Rebecca

What was the last thing you ate?

Dairy milk.

If you had $50, what would you spend it on?

My swimwear business!

What was the last thing you googled?

My own website, hahahaha!

Ok, give us your life story so far…

I moved from the UK when I was 8. In senior school I worked really hard, decided I liked business and started a designer rental business in year 11. It died because it wasn’t the right kinda market but I still have it. And then in year 12, I broke up with my boyfriend, then started my swimwear line. And a month later I didn’t get head student at school and my life fell apart. Literally it did!

So tell me more about that…?

I’d been working for it since I arrived at Senior school. I didn’t get it because I am a girl, and I’m too dedicated to my work and it came across as pushy. I didn’t get out of bed for a week after… So I did like no school work so far this year because of it. And now I’m really behind. I just worked on my business this year and I got my mental health back. But it has been a struggle because of not getting head student.

You run a swimwear line where you sell bikinis made out of recycled plastic. What was the inspiration for that?

I watched GirlBoss and thought, I want to be like that! I’ve always been creative and then one day everything turned into a business plan. I so enjoy it, there’s always something to do … I see problems and want to fix them – and business fix problems. So With the swimwear idea, that comes from the idea that there’s too much trash at the beach and bikinis are always shit quality. And so I made my high quality bikini line from recycled plastic bottles.

Do you think that people support young women doing well, or are we still tall-poppy-I’m-kinda- threatened-by-this?

Yeah, I wrote a business plan in school and I was planning it on a whiteboard. There were two mean girls who came up behind me and wiped it off because they thought it was funny. My mentor said ‘They’re just threatened because they’re not doing anything.’ They were really nasty to me all year because I was doing more than they were … But I have also had so many positive messages. Like from this girl who used to be kind of mean to me, she said, ‘Wow this is amazing, I’m so jealous of you because you have everything!’ And I was like thank you but I had to work for this! Things don’t work unless you do. You don’t know how many hours went into this!

Ok so what does your ideal adult life look like for you?

Good mental health. And happiness. Ooh and an apartment in France. Will I have a family? Of course, I’ll have my kids Audrey and Theo – hahaha I already named my kids! I will get married, and have Terry (The Daschund) who I will carry to the office on my arm! Terry will have a bowtie and be married to Kerry who’ll wear diamante collars. And they’ll have puppies, Merry and Jerry! I don’t want kids till I reach my business goals though.

Do you feel like an adult?

Yes now that I have my full license and I can buy alcohol. I caught my first plane and it was cancelled and I had to reorganise it all. Then I felt like an adult! Adulthood is stressful and exciting! I found out what I want to do so young, so now I know what I want I can push those boundaries.

Are you generation more sensible than ours?

I have friends who are out there drifting cars, but I know a lot more people who are like ‘I need to go to uni!’ Everyone’s different, although I was listening to this motivational speech the other day that said “Some people’s idea of success is getting drunk, and some people will want you to get drunk with them – you need to leave those people!” It’s true though. It’s easy to go out and have a fun weekend. But if you do that every weekend you’ll never get anywhere.

Would you put off having a long term relationship if you thought it would take away from your business?

Ahhh no, I say I would but I feel like I’d meet a guy and be like, let’s date! … I always feel I can’t date unmotivated guys. They don’t understand how much time this takes. I need someone who says “oh we can see each other once a week” and that’s not a problem. I couldn’t get in a relationship with someone who doesn’t get that.

What is business success for you? Is it money?

Success doesn’t look like money to me. Like yes, when I make my first profit I will buy a Chanel bag. And that is a goal. And I do want a nice car, like in my imagination I want to get out of my Jeep at my business meetings. But if I don’t get there, and I’m still successful and happy, then that’s all good.