Village Blog
Alex McBride - Founder of The 5TH
The 5th watches may have ticked over your Instagram homepage from time to time, dotting elegant, clean watches for the millennial generation. Alex McBride is the brain behind the buzz of the limited release watches and sophisticated staples. Everyone’s checking the time to see when the next drop is out from the5th... The 5th launched back in 2014 with a unique business edge. Could you tell us a little bit about how the5th works for people that may not know? When we launched The 5th we had 1000 watches. What happened was we sold basically all of those watches on day one of the business. But for us, production is three and a half months. We then had a problem of not having anything to sell for all this time. We had this amazing day one, but we won’t have any cash flow in the business for three and a half months. We said, “hey listen everybody, thanks. We sold out on day one, we are going to re-release on the 5th of next month but it’s going to be a pre-sale”. We released on the 5th of the next month the same amount of units but we said your product won’t arrive for three months. We released them on our site, and they sold out again. Then we upped the quantity for the next month and did 2000 units, and sold out again. We had built up this demand for the watches that we couldn’t fulfil because we hadn’t planned for it. My plan was to sell at least fourteen watches a week because I could live off that amount of money. It just kind of spiralled. Then we ordered more and doubled our quantity again and again and again. They just all sold out all on the one day. For our first year we had only ever sold for a total of thirteen days. That’s how it kind of started and we ran with that for the first two and a half years. What we do now – it is similar in a way. We have our core products that sell all the time, but our new products are limited to 500 and are only available on the 5th. When we release things, they do sell out really fast. We only release them in limited quantities. Now you can shop with us all the time because we have a lot of other styles that are available. When you think about releasing limited runs of products, you think of high-end, luxury designers. What does exclusivity mean for you and your brand and what kind of power does that hold? I think exclusivity for the brand is about making the customer feel special. I don’t think that has to be through price. I think it’s more of you’ve got something that is hard to get and not everybody else has it. That’s what we try to provide those special models. We provide our customers with something special. Something that is one of a kind; so that they can be proud of the purchase they’ve made. With the models that we sell everyday and are available all the time – those models are more everyday pieces. They’ll go with your outfit or they’re everyday pieces you know and love. Did you ever think you’d be involved in fashion and accessories? To be honest, no. It just kind of happened. What were you doing previously to the 5th? I worked in property development. I was a Development Manager at a company in Melbourne that does a lot of high-rise developments in Docklands. When I was there, my domain was working with a lot of artists on a lot of artist-based projects. I managed small art installations from $50,000 to $1million. Then, I managed big developments that were up to $130 million. What was the dream job in your younger days? I’ve always been passionate about design, the power of design and the positive impact it can have on our lives. Both of my parents are architects, so I’ve always grown up around design. My brother is an architect and my sister is an artist. For me, I saw myself as the voice for designers. I wanted to bring to life their work. That’s what led me to property development. I’m going to create amazing developments with a number of artists and a number of architects. Then, do some really incredible projects. That’s where I thought my path would go in property development. Really, just doing some ground breaking projects that really pushed the barriers of design. That’s where I saw my path going in a way. What does a watch signify to you? A watch does a few things. It connects you with an emotion and it always says something about you. It depends on which watch I’m actually wearing, what the watch actually means to me. For instance, I guess that’s how the 5th came about. My Grandfather came from nothing and built a really successful business. At the height of that business, he passed away and he left me his watch. I guess when I wore that watch I felt like I could achieve what he achieved. That’s what kind of gave me this drive. Every time I looked at that watch, it connected me with an emotion to drive me forward. That’s where I think the power of watches can connect you to really powerful emotions. If it’s say a partner giving their partner a watch – it can connect them to that. It has the power that can connect you to emotion’s unlike digital watches. That it’s more for connecting myself to my friends- I’m going to get my notifications. That connects you in a different way. It connects you to notifications, but it doesn’t connect you to a value or an emotion which can be powerful. Or, actually drive more of your internal engine in a way. In terms of your clientele I think you’ve covered all bases. You’ve got the business chic-feel and then your outdoor watch range for the activate adventurers. There’s a real sense of duality. Why was it important to create multi-functional pieces? We have always discussed