Women Entrepreneurs under 30
A new generation of 20-somethings are taking over London’s startup space. Never before were there so many inspirational, active and ambitious (and young) female founders changing our tomorrow.
Meet Nadia Daghistani, co-founder of Rootless Garden, a social enterprise that combats loneliness by providing engaging activities for older people in London.
Nadia, how old are you?
I am 25, but sometimes I feel like I am a 10 year old playing pretend. After working with a lot of older people these last two years, I think I am realising that this won’t ever change and that is a really good thing!
When you were a little girl…
I had a pretty vivid imagination. My imaginary friend was Captain Planet, I don’t think he was on TV here in the UK, but he was a blue superhero with green hair who protected the earth alongside his four young planeteers from different parts of the world. They would fight evil eco-villains who kept trying to pollute the earth and destroy ecosystems. After they saved the world the show would end with Captain Planet pointing out of the screen saying “The Power is Yours!”. I am not saying my imaginary friend made me who I am today, but I’m pretty sure he planted some kind of idea in my mind that we are responsible for our surroundings. Captain Planet every day till I was 5 when he flew away to save the world somewhere else, with some other kid. I’m not bitter…
What did you do prior to Rootless Garden? What was your first business idea?
While I was studying Sustainable Development at university I had a part time job at the Union as a “Bouncer” and would hear a lot of people talking. One night, I heard some people had fallen out over a messy flat, so I started “Sparkle & Shine”. It has absolutely nothing to do with what I do today but I cleaned flats with a friend of mine, our tagline was “we polish away the after party” or something cheesy like that. It was fun! We didn’t have the best business model but I learned a lot about the importance of personal hygiene.
The first job I took after I graduated was with an oil company in Jordan, working with corporate social responsibility, it was great. I wanted to see the way “the bad guys” handled social responsibility locally. They were doing a pretty good job and had some brilliant ideas on how to work with the surrounding communities. When I came back to London I decided that I wanted to work addressing social issues, I just wasn’t sure how or where to start. So I took a chance on a new social leadership programme called Year Here. They sent me to work in Age Well in Kingston, a forward thinking charity that works to allow people to live independently for as long as possible. That’s when I got the inspiration for Rootless Garden.
What’s your single most favourite moment of Rootless Garden?
We had a summer party to celebrate a gardening project we did at a care centre. We had a young singer come in who made everybody get up and start dancing and singing. I danced with Ghazal and Basil, two of our biggest fans and our favourite members. Ghazal taught me how to Waltz that day.
Tell us about your day! Include morning, lunch, a day at work, the first thing you do, the last thing, what your day at work looks like?
I’m going to be honest and say that I haven’t quite mastered the skill of time or a normal schedule - but here is my Tuesday. I wake up at about 7am and then while I get ready I periodically check emails while I do boring things like scramble around the kitchen for food. I make a mental list of what I need to do for the day and then let it go while I travel to work. I’ll read a book on the train (right now I am reading Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey, it’s incredible so far). I get to Chiswick just in time to catch Indie, my business partner, for a coffee where we plan how we have a check in on the week ahead and send all the emails out we need to send. We then head over to the Tabard pub, move tables around and begin to greet the members of our social club as they come in. Once everyone has arrived I might give a few manicures or read out a pub quiz or paint some plants. Every week we will have something new happening, next week we have a speaker coming in to talk about the history of Notting Hill.
After the club Indie and I find a quiet place to settle down and work for the rest of the day. It seems like every day is different for us and we spend a lot of time on our feet looking for the next best place with a good wifi connection and a perfect cappuccino.
When I get home (normally at about 8–9pm) I tell my flatmates all about my day while we have dinner together and the very last thing I do every night is call my brother and then skype my boyfriend who are both in America.
What inspired you recently?
I went to a Hub Dot event recently. Hub Dot is about cross pollination of ideas, talent, support and friendships. It’s about the unique way that women are able to help and connect with one another through storytelling, a place where they can connect with others in a way that inspires.
While the event itself was extremely inspiring, one of the speakers at the event had a lasting impression on me. A woman named Julie Kertesz spoke for maybe two minutes, I thought she was explosive. After spending her life as a research assistant and becoming the founder of a microcomputing company, she became a comedian at the age of 77. She is now recognised as a “distinguished toastmaster”. Her message was ‘its never too late and you are never too old’.
Thanks Nadia!
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