Idealog.co.nz | The Transformation Issue
073
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women in tech
Jessica Manins,
founder of Beyond
‘Give less fucks’ is an approach Jessica Manins has
carefully cultivated after years of trying to be everything
to everyone. This subtle art is not something that comes
easily to a self-confessed people’s person, who has carved
out a career creating meaningful customer strategies for
some of New Zealand’s most successful brands. Instead,
it was developed after both crashing through and leap-
frogging hurdles that taught hard lessons on sailing the
tide of change.
This refreshing and candid approach to tackling what
life throws at you is not unique in the business world and,
in fact, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck by Mark Manson
and the Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a Fuck by Sarah
Knight have both topped best seller’s lists across the globe.
It is in this spirit that Manins, the former director of
PROJECTR, has embraced her latest venture with a large,
extra-loaded side order of fun. She recently co-founded
(and is CEO of) social gaming VR studio, Beyond, and
playfulness is evident in every aspect of the brand.
“I have finally discovered that it is so important to
keep the spirit of who you are, that has been my biggest
learning and transformation on this journey,” Manins says.
The journey she speaks of is bound in the emerging
tech scene she waltzed into after meeting the founders of
StarNow at an audition when she was an actress. With a
flair for bringing other people’s stories to life, she quickly
found her feet at the Kiwi start-up success story and was
later named StarNow’s chief customer officer.
Like many other founders before her, she felt the
urge to jump into the unknown and immerse herself in
something she loved and could shape from scratch. Queue
the next move to BizDojo, where she led the pioneering
Collider programme in Wellington.
Not one to do things by halves and already familiar
with the uncharted territory, she immersed herself in
the VR, AR and MR space, using her polished people and
PR skills to unite thinking and diversity of thought in a
relatively new space.
It was during this time she experienced some of the
hardest lessons in her career.
“I think up until this point I hadn’t been truly
challenged, and I felt real loneliness, and hard times, a lack
of sleep – waking every two hours and going to work, and I
was leading a team, and learning a new work environmentand the relationships come with that. Everything isn’t quite
what it seems on the outside; I didn’t know how I was going
to pay myself and suddenly I’m putting myself out there –
my personal brand, not someone else’s.
“I also had people saying, ‘Who are you why do you
think you’re qualified to be doing this?’ and things like, ‘I’ve
been in the industry X number of years, who do you think
you are?’ That was hard.”
While juggling a new role in the VR and AR industry
and the torrent of people questioning her credentials, she
also had to make time for a scenario she had not prepared
for or was even considering as she mapped a new course.
“I’ve always thought I am a trusting person and that
trusting is a good thing, but when you get that gut feeling
when you know something’s not quite right and you don’t
listen to it – that’s gotten me into some bad situations.
“There are [friends] going, ‘Are you sure?’ And then
you’re justifying things. It took me to some pretty dark
times. You’ve made promises, and you don’t want to
break them, and you’re loyal, so you put up with a horrific
situation. I put up with it for way too long and later when
you reflect, you go, ‘wow I let that happen, I thought I was a
smart person?’"
Since then, she has relied on her support network
and Leading Ladies Wellington, the peer mentoring group
she co-created with a group of other women in business
looking for guidance, honesty and feedback. Seeking a
group that would provide all these things was a challenge,
and like most problem solvers, she simply created one
herself. Three years on, the initiative has women all across
Wellington sharing experiences, offering support and
facilitating learning sessions.
“Understand your 'why'. I’ve always been values and
purpose-driven – it’s really important to me,” Manins says.
“For ten years, my 'why' was helping others succeed and
then I realised it wasn’t working for me anymore and I
wasn’t getting happiness. I needed to change and look at
myself and what I wanted.
“It’s okay to change your 'why'. You don’t have to have
the same 'why' your whole career. I want to bring joy to
people, create fun products and content that makes people
laugh. Life got very serious; my background was acting and
comedy and, and so I decided last year that I needed to
have more fun.”For ten years,
my why was
helping others
succeed and
then I realised
it wasn’t
working for me
anymore and I
wasn’t getting
happiness.
I needed to
change and
look at myself
and what I
wanted.»