this idea of being a lifetime brand. That is providing our customers with something they can grow with and that they can wear on different occasions. We listen to our audience as best we can and work out what we want. It’s just providing people with more choice. We have a lot of customers saying they want more waterproof watches because they want to swim and surf with it. We made a watch that is 100 metres water resistant, even though that’s a little bit outside of our traditional watch. We are traditionally known for doing quite elegant and classic watches. It was something that we did because we had that feedback from our customers. There is a variety of collections that pay homage to different places around the world like Tokyo, Melbourne and London. How does travel influence your design process? I think that inspiration is all around. As a business, we are very open to new ideas, new ways of doing things and new ways of pushing things. We are very global in a sense where we work with lots of different people in a lot of different backgrounds. It’s very diverse. Containing [the concept] to a city allows us to delve into the inspiration that the city brings. It allows us to get to know [the city] and tell those stories. It’s very cool. It’s trying to provide a diverse array of stories about design and inspiration. That’s really why the cities are so important to us. They help us contain so many ideas we might have and provides that inspiration. There is a variety of collections that pay homage to different places around the world like Tokyo, Melbourne and London. How does travel influence your design process? I think that inspiration is all around. As a business, we are very open to new ideas, new ways of doing things and new ways of pushing things. We are very global in a sense where we work with lots of different people in a lot of different backgrounds. It’s very diverse. Containing [the concept] to a city allows us to delve into the inspiration that the city brings. It allows us to get to know [the city] and tell those stories. It’s very cool. It’s trying to provide a diverse array of stories about design and inspiration. That’s really why the cities are so important to us. They help us contain so many ideas we might have and provides that inspiration. In this day and age, as consumers, we all have such high standards. When you’re getting a product from the 5th it definitely is quality over quantity. How does fast fashion and seasonal trends effect your designs and your design process? It’s an interesting one. To start a brand these days is quite easy. To start a product, I should say. You can jump on Ali Baba and find a manufacturer. You put up a website and it’s all pretty easy. A lot of brands just chase the next trend – what’s coming, what’s coming. For us and for successful businesses I think, it’s about sticking true to yourself and not departing from that. It’s about being disciplined. There are pressures to chase a seasonal trend or a colour or something like that, but in terms of our identity and our product range we have to keep that consistent with our brand. If it feels like it’s kind of outside of that then we’ve got to stop it. We don’t want to be a fast fashion brand; we want to be more meaningful. We say, we create watches worth waiting for. They’re hard to get, they’re exclusive, they make you feel special and that’s what we’re trying to create. Having something that’s worth waiting for and worth keeping and looking after. It kind of plays against the seasonal trend and that’s a challenge in itself - to stick with what you do best. Try and get that seasonal influence in there if you can, but the number one, most important thing, is to be true to yourself. Where do you see the 5th in three years’ time? I think that we are on the brink of releasing some really exciting things in the watch industry. I think if our plans come to fruition, we will revolutionise the watch industry a little bit. Where do I think it could be? I think a very big global player of a brand that is challenging the traditional old-school Swiss watch brands. Further with a new way of marketing and connecting watches with the millennial generation. Published on 4/07/2019 by Leonie Henzell CEO of beauty's got soul
Read moreBeth Richards
Favourite holiday? Egypt. Bucketlist destination? Coast of Italy. Beth Richards, Founder and CEO of Hallow Brands channels travel inspiration into everyday necessities for all of your luxe-leather needs and smart accessories. Understanding that if something wants to be really good, it’s got to be functional - without compromising on those aesthetic features we all love. She gets what makes us say ‘yes’. Here to curb our overpacking tendencies and at times unglamorous packing woes, this can be juxtaposed against a never-ending supply of Italian leather compendiums and laptop bags for that true workwear chic feel. Beth truly has all the answers for all, and the products to back it... You currently have two brand babies under Hallow brands – could you please give me some insight into how it all started? I previously had a marketing agency called Press Play for eight years and I was travelling a lot for work and I saw the need for something a bit more exciting, a bit more functional but also with a real design focus. Pieces for work and travel such as the overnight bags and compendiums and just beautiful pieces to take into meetings. So the idea for Kinnon was born and Lapoche actually started as a client of mine at Press Play and then I eventually bought into the business. There you go! What