When confidence falters and reinvention feels out of reach, it’s tempting to play it safe. 

But in episode seven of Lead Out Loud, Absolute Collagen founder Maxine Laceby and Ketan Goswami, Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, explore what happens when you strip away the armour and build something even stronger in its place. 

Maxine’s story didn’t begin in a boardroom. At 49, after years as a stay-at-home mum, her daughters were leaving home and for the first time in decades, she asked: “What now?” 

“I just thought… I can do anything,” she says. “And that was terrifying.” 

So she enrolled in a fine art degree, but the biggest creation wasn’t on canvas, it was in the mirror. 

The project that changed everything 

“I did this thing called Dare to Go Bare,” says Maxine. “No makeup. Short, grey hair. Dowdy clothes. I wanted to see: would I disappear in people’s eyes?” 

She didn’t disappear, but she did confront something unexpected. 

“I realised how desperately insecure I was,” she says. “Without the external stuff, I had to really look at who I was. Physically, spiritually, emotionally.” 

That introspection became action. She started drinking homemade bone broth, a small act of self-care that became something bigger. Within a year, she launched Absolute Collagen. 

And it grew - not because Maxine had a business plan, but because she had something more powerful: a real story, and the courage to tell it. 

For Dr Goswami, Maxine’s story challenges the loudest narratives in modern entrepreneurship. 

“We’ve come to idolise these Elon Musks,” he says. “Leaders who strut around like they’ve got all the answers. But real leadership is about knowing when you don’t.” 

He’s spent years researching founders and business builders - and the ones who last aren’t the ones shouting. 

“The most effective leaders I’ve seen don’t lead through dominance,” he says. “They lead through listening. Through self-awareness. Through trust.” 

Entrepreneurship from the inside out 

Ketan’s academic interest in entrepreneurship came through lived experience. 

“My sister became an entrepreneur after having her first child,” he says. “It wasn’t about chasing ambition, it was about flexibility, autonomy, and meaning. That changed how I thought about who gets to lead.” 

 And that lens makes Maxine’s success even more powerful. 

“She didn’t start with a pitch,” he says. “She started with pain, and curiosity. And that’s something we see often in the most resilient founders - the business is an expression of self.” 

You don’t need to be loud - just real 

“I didn’t know how to run a company,” says Maxine. “But I knew how to ask questions. I knew how to learn.” 

Her business grew from instinct and humility, not bravado. And yet, the traditional systems weren’t always ready for that. 

“I was turning over £10 million,” she says, “and my bank still wouldn’t call me back.” 

That mindset - of doing what matters, without waiting for permission - is what defines Maxine's approach. She hired for belief, not background. She let her story drive the strategy.  

“I wasn’t looking for people to say yes,” she says. “I needed people who would challenge me, who believed in the brand because they’d felt the impact themselves.” 

Leading without the mask 

 Maxine’s age, she says, wasn’t a disadvantage - it was her edge. 

“I had nothing to prove,” she says. “I just wanted to build something real. And if you start from a place of truth, people feel that.” 

That truth shows up in every part of the business; from the way she talks to customers, to the way her team shares ideas. There’s no hierarchy of voice, only shared purpose. 

And that, says Ketan, is where leadership is heading. 

“We’re seeing a shift from ‘hero leaders’ to ‘host leaders’ - people who make space, who hold the room, who let others rise.”  

From invisibility to influence 

Maxine’s journey started with a quiet question: Who am I now? The answer became a business, a brand, and a movement - not by accident, but by design. 

 And in a world full of noise, her message cuts through: you don’t have to shout to lead. 

 “You don’t need to be loud,” she says. “You need to be real.” 

Further reading:

Five steps to find your own leadership style

Can communal leadership benefit men more than women?

Six ways to increase inclusivity as a leader

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