¶ Empowering Careers and Resilience
Hello and welcome to the we Are Power podcast . Every week I get the most amazing opportunity to speak to role models from all walks of life , all levels , all different stories , and guarantee that no two have the same straight line path , because that's just not life right , anyway . But every week it's great to get some of those top tips , advice and guidance .
So , whether it's for your career , your life , whatever your adventure on , we hope to be able to pass some of those on to you and this week I'm very excited to bring from the world of Canva . I'm very excited , jade . Welcome to the podcast .
Thank you so much for inviting me . I'm so excited to be here In these great studios . How cool are they ? It's amazing .
And you are the education and community manager for Canva . For those of you who live under a rock right , tell us about .
Canva . Okay , so Canva is a visual communications platform we launched back in 2013 and we quickly became every freelancer's , every small business owner's best friend . Thank you , thank you so much . Absolutely Me too , because I was a business owner at the time . So our platform really makes design easy for people who aren't necessarily trained professionally in design .
So we started out with lots of templates for social media leaflets , posters and the platform now is just like a huge iceberg because you can do so much on it . You can create docs , videos , animations . We've got AI tools on there . You can even create websites pretty snazzy ones in Canva .
What about bios for your podcast guests ?
Right there , absolutely .
And it's business and education as well , isn't it ? It's , you know , it's something that we definitely we are power , northern power , women towers have used for years and years and years . And , what's interesting , you've been there since the start of the year , but you were a super fan anyway , weren't you ? Oh ?
totally , totally so . I was a business owner in the education world and you know Canva enabled me to . I used to pay like 600 pounds for a logo and and then we could kind of do an all right one in Canva . So that was great .
And then I used it every day and I did actually used to bring in a designer who would come in every term and do all of our resources , all of our social media graphics in canva and then as a team , we would take those , we could make amendments , we could put them out , we could refresh them .
Um , when I used to work with schools as a marketing consultant , every client that I took on I created them a canva account . We got a designer in , designed all the templates . I just made life so much easier . You know I'm more cost effective as a business to run .
But you've had a really varied career up until you've worked in school . You've had your own businesses . You've just alluded to what was , what was your clearly not a straight line path .
No , not a straight line path at all . So I started my career in tech , which I loved , did loads of travel , um , ended up in Australia at one point . Okay , absolutely about to hit 30 , let's , let's sell up and move to Australia , um , which I loved . But I was very homesick for Liverpool .
So I came back , I set up a business and you know what it's like when you're on a business . You know it's crazy , isn't it ? All of you ? And I started doing some mentoring for a friend who was a university lecturer , and my mum , my stepdad , all my brothers and sisters we all worked in education in some way .
So my mum said to me yeah , I think you need to go into teaching . You know , I think it will give you a better social life . That's what she said . So I said , okay , I'll consider it . And then one of the new academies opened just at that time .
I was really , really lucky and I sent in an application for a job that I had no business really applying for . I didn't have any of the . I could do a couple of things like marketing and partnerships . That was it . I did an interview . I didn't get it and then I wrote back to the head teacher and said you know , please give me a job .
I would , I would love to work with you . And and she did . She found a job for me and still one of the best jobs that I've ever had . I really kind of like found my niche . Really , I could bring all of those marketing and business development skills and , you know , use them for good . So I was the um .
My official title was director of enterprise , but I did lots of work in the community . Um brought lots of tech companies in funding yeah and I had a great time . then I got involved in setting up schools , setting up specialisms .
But , yeah , after creating a school for gamers and working with lots of digital entrepreneurs , I was like , yeah , I'm going to do this myself . And I left education with this really good job , with this vague ambition to set up a community for geeks young geeks across the world . I had no idea what I was doing . In fact .
Actually , I thought , if I play around on Canva every day , that was job done , you know . But yeah , I kind of set up a marketing consultancy alongside it , launched that , loved it . It was a wild ride , you know , it was great . Got to work with some big brands as well , like Pokemon and Epic Games and Instagram , virgin Galactic , um , but the pandemic .
Really , after the pandemic , I needed a break from running a business because it was a lot you know , um and and so yeah , so found myself doing lots of consultancy and then saw the job . I actually created a Canva site two days before I saw the job advert . I didn't even know Canva had an education product and sent it in , sent in my Canva site .
I was like I am a super fan , give me a job . And yeah , about six months later , here we are .
So , yeah , seems to be a pattern there . So the job that you applied for earlier on in your career that you didn't get , but you , you persisted , yes , you know , yeah , and then the same again . But there's something in that , isn't there ?
oh , there is . There is absolutely . There's something about , uh like one knowing your worth and knowing like I can give a lot to this company . You know I might not fit the exact box , but I can give a lot and actually just saying it out loud and sharing it with whoever's hiring . You know , there is definitely something in that .
Manifesting it , and do you think yourself ? Do you think you're a confident person ?
I am outwardly confident , like everybody you know , like you have moments of , you know , insecurity and imposter syndrome , like when I did join Canva . I was a bit star-trucked , you know , because it was like wow , like I have loved this brand for you know what seems like forever , and now I work in this amazing company . So so , yeah , I'm glad to be here .
