This week’s guest is Annabel Hay - founder of Clutch, the world’s first reusable fashion tape.
Annabel has always been someone who spots a problem and can’t help but solve it. At just eight years old, she made a promise to herself: she’d never be the person with a brilliant idea who never acted on it. Years later, after a wardrobe malfunction on a night out at Chinese Laundry, that promise came full circle. The idea for Clutch was born - followed by four years of quietly iterating, saving and building the business alongside full-time work before she was ready to launch.
Then came Shark Tank. Annabel delivered what the show described as one of the strongest pitches in its history, received offers worth more than she’d asked for, and walked away. Not because she wasn’t grateful, but because she knew exactly what her business - and her vision - were worth.
Since then, she’s built Clutch into a globally recognised brand stocked across Australia and overseas. When we recorded this conversation, she was just two weeks away from moving to New York to take the business into its next chapter.
In this conversation, we talk about the discipline that sits beneath confidence, what six months of preparation really looks like, why she never walked into a room asking people for money, and the values she’s determined to protect as Clutch continues to grow.
Follow Annabel and Clutch: @clutch.official | Find the product at clutch.com.au