Managing director Val Montagnana-Wallace knows firsthand that passion is at the core of every good business story. We spoke with her about success, inspiration and her love of storytelling.

[Running a business] has made me more confident in my own abilities, and simultaneously humbler about all the things I don’t know.

Where did your love for storytelling originate?

I was always a reader. As a kid, I would have chosen reading over anything else – TV, video games, definitely sport. In fact, when I was naughty as a small child, my mum’s go-to punishment was to put the book I was reading on top of the fridge where I couldn’t reach it. Gotta love the eighties.

In your experience, what are the three key traits for a successful business?

Persistence. Optimism. The willingness to surround yourself with people who are better than you.

Which part of your day-to-day do you enjoy the most?

Mentoring my team. Solving problems. Fixing typos.

What inspires you?

Talking to people who are experts in their field and those who are doing exactly what they’re meant to be doing with their lives.

How has running a business shaped who you are?

It has made me more confident in my own abilities, and simultaneously humbler about all the things I don’t know. It has energised me, and at the same time exhausted me. I want to think of a third pair because that feels appropriate but honestly, nothing’s coming to me, so that might be it!