How DOES she do it?!

Ep 92: Fixing the problem no-one else saw, with Marie Kelly

How DOES she do it?!

Show Notes

In today's episode, my guest is Marie Kelly - professional cricketer and founder of Versatail, a headwear brand born from a question that's oddly obvious once you hear it: why does every cap and bobble hat assume you've got short hair!?

Marie walks us through her path to becoming a professional cricketer, and how the game's ups and downs offer an almost perfect mirror for life - throwing up lessons that apply just as much off the pitch as on it.

Yet it was frustration with her own kit, not a grand business plan, that led to Versatail; we chart Marie's progress from cutting holes into her whole team's caps so her teammates could wear their hair up, to selling her house to fund a fully developed version of the idea, all the way to being featured in the fashion section of Cosmopolitan.

Marie's bravery and entrepreneurial knack are obvious to anyone who listens, and I love how she draws a direct line from the pitch to the business: the comfort with rejection, the refusal to stay too high or too low, the belief that steady effort compounds even when nobody's watching. It's a properly grounded conversation about building something from a problem only you seem to have noticed - and having the nerve to actually go and fix it. It's the kind of episode that leaves you feeling genuinely inspired!

Enjoy the show!

Connect with Marie: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/versatail.uk/ https://www.instagram.com/mariekelly96/?hl=en https://www.versatail.co.uk Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@VersatailUK Insta post: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQfHJ0bAAZA/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&stkn=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Today's sponsor: Izz Whizz VA, founded by Isabelle Pearcey. As a special offer, Isabelle and her team are offering a 'Your PA for the Day' experience - a full day of senior executive support for just £297. Visit izzwhizzva.co.uk to book a free discovery call, quoting 'HDSDI'.

Connect with Jo:

HDSDI Networking: https://howdoesshedoit.life/networking/

HDSDI Free Stuff: https://howdoesshedoit.life/free-stuff/

HDSDI mailing list sign-up: https://howdoesshedoit.kartra.com/page/NewsletterSignUp

HDSDI Membership: https://howdoesshedoit.life/membership/

Email me to book a 1:1 Discovery call: [email protected]

Follow me on Instagram to continue the conversation and get updates about the podcast:https://www.instagram.com/howdoesshedoitlife/

More from How DOES she do it?!

Oct 20, 2026

In today's episode, Pam Cottman is back for a catch-up five years after her first appearance way back on Episode 12. You'll recall that Pam is a resilience coach, but now also the host of the podcast 'Lessons in Resilience', and the author of her debut book, Being Resilient(ish): A Realistic Guide to Building Self-Belief, Confidence, and Clarity in Busy Lives.

Oct 6, 2026

In today's episode, my guest is Jo Hooper - a former crisis communications specialist who now runs Get Wildly Free, a coaching business centred around empowering clients to say 'no!'

Sep 8, 2026

In today's episode, I'm joined by the wonderful Isabelle Pearcey, founder of the virtual assistant agency Izz Whizz VA, who spent a decade in the legal world before an unexpected health crisis changed the direction of her entire life.

Aug 25, 2026

In today's episode, I sit down with Lucy Colgan, host of The Wilderness of Creativity, a brilliant podcast exploring how creativity shapes our mental health, wellbeing and sense of self.

Jul 21, 2026

In today's episode, my guest is Kate Harrison — founder of ChroME and the woman behind 'Kate the Colour' — and we spend the whole hour on something I didn't expect a business podcast to cover this deeply: colour as energy, and what happens when you lose yours entirely.

See all episodes →