Sisters who quit finance jobs and created swimwear company with £10,000 start-up loan now turning over £100,000 a month

Two sisters who studied at the same university and worked at the same accountancy firm both quit their jobs in finance and have created a swimwear company selling “skimpy” pieces which now turns over £100,000 a month having begun with just a £10,000 start-up loan.

Charlotte Li, 35, who lives in Putney, and Olivia Bishop, 32, from Earlsfield, London, are the co-founders of Toco Swim – a swimwear company which aims to empower women with its comfy yet “bold” pieces.

The “inseparable” sisters, who worked in the same accountancy firm before quitting to focus on Toco Swim full-time, launched the company in 2017 after noticing a “gap in the market”.

Inspired by their mother’s Caribbean background, they wanted to create high-quality, “skimpy” and “body-flaunting” swimwear, suitable for all body types – but without an expensive price tag.

From turning over £35,000 in the first year to now £100,000 a month, the pair want to “keep the momentum going” and continue changing women’s lives by making them feel body confident.

Charlotte told PA Real Life: “I think part of our success is because we have been so close to our customers throughout – we’ve had customers who have been buying from us since 2017 and we know their names.

“It’s so nice when we get messages, people saying, ‘This swimsuit has changed my life’. One woman said, ‘I started crying when I put this on because I felt so amazing’.

“We had a mum message us on Thursday, saying she’s just bought the Cabana one piece and she was feeling super insecure about her body because she was eight months postpartum and she said she felt amazing.

“It’s so nice to think that we’ve created that feeling for someone.”

Charlotte and Olivia both studied accounting and finance at the University of Exeter, before becoming auditors and later working at the same accountancy firm – and they described themselves as “the same person”.

They had always wanted to set up their own business together, but it was not until around 2016 that they started considering the idea for a swimwear company more seriously.

“Our mum is from the Caribbean, so growing up we always had access to this beautiful swimwear, really bright,” Charlotte said.

“She’s from Trinidad, and they have Carnival every year where everyone’s in skimpy, incredible, body-flaunting outfits – and at the time, there was nothing skimpy or Brazilian-inspired like that in the UK.

“So we just thought, shall we just set it up together?

“There was a gap in the market at the time – fast forward to today, there are lots of people doing skimpy swimwear, so we’ve pivoted a little, but at the time there really wasn’t anyone.”

Olivia added: “I was personally buying swimwear from Australia, from America, to fulfil what I wanted, but it was so expensive once I was paying for shipping and then customs.”

With a £10,000 Government start-up loan and their savings, the sisters then launched Toco Swim in the summer of 2017, initially as a side hustle.

They felt it was important to maintain their corporate jobs for stability while they got the business up and running and would advise other small business owners to do the same, if they can.

“Our first collection was just one top piece, one bottom piece, in a couple of colours, and we were just trying it out to see how it went – and we’ve grown and grown each year,” Olivia said.

“It did take a long time – a year of back and forth, sampling, finding the right manufacturer, doing fittings in the work toilets – but we wanted to make sure we felt the product was perfect before launching.”

The sisters continued to work at the accountancy firm until Charlotte left in 2019 and Olivia followed in 2020 to focus on the business full-time to “make it a success”.

Their first collection sold out rapidly and, since then, they have released a variety of different swimwear pieces, including bikinis and one pieces, and created “an incredible community”.

Charlotte and Olivia want to ensure the pieces, which range from XS to XL and include “skimpy”, “cheeky” and “moderate” styles, flatter all body types.

“People are obsessed with Toco – it’s like a Toco tribe,” Charlotte said.

“Now, when people buy Toco, they’re not just buying a swimsuit, they’re almost buying confidence, and because they see loads of other women who look like them, it’s empowering them to wear it and feel amazing.

“Usually, people think of a swimsuit as a second-hand thing – ‘Oh, I hate bikini shopping’ – but we want it to be your favourite piece in your suitcase, that you can’t wait to wear Toco.”

They feel that their backgrounds in finance have been instrumental in helping them run the business, as they have a good understanding of “cash flow and management”.

In their first year, they turned over £35,000 in total and given their collection sold out, this gave them “the motivation to continue”.

The business has since gone from strength to strength, with Toco Swim now turning over around £100,000 per month – and they are hoping to reach a total of £1.2 million or more this year.

However, they said a “big learning curve this year” is items being out of stock and “keeping up with demand”.

“It’s like imposter syndrome – is this for real? We’re running this business that’s turning over £100,000 a month now. Sometimes it doesn’t feel real,” Olivia said.

Charlotte and Olivia said their pieces have been worn by Made In Chelsea stars Lucy Watson and Millie Mackintosh, along with Love Islanders, but they are proud that they have grown as a “traditional company”.

They have many repeat buyers, with a repeat customer rate of between 30% and 40%, and said they are not reliant on influencers or brand deals to promote the business.

They feel that, being sisters, it allows them to have no barriers and have complete honesty with one another – with Olivia taking a more logistical role and Charlotte taking the lead with marketing and branding.

The sisters are now hoping to expand into the US but, for now, they want to continue providing “amazing” pieces for their customers.

Speaking about their goal for this summer, Charlotte said: “Historically, we’ve done lots of skimpy pieces, this year we’ve launched pieces that appeal to a wider demographic.

“As usual, though, we’re providing our bright, bold, stand-out pieces.

“Toco isn’t for if you want to be a wallflower, it’s for really standing out and turning heads when you go on holiday.”

To find out more about Toco Swim, visit tocoswim.com or search @tocoswim on Instagram.