Scaling a business as a highly sensitive entrepreneur | with Veerle Vandeput

Written by Blusss

Blusss founder An Luyten was a guest on Hoogsensitief Ondernemen, the Dutch-language podcast of HSP business coach Veerle Vandeput. The conversation is about what it actually takes to build and grow a business when you are highly sensitive yourself.

Here is what the podcast episode is about:

Sensitivity as a business asset, not a weakness

High sensitivity and neurodivergence are still often framed as a limitation. An sees it differently: sharp perception, empathy and creativity are exactly the traits that brought her where she is now. They help her notice details, understand people’s needs and turn personal experiences into meaningful solutions.

She also knows her own “manual” very well. Over the years, An has learned what overwhelms her, what gives her energy and what she needs to stay balanced. At the same time, being highly sensitive as an entrepreneur comes with its own challenges. Sales pressure, pitching, uncertainty and a constantly changing environment can be intense. For An, the goal is not to eliminate those challenges, but to understand herself well enough to navigate them and build a business that works with her sensitivity rather than against it.

We talked about:

The story behind Blusss and how a personal problem became an international sensory-friendly fashion brand.
Sensory-friendly fashion, sensory seekers and the role of sensory regulation.
How An’s high sensitivity influences the way she thinks, creates and runs her business.
Financing Blusss, pitching to investors and learning to sell as a highly sensitive entrepreneur.
Managing sales pressure and the tools An uses to stay regulated.
Growing internationally, changing the brand name and building Blusss beyond Belgium.
What Antwerp Fashion Festival, the Royal Palace and The Wall Street Journal meant for the brand.
An’s biggest lessons on building a business as a highly sensitive entrepreneur and what success means to her.

From a sock problem to a brand

Blusss started with a very small, very daily problem: her son could not tolerate the seams in his socks. What began as a personal search for clothing that did not irritate or overwhelm grew into Sam Sensory Clothing, and later into Blusss, a brand of seamless, sensory-friendly clothing and calming accessories for children, teens and adults.

Learning to pitch, sell and ask for money as an HSP

Building a business also means doing things that do not always come naturally, including pitching, selling and asking for money. In the episode, An talks openly about her first experiences with financing, pitching to investors and dealing with the pressure that comes with sales. Rather than waiting until she felt completely comfortable, she learned by doing: pitch by pitch, conversation by conversation, becoming more confident along the way. The episode also explores how her sensitivity can be an asset in business, while still requiring her to find ways to manage pressure and stay close to what works for her.

More about Veerle Vandeput

Veerle Vandeput is a business coach for highly sensitive entrepreneurs. After a career in marketing and communication and a burnout of her own, she started guiding HSP entrepreneurs in 2019 towards building a profitable business in a way that fits who they are. Her approach combines business strategy, inner work and energy management, because in her experience strategy alone leaves the blocks in place, and inner work alone does not move the business forward.

More info: Veerle Vandeput