are some of the different roles you’ve held along the way? Katrina Van De Ven: It’s certainly been an interesting journey to date, and in many ways, I feel that starting LükBook has been a ‘full circle’ moment. I’ve always been an avid fashion lover and worked as a stylist to put myself through my undergraduate studies. However, I wasn’t sure how to parlay this into a full-time career, so turned to my other love – politics.  In my decade-long career in public and foreign policy, I worked across state, federal and international policy settings, with a particular focus on nuclear diplomacy – I was privileged to represent Australia’s interests at the United Nations in both New York and Vienna, and managed bilateral relationships across the Indo-Pacific region. In 2018, I decided to bolster my leadership skills and undertook an MBA at the University of Sydney, which proved to be a transformative experience. I recognised a burning desire to start my own company, and in so doing, address a shortage of quality shopping options for plus-size women.  Having experienced the disappointment of brands not stocking my size, or offering a tokenistic rack at the back of the store, for me the problem was (and is) personal. Developing LükBook took around 12 months, during which the team interviewed and observed the shopping behaviour of around 2,000 plus-size women and worked closely with a focus group of plus-size brands to understand their challenges relating to marketing and customer acquisition.  We launched in the Australian market in February 2022, and are rapidly growing: we are now home to over 20 incredible Australian brands, run an active news and human interest blog specifically focused on the plus community in partnership with Kaleidoscope News, and have gained the attention of national and international media. IR: What does a typical day look like for you? KV: My work is diverse and runs the gamut of our strategic and operational functions. I am keenly involved in the company’s growth through increasing our stable of brands, growing our customer base, and securing investment. At the same time, I manage our team and set the agenda for our marketing direction and technical development.  In short – there is no such thing as an average day. I find myself oscillating between strategy sessions, attending and speaking at industry events, working with our investors and advisory board, and constantly asking what’s next? As someone who hates doing the same thing day in and day out, it’s the perfect role for me. IR: What are some of the challenges you’ve faced in your career and how have you dealt with them? KV: In my career to date, I have made the decision to pivot not once but twice. When I first entered university, I was intent on becoming a Clinical Psychologist, only to realise that being a clinician wasn’t the right fit for me. This is how I found my way into public and foreign policy, a field I enjoyed greatly until I hit the seven-year itch.  In hindsight, I’m proud of myself for reflecting on what was and wasn’t working for me professionally, and for having the courage to completely change directions. If I may offer a word of advice to your readers: your current role or industry is not your identity. If what you’re doing no longer excites and challenges you, know that you’re free to change directions entirely. In my role at LükBook, something I come up against time and time again is misinformation and limited understanding of the plus-size market. For instance, I’m often told by prospective investors that plus fashion is a niche market – which is patently untrue considering it’s worth $300 billion per annum globally ($8 billion in Australia) and is growing at twice the rate of the straight-size fashion market. I know I have the numbers on my side – the sheer fact that 66 per cent of Australian women are plus size means that every person I talk to has someone in their life, who they care about, who has felt excluded from fashion. By asking thoughtful questions and hearing what their personal connection to the problem is – be it through their partner, child, or friend – I am more likely to find common ground and unlock their empathy towards the problem and the market, which in my experience can be far more persuasive than hard data.  IR: What are some of your career highlights so far? KV: It must be creating the change I want to see. I try not to centre my own lived experience too much, as I’m only one out of 8.5 million Australian plus-size women, but at the end of the day, LükBook is deeply personal. Having been a teenager in the early-mid 2000s, at a time when body diversity was at an all-time low and ‘thin is in’ was a constant refrain, I internalised the idea that I needed to look a certain way to be fashionable. With every photoshoot, and every marketing campaign, I feel that I am chipping away at this toxic and outdated narrative. We invite plus-size women of all shapes and sizes to model for us, categorically refuse to airbrush our models, and vocally oppose the idea that clothes should be ‘flattering.’ Not only does it bring a proud tear to my eye to see stunning plus babes modelling lingerie, but it resonates with our customers. Like me, they want to feel seen and represented. We’ve waited long enough. IR: What are some of the key leadership lessons you’ve picked up over the course of your career?  KV: It’s been a hard-won lesson, but I am finally learning to delegate. It can be hard, especially when you run your own business, which represents the culmination of so much hard work, to relinquish control. I wish I could say I had a powerful a-ha moment, but really, I just ran myself into the ground. By being forced to hand off work to others, not only have the team risen to the challenge, but I have been able to occasionally take a step back and breathe, rest, exercise, eat – all the things that are essential but often get pushed to the side when working to build a business.