was it like taking that leap of faith? Exciting and scary. When I did it, I had Press Play still and I’d just had my daughter and begun Hallows as well, so it was all a bit crazy at the time. Definitely a little bit mad but definitely was a great decision and since then I sold Press Play and now just focus on my two kids and my two brand babies! So many babies! How do you feel your previous work streams into what you’re doing now? I’m very passionate about branding and brand strategy and brand building, along with product design and development which is essential for the success of really any brand. I think it was a really great background to have going into this but the design side of it was a really big learning curve for me but we now have product designers in house who can really take that and run with it so it’s been a really great way to start! And then on the days where the stress is hitting a bit too hard and maybe the creative energy isn’t quite there – where do you turn to for inspiration? I honestly just try and tune out from work for a little bit. If you get to that point where it’s all a little bit too overwhelming it means that you’ve gotten yourself way too much in it, rather than out of it looking in. So I think the best thing to do, even if you think there’s absolutely no time to do so, just pull back for a little bit, for a day or even just a few hours. And for me, that’s hanging out with my kids, hanging out with my husband or I go out for a drink with the girls because usually nothing is as urgent or stressful as it seems to be. Just going back with what we were talking about with Kinnon, you now have an in-house designer. Your pieces are highly functional and thought out, but you haven’t comprised on those aesthetic features that we love. What’s your design process like at Kinnon? We always start with research and trends and find out what our existing customers want and find out what they love with what we’ve got and what they’d like to see more of. That customer research piece is so important umm and also the need to create products and designs that we all absolutely love. If we don’t think it’s the absolute best, then it certainly doesn’t go out the door. We also show our customers (wholesale) where we are headed and get their feedback and make sure it’s what they want to see as well. We are fortunate to work with factories who are willing to give us shorter runs to start with and quick leave times so we are fortunate to be able to trial out products and see how they go and build from there. Fast fashion, sustainability. They keep popping up again and again. How does fast fashion and trend driven pieces affect both Lapoche and Kinnon? All of our pieces have a two year warranty and will often last a lot longer than that. So we design pieces that are designed to last and you’ll use for years to come and the leathers we use for Kinnon get better with age – the pieces you have will be used for a long time! I met someone the other day who was talking about his vintage Lapoche pieces and we haven’t been around for that long so – but he has been using them for ages and they’re still perfect so that’s really important to us that our product lasts. For Lapoche – it’s not too much of an issue for us, but we might introduce some trend pieces in terms of the colourings or whatever or even some smaller pieces for Kinnon, but generally with both brands you’ll hang on to them for a long time. In terms of the sustainability we are always looking for new avenues to improve on what we do there from the factories that we work with, the products that we’re using and we are looking for Lapoche using some recycled pieces to use at the moment so that’s something that we are always looking to what we can do. And for the life advice she’d give twenty-one-year-old Beth… I thought a bit about this one. You can’t do it all at once. Just do everything to the best of your ability that’s all you can do and that’s the main two things really just that you can only do your best so put less pressure on yourself. Lastly, Beth has been blessed by the travel gods and given us her top three packing tips! Over packers, beware. This is for you. Figure out how many days you’re going for and how many outfits you actually need Work out which pieces / what are your staple pieces that you can wear more than once and be multi-useful and purposeful Make sure you leave a lot of space for lots of shopping (obviously, the most important thing) Lastly, besides a beauty-full collaboration with Habbot and Beauty’s Got Soul, what else can we see from Hallow Brands in 2019? We’ve got so much – so much new product development coming, heaps from Kinnon and some really new beautiful bigger pieces in Italian leathers for our overnight bags. We've also got some more business totes and backpacks and we’ve got a whole lot of smaller pieces within the work and travel space. This is all hot off the press hahah so some jewellery cases, tie rollers, and some things like that. Some really small beautiful gifty pieces that fit within the Kinnon space. For Lapoche our tagline there is ‘pack smarter’ so traditionally Lapoche is pieces for inside your suitcase but we are taking it out of the suitcase for other pieces that help you pack smarter and carry. We’re also have a collaboration with a major Australian artist in the pipeline to do some prints of their pieces on our products. If you’re looking for some serious #travelgoals you can take a look at Lapoche here, throw Kinnon a follow here . Published on 05/05/2019 by Leonie Henzell CEO of beauty's got soul.
