HOD of Accounting and Business Studies, Sharon Lofroth oversees the Phillips Society and is thrilled by the increase in interest from the students who are seeking more information on entrepreneurship.
Nick Katsoulis speaks to King's students.
Term 2 saw co-owner of St Pierre’s Sushi, Nick Katsoulis, visit an audience of 35 students which gained very positive feedback from those present.
He talked about how the business started in Wellington and some of the challenges they faced in finding the right products and securing reputable suppliers, their marketing campaigns and managing growth of this family owned business.
Students also had the opportunity to ask questions about specific parts of his business. The feedback from students was very positive and they thoroughly enjoyed learning more about this particluar business first hand.
Later in June, Society founder Pongkit Suttapong visited to talk about the future of technology in traditional career paths and his role in the Siam Future Developments.
Mr. Suttapong’s excitement about the future of technology conveyed a sense of opportunity, but also one of significant risk. From modern stem cell research to auto-translating Skype calls, his message about the changing nature of the economy was evident from the get-go.
"We can no longer be stuck in the mind-set of old, where you pick a job, go to university to train and then live out that job the rest of your life," he said. "Both doctors and factory workers are being replaced by machinery whether we like it or not, but it is our responsibility to stay on top of the game and create products which are valuable to society."
“Money is everywhere,” he exclaimed, “The question is, how hard are you going to look for it?”
Looking to hard work and ingenuity as a sign of his success, he believed anybody could achieve what he had. His parting words were for us all to create our path.
“There is no such thing as luck, only opportunity, planning and good timing” says Mr. Suttapong.
The Society’s aim of raising awareness, motivating and informing students heading into the business realm is done primarily through guest speakers.
The Phillips Society will continue to run in Term 3 with guest speakers Sir John Key and David Hisco to look forward to.
