We have been dating for six years, but not everyone knows!
How
did
your
partnership
start?
We met on our very first day of university. I was 18 years old, and Aayush was 17 years old. We didn’t really click until we both got placements for an exchange year in Canada in our 3rd year of University.
In our final year of University, we had the enormous pressure of finding a graduate job. Aayush had been rejected numerous times despite being one of the top of the class. I rejected the idea of a boring graduate job instead wanting to start a social enterprise.
We were talking about our options in the kitchen on day, and I told him I was going to start this amazing, colourful, social enterprise that was going to help people all over the world. His eyes lit up with excitement, and with no prior thought I asked if he wanted to join me. He immediately said yes. We have never looked back.
What
do
you
respect
and
value
most
about
each
other?
I feel so incredibly lucky to work with Aayush, there is nothing he won’t do with 100% enthusiasm and effort. I value Aayush’s kindness in business, he is always very honest and fair and understanding when things don’t go to plan. When things don’t go to plan Aayush is a strategist and problem solver, he thrives in chaos and loves fixing what is broken. I also admire how he finds the really boring parts of the business (such as spread sheets) fascinating- thank goodness I don’t have to do them! He is such a hard worker and never ever gave in when the times got tough. His resilience is inspiring and his ability to get the work of three people done just by him is admirable.
I value Karis’ creativity and vision, she came up with the idea for social stories club and together we made it happen. She always has new and exciting ideas, plans or directions we can go in. I admire her ability to boost morale on the team, I can hear everyone laughing in the warehouse from upstairs in the office and I’ll later find out she was sharing one of her hilarious stories. She keeps everyone motivated and makes them excited to come into work each day, which is amazing considering it’s a warehouse role and can be a bit chilly. Karis is also great at storytelling through marketing and has helped us grow our sales. I love it when she guest speaks and tells people the story of how we started and got through challenges. I can see how she captivates a room and everyone feels so inspired, it makes me feel so proud.
How
has
your
partnership
improved
your
life
or
given
you
a
greater
sense
of
fulfilling
your
purpose?
We couldn’t have done Social Stories Club without each other, we kept each other going when times got tough, and there have been many tough times and still are. Social Stories Club has given us an enormous sense of purpose and to do this together has been so special.
What
is
a
key
high
point
you
remember
in
your
partnership
with
one
another?
Winning £65k at Scottish Edge. It was an amazing moment as we had just worked 10 hours in the warehouse and were leaving our team alone for the first time. We were wearing old warehouse gear while everyone else was dressed up all fancy so we felt a bit out of place. But when our names were called it was an incredible moment, we felt like others believed in us.
What
is
the
toughest
challenge,
or
low
point,
you
experienced
in
your
partnership,
and
how
did
you
overcome
that?
There have been so many low points for us. It was particularly tough at the beginning when we would spend £40 on a market stall only to stand out in the cold all day trying to chat with people about social enterprise only to sell nothing. We just never gave in. When one of us was really low, the other picked them up.
