial has been here for more than 25 years. To me, that’s a much more interesting definition of success than having one extraordinary year. I want what we’ve built to demonstrate that entrepreneurship doesn’t have to be about a quick launch, a huge valuation and an exit. You can build independently, remain profitable, evolve with your customer and enjoy the success of your business over decades. And through my books, I hope I can pass some of those lessons on. Not just how to start something, but how to stay in the game.
And finally, what message would you love to leave with the Luminary Mothers community?
Maria Hatzistefanis: Don’t make yourself smaller because you became a mother. You are allowed to adore your children and still want more for yourself. You are allowed to want the business, the career, the money, the independence, the adventure, whatever ambition looks like for you.
And please stop waiting for the perfect moment. It doesn’t exist.
You don’t need to have everything figured out. You don’t need everyone to approve. And you certainly don’t need to build your life according to somebody else’s definition of what a good mother should look like. Start where you are. Use what you have. Ask for help when you need it. And don’t feel guilty for being ambitious. Your children don’t need to watch you give up on yourself in order to know that you love them.
Follow Maria on Instagram here. Discover Rodial here.