Read moreBeauty's got soul X Cacao | Interview with Laurent Meric
“It doesn’t matter how old you are, it’s important to learn new things every day. That’s what is pushing you forward and keeping you challenged and that’s good. My employees and chefs have better ability than me at some things. I don’t know everything. We all don’t know everything.” Cacao is very much synonymous with quality, handmade chocolates. So, did Cacao originally just start with chocolates? When did the range grow and expand over the years to macarons and patisserie? It all started with everything; not only chocolate. Although, I originally only intended to do just chocolate; which is what I love. But it seemed like a risky thing to do when I started the business in 2003. If I started with doing just chocolates and it didn’t work then what’s next? I’m a pastry chef, so I can do everything from pastry to cakes and chocolate. I was looking for a location that was big enough to produce pastry, cakes, savouries, chocolates, macarons in bigger quantities so that I could sell to other businesses as well. So that’s why St Kilda came about. It was a 200m square place to start the venture. I read this quote from you and it says, “skills come with repetition” and it can’t be more true. Could you go into a bit more depth about this for me? When I started, I was fifteen. In France, I started with the classics and then patisserie. I’m a chef as well. When you start learning in France they don’t give you a recipe, instead they teach you how the ingredients work together, how they combine - the chemical reaction or the biological reaction between the ingredients - so you slowly start understanding how it all works. Once you have 4-5 years of experience in this method, then you can create. My mum was a really good chef and we had this really great pastry shop in town, and the flavours just imprinted in my memory. Flavours you enjoy as a kid just stay with you for the rest of your life. When you’re a kid, your taste buds are 100% more correct than when you’re older. Your tongue has a lot more sensitivity to food and flavour. The more you age the more you lose your tastebuds. That’s why with kids you put a bit of pepper in the food and they go “stop Dad, you put too much pepper”. Because their feeling is ten times more sensitive than yours. Also, when you are young you go through the seasons; you wait for the seasons to come again and to get that flavour again. That’s imprinted in your mind when you’re a kid. Then, when you get older, they come back to you and you want to create those flavours again. Therefore, I was able to follow back to my young time to create the flavours I missed. If you ask where my inspiration is coming from, it comes from what I did back then. Then obviously it worked with my customers. Patisserie and macaron making is an art form and is quite traditional. However, your flavour combinations and presentations are continually evolving. It’s very modern and fresh the way that it’s shown despite it being more traditional in practise. What is your secret? You have to use good ingredients first and foremost. This is the first secret. It’s a simple secret but a lot of people don’t understand that. Top quality ingredients will always give you top quality, finished product if you mix them well. So when we make a chocolate macaron for instance; when you bite into the macaron, it’s the filling which gives you the flavour because the shell is meringue made out of almond meal with cocoa butter. First of all, you get to see the product. If your eyes like what they see, then the next step is to put it in your mouth. If your mouth likes what it tastes, then your hand is going to go back for another one and then you have a winner. We want to give the customer a feeling of quality. It takes a bit of time to get it all perfect. There’s no flavouring, no preservatives; just genuine ingredients. When you read the name of a product, that’s already half the work done because your mind is expecting a lemon meringue tart, for example. When I was a kid, I loved Bounty chocolate but as an adult I don’t like it anymore. It’s far too sweet. When I created my version of a coconut chocolate, I was thinking about the old Bounty. If you happen to try this product, you will know what I’m thinking. You’re going to feel the different levels of flavour going through your mouth. It’s not too sweet and it’s really nice. The coconut is becoming more prevalent at the end. The beauty of our industry is that everyone can afford to have a nice quality pastry. It may be top-quality but it’s still accessible for everybody. It’s not like if you go to a jewellery shop in Paris where everything is untouchable and too expensive, and you can only watch. But when you go into a fine chocolate or pastry shop in France or in Australia, you can afford to try. Anyone can try it and go in. You can have a little bite of luxury at an affordable price compared to a full meal at a restaurant or something like that. It’s a very refreshing way to look at it. I think so. Normally in a difficult time, we realised that our turnover increases because a lot of people can’t afford other things. They come in for little bites of luxury. Affordable luxury. In difficult times in France, there was an increased amount of sales because of that. Do creative constraints concern you or do you enjoy the limitations of the patisserie process and recipe building as well as the more structural and visual elements? It’s good to tease your brain. It’s a good exercise – just like yoga. It’s never been a constraint. Thinking about new products, or a new range for Christmas and Easter, or whatever it may be it’s always a delight. It’s a part of our job as well. It would be boring otherwise. You know when you go to places, where you always see the same things that never change. I don’t know how people can be happy to do that. I couldn’t do that. This being said it’s great to tease your brain. Now we have the luxury where we have a team. It’s not only my brain that gets to be teased but everybody’s brain. It’s everyone’s work. There’s always changes and that’s great – it’s what you want. You get to share with people your knowledge, your thoughts and ideas and think of something new. The more you recognise the quality of people you’re working with, the better the results you get. What trends are currently present in the culinary world that you wish would go away? It doesn’t matter whether people are vegetarian or vegan. I respect everything. The one thing I wish would be more popular in Australia is eating cakes. I love cakes. I remember when I was in St Kilda, when a customer would come in and eat my cake. They would take a spoon and dig deep into the cake and have a big smile on their face. I remember these customers, they always made my day. In Australia, it’s very hard to sell cakes. People unfortunately don’t see the value in paying $10-12 for a cake, compared to Spain or France or Italy. I would love to see this change. There are many great Australian pastry chefs who make some amazing cakes but it hasn’t proven sustainable. What advice do you have for those attempting to make patisserie at home, or are trying to learn something new? Make sure you get a good cook book. There’re some really good ones out there for people who want to cook at home for their own enjoyment. Pastry, chocolate – it’s all about formula. If you don’t have the formula, it’s not going to work. It’s not like when you put a chicken in the oven. You put it at 180 or 200 degrees, and you know it’s going to cook. You just look at it and you know. Pastry, cakes, chocolate – it’s all about being very precise. You need to have a good cookbook with simple recipes that you will enjoy. Follow the recipe and the technique carefully. So, my advice is: Buy a good cookbook. Published on 26/07/2019 by Leonie Henzell CEO of beauty's got soul.
