# Lana Elie

> Lana Elie is the French founder of Floom, the flower marketplace she launched in London after a career spanning digital work for fashion and media brands. By giving independent florists a digital storefront without flattening their individual styles, she grew Floom across the UK and US, raised outside capital, and sold the business to BloomNation in May 2025. Based in Los Angeles, she now co-hosts the founder podcast Hot Takes Big Stakes Business.

- **Role:** Founder of Floom and co-host of Hot Takes Big Stakes Business
- **Organizations:** Floom, BloomNation, Hot Takes Big Stakes Business, i-D, Burberry
- **From:** Paris, France
- **Nationality:** French
- **Known for:** Founded and built Floom into a flower marketplace operating in the UK and US., Built an audience of 6,000 Instagram followers before Floom launched., Raised a Crowdcube round reported at £580,000 from more than 300 investors.

## Career timeline

- **Before 2015** — Worked in digital production, e-commerce, apps, and campaigns connected to brands including Burberry, Gucci, Diesel, and Marc Jacobs.
- **2015** — Left her role as head of brand solutions EMEA at i-D to focus on Floom full time.
- **2016** — Launched Floom in London as a curated online marketplace for independent florists.
- **2017** — Closed a Crowdcube round reported at £580,000 and expanded beyond London.
- **2018** — Raised a reported £2 million round led by firstminute capital and Pembroke.
- **2019** — Floom served London, New York, and Los Angeles and was developing business-management tools for florists.
- **2020** — Opened Floom's platform to local food suppliers during pandemic-related disruption.
- **2025** — BloomNation announced its acquisition of Floom on May 28; Floom was to continue operating independently.
- **2025** — Began co-hosting Hot Takes Big Stakes Business with Natalie Holloway.
- **2026** — Continued publishing founder interviews and practical business discussions through the podcast.

## Achievements

- Founded and built Floom into a flower marketplace operating in the UK and US.
- Built an audience of 6,000 Instagram followers before Floom launched.
- Raised a Crowdcube round reported at £580,000 from more than 300 investors.
- Raised a reported £2 million round led by firstminute capital and Pembroke.
- Expanded Floom's model from consumer discovery into software and business tools for independent florists.
- Sold Floom to BloomNation in May 2025.
- Co-created and co-hosts the founder podcast Hot Takes Big Stakes Business.

## Latest updates

- **2026-06** — Hot Takes Big Stakes Business continued releasing founder interviews, including an episode with Blueland founder Sarah Paiji Yoo.
- **2026-04** — Elie published a solo podcast discussion about founder compensation and supplementary income.
- **2025-08** — The podcast released an episode in which Elie discussed how Floom reached its first million in its second year.
- **2025-05** — BloomNation announced the acquisition of Floom, with Elie saying she was passing the company to a team that shared its commitment to independent florists.

## Links

- Website: https://floom.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lana-elie-875b383a
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/floomofficial
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lanaelie/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FloomOfficial
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hottakesbigstakes/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/lana-elie
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-26