Ella.

I always knew I wanted a career in content creation because I always saw it as a way to make people happy and a way for people to engage in life. Growing up I was always taught that there were two types of life — the one where people live, and the other where people have an existence. That always stuck with me. I always knew that I wished to live, and I wanted others to see that they can too — if I can make it then anyone can!!!

Growing up I always wanted to be an actress or famous!!! When I was 7 I'd be taking my mother's phone and producing skits with the cats — Mungo Jerri-Pants was my favourite, I was HIS human!!! ❤️❤️❤️ Pretty Pants, Fluffy Pants, Luna Pants, Oliver Pants, Freddie Pants — I'd pretend I was directing a comedy series!!! I'd play around with all the filters on Facebook to get little gnome villages and do the voices!!! The cats never got on with each other so there was always DRAMA, funny voices and unlikely alliances!!!

I was my teachers' NIGHTMARES!!! My uncle always encouraged my creativity and left every possibility wide open and made me feel like I could be anyone I wanted — he was a huge supporter of mine!!! My primary school teachers would have hated him with a burning passion. When we had to put vocab words into sentences, I never just gave up sentences — I submitted short stories, which subsequently became the topic of parent-teacher meetings. Didn't change or stop a thing!!! Perhaps that was the beginning of me breaking down barriers.

I was enrolled in advanced college-level classes starting from 8. Creative writing had a huge influence on my life — that teacher always believed in me and encouraged me to one day attend Harvard, a goal I carry heavily on my shoulder to this day. At the time I was thinking law, quite inspired by Elle Woods and her beautiful pink suit, which I aspire to own and have come close to claiming as my own!!!

I did two Model UN courses, a course in zoology, archaeology and of course performing arts!!!

At 14 I created a TikTok account for my dog Lola — Queen Lola, with a kingdom over the canines, a rebellion by the bichon frises for being sent to work in the mines!!! Eventually she was overthrown, displaced from her former glory. I gave it up after a short while from fear of rejection.

At 16 I attended the Lir Junior Academy, where I learnt the power of the stage. I learnt the classical techniques of theatre as an actor, and we practised and studied script writing. What I learnt in that programme taught me more about the world than you'd expect — we took a deep dive into the human psyche to adequately portray our characters. The classes went further than acting, teaching posture and elocution. I learnt how to be confident within myself and my abilities!!! That course was truly a gateway to life!!!

I've always loved watching the telly with my grandfather — all the murder mystery shows, Nationwide, the chat shows!!! I knew from that I always wanted to convey stories. The podcast, the social platform, even the company does all that. Even my creativity is centred on stories around connection.

I never sat my Leaving Cert. I skipped it. I'm self-educating through Coursera, TED talks, workshops, conferences, meetings with industry experts, reading legislation, journal articles and opinion pieces. I do my best to broaden my European expectations and bias within my world view.

I never knew what I wanted to do — and I still don't. It changes every week. International relations, law, social policy, political systems, the economy that governs it all. I thought about the power of languages for a while too. They're all in the same space. One thing I always knew is that I wanted to be a businesswoman. I dreamed of being in New York doing negotiations with a charity rallying behind the company. When I learnt what a social impact business is, I was captivated. When I started, I started with nothing — no knowledge and nothing.

It started with an idea and then I began building my confidence up and decided to just go for it. Truthfully I thought it would all go quicker but it takes a while, because I had to do a year of R&D within my own self, lol — not just the business.

From a young age I knew that what you consume influences a person greatly, and that a person's environment influences their potential and joy in life. I thought comedy would be a great way to allow people to have that release. So I began developing my skills through Snapchat, posting on my story extensively and collecting the data points of what brought in engagement across my following. Incidentally, this is where I learned to fall in love with data analytics.

People have always told me I'm creative and interesting, that the influencer lifestyle might suit me, that I'm inquisitive and would suit investigative journalism, and that I have a way with words that is outspoken, creative and eloquent.

Last December I hired a lovely personal brand manager. To date we still have not worked together because I kept making excuses. Last February I began making content myself — street interviews. The question: what do the younger generation wish the older generation knew? I'd be hosting with terrible camera angles, no proper equipment. I was so scared of failure I refused to even try to learn to edit. I refused to help myself grow.

Within two weeks of posting street interviews on Instagram I gained 190 followers, with a high retention rate. Yet I saw myself as a failure. Looking back I am proud of my work and all the building I did — it led the way to me now, having bought the camera and setting up the website and feeling more confident. I've had a lot to share on my LinkedIn too, but fear prevented me from doing that — even though the one and only post I did produce got great engagement.

A few months back I'd been asked to appear on podcasts, give interviews, show my work in rooms through presentations. I got terrified and never showed up.

Someone asked me a few months ago, "who are you?" — she said she never knew the answer at my age. I answered her confidently. I talked about my company. Not me. I realised I never could have had a personal brand without first making discoveries about myself, and the last few months have, for better or worse, been that.

My aims for my content are to be candid and truthful, and show glories with insecurities. Now I've built and am building my brand and my own identity, and truthfully — one mistake at a time.

I'm self-studying currently in AI and understanding the systems. The future is coming and the present is here — the best way to be informed is to gain knowledge and continuously process this new age!!!

In the end the company is the only thing I've stuck to. I've changed to include educational content because it baffles me that so little is known amongst the general public about the circular economy. But these are all components of everything I love.

I'm grossly obsessed with all I do, and the circular economy has become a main focal part of my life. I know now more than ever that the life I wish to live can only be built through my actions and efforts, and so I do what I can to allow for this to happen.