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.

Sharon Young wryly recalls her first experience of football - “I was dragged along as my brothers played and I hated it to start with”. However, this initial reluctance soon developed into a love of the sport, and by high school and college she was playing for clubs in Takapuna and Birkenhead. Although, she had the opportunity to play at a regional level, Sharon has always enjoyed the social aspect of the game and played for a North London club and for 5-aside teams for a number of years.

Originally born in Braintree in Essex, Sharon emigrated to NZ when she was five and a half, after a five week seaward journey. Growing up on the North Shore in Auckland with her four brothers, Sharon embraced the kiwi lifestyle and was the first of her family to lose her British accent. She also spent a lot of her time at the beach, which inspired her to swim at a competitive level for Northcote College.

As the great Coco Chanel once said “fashion changes, style endures”, and it is this sense of presence which Caroline Williams seeks to develop in others through her styling business, De Vallenger Design.

Growing up in Orakei in Auckland, Caroline spent her days at Snell’s Beach at her family’s bach. Drawn to the ocean she enjoyed boating, water skiing and windsurfing, as well as being a bit of a “sun worshipper”. However, she always knew she wanted to work in fashion, and recalls her parent’s recollections of her at a young age making button necklaces as well as complementing her outfits with the perfect handbag or accessory.

Given her early forays into fashion, Caroline then went on to study Fashion Design at AUT, whilst simultaneously obtaining her Interior Design qualification at night school from Nanette Cameron School of Interior Design.