Inspirational Woman: Liz Stone | Co-founder, Ok Mentor

Liz Stone is Co-founder of OK Mentor and is on a mission to help build female talent around the world.

In this piece, she talks to us about setting up her organisation, her achievement of winning Forbes 30 under 30 and tells us her plans for the future.

Tell us a bit about yourself, background and your current role

I am the co-founder of Ok Mentor, a free training program for young women looking to break into the creative industries. Along with my co-founder Stef Stanley, I am on a mission to help build female talent around the world. My belief is that if all women passed down their knowledge to future generations, females would have a greater chance at career success and moving into senior leadership positions. I am also the co-founder and creative director of OK COOL — a London-based full-service creative agency that specialises in social and digital media and I am also a forbes 30 under 30 alumni. At OK COOL we are a globally distributed team strategists, creatives and creators with Clients that include Nike, Spotify, Converse, Gucci, Mr Porter, Cos and Bumble UK.

Did you ever sit down and plan your career?

I didn’t plan my career however I did have a vision for what I wanted and I visualised clearly what I wanted from my career. I even imagined myself on a given day going into the office doing a certain job, what I was wearing where I was living in how many years into the future it was. This is called manifesting and once I had a vision, I let it go, and then subconsciously worked extremely hard towards that vision or goal. I also didn’t know that I wanted to go into marketing and advertising, I studied fashion design but realised that I could transfer a lot of the creative skills I learned in fashion over two creative marketing. Even though I had no experience in marketing I worked on a number of personal projects to build up a portfolio so that I could get seen and hired by the right people. 

Have you faced any challenges along the way?

I faced many challenges and setbacks a long way. They can really knock you down if you’re not resilient. But you have to pick yourself up and push forward no matter what never give up, it will always pay off eventually it’s just science. What you put in you get out. Even if it’s not quite obvious at the time. I’ve had clients drop me at the worst time, team members quit and even worse times. Sometimes you think there’s no hope and no way to keep the lights on or pay the bills, but somehow with a positive attitude and optimism, something always works out.

What has been your biggest achievement to date?

My biggest achievement was winning Forbes 30 under 30 for marketing and advertising in 2021.

What one thing do you believe has been a major factor in you achieving success? 

I owe a lot of my success to my business partner and co-founder. I know I wouldn’t have been able to have done this without them. We make an incredible team, and although I’m sure I could reach success on my own, working with someone who you trust and who you admire is one of the most inspirational and motivating things you can do. It’s crazy how much we hold each other accountable and how much we want to impress each other. I probably wouldn’t would’ve given up long ago if we didn’t have each other to lean on and share these challenging and exciting experiences with.

How do you feel about mentoring? Have you mentored anyone or are you someone’s mentee?

I think mentoring is one of the most important things you can do with your time. Taking my many years of experience passing it on to not just one but many young women who can benefit from that information. I have mentored many young women and I’ve been mentored myself. When I was mentored early on in my career it created a disproportionate amount of change in my life and I am forever grateful for it

If you could change one thing to accelerate the pace of change for Gender Parity, what would it be?

I would give more access to education and higher education for young women in developing nations.

If you could give one piece of advice to your younger self what would it be?

Trust the process. You will hit many hurdles throughout your journey. This is all part of the process. Enjoy the ride and know that what you put in you get out.

What is your next challenge and what are you hoping to achieve in the future?

I hope the future is to impact as many young women as possible, particularly in developing nations. This is not an easy feat and will take lots of work but I believe in the power of education and mentorship and I believe that every young woman should have access to it.