#64: She Started a Brand Before She Started a Career — Sophie de Haën

Most founders try to build a company.Sophie de Haën built one by accident.And she did it while she was still in college.Andy Walsh sat down with Sophie de Haën, founder of SDH Paints, to unpack one of the most unconventional founder journeys we’ve seen on Startups Decoded.Sophie didn’t start with a startup idea, a pitch deck, or a plan to raise money. She started painting during COVID and sharing her work online. What began as a creative outlet quickly attracted attention. As her audience grew, people started asking to buy the art.That simple feedback loop turned into SDH Paints — a fast-growing art-led brand with nearly 300,000 followers and six-figure annual revenue, all built while Sophie was still a college student.But the real story isn’t just how the company started.It’s how she chose to grow it.Instead of chasing scale and momentum, Sophie made the unusual decision to slow the business down during her final year of college. After years of constant output, she stepped back to reconnect with her creativity and figure out what she actually wanted the next chapter to look like.In this conversation, Andy and Sophie explore a different path into entrepreneurship, one where audience comes before product, community becomes the feedback loop, and the founder is evolving just as fast as the business.This episode offers a glimpse into how the next generation of founders are emerging, often without meaning to.Listen: Apple || Spotify || YouTubeSubscribe nowWhat We CoverBuilding an audience before building a productTurning creativity into a business organicallyThe creator-to-founder pathwaySocial media as a real-time product feedback loopThe tension between art, commerce, and identityWhy Sophie paused growth while the brand was workingHow authenticity builds stronger communities than strategyAndy Walsh2× exited founder and host of Startups Decoded (Top 2% globally).https://www.linkedin.com/in/anwalsh/Access All Areas.Listen: Apple || Spotify || YouTubeSubscribe: SubstackCommunity & Events: Founders CircleConnect: LinkedInSocials: TikTok || Instagram || XWeb: startupsdecoded.comMusic Credit“Neptuno” – Phondupe (Album: Onykia) The Studio https://28thandpark.podyx.com/​Filmed on location at 28th&Park. A content & production studio for New York’s visionary Builders, Investors, Artists, Musicians, & Creators to amplify their voice & share bold stories. Use the code “Decoded” for 25% off your first booking.