And what does an education and community manager do ?
Glad to be here . And what does an education and community manager do ? So my role is to really enable schools , teachers and students across the country , across the UK , to access our product , which is completely , 100% free for schools , so they get access to all of those pro features , but 100% free .
Canva is , like you know , I I loved it before , I loved the company before I worked for them , but now what I know about Canva is that they have , um have , these really strong values , one of which is being a good human and the other is to do as much good as we can in the world .
So , uh , yeah , that's why we give away Canva to schools across the globe .
And you've talked about some of the brands that you work with on your . Some of them are like Galactic , virgin Galactic , great big names , aren't they ? Pokemon , but you were named in the top 100 women in games for establishing the UK's first geek school , which you talked about earlier . Yeah , where did that come from ?
So I'd had my son and I'd actually started working outside of Liverpool , in Blackburn , but I didn't want to travel with a small baby .
¶ Tech Industry, Mentoring, and Career Growth
So the lady that first employed me , kay , when I said to her I need a reference , I'm going to have to look for a new job , she said , oh , just come back here , we'll figure something out . So she asked me to open a science school . Um , and you know how you make an application to the government ?
Um , and I said , well , at the same time , can we do something around gaming ? We may as well just throw in two applications at the same time . And because she was a real maverick , she was like , yeah , sure , let's do it . So I literally had a few contacts socially in the game industry and I was like , right , introduce me to everybody .
And I went round , met lots of people Sony at that time , we're in the Runcorn office , they're back in Liverpool now and I just said write me , write me a letter of support . So we did and , uh , and we were one of the first studio schools to be approved .
And then , yeah , it took us a little longer to open because we waited for that lovely building where both schools were housed . So , yeah , it was like an amazing adventure . I loved it . It was a really unique project to be part of .
Really unique students that we attracted into that school because they were all , like you know , hype , really creative , quite entrepreneurial , but in their previous schools they'd been , you know , quite isolated , you know , because they were quite geeky , creative and you know , a little bit different . But when they all came together , like it was just amazing .
It was such a lovely , you know , project to be part of , really . Uh , and all the gaming . Everybody in Liverpool was so generous , you know , they used to help out so much .
We used to do mentoring sessions , used to have 50 people every other week come up , come to school to mentor kids , which was amazing , um , so yeah , and now my son goes to the science school of the same building , which I would have never predicted , because he isn't geeky , he's sporty , um , but he loves it and do you think geeky always comes with gaming , or
do you think that's the thing of the past and things have changed ? I think now tech is so dominant . You know , whatever job you are in , you have to have a certain level of digital literacy . You know 100% . It's just part of our everyday lives now , isn't it ?
And were you a gamer at school ?
No , so what on earth got you into gaming ? I think , just as part of my role at North Liverpool Academy , I met lots of the digital people . I met people in gaming and they were so passionate and they told me about how Liverpool had a really unique history in games .
And at that time , I think , Sony was moving out and lots of people who previously worked at Sony were now setting up their own company . So it's just kind of like a perfect storm , perfect timing .
The gentleman that made Tomb Raider I can't remember his name , Ian Liverston he'd also released a report at the time which said every child needs to learn these skills . So it was just like perfect timing , really .
And who were your role models growing up ?
My role models . I was a bit of a book geek , really , so I always , always had my head in a book and I wanted to be a lawyer . I don't know why . I would have been really bored , um , but , um , I guess my my real role models come from , you know , when I actually started working properly . Um , I've always been really , really lucky .
I've started to work for an Irish entrepreneur when I was 23 who just basically gave me a blank canvas and said you know , go and do what you want , um , but then also brought in lots of mentors as well .
So wherever I've worked , I've always had a really , you know , talented group around me , and I think that's so important , because then you raise your bar , you know to work , you know , and and then subsequently everybody raises , you keep raising that bar . So , yeah , I've just been really , really lucky in my career .
And what do you see as sort of the opportunities for the gaming industry and in particularly kind of levelling up the playing field for women , to progress ?
Well , not just the gaming industry , but anywhere in the tech industry . You know companies like Canva , but anywhere in the tech industry , you know companies like Canva . If you're able to teach yourself new skills to be able to keep up with , you know , the huge , vast rate of pace of change in technology , you can work for any company anywhere in the world .
You know , last year I was working for a Silicon Valley company , for here , from Liverpool , you know , in my spare room . This year I'm working for Canva , who's an Australian company . Uh , you know my colleagues , my teammates are in France , italy , turkey , spain , argentina , australia .
You know that's where my teammates are and it's the tech industry is just so amazing . It's because tech is such a great enabler . The opportunities for women are amazing , because you can , you can . I'm a single parent of a teenager and somehow I managed to juggle it . All you know , and I don't know whether I'd be able to do that without tech .
You know and you've talked about having colleagues all over the'd be able to do that without tech .
