Sep 25, 2026 · 32 min
DECIEM’s co-CEO explains why balance must change with life
Most Replayed Moment: A Guilt-Free Way to Handle Work and Life
Nicola Kilner’s account of building DECIEM examines how founders can sustain intense ambition while adapting leadership, culture, and work to changing circumstances.
- 1Early corporate experience can teach collaboration, relationships, and organizational fluency that founders may not gain elsewhere.
- 2DECIEM’s family-like culture depended on belonging and kindness, but required clear boundaries to avoid unhealthy startup expectations.
- 3Effective CEOs need self-awareness, accepting their limitations and building teams that complement their weaknesses.
Don't miss
Kilner reframes work-life balance as something that should evolve across different stages of life rather than follow one universal standard.
The brief
Nicola Kilner traces her path from Boots to DECIEM, arguing that corporate experience and placement years taught her how relationships, collaboration, and large organizations work.
With Brandon, Kilner chose to build multiple beauty brands rather than pursue a single focused venture, creating an ecosystem that shared manufacturing, communications, and support.
DECIEM’s early culture drew strength from belonging, loyalty, and meaningful kindness, but Kilner distinguishes those qualities from superficial niceness or limitless demands on employees.
The startup’s intensity included all-nighters and wearing every hat, yet Kilner says the right version of work-life balance changes as people move through life.
As DECIEM grew from a small startup into a 1,500-person organization with major corporate ownership, Kilner learned that leadership meant recognizing her weaknesses and building around them.
What was said on this episode
20 statements · 12 positive · 3 negative · 1 mixed · 4 neutral
Aspiring founders should spend several years working in a corporate organization.
“I actually would always probably recommend doing a few years in a corporate”
Listen at 0:43
Entrepreneurship is an especially valuable path for people driven to create change.
“entrepreneurship I think is just an incredible area”
Listen at 1:25
Joining a startup is highly energizing and recommended for suitable aspiring entrepreneurs.
“going to join a startup is just incredible energy. I mean, you just would always be what I would recommend at that point.”
Listen at 1:31
Deciem benefited from pursuing ten brands simultaneously.
“there were so many benefits to doing 10 things at once.”
Listen at 7:08
Deciem’s multi-brand structure enabled relatively cheap, rapid experimentation and iteration.
“it also just set up this incredible structure that we could fail, we could keep trying things, we could fail relatively cheaply, quickly, and kind of start the next thing.”
Listen at 8:23
The Ordinary’s success caused Deciem’s other brands to receive less attention.
“When The Ordinary took off, the other brands got pushed aside”
Listen at 8:43
Restarting Deciem’s incubator engine requires a dedicated team.
“the only way we can do that is by having a dedicated team to that.”
Listen at 9:07
Deciem currently has approximately 1,500 employees.
“we're 1,500 people now”
Listen at 13:59
The best ideas emerge outside conventional weekday working hours.
“you come up with the best ideas when you're doing something on the weekend and you're not in that, that kind of Monday to Friday, 9 till 5 zone.”
Listen at 16:43
Agility is especially important during a startup’s early stage.
“being agile is so important”
Listen at 18:49
Early startup employees should be able to perform varied roles as needed.
“the ability to wear whichever hat is needed for you at that moment is the most important skill set.”
Listen at 20:38
The appropriate work-life balance varies by person and life stage.
“it comes down to what's, what's the right balance to you, and it changes at different periods of your life.”
Listen at 21:25
A business must ultimately generate money to remain viable.
“ultimately, like, one factor of that is to be a business and to make money.”
Listen at 24:55
Kind treatment of employees requires the company to maintain strong performance.
“to be kind to everyone, we have to be a performing team.”
Listen at 25:13
Deciem has 1,500 employees and is majority-owned by Estée Lauder Companies.
“we are 1,500 people. We now have a majority ownership from, uh, Estée Lauder Companies”
Listen at 26:03
Chaos can demotivate employees in large organizations.
“in a large organization, chaos can become demotivating.”
Listen at 27:31
Deciem needs experienced staff for supply chain, scaling, and new markets.
“when it comes to supply chain and scaling and new markets, we need experience.”
Listen at 28:08
Nicola would not be a good CEO at another billion-dollar company with 1,500 employees.
“if I went now to, you know, another company with revenues nearing $1 billion a year with 1,500 employees, I wouldn't be a good CEO.”
Listen at 28:56
Nicola is uniquely qualified to lead Deciem because of her history with it.
“there's no one more qualified for Deciem than me because of the history.”
Listen at 29:15
Authenticity is one of the most important values in today’s world.
“authenticity in today's world, I think, is a value that is, is one of the most important”
Listen at 30:57
Statements are attributed to the speaker as said on the episode and reflect their view at the time, not PodLume's. They are not advice.
Featuring
The Ordinary
The Estée Lauder Companies Inc.Listen to the full episode and explore every guest, topic, and moment on PodLume.