“You don’t need to have everything figured out before you start,” says 15-year-old entrepreneur Ellie Murphy. “If you keep waiting until everything’s perfect, you’ll probably never start at all.”

It’s not the sort of thing you expect to hear from someone juggling Year 10, 5 AM training sessions, homework, surf lifesaving and gym workouts, but Murphy isn’t your average teenager. While most kids her age are trying to survive exams and decide what to wear to the beach, she’s busy building Saltè, a swimwear brand designed specifically for active teen girls.

Interestingly, the idea for the business didn’t come while scrolling TikTok or dreaming up ways to go viral. It came while she was sidelined for 18 weeks with a leg injury.

The AHA moment

“The moment I realised the swimwear out there wasn’t really working for me and my friends was when I was put on crutches,” Murphy explains. “During that time, I felt really disconnected from my sports like surf lifesaving and gymnastics, and I realised there was a gap in the market for something that could work for both gym and surf training.”

Instead of sulking about missing out on sport, Murphy started paying attention to the problem.

“A lot of my friends were also complaining about constantly having to get changed between trainings, especially the girls doing Surf Club and gym. Sitting on the sidelines listening to everyone talk about it is what really sparked the idea for Saltè.”

It’s a classic founder story in many ways. Spot a problem and get frustrated enough to want to fix it. Then back yourself enough to actually have a crack.

Except Murphy was 15.

“My first thought was honestly, ‘How am I even going to do this?’” she says. “I didn’t really think it was possible at first.”

Still, the idea kept nagging at her.

“I just started designing patterns for fun and then slowly started thinking about how I could ask my parents if this was something I could actually turn into a real business.”

That conversation turned out to be one of the first challenges.

Turning an idea into a business

“One of the first things I had to tackle was talking to my parents about it,” she says. “They’ve been such a huge support for me, but I knew I had to show them this wasn’t just a random idea. I had to explain that this was something I genuinely wanted to build and take seriously.”

Murphy says she’s always loved creating things, but entrepreneurship wasn’t necessarily part of some master life plan.

“It has surprised me a little bit because I’m not really an extroverted person and I usually keep my ideas to myself,” she says. “But I’ve always loved creating things, even just for myself, and this was the first idea I felt could actually help other people too.”

That desire to solve a real problem became the fuel behind Saltè. Once she started working on it, she couldn’t stop.

“Honestly, it was just my passion for Saltè,” she says of the recovery period. “I grew to love working on it so much that even while recovering, I still wanted to spend time on it every single day.”

Like many first-time founders, Murphy quickly discovered that having an idea is the easy bit. Turning it into a physical product is another story entirely.

“The biggest learning curve has definitely been finding manufacturers and creating samples,” she says. “It takes way more time, money and patience than I expected.”

And patience is something the process demanded in bulk.

“Even creating one product can take months, and I didn’t realise how much work goes into turning an idea into something people can actually buy.”

Saltè = swimwear for active girls

Murphy went through four samples and worked with three different manufacturers before she landed on something she was happy with.

“I tested samples on myself, my sister and my friends during training and in the water to make sure they could actually handle active lifestyles,” she says. “If something didn’t work, I changed it until it did.”

Her test-and-learn approach became one of Saltè’s biggest strengths. Listening to feedback and tweaking designs meant Murphy was creating a product that would suit real customers.

“I really wanted Saltè swimwear to be made for real girls doing real activities,” she explains.

It’s also where she believes traditional swimwear brands often miss the mark.

“I think a lot of traditional swimwear brands design for girls who are mainly just relaxing or taking photos, instead of girls who are actually active in the ocean,” she says. “There’s such a gap in the market for swimwear that’s comfortable, supportive and made for teen girls who surf, swim and train.”

Saltè’s answer is reversible active swimwear specifically designed for teens. Functional enough for training. Stylish enough that girls actually want to wear it. It sounds simple enough but executing on the dream was another challenge.

“One of the biggest challenges has definitely been sampling,” Murphy says. “It’s expensive, time-consuming and sometimes manufacturers don’t fully understand your vision.”

Being taken seriously also became part of the problem.

“One of the first manufacturers I worked with completely stopped taking me seriously after finding out how old I was,” she says.

It’s the kind of experience that could easily knock someone’s confidence, especially at 15. Instead, Murphy used it as motivation.

“Since then, I’ve learned to back myself and focus on proving myself through my work instead.”

The juggle: School, sport, startup life

Murphy says starting Saltè has pushed her outside of her comfort zone. “I’m naturally introverted,” she admits.

Confidence doesn’t come naturally to the teen, particularly when it comes to promoting the business, which has seen Murphy become the face of the brand.

“Putting yourself online can definitely feel overwhelming sometimes, especially when you’re not naturally someone who loves attention,” she says. “But social media is such a big part of building a brand now, and seeing people genuinely support Saltè and connect with the content makes it worth it.”

And Saltè is already making waves, thanks to its design ethos and the youthfulness of its founder. Murphy says reactions to her age are usually a mix of shock and admiration.

“People are usually really shocked when they find out I run my own swimwear brand at 15,” she says. “I didn’t think people would see it as a big deal, but everyone’s been really supportive and impressed.”

Still, there’s no glamorous founder lifestyle happening here. Most days are a blur of school, sport and squeezing business tasks into every spare second she can find.

“A typical day for me starts with training at 5am before school,” she says. “Then I’ll get ready quickly, head to school and usually do some business work in the car like social media posts.”

The day doesn’t exactly slow down after the school bell either.

“After school I go straight back to training, then gym training later at night, and after dinner I’ll usually finish homework and work on Saltè again.”

The biggest challenge?

“Definitely making time for everything while still making sure I get enough rest.”

It’s a reminder that behind every ‘teen founder’ headline is usually a kid working ridiculously hard while trying to navigate normal teenage life at the same time. Murphy says one of the biggest surprises about entrepreneurship is just how relentless the day-to-day work can be.

“I expected launches and starting up to be hard, but I didn’t realise how much work goes into the everyday side of things like social media, the website and constantly having a to-do list.”

‘You’re never too young to start’

Despite the long days, Murphy says there have already been some pinch-me moments.

“Getting those first few orders was definitely a huge moment for me,” she says. “It made me realise that people actually believed in the brand.”

Planning Saltè’s launch party has also become one of those experiences. “Seeing people actually notice and support the brand has been such a surreal feeling.”

While it would be easy to dismiss Saltè as just another swimwear brand, Murphy says the vision is about more than comfortable active wear, she has a credo in mind.

“I want to build a community where girls feel confident, comfortable and supported,” she says. “I want girls to genuinely love wearing the designs and feel good being active in them.”

That sense of purpose seems to be what keeps her going when things get tough.

“When things get stressful, I remind myself how far I’ve already come and that I’ve built this from the ground up.”

Not bad for someone who had to initially convince her parents this wasn’t just another teenage phase. Now the young entrepreneur is preparing for future collections, growing the brand and learning business basics on the fly.

Maybe that’s the real lesson in Murphy’s story for other business owners: You don’t need decades of experience or a perfect business plan to get started.

Murphy certainly agrees. “I’d say you’re never too young to start,” she says. “If you have an idea you’re passionate about, just take the chance and try it. You never know where it could lead unless you actually go for it.”

For all the wins, though, the proudest moment isn’t the orders or the growing brand recognition.

“The thing that makes me feel proudest is seeing how proud my parents are of me,” she says. “They’ve supported me through the whole process, and seeing everything we’ve worked on come to life together is such a rewarding feeling.”

Find out more about Saltè swimwear

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