Why Who is Elijah? is Stripping Back to Scale for 2026, in partnership with Thoughtful

What happens when you decide to dismantle an 8-year-old global success story to build something leaner, smarter, and more equipped for 2026?

Recorded live at Google Headquarters in Sydney, this special episode of Process takes you inside Thoughtful Minds Connect. In celebration of their 10th anniversary, the elite data and performance minds at Thoughtful invited Arielle to host an intimate, unfiltered conversation with Raquel and Adam, the visionary founders behind cult fragrance house Who is Elijah.

This is not a retrospective look at success; it’s a conversation recorded in the eye of the storm. 

While the moving trucks were quite literally at their warehouse, Adam and Raquel revealed the real-time reality of a massive business restructure, the $1.7M mistake that nearly cost them their brand prestige, and their new Top-Down strategy for global retail rollout. This is definitely a masterclass in founder transparency.

So whether you’re navigating a complex supply chain, pivoting your brand positioning, or looking to the best data minds in the country to optimise your performance, Raquel and Adam’s strip-it-back-to-grow approach offers a roadmap for any creative founder feeling the heaviness of a scaling business.

In this episode:

• The $1.7M Lesson: Raquel opens up about a massive retail deal that taught them the danger of a Bottom-Up strategy.

• The Great Restructure: Why they are shutting down their own manufacturing to focus 100% on brand and lightweight operations.

• Top-Down Authority: Why starting with Harrods and Selfridges is the only way to protect prestige in a crowded market.

• AI as an Emotional Agent: Adam’s fascinating off-mic theory on how product data must evolve to serve the emotional human through unemotional AI agents.

• The Thoughtful Edge: How shifting from Meta to Google (with a 40% higher AOV) transformed their performance marketing.

• The Future of Founders: Why the next generation of brands will thrive with teams of just two people and simplified supply chains.

Featured in this Episode:

• Shop Who is Elijah at whoiselijah.com.au

• Brought to you by Thoughtful: Elevate your brand performance at thethoughtfulagency.com or DM Arielle for a direct intro to the team.

  
  

Say Hello! 

• Our Guests: 

• Adam Bouris on Instagram @adambouris

• Raquel Bouris on Instagram @raaaquelbouris
  

• Our Episode Partner: The Thoughtful Agency on Instagram @thethoughtfulagency

• Your host: Arielle Thomas on Instagram @arielle.thomas 

• Us: on Instagram @processthepodcast ⁠

New Episode Drops Every Tuesday. 

Catch you on the next one!