Gaby Mendes

Gaby's Graduate Story

Find out how studying at the University of Birmingham helped Gaby achieve her career goals.

Graduation year: 2016

Degree Title(s): BA Education

Job title: Founder and Director

Employer: Talk Twenties – An award-winning podcast and education platform for young people

What does your role involve? As a full-time entrepreneur my role varies from day to day! One day I can be interviewing a high-profile guest all about their twenties for the Talk Twenties Podcast, the next I could be delivering a guest lecture on life skills at a university. Equally, lots of my time is spent growing the business, managing the team, whilst also keeping an eye on the financials.

Can you describe the journey you went on to get this role? When I left university, I immediately went into teaching via the School Direct route, meaning I pretty much had a class of students from day one. It was a real shock to the system but in year 2 I was given a form of sixthform students as my tutor group and they would ask me questions like “Miss, what’s the difference between a credit card and a debit card?” or

“I want to get into this career, how can I do it” and from there the idea for Talk Twenties was formed. I wanted to help twenty-somethings with the life-skills that they’d not learned at school or university and so I left teaching after 2 years and moved into a corporate event planning role whilst I grew my business on the side. Then 2.5 years later I quit events to go full-time on my business.

What do you enjoy most about your job? Innovation is at the centre of everything we do. We’re a business built to support Gen Z which means we have to keep up with trends and move quickly to adapt and engage with what our audience wants and needs. It’s incredibly fast-paced but exciting at the same time. I feel like I know a little bit about a lot of things and as someone who loves consistently growing and learning that’s always been my favourite bit about the job.

How did your time at Birmingham help prepare you for this role? Whilst studying at University of Birmingham I was fortunate to study abroad for one semester and chose to study at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. Experiencing living abroad on my own at 19 was a big challenge but one that really shaped me into the person that I am today. I always look back fondly at my time at McGill.

What advice would you give to students interested in getting into your industry or role? To be an entrepreneur you have to get comfortable with taking risks and having unwavering belief in your idea. It’s not easy to wake up every day and to keep going at something but as long as what you are building you totally believe in then it will pay off.

How did the University of Birmingham help you on your career path? In truth I had no idea what I wanted to do after university, my department did a lot to promote other careers related to Education than just teaching, but employers really struggled to see how I could do anything but be a teacher with a degree in Education. I can remember my lecturers encouraging me to write my dissertation and assignments on things other than traditional teaching and it allowed me to see that there was so much more to education than just the school system we see in the UK.

How did studying at Birmingham inspire you in your graduate path? The University of Birmingham and in particular the School of Education played a crucial part in the formation of my career and later, my business. They allowed me to see that we don’t have to accept things the way that they are and there is room to make positive change if you are brave enough to go for it. I think they just allowed me to be the inquisitive and creative person that I wanted to be, in a course that was full of variety and challenged the status quo.

Why should someone considering their university options come and study with us at Birmingham? There really are so many opportunities offered to you by studying at University of Birmingham, for someone who wasn’t sure what their future held when starting university, it really helped shape me into the person I am today and for that, I am very grateful.

What was your favourite thing about studying at the University of Birmingham? It’s not necessarily the studying part but it is something that has had a huge impact on my life… I met my now fiancé in my first semester of first year (9 years ago!). We met at around 1am on Christmas Sports Night at the Guild by the Mermaid Fountain and have been inseparable ever since.