Read moreGraeme Goldman - CEO of The 5TH
The inescapable passion turned career. After clocking away over twenty years in the watch business selling Swiss-made watches, it’s the passion that Graeme Goldman, CEO of The 5TH, cannot escape from. His grounding, yet insightful odyssey, will dial through the meaning that a watch is truly more than what meets the eye. Ultimately, why the ticking of the horologe remains on your wrist and not necessarily just in your heart. What was your dream job, in dare I say, the slightly younger days? I’m not so sure if I had a dream job. It was more a matter of get out. Let’s just create a future and create wealth and opportunities. I don’t come from a fashion background. I’m a qualified chartered accountant, so it was more a matter about making sure that there was enough income coming in to be able to support and sustain the lifestyle that I wanted to live. Maybe it’s a different generation, we didn’t dream as much. It wasn’t as defined as what your generation is with what you wanted to do. The world was a different place thirty years ago. I’m interested to know how did you and Founder of The 5TH, Alex McBride, meet? Serendipity. Pure and absolute serendipity. I’d never heard of The 5TH. I’d never heard of Alex. I met someone, through pure chance that introduced me to Alex and the rest is history basically. I like what he stands for. I like what he has built to date. There were some skillsets that he didn’t have- that he needed. There was some assistance on the business side that I could offer from my many years in the watch industry. It was just a really good meeting of the minds. We share the same values and same dreams of what we want to achieve in the watch industry. This was very interesting because we are in opposite ends of the age spectrum. He’s only two years older than my eldest son. It’s almost like I’m in business with my son, which is pretty good as well. I can understand Alex, because I can understand my son. We share similar values and similar dreams of what can be achieved in the watch industry, which is quite exciting and frightening at the same time. It’s surprising that you would have people that are maybe twenty-five years apart in age, that have very similar views of the future of the watch industry… and that we have come from different segments. I come from luxury Swiss [watches] and he comes fast fashion non-Swiss [watches]. It was a meeting of the minds, serendipity and destiny. What are the values that you and Alex equally share within The 5TH family? If you look at where the over-connecting circles are between Alex and myself; it is a strong degree of honesty and integrity. A strong connection back to the past. He set up The 5TH because he was inspired by his grandfather. He has his grandfather’s watch, that was subsequently passed on. I thought this was pretty cool. Because for a while there, I thought the millennial generation didn’t care about that kind of thing. What were the mutual values you two connected on when initially meeting? Being open, transparent, truthful, and offering value for money as opposed to working out what the consumer will pay. I don’t want to disrespect other brands, but I feel that there are a lot of other brands out there that can radically overcharge because of the name. It goes above the cost of the goods and above the cost. I’ve worked for some of those brands, so I understand the way the financial metrics work. To offer good products with fair value and full transparency to our customers. To bring happiness and joy to their lives. That’s the basis of values. When someone purchases a product from The 5TH, you do know it’s going to be a quality product. You have a very strong emphasis on quality over quantity. Why is creating a product that will last so important to you at the end of the day? From my perspective, the world that I grew up in, was a world where you buy good quality things and you keep them for a long time. The world today – well a large part of the world today, is about buying product. Fast food, fast products and chuck out, chuck out, chuck out. It all becomes landfill. So, for myself and for Alex, one thing we connected on was the ability to create something that has a bit of a legacy. It might sound a bit morose, but what would happen if my grandchild asked me on my deathbed “Hey Dad … Hey Grandad, how do you feel about what you did?”. Yeah, we basically built a business where the products end in landfill, [that] is not something that I would feel proud about. I still get a buzz when I see people in the streets that are wearing watches that I introduced to Australia many years ago. I still get a buzz when I see people wear a Swatch that I released when I ran Swatch. I get really excited, I know it’s crazy! It’s mental and I remember the watch and I worked at swatch nearly twenty years ago. But I remember the watch and on occasion (to the embarrassment of my wife) I go and talk to them about the watch and she thinks I’m mad. The thing is, nobody has been rude or abrupt or told me to get stuffed. They’ve all been engaged and they’re like, ‘You’re the guy who brought the watch here? You worked for Swatch?’