One December I received some amazing news - that I was one of the winners of the UK Government's Young Innovators Award 2020/21. This came with a grant, a mentor and a huge community of innovators to bring my business idea to life.
"I left my job to work solely on Gwaan"
We often take notes in your phone of ideas that we think could change the world, but rarely act on them. But it was during the COVID-19 pandemic that I realised that the fitness pandemic is one that has been going on for years, and if I can find something that would get my lazy self to work out, then surely I could give this solution to other people. This award reassured me, that I was in fact onto something and I eventually left my job to work solely on Gwaan.
"I still need help remembering to rest"
I learned that there are key people that really facilitate your growth. There are individuals on the the programme who have been enduring daily check-ins with me for the last year; we really push each other to stay positive and take breaks. That brings me to an important teaching that I still need help remembering; to rest. A break can actually help me solve complicated data problems, but entrepeneurs rarely have a normal working week and it's challenging to stay disciplined. I also learned that I actually have so much that I don't know; digital marketing, branding, interaction design are all things that I have been learning about in the last year. We are still growing the team, so I have so much that I have to approach by myself until the company is at a decent size.
