Haeni Kim, 32 Founder and CEO of fashion brand Kitri

My first job was as a marketing intern at a fashion brand in London, where I did everything from merchandising to admin. I was 22 and terrified, but I was also serious, goal-oriented and put my fear aside to be the first to raise my hand. Assisting at a night shoot for a VIP client, I was asked to bring her an espresso at 2am. I found an open restaurant, but they wouldn’t give me a cup, so I ran back to the studio, found a takeaway cup, and returned to the restaurant where they poured me a single shot of coffee. It felt like life or death, but my diligence got me noticed.

One of the biggest lessons I learned was to not suffer in silence. Mistakes will always be uncovered, and if you hide them, your boss won’t have a chance to rectify it. It’s much better to ’fess up! One year, I was put in charge of the seating plan for a London Fashion Week show. I’d never done it before but had help from a PR firm and thought I’d be fine. But at the last minute, the seating structure changed. I tried to move everyone but the letters and numbers didn’t match, so I had to ask guests to shuffle up one row. Net-A-Porter founder Natalie Massenet – who had never come to one of our shows before – arrived last-minute with her baby. I didn’t know whether to sit her on the side or ask her to keep her daughter on her lap. I panicked and hid in a corner for 10 minutes, convinced my career was over. In the end, someone found me, we moved people around and it was fine. The lesson? Ask for help. I’d also tell myself to make more friends; I thought we were competing, but my peers and I were in the trenches together.

I got promoted at the fashion brand, then worked in manufacturing and sourcing in Shanghai and Hong Kong. I gained enough knowledge to start my own business and in 2017, Kitri was born. Now, when I hire juniors, I look for positivity, ambition and work ethic – the only things you can’t teach.