Quick Questions with Lou: Brand & Content Manager

| Life at SwipedOn

When she's not taking photos in and around the ocean, trying to squeeze in a surf between daycare drop off and work, or dreaming about a tropical holiday with her family, Lou is our brand and content manager here at SwipedOn HQ in New Zealand. We caught up with Lou for a quick fire round of questions to learn more about her and what a day in the life is like at SwipedOn.

What does a day in the life of you at SwipedOn look like?

Beyond my sacred morning ritual being interrupted by my toddler needing hands wiped, nails clipped, a plaster or toys fished out from under the couch (all with immediate effect), I'll usually arrive into the office ready to take a few deep breaths before cracking into the juicy marketing stuff! I love the location of the office, on the waterfront in Tauranga, so I'll usually try to stroll past the water and look at the sun sparkles or visit the starfish on my way in. If it's a work from home day, I'll sometimes swing past the beach for a swim or dip my toes in the sea (or a surf if I'm doing really well for time!). The first part of my day is spent catching up on the Slack messages and emails. Then you'll find me doing anything from crafting copy for blog posts, masterminding organic growth hacks, mood boarding, co-ordinating briefs with our graphic designer or making fun social content on Canva.

What do you like about working at SwipedOn?

Obviously, the location is epic. But mostly the people and the culture. We regularly have team events and the company prioritises wellbeing and happiness of their employees. I feel so lucky to be in a very family-first culture. It's also super flexible in terms of working hours which helps having a young family. The work is fun but keeps me feeling challenged, and the business is in a state of growth which means that I can get my crazy ideas across the line, testing and experimenting with content.

What do you particularly like about what we’re doing with SwipedOn?

I love that we're automating a system and process that has been outdated for years! It amazes me that big businesses and brands in London (where I used to work) still use a paper visitor book to run their sign in processes. In a world where the idea alone of data protection is more sensitive than ever, I think having a cloud based sign in system is so progressive and modern. I also love that SwipedOn plants a tree for every new customer; I love nature and the environment, so the fact that the business does its bit to mitigate climate change is really cool.

What three words would you use to describe your role?

1. Creative
2. Collaborative
3. Challenging

What is your SwipedOn screensaver?

The Sonoma Valley (I assume 😬)

What did you do in your previous working life?

I've worked in marketing and content in a few different capacities; I'm from the UK, so began my career working for an adventure travel company in their sales team, which quickly moved to a marketing role. After that role I went into content for e-commerce in London which spanned across content creation, styling and blog writing to managing design and web developers to create online content for two massive e-commerce businesses before making the move to New Zealand.

What do you do in your free time?

Outside of work, I spend most of my time with my family, going out for fluffies and beach dates with my toddler and partner, creating yummy dishes in the kitchen or working on new styling projects for our house, growing edible flowers or dreaming about the bigger picture house and garden renos. In the snippets of me-time amidst the chaos, I love to get in the sea or go swimming at a waterfall. I also love photography - especially ocean and surf photography - so I love to get out in the water with my camera, watch big swells from land or chuck my drone up for a different perspective on the local area. I usually manage to sneak out at sunrises and sunsets to do this, which are my fave times of day!

What is still left on your bucket list?

1. Doing a skydive here in NZ
2. Go on a tropical island holiday with my family
3. Photograph a seriously big wave when it's on fire (from the land, not in the ocean thanks 😆), like Nazare, Cloudbreak, Chopes or Jaws - or one that I've never even heard of and discover here in NZ, that would be the dream!

What’s on your SwipedOn playlist?

Matty Buxton, Flume, Tundra Beats, Khruangbin, Arc de Soleil, Bay Ledges... and I like to throw a bit of 90s pop playlist in there every now and then.

And if I'm doing a task that doesn't require too much thinking I'll chuck a podcast on, currently enjoying: The Astrology of the Week Ahead with Chani, Do You F**king Mind with Alexa Fernandez, Feel Better Live More by Rongan Chattergee and Happy Place by Ferne Cotton.

If you were stuck on a desert island and you could choose one person from the SwipedOn team to come with you, who would you take and why?

Probably would have to be Rory. He's super adventurous and always headed off to some unique natural places here in NZ, so I reckon he might have a few survival skills up his sleeve or just be keen to explore the desert island.

Let’s end this with a weird fact about you…

I used to be so scared of fish that I couldn't even go ankle deep in the ocean without being super freaked out. Now I spend most days getting in the ocean whether that's surfing or swimming, and couldn't think of a more awesome place to hang out!