Like most children, Kat Smith dreamed up many different paths her life and career might take her, including becoming a photographer, a Nancy Drew style spy and a vet (although this last dream was quickly put to rest when her dad pointed out “but you cry when cats are hurt”). Never in her most outrageous daydreams could she have predicted the course her career would take; from community psychologist, to travel agent, hair salon owner, author and ‘Queen Bitch of Everything.’

After studying psychology and zoology at Massey University, Kat spent 7 years working with a community organisation supporting people with schizophrenia. A ‘normal day at the office’ could range from helping someone out with their weekly grocery shop, to bailing someone out of jail after they’d smashed a shop window believing the mannequins were out to get them. On one occasion, even serving a trespass notice to a convicted murderer, and then being told-off by his mum!

‘Mum, I want to be a YouTuber when I grow up’, are the last words Anne Timpany would want to hear from one of her three young sons. Instead she would love to hear them say that they wanted to be plumbers or have another trade skill which would give them ‘a real, honest, traditional job’.

Not surprising, as Anne and her husband Raff are the directors of On Tap Plumbers which in just over seven years has evolved from being a small family run firm catering to the domestic market into a commercial installer with more than 25 plumbers operating in central London.

The first seeds of entrepreneurialism were planted in Hana McEwan when she completed an elective paper during her studies at Auckland University. The paper required teams to come up with a business idea and present it to judges in a 'Dragons Den' type scenario. Hana put a lot of energy into the paper and noticed it “didn’t feel like work”, with her team subsequently coming runner up. From there her interest in start-ups grew, leading to her opening our favourite South West café Flotsam and Jetsam.

Hana graduated with a BCom (Marketing) and BA (Employment Relations) in 2005 and started her career in the Brand and Marketing team at ASB Bank in Auckland. She recalls ASB being “the perfect place to start the first few years of her career”, and was lucky to learn a lot from inspiring managers and work on exciting and innovative campaigns.