Freya Harman: Aspiring Entrepreneur from Wānaka on the Rise.

Freya Harman is passionate about helping businesses to thrive. 

After studying business, commercial law, and human resources at Auckland and Wellington Universities, she completed a postgraduate degree in communications. This led to opportunities overseas, such as working in strategic communications and the corporate strategic project space.  

In 2023, back in New Zealand, Freya started the planning for a business consulting and strategy service.  Freya aims to help businesses understand where they are now and to determine their next best move to facilitate growth and evolution. 

Freya Harman

SQL: Tell us about Inch and how your business idea came to be. 

Freya: I want to utilize all my years of experience working initially in strategic communications and moving into strategic projects in the corporate space in Canada and Australia. 

I've always been really motivated and inspired by small and medium-sized businesses and the impact that they can have, not only on the New Zealand economy but also on personal  fulfilment. People usually go into businesses because it's something that they are passionate about or they see a gap in the market that intrigues them – and that drive  inevitably extends to the teamas well. 

I want to have a big impact on helping businesses solve and overcome some of their most challenging problems so they can thrive.

SQL: What’s next? 

Freya:  I had an idea about what it was going to look like, but as the Startup Queenstown Lakes team said from the very beginning, what it looks like going into it, versus what it ultimately evolves into, can look quite different. And that has certainly been my experience. 

It wasn’t until around six  months that things started to take more shape, and since then,, I’ve had all sorts of interesting  conversations from potential clients looking for something slightly different to my initial offering, through to potential business partners, who are just as interested inshaking up the business strategy space as I am.

It’s an interesting journey and it is good to have the support of SQL when those shifts and pivots start to happen.   The Startup Queenstown Lakes engagements have helped my confidence.

SQL: How did you get involved with Startup Queenstown Lakes? 

Freya: I’d heard of SQL before I moved to Otago after taking a look at what’savailable and happening here to support businesses. I saw a few different initiatives, but Startup Queenstown Lakes stood out to me in terms of the events they hold, their branding and what they offer. 

SQL: Which events have you attended, and how has that helped you develop Inch? 

Freya: I went to Startup Weekend, which was incredible and energising. I met a lot of really great people there. 

But it’s also the smaller events. There tends to be about one a month – so that you’re constantly  engaged  with that ecosystem and always looking forward to an event. The events are so well run. They get great speakers, we meet in different locations (supporting other businesses across the region), and attract like minded people. 

In terms of their online platform, I’ve been involved in a few similar entities in Australia and Canada and there is nothing that provides a platform quite like it. The user experience, the frameworks they suggest – and even the podcasts and books they recommend. And then you have Jinene, Monette and Marco who are so welcoming and incredible people to be working within such an entity.

The impact SQL has had is huge. It’s the collective pulse that connects all the businesses here – whether businesses are associated with SQL from a startup perspective or on the periphery. I don’t know if this is just because I’m a huge fan of what they do, but I feel like their general presence in the area is energising. 

SQL: How would you describe SQL in one word? 

Energising. 

Story written by Startup Queenstown Lakes.