Epic’s Post

Today I celebrate my 32nd birthday 🎂 Today, I'm hitting the big 3-2, and it's got me thinking about the past decade since kicking off my eye care biz. Here's a quick rundown of what's got me buzzing and why I reckon life's more of a marathon than a sprint: 1️⃣ Ocushield Origins: Started my eye care gig ten years back studying optometry at university & it's been a wild ride since! Shoutout to everyone who's been on this journey with me. 🙌 2️⃣ Making Waves: Dragons' Den, a King's Award - yup, we've made a splash or two. But it's not about the trophies (although they’re great to look back on!); it's about the impact we're making in the eye care game. 3️⃣ Crew Love: Massive props to my squad—family, friends, team and mentors—who've had my back through thick and thin. Couldn't have done it without you legends! 4️⃣ Lessons Galore: From epic wins to epic fails, I've soaked up more knowledge than a sponge in a rainstorm. Every stumble taught me something new, and I'm all the better for it. 5️⃣ Eyes on the Prize: Life's not a sprint, it's a marathon. We're in it for the long haul. Ten years down, from an idea at university, a lifetime of possibilities to go. They say most overestimate what they can do in a year, but underestimate what they can do in ten. What I’ve learnt since leaving Specsavers and going full time into Ocushield in 2018 means this decade we’re going to speed things up a little… ;) Blowing out candles today, but the fire's still burning bright. Here's to more adventures, more wins, and more memories to make. Let's do this! 🔥 P.S - thanks to my partner Beth for all these presents 😂 I'm being spoilt.

Wondering where Codesmith can take you? Take a look at a few companies our grads have been hired at in the last month! Codesmith offers career support and guidance throughout your time in the program and beyond. Learn more here: https://hubs.ly/Q02CDtgl0

This may be controversial…but it shouldn’t be. TechSlice, LLC had 12 holidays off, some paid community volunteer time, and a discretioanry company week shutdown to ‘reset’ on top of regular employee PTO last year. I’ve been told it’s a LOT of time for a startup. (Only in the US) Most of our work is deliverable/results based. This year, I added another week of employee PTO based off of feedback from the team. I’ve been criticized for the holidays we celebrate and have been told what I ‘should do’… I love feedback but, telling others what to do without taking the time to understand the ‘why’ behind people’s decisions comes off as patronizing. You think you’re the only one telling me how to run my company? You’re not. It’s also not your company and not my first rodeo. We’re not your average company. We never will be. We are a team of creatives and we work on crazy stuff. When were ‘on’ - we’re ‘on’. We perform. When we’re off, we’re off. That needs to be respected. There are benefits to creatives (and everyone) to have that space and time to ‘be bored’, to THINK, to create outside of ‘tasking’. Or just to be with others. Outside of that, when daycare is closed - we’re closed! When daycare and other institutions are closed, how to you expect parents and caretakers in general to be productive? Some family structures have support during those times and others don’t. That extra support isn’t guaranteed. I’m a big believer in family first. Take care of what you need to. Family time is family time and work time is work time. I’m a single mom running a company. I do my best to juggle and sometimes those worlds blend. I can’t do it all at once. Why would I expect my team to? Get real. Does that make me less effective? I’d argue it makes me hyper effective when I’m actually at work. My perspective and experience running two software agencies, a hybrid venture studio, and growing my company throughout COVID (with a young child) - has shown me the importance of a culture that respects time off and closing when childcare and various elder care institutions are closed. You may or may not get that but, you don’t have to. My team does. How we spend our time is our decision. Not yours. Period.

Since everyone is talking about the Thunder, we might as well talk about Thunder Fellows as well….. The third cohort is a wrap. Here are a few highlights: - Over $700,000 in scholarships awarded to our high school seniors - 100% of our HS graduates to attend college this fall - Two (2) HS graduates earned four-year, full-tuition scholarships (University of Tulsa) - Three (3) HS graduates to attend HBCUs (Clark Atlanta, Howard, Spellman) - Three (3) College Fellows received summer internships (so far!) Here are a few easy ways you can engage with our program: Advocate & Recruit – Encourage students & families to join our mailing list at www.ThunderFellows.org for the latest updates on the summer application process Follow Us! – Stay connected across social media platforms (@ThunderFellows) Contact Us! If you or your business would like to host an intern, present a class/presentation, drop me a message. #ThunderUp, #AlwaysOnward, #OnceAFellowAlwaysAFellow

You know that feeling when your child is constantly called out on the prize-giving day for different awards? 😊 Imagine that, but in tech, where your child is recognized for giant strides. This can only happen if you take the first step to enroll your child for our summer boot camp here: bit.ly/kidsbootcamp24 🚀

It’s time for your Year End Wrap Up! As you curl up tonight or tomorrow take some time to reflect on 2023. 1. List out all your wins from the big to the small. It takes 1,000,000 baby steps to make your dreams come true. Did not forget to celebrate all you DID do this year. (It’s about the journey, not just destination!) 2. Reflect on the lessons you learned. The good, the bad, and the ugly! (They are equally important teachers.) 3. Think about what you’d like to leave in 2023, and what you’d like to carry into 2024. We’ll talk goal setting in the next couple weeks, but 1st reflect and complete the year at hand. May 2024 bring you love, light, connection, community, and abundance. Happy New Year loves!

We are back in action today over at OneUp, and in true tradition, it's back to school day! Why aren't we diving into the phones? - Alignment: It's great to align everyone's efforts; if two people are shooting off and 4 are left behind, then you are running at a third of efficiency. Take a day today to have full efficiency tomorrow. - Rust: When you take time off the gym, you do not immediately go in and do your one-rep max, you build back up too it. - Repeat greatness: Its good to go over what actually worked in 2023 and to try and replicate this, not just for scale but to hone in on what ICP actually care about. Even going over a content calendar, which I'll share next week if anyone is interested 👀

Meet the team through the eyes of our talented apprentice, Theo! 🌟 Each member is represented on our very own top trump cards, highlighting their unique strengths and skills! 💪💫 Drop a comment below and let us know which name or specialist skill catches your eye! 🔥 #DesignTheShires #TeamStrengths #TopTrumpCards 🃏

Communicators need to listen. In my experience, when an underrepresented community member shares a story, it's usually a good one. I can't tell you how often dominant-narrative bias has prevented people from seeing the value in invisible narratives, the stories of lived experiences. I recently spoke on DEI communications: authentic storytelling, leveraging channels and building capacity. You can only do that by building listening skills. It's a practice that takes daily work and is part of the necessity of telling stories WITH the community instead of FOR them. When Luis Alonzo Garcia shared this photo with me, I knew I had to listen. I also knew that this needed to be shared broadly. A quick post later: it's a win for our community, platforms and strategic goals. I'm happy to see it perform well and even happier to see better representation and the sheer pride of the first-generation community being amplified. So, the next time someone shares an underrepresented story, listen. You may not end up with a published piece right away, but if you keep an open mind, you will start to see ways to bridge the narrative gap. There's a greater story waiting to be told. #DEICommunications #FirstGenerationCollegeStudent