Nicola Kilner
Person
Nicola Kilner is the CEO and co-founder of DECIEM, the beauty company behind The Ordinary. She is known for helping build the company into a prominent global skincare business.
What Nicola Kilner has said on podcasts
20 statements
Aspiring founders should spend several years working in a corporate organization.
“I actually would always probably recommend doing a few years in a corporate”
Open the episode · Most Replayed Moment: A Guilt-Free Way to Handle Work and LifeListen at 0:43
Entrepreneurship is an especially valuable path for people driven to create change.
“entrepreneurship I think is just an incredible area”
Open the episode · Most Replayed Moment: A Guilt-Free Way to Handle Work and LifeListen 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.”
Open the episode · Most Replayed Moment: A Guilt-Free Way to Handle Work and LifeListen at 1:31
Deciem benefited from pursuing ten brands simultaneously.
“there were so many benefits to doing 10 things at once.”
Open the episode · Most Replayed Moment: A Guilt-Free Way to Handle Work and LifeListen 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.”
Open the episode · Most Replayed Moment: A Guilt-Free Way to Handle Work and LifeListen 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”
Open the episode · Most Replayed Moment: A Guilt-Free Way to Handle Work and LifeListen 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.”
Open the episode · Most Replayed Moment: A Guilt-Free Way to Handle Work and LifeListen at 9:07
Deciem currently has approximately 1,500 employees.
“we're 1,500 people now”
Open the episode · Most Replayed Moment: A Guilt-Free Way to Handle Work and LifeListen 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.”
Open the episode · Most Replayed Moment: A Guilt-Free Way to Handle Work and LifeListen at 16:43
Agility is especially important during a startup’s early stage.
“being agile is so important”
Open the episode · Most Replayed Moment: A Guilt-Free Way to Handle Work and LifeListen 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.”
Open the episode · Most Replayed Moment: A Guilt-Free Way to Handle Work and LifeListen 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.”
Open the episode · Most Replayed Moment: A Guilt-Free Way to Handle Work and LifeListen 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.”
Open the episode · Most Replayed Moment: A Guilt-Free Way to Handle Work and LifeListen 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.”
Open the episode · Most Replayed Moment: A Guilt-Free Way to Handle Work and LifeListen 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”
Open the episode · Most Replayed Moment: A Guilt-Free Way to Handle Work and LifeListen at 26:03
Chaos can demotivate employees in large organizations.
“in a large organization, chaos can become demotivating.”
Open the episode · Most Replayed Moment: A Guilt-Free Way to Handle Work and LifeListen 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.”
Open the episode · Most Replayed Moment: A Guilt-Free Way to Handle Work and LifeListen at 28:08
- on Nicola Kilner as CEO of another large companyNegativeSep 25, 2026· The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett
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.”
Open the episode · Most Replayed Moment: A Guilt-Free Way to Handle Work and LifeListen 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.”
Open the episode · Most Replayed Moment: A Guilt-Free Way to Handle Work and LifeListen 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”
Open the episode · Most Replayed Moment: A Guilt-Free Way to Handle Work and LifeListen 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.
