“We’ll each work 80,000 hours in our lives – imagine what we could do with that time.”
Q: What inspired you to start Limitless?
A: I started Limitless after doing a Social Enterprise Accelerator (Live The Dream) which I did pretty much immediately after I finished Year 13. I guess the inspiration for me came straight from personal experience – from finishing high school and trying to
pick a career path. I felt that many people around me were very unsure about what the next step should be. Further down the track, people I knew who were already studying or already working were sometimes unsure if that was the right place for them.
A: When I spoke to others about their work it seemed to me that their jobs were just to pay the bills. In seeing those two alternate futures, I realised how much it matters to have passion for your work not just for your own satisfaction but because it creates opportunity to bring some really cool things into the world.
“I had a lot of opportunities to meet people who did work that they were very passionate about. I realised those people were in a variety of career paths. There wasn’t just one career path you needed to be in to love your work.”
Q: How has Ministry of Awesome helped you on your journey?
A: Ministry of Awesome has helped in so many ways. Through Ministry of Awesome I have had the opportunity to refine my pitch, to speak to the community, and that has really fueled my journey through the Social Enterprise Accelerator as well as afterwards. It’s amazing that there is an organisation that helps start-ups, connects entrepreneurs with opportunities, and provides necessary resources and training. Ministry of Awesome provides amazing value to the startup ecosystem.
A: Ministry of Awesome is not only running specific boxed services, they’re also very open to how things might change and they support that ideation. People within Ministry of Awesome have supported me personally with running workshops as a part of Limitless which was super valuable. Erica has supported with content advice and facilitation for workshops and this has been so valuable for Limitless.
“A culture of openness, believing in new ideas and connecting which is cool!”
Ministry of Awesome gives you that feeling of support, comfort, and trust which makes you feel – as an entrepreneur – that you are in a safe space and that everyone is truly welcome!
“Through Ministry of Awesome I have had the opportunity to refine my pitch, to speak to the community, and that has really fueled my journey through the Social Enterprise Accelerator as well as afterwards. Their network, support, encouragement, and generosity is fantastic.”
Q: What programs that Ministry of Awesome offers have been influential or useful to building your venture?
A: The Coffee and Jam events are really cool – they bring such a diverse group of people together, to talk about their ideas and you never know what you’re going to hear about or who you’re going to meet. I’ve also had the opportunity to speak as part of the Coffee and Jam events which has been really awesome. The ability to make connections with other people, especially in the early stages when you don’t really have that network of people is really key for organizations like mine. Also I gained a lot of support from within that Social Enterprise Accelerator (Live The Dream) workshop which was facilitated by Catarina who worked for Ministry of Awesome at the time. The support has been awesome!
Thank you so much April for sharing your entrepreneurial journey and thoughts with us and for joining Ministry of Awesome’s Awesome Stories Series! It has been truly inspirational hearing your story and seeing what you’ve achieved in a relatively short time.
Visit the website here.
Interviewed and written by: Imogen Loakman, Awesome Intern at Ministry of Awesome
Link to Limitless’s social medias:
FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/limitlessnz
WEBSITE: www.limitless.org.nz
Contact Info:
April McLennan, Founder
MOBILE: +64 278586965
EMAIL: [email protected]
Read the full interview on Ministry of Awesome’s Medium page here!