From a young age, Kiwiroa Marshall has stayed true to her high school motto - Summa Pete, Seek Thou the Highest. As head girl at Papakura High, this has been a value which has resonated with Kiwiroa (known as Kiwi) and one which undoubtedly has been applied throughout various aspects of her life.

Kiwiroa describes herself as being from a true blue-collar background. Her father, who spent most of his life in the freezing works, always championed her progress. “Dad wanted more opportunities for me than he had, so he would go into school and talk to the careers advice officer and my teachers." It was an accounting teacher that said she should be going to to university that lead to her completing a four-year Bachelor of Management Studies (majoring in Accounting) at Waikato University.

In her mid 20’s, Daniella did what so many of us curious Kiwis do - she packed up her life to move across the world. Armed with a two-year working visa, she headed off to London, with the desire to travel Europe and live in “one of the most exciting cities in the world”. Fast forward 11 years and Daniella is still proud to call London her “home away from home”.

Growing up, Daniella said she didn’t have a dream career. “I decided very last minute what University I wanted to attend and what to study,” she said. She was living in one of London’s Kiwi hotspots, Fulham, surrounded by a great network of friends and working for a magic circle law firm, when she decided to make a change. She stepped away from her job as a foreign qualified lawyer, for a new career path to work in digital marketing. It was these skills in law and marketing that Daniella eventually carried through into her very own business - Pēpi Collection.

Struggling to make herself understood at the mobile phone shop and stifled by the humidity on the walk there, Jodi Zervos found herself wondering if she’d made the right decision moving to Hong Kong a few years ago. “It was hard at the beginning. It takes time to get to know a place.” But her kiwi determination kicked in, she gave it time and eventually settled in.

Jodi has always had a sense of adventure. She moved to Cairns from Auckland when she was 18, where she discovered her passion for diving around the Great Barrier Reef. There, she also started her career in hospitality. It wasn’t what she’d planned, but she’s philosophical about the paths we end up on. “Everything in life is an opportunity put in front of us,” she says. “I always ask myself: Am I learning? Am I growing? And if it feels right, I follow it.”

So when bitten by the travel bug, she started a new adventure in the UK, travelling and exploring for a number of years. She also worked managing catering contracts for the British Museum and the Barbican.