. I look at that and I think, yes it’s crazy and amazing that you can reach out to someone about the watch they’re wearing, engage with them, and talk to them. And they’re happy to engage and talk back about it. At the end of the day they say it’s just a watch. To me it’s more than just a watch. In a world of many empty wrists, what does a watch ultimately signify to you? More than time. Obviously, a watch is there to tell the time. Being on time and time itself are even more important in this day and age. There is so much going on, we all seem to not have enough time! But, for all intensive purposes, there is time all around. There’s time on your phone, there’s a myriad of places you can get the time. To me, a watch is more of an emotional connection. It’s a connection with an object that brings you joy. There’s so much negativity and hardship and horrible things going on in the world. We’re in the business of just creating a bit of joy. If you think about people who don’t wear watches or certainly do wear a watch, I don’t think they realise how many times they glance down at their watch. If you looked at your watch consciously or subconsciously [and it] makes you feel better or makes you feel happier; then it’s a very simple, small and inexpensive way to add a bit of value,, and add a bit of joy, to people’s lives. There’s also the emotional connection which I’ve found over many, many years with people who have been given their watch by their parents for a special occasion; like graduating university or school or their 21st birthday. Then on the other end of the spectrum – and I see this all the time. I’ve seen this for over thirty years… When a father passes away, you’ll find one of the most coveted things that is normally desired, either by the son or the daughter is their watch. It’s like a piece of Dad on my wrist. I have it too. I’m never surprised at how many times I’m with people from all walks of life, whether that be shapes, sizes, colours, religions, creeds and genders. They all share the same thing. I tend to ask people, “Why do you like your watch?” and there is some connection. Whether to a Grandfather or to a Father or something along that line. It’s not just a weird coincidence. It’s not tied to a generation. It definitely turns into an heirloom for a lot of people. Somebody once said to me in Switzerland that what makes a watch so covetable is that the watch has its own heartbeat; but it is worn on the wrist - where you take the pulse. It’s where you feel the previous owner’s heartbeat. It’s in tune with the watch because when you think about it, you go to the doctor and where do they take your pulse? On your wrist. Where do you wear your watch? On your wrist. So, I thought that was a romantic way to think of things basically. It’s just a bit of joy! Bit of joy, bit of happiness in life. That’s all. Do you have a ‘dream watch’ or perhaps a favourite in your collection? If you have multiple children, it’s like asking a parent which child you love the most. I am a Collector. Fortunately, or unfortunately, I have the collector’s bug, so I’m constantly looking for the next one. I’m constantly refining … My favourite watch is probably the one my Dad had for many, many years. I initially bought it and he took it off me because he loved it so much. I had it when he passed away. It’s always the special one. Published on 11/07/2019 by Leonie Henzell CEO of beauty's got soul
Read moreDemi Markogiannaki - Co-Founder of We Teach Me
The Co-Founder of We Teach Me, Demi Markogiannaki, certainly is a powerhouse of a woman. Markogiannaki is one of 2018’s Australian Financial Review’s Top 100 Women of Influence and aims to ooze positivity and creativity wherever she goes. Encouraging all to try something new, whilst accepting challenges that come along the way. We Teach Me is the platform that embodies the zeitgeist we all have within us. How do your values link to the We Team Me vision and how do you execute them in practise? Extra Effort. We think it’s not just enough to show up. It’s putting in everything you have in your heart and your soul. To go that extra mile and make that difference whether that be for your clients or whether it is within the team. Actions Speak Louder Than Words. It’s important for us to do things and prove our worth with actions. They say talk is cheap, right. You can say anything. You can pretend to achieve 6-8 things but what we want to do is put everything into action. We have a no bullsh*t policy pretty much. Ownership. Taking ownership and being accountable. Being a part of the no bullsh*t policy. You take ownership of something until you get it done until the end. We believe in honesty. If something happens then it’s better to stay true to not only who you are but stick to what happened. I think it’s a lot easiest to go ahead and work with people and build trusting relationships if you’re honest. People Centric. Help these people on both sides of the suppliers and small business. The issues that come up in small business is always like mayhem that you have to deal with every day. You need a lot of resilience and a lot of hard work. We understand these people and we are trying to serve them the best way possible. That’s so true though! You have to honour your commitments and march to the beat of your own drum. I’d like to step back a little bit. I understand that you were born and raised in Greece. What initially brought you to Melbourne? I came here to do my master’s degree at Melbourne University. I was always a curious kid. I always wanted to travel - I have a bit of an appetite for adventure. I had no idea I would stay for 11 years. I can’t even believe it myself. I thought it was just an adventure. I will come and do my masters and I will work with people and I will make connections and I’ll have a lot of fun in the process and I will challenge myself. Then I’ll go back home which never happened. Only for holidays. I had support from back home [in terms of] finance and also emotionally. They were by my side. I struggled so much. I struggled with the language, the culture, the distance and making friends. I felt lonelier that I’ve ever felt in my life. To date I still speak to my family once a day on facetime. But talking about resilience and how this has affected my life - I cannot imagine how hard it would be for all the thousands of migrants and refugees. People around the world who have to abandon their homes. Go to a different