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CAT AGOSTINHO & JAY RICHARDS
from Innovation
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POWERHOUSE GLOBAL MAGAZINE (PGMAG) INTERVIEW WITH:
CAT AGOSTINHO (CA) & JAY RICHARDS (JR)
Cat Agostinho & Jay Richards are the Founders of Imagen. The company is an insights business with a core mission of helping Gen Z to shape their future.
PGMAG: Cat & Jay, so good to have you on today’s interview with Lady Anita.
CA: Thanks so much for having us, such an honour to talk with you today.
JR: Always love a good chat!
PGMAG: Please tell us about your organisation (Imagen) and the difference you are both making in the society.
CA:
We create paid work opportunities with brands and agencies that our community of Gen Z consultants may not have had access to otherwise. We crowdsource feedback, ideas and insights within our community of young people, aged 16-26, to enable our clients to build their branding, marketing and/or their products, by truly involving their target consumer.
Our opportunities mean Gen Z get to co-create, shape and build together with the brand or agency... and get paid! They can add this experience to CVs, LinkedIn and portfolios which can open up doors for future employment.
JR: Not only do we provide opportunities for our community but we are also encouraging brands and agencies to build with Gen Z and not for them. As a diverse team internally at Imagen, we are really focused on giving young people a platform to have a voice and to ensure that those people are from a range of backgrounds - beyond gender and race.
Our community is currently made up of: LGBTQ+ 10%, Free school meals: 18%, Registered disability: 5%, First to uni: 8.5%, State school: 77%, 65% female, 1% non-binary, Black: 25%, Asian: 23%, Mixed/other: 11%
PGMAG: What inspired you to join forces on this mission?
JR: Cat and I have very complementary skill sets, when we met it was like the coming together of one mind. Even though our skills are polar opposites, our passion is exactly the same.
CA: Having mentored people for years and also co-founding dawn ten years ago - a community dedicated to supporting and inspiring women, I have always had a passion for supporting people. Jay and I share similar values about helping others and having seen such a contrast in the opportunities given to young people from different backgrounds as we were growing up. Therefore, we really wanted to develop a company that could support diversity and creativity in thought for those that may not always get access to opportunities like these.
PGMAG: Growing up was very tough for me, but I didn’t want to settle with the rest of the crowd so I worked my way up to becoming this person. As leaders who are focused on helping the youths to become valuable members of the society, what are some of the measures required to reach a wider range of your service users?
CA: Our community has been built through our dedication to building relationships with apprenticeships, education providers and youth organisations. We regularly speak about our own experiences to inspire young people, and we mentor students. In addition to the paid work that we provide for our community, we invite our consultants to take part in webinars and events to ensure their opinions are heard by many. This provides these young people a chance to develop their skills in areas such as communication, confidence, teamwork and creativity.
JR: We can’t become what we can’t see. Cat and I are believers in being our full selves at work. Our every engagement with young people and our Imagen community is centred around being who we truly are.
PGMAG: What are your messages for world leaders?
CA: Be honest and truly support people especially the younger generations as they are the future! If you want your business to be a success, you have to invest in people. Supporting people is one of my core values. I’ve had an amazing career so far but did have a really tough time a few years ago at a company who didn’t focus on people and didn’t support the team properly which had many repercussions for people and the business. So my advice is always listen to your team, take them seriously, encourage their strengths and support their learning and development. Oh, and be nice - you can lead and be nice, it makes for a much happier life!
JR: Build WITH young people, not FOR them! Don’t try to skip past the process of involving them in what you’re doing. That is where the gold is.
PGMAG: What can you do differently in order to meet today’s demand in the arena of ‘youth development’?
CA:
Take young people seriously and realise that they are instrumental in the development of the world’s future. Gen Z are activists, they are digital naives, they research, they have opinions built on insight.
JR: Listen to young people and involve them in the process. If you ask them what they want and co-create with them, then that’s the future.
PGMAG: What would you say to your younger self?
CA: Don’t be afraid to ask for help. I started managing people at a young age but was so scared of making mistakes that I didn’t ask for enough support. But then I found a great support network and decided that I would use my experience to help others. As a result I developed my love for mentoring, nurturing and promoting talent.
JR: Take your time, there is no rush to grow up. It’s a journey, enjoy it.
PGMAG: Finally, what are some of the steps to discovering one’s purpose in life?
CA: Find something you are truly passionate about and find a way to incorporate it into your time. We earn (far far) less than we ever did before but we’re happy because we are making a difference.
JR: Finding your unique way to serve people. If we strive to serve others, we’ll find purpose.
PGMAG: You both are an inspiration and I count it a great privilege to have interviewed you - Keep up with the good work that you are doing.
JR: Thanks for having us!
CA: We are so grateful, thank you for listening and for supporting us.
PGMAG: Please share your links with us.
CA & JR:
www.imageninsights.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/cat-agostinho/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaykrichards/