You know , and you've talked about having colleagues all over the world , if you like how do you manage , how do you feel connected within that community ? Because tech is that great enabler it is . You know . So how I mean . And obviously we saw , we saw it in massive practice , didn't we ? Over pandemic . I don't think I could do another pub quiz , though .
I'm not gonna lie um , but what ?
what do you use ? How do you you best manage that ? Yeah ?
so , um so . So we talk a lot on slack , um , so we have those daily chats . We also have weekly zoom meetings as well . Sometimes . You know there's some colleagues that I'll see twice a week .
Sometimes maybe not , for , you know , every other week , but we do have that regular contact and sharing of ideas and of course , we're all rolling out similar projects in our own countries , so that kind of keeps us united . But the other thing that we do is off-site .
So it's a big thing in tech companies where we all come together for a week and we have that face-to-face time which is so important .
So , yeah , a couple of weeks ago I was in London for a week , um , and yeah , lots of workshops , but some , you know , some great bonding time together as well during that week , just for us to all have that social time as well as , as well as work and what advice would you give to your younger self ?
because it it just strikes me that your path I said at the top , didn't I , you know , no one has that one straight , lenient path .
And your path is , you know , from entrepreneur to , to maverick , to , business owner , to educator , to oh , just creating a new education establishment while you're at it , you know , and now working at big tech organisations , what advice would you have given yourself to go ? This is what it could look like .
Yeah . So I think it sounds really cheesy , isn't it ? But I , you know , I would say , like you know , if you have big ideas , always have that self-belief that you can make it happen . If you want to work at a company , always have that self-belief that you can . You can make it happen .
And don't be afraid to try things , don't be afraid to share ideas out , Because you know , when we share ideas out , when we connect with people , it's like a chain reaction , isn't it ? Eventually , it leads to was you know to , to to always be cultivating your talents and always find a space where you can share them .
I saw a gentleman that came to speak at an animation conference from Marvel and he said just share your drawings online . He said , your audience will find you and then we will find you . So , yeah , I think , just cultivate your creativity and then share it out as much as you can .
And I think that connection between industry and education is so critical , which is a good job , because that's your new job , right ? But you know , it's one of the roles , but the fact that you talked about the sessions where 50 individuals from industry were coming because they wanted to to mentor .
Yeah , you know , mentoring is so important and it's it's for everyone . It's not for specific , it's for everyone . There's always someone out there what , who , who have been your mentors ?
um , so , so , so , probably my , my , very , the very first gentleman that employed me . Tom Kelly , who was an Irish entrepreneur . He was really , really influential in my career because he had no fear and he was like , yeah , let's just try things . It didn't matter if things didn't always go to plan .
We always , you know , could always take something from it really . So he's been very , very instrumental . Kay Askew , who employed me in my first school , huge maverick , and I loved working for her because , you know , everything that she did was for the kids and she set a really , really high standard .
So sometimes it was tough , you know , it was a tough place to work , but everything that I took away from that experience , you know , has made me who I am today and I've got some great friends who I've kept . And then another one , a gentleman you probably know , is David Wafer . So , david , I met when I first sat in the business .
He's going to love this being named Jack . He's going to love it . He will love it .
But yeah , so he , although I am older than him , I would say he's like my big brother , but he's always somebody who I've been able to check into and say have a little bit of a sense , check , what do you think . You know , I've got an interview at Canva . What do you think you , what do you think ? So he's been great throughout my business journey .
And what is next for you ? Because you're clearly not someone who's afraid of a challenge or something new or something a bit out there . Yeah .
Well , for now , I really love working at Canva . I love the vibe . They're an Australian company . I love that they want to do lots of good in the world , but I also love that they have fun at the same time . So , as an example , we host an annual event called Canva Create , and you know how Apple does with . This is the new iPhone .
We have our version of that . Did you ? Oh yeah , it was brilliant . So I hosted a local event in London .
We invited some of our key community members to come along , but there was a dress code and it was like ombre , bright colours or maybe a bit of glitter , and I thought this , this is my company , you know , so I love it , and it's so fast paced it's there's always something new to launch .
I can see it really kind of , you know , sustaining my interest for for a good while , and then also there's a big job to be done on it . You know I I am so passionate about education and , uh , you know , I want to make sure that we get Canva in the hands of as many kids as we can .
Absolutely , because they become the business owners , the influencers enables them to make sure that we get Canva in the hands of as many kids as we can . Absolutely , because they become the business owners , the influencers enables them to make their dreams come true , doesn't ? It 100% Jade . What a conversation .
Who doesn't want to work for a company that puts on their dress code Ombre bright ?
or glitter , I mean literally .
Right , there's my application . Right there , Jade , thank you so much . Please keep fangirling and doing awesome things and thank you for joining us today . You're welcome , my pleasure . Thank you all of you for watching , tuning in and staying connected on all of our brilliant podcast guests . I told her every single week , talk to somebody .
That is so amazing , with a different story and a different path . No two humans alike , thank goodness is what I say and please do stay connected to somebody that is so amazing , with a different story and a different path no two humans alike Thank goodness is what I say and please do stay connected on all of our socials .
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