country; not speaking the language or anything like that. Not because they want to, but because of their circumstances. I have so much respect for these people. Let’s talk a bit about your business success. You’ve been listed as one of the Australian Financial Review’s top 100 most influential people which is absolutely incredible. What does this kind of recognition mean and represent for you? First, being nominated and being a part of a community of amazing women is not only the biggest honour, but one of the most humbling experiences. It’s not just the recognition, it’s an invaluable lesson that nothing is impossible. It doesn’t matter what your background is. I’m Greek. I’ve been in the country for ten years with no business experience or anything like that. So, it doesn’t matter what your background is, your religion [or] your ethnicity. We all have stories that should be celebrated and shared. Stories that transcend history, geography, gender, race. It’s our truth and it’s powerful. I think we can all fight for justice, equality and a better world. When they are listening to us, then we can influence them. We can help them see a better future. I find this such a supportive community. It’s a sisterhood of amazing women that grows bigger and bigger every year and it inspires the future generations of girls to go ahead and pursue their dreams. To open their hearts and consider that everything is possible. We are free to experience all these things today because all the women in the past have fought for us. They have been through lifetimes of inequality, oppression and injustice so that we can enjoy life. I think it comes with an important responsibility to build a path for the future women and to not be scared to voice their opinions or be scared to walk at night. I’m very passionate about this and I think there’s a lot of work to be done. I cannot tell you how optimistic I am. In terms of technology, I think it is still quite a male dominated industry. What advice do you have for younger women, or women in general, who want to break into that industry and how did you find it? I think with technology, and along with every male dominated industry, there is a bit of bullying behind it. That is how it comes across. There’s not that many women. Now it’s cool to follow the path that is so male dominated. It blocked a lot of women from following that and it becomes very hard and to tell them to believe in themselves. "What they’re saying, what they’re thinking, what they’re believing is good enough to voice and that they are enough. Not to second guess themselves, not to be judgemental." If you second guess yourself so much to the point where you don’t have a voice […] you have to call out sexist behaviour within you work environment. It’s not a joke. Even if it’s said as a joke, it’s not a joke. It’s not funny. You know, stand up for yourself, and of course put in the hard work. Do your homework, be prepared. Respond to everything in your immediate environment with the intention to be the best version of yourself. Work hard, study hard. Put all the effort that you have in order to be able to feel secure and safe within your own skin. Don’t allow other people or other people’s opinions to put you down. Whether that be other men or other women - just stand strong. Be prepared. Anticipate the conflict and be confident in your skin. We Teach Me inspires people to pursue their passion. Who inspires you to pursue yours? I think my family are key people in empowering me to pursue my dreams. It’s the way I grew up. They never discriminated between me and my brother – whatever he could do I could do. We grew up, in the most way, where we were pushed and were encouraged to do more. To pursue more, to believe in ourselves. I think that’s very important. Bad things will happen. But what you need to do is adjust, get up and continue. Courage is like something that I really keep in my mind. I keep in mind that the previous generation are the people that helped me to do it. Of course the team – and having an amazing team around you that are working hard, believe in your vision, they are there for you. They support you. They see you through the hard times and celebrate your success and cry together when bad things are happening. No one can ever, ever achieve anything without an amazing team around them. It’s the courage that will carry you through those difficult times to keep you going. Was it always your intention to become an entrepreneur? No. I had no business background whatsoever. I had no idea what I was doing in the beginning. I’m still learning so so much every day. You can say that you have an entrepreneurial spirit and that’s fine. But all people know what they’re doing, I think it’s more finding something that challenges you, I guess. A purpose that’s worth putting your time in and that you really love doing. The resilience and the passion for work. Finding ways to fight adversity and the courage to keep going -that’s what makes an entrepreneur. Published on 25/06/2019 by Leonie Henzell CEO of beauty's got soul
Read moreShauna Ryan - Strong Woman Official
