Well hey there, its Leah! We thought we would mix it up a bit, so this week you're stuck with me... sorry!
First of all I want to say how fantastic Ailis is right! Week after week she has produced some amazing publications and so I definitely feel a little bit under pressure to keep up the standard in this article. (Sorry Ailis in advance because that certainly won’t be possible…!)
How are you all doing? What is making you happy at the moment?
It’s has been super busy behind the scenes in the Checkmates HQ as we are getting super duper close to the Alpha test launch date; we've had to up our game and get ready for the excitement that is about to happen. The team has expanded, the new website is live (today!) and launch party planning has begun!! It feels like I haven't really checked in personally in a while so when Ailis asked me to step in this week and take over I was secretly very excited to be able to talk to you all!
I've been focusing very much on all the backend work which is just as important but hard for you all to see until Checkmates is officially born. It also means that I haven't really been around checking in in the community, especially since season 1 of the podcast ended :(
Oh! that reminds me... Season 2 is going to begin sooner than you think! Please keep your eyes peeled for the lovely Katrine to announce that over on our socials. I have been lucky enough to interview some amazing guests, with some inspirational stories and life changing lessons. I can’t wait to share these all with you at the end of the month!
I have had a lot of questions come up recently around my personal journey creating Checkmates and so I thought I would take the opportunity to share my answers with you. I popped a little Q and A box on my Instagram (Here is the link if you missed that!) about Checkmates/ entrepreneurial start up life ahead of the launch and here is what I received…
I tried to pick some slightly different questions than usual. I recently did an interview with GenZ Talks all about how Checkmates was started, where the idea came from and what it means to me. If you want to find out more about that then I’ve linked the full interview below :)
What is the best/worst thing about being a solo founder?
Best- Having all the power! I know that sounds silly but this has been an idea and a dream ticking away in my head for so long that I know what I want now. I have such a strong image in my head of what I want Checkmates to look like and the message and mission that I want to nail. It is nice not to have to compromise on this and see my dream coming true exactly as I had imaged.
Worst- Having all the power! Haha. Having all the pressure and big decisions fall on your shoulders is stressful and nerve-wracking. Now that I have built it teams it is much easier to share that load, to bounce ideas around the group chats and get other perspectives and opinions. But, at the end of the day the decisions still come back to me and I have to take responsibility for mistakes made… eek!
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?
Say “Yes!” on the way up so you can say “No!" on the way down.
Don’t get me wrong this can be painful and feel time consuming but you have to say yes. You have to take every opportunity, talk to everyone in the room, except those zoom calls and network, network, network because you never know what lies behind each door. Some of the meetings I have held with the least importance have actually turned out to be the most productive; providing me opportunities and lessons that I would have never guessed would come out of them.
Once you’re at the top, sitting on your pile of cash, Rolex watch on your wrist and Jesus on speed dial; then you can start to ignore people on LinkedIn and not show up to your 9am meetings.
What did you study at university?
Pssst I will let you into a little secret… I didn’t go!
Yep, I never went to university. I actually only left school about 18 months ago and decided that further education wasn’t what I wanted to do next. I had a place at Manchester University to do Natural Disaster Management (niche I know!) but instead I took a chance and moved to France (excuse the rhyme!) and have been enjoying learning on the job, learning a new language and learning more about myself.
Although the idea of sitting in a classroom, or writing another essay makes me want to be sick all over my laptop… never say never. I am not ready yet, but who knows maybe I will change my mind and study in France!
What do you do when you are not working?
When I am not glued to my laptop I am either playing tennis or attempting to practice my French in a bar! Bit of a contrast I know but I suck at both and need a lot of time to improve! (French more than tennis I suspect!)
What is the best piece of advice you would give to someone wanting to start on their first start-up adventure?
Choose who you take business advice from. Not everyone is trying to be helpful, not everyone has your best interests at heart.
Unfortunately, it’s true, not everyone wants to see your succeed. Aside from the competitive side to business, no one else will fully understand your passion and reasons for doing what you’re doing. People will tell you to give up, move on and find “security” (whatever that means!) because they don’t know what got you up this morning, what secret ideas you have whirring away or what dreams you have for the future.
Well, there we go, a little weekly round-up for you. We hope you had a good start to the week, enjoy the rest (even if the weather is miserable!), and stay connected.
If you would like to submit an article or small note for the next edition of Check-in you can contact us at Hiya@mycheckmates.co.uk :)
Remember… When it feels like you can’t win, check in with a mate!