Previously an event coordinator, travel consultant, school teacher, and current card connoisseur, Shauna Ryan has done it all. Launching her platform ‘Strongwoman’ in 2015, it’s more than just another motivational ‘gram, but a community of strong women that was birthed out of a challenge. Recently, Ryan has returned from her three-month long journey across America, where she has been “given a gradual incline of curiosity fulfilling all of [her] curiosities”. Ryan was granted an invitation to be a part of amazing people's lives that she would not otherwise have met in rural NSW. Shauna Ryan is a force of positivity to be reckoned with – without dismissing the hardships that life occasionally swings our way. This is the Strong Woman, Shauna Ryan. We are very much living in a day and age where everything's posted and curated in a specific way online. What I think is refreshing about yourself and your ‘feed’ is this overall honesty. I use my platform Strong Woman for what I think that everybody really needs to hear and negated to the fact that I needed it most. It took a lot of courage and soul searching for me to realise that I have been given a very specific set of gifts and confidence. So, I am able to share aspects of my life in a way where I don’t project myself into people lives and feeds in a way where it’s not ok anymore or it’s too much. The beauty of social media is that people can unfollow. I just wanted to create a space where people feel that they see similarities. I grew up where I didn’t see a lot of people similar to me. Obviously, I am a white woman so there is plenty of representation in the media and everywhere, but I never saw any plus-sized women when I was a teenager. If I did, it was always the funny person or the mean person, and it was always filling that role for a bit of ‘diversity’. They never got the boy and they never got the dream job – it was always the beautiful, pretty ones (although that isn't life). I realized that there was a total lack – and it was a subconscious lack. In the last twelve months I’ve focussed on utilizing the platform Strong Woman. I want people to realise their emotions, their thoughts, their experiences that they have every day are completely normal. As you said there’s a lot of curation, and although I want to create beautiful content, I want it to be very real and very relatable. As you're navigating this online space, how did you feel when others started to enter and communicate within that space? Tell me more about what that process looked like and how you found the courage to start? Ever since I could remember, all I wanted to do is to bring people joy and be a light to people. I searched for that in different workspaces previous to this. I’ve always aspired to be ‘real’ and who makes people feel that they’re not the only ones going through something. The process wasn’t 100% authentic to me because I still felt insecure. It wasn’t until I had really real conversations with people that challenged me and saw through the facades that I put up. The [facades] weren’t dishonest – I wasn’t a dishonest person. I was just struggling like everybody else was. I was trying to remedy everybody else and patch everybody and ignore the fact that I needed that pep talk as much as them. It was really only in the middle of last year where I started to step into my truth and into the most authentic version of myself. I was unfiltered, I shared parts of my story. I poked fun at myself - but not in a detrimental way. Just in a helping people realise they’re not the only idiots in the room. I too am a little crazy, and I got such a different response to that. For me to be my truest and most authentic self - that is what people really resonate with. Transitioning to social media wasn’t super difficult. But I felt I needed to air out myself. I started posting and saying things like: “hey guys, you know, I have had really intense self-confidence issues”. I started to bring things up and people were really surprised, people that have followed me for years. I was fine, I was not depressed. I just felt the need to tell everybody that I have always been confident online, but it hasn’t been the case offline. Tell me about how this attitude and overarching plan launched into Strongwoman Official? It started off as a challenge. A friend said I had to take 40 photos in 7 days, and if I could get a certain number of likes, they’d buy me tickets to the opera. Then, three days in I realised it was way more than just winning a challenge for me. It was about connecting with people and tapping into the lives and the hearts of women who I was sharing a community with. I would talk to random people on the street would ask to take their photos, and I realised that most women don’t see themselves as strong. They think they have to have gone through something traumatic and have had to overcome something to be strong. I had such a desire to tell other women’s stories and help them be seen that I wanted to create a space of compassion online. Social media obviously is filled with a lot of really great stuff but also a lot of crap. I wanted to bring social back to social media. At the end of the day, strength is not just one blanketed label, strength looks different on different people. A lot of this takes a lot of courage. We all have those times where things aren't quite going our way. How do you find courage on a day to day basis and simultaneously maintain your positivity? Truthfully, it takes time. It takes breathing. It takes overly communicating sometimes. To be truthful, the month of February for me was very turbulent and very transformative. I had a lot of time to myself. I had to work through how I’m going to be this positive person when I’m not feeling positive. I guess I always come back to the centre. I’m a spiritual person so whatever you decide to believe in, whether it’s with God or the universe – whatever entity. I think really discussing something other than yourself is a really important way of managing that. If I’m overwhelmed or having a really, really crappy day - I stop what I’m doing. I’ll put it away and do something that I love, that is often very self-indulgent. I like to sit down and eat a bowl of pasta and watch ‘The Nanny’. Or, do a twenty – minute meditation. View this post on Instagram I’m the healthiest I’ve ever been— inside + out— and it feels so good. Daily affirmations and breathing exercises are game changers. Self care is amazing y’all ✨
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