the wellington college year book 2010/2011
115
mytights.com
laura godsal [ap 1984–1986]
W
hat was your impression of
Wellington when you arrived
in 1984?
?
Wellington in the 1980s
was a very different place.
I arrived from North Foreland Lodge (a very
small, not very academic, girls’ school) and I
found Wellington very intimidating?—?I didn’t
go into the dining room on my own in the
entire time I was there.
You ended up at Oxford reading ppe, was that
a surprise?
When I arrived at Wellington I was
very much not expecting to do Oxbridge.
However, with the help of supportive
teaches, especially Mr Berridge and the
entertaining Mr Lovett, and a lot of very hard
work I ended up doing much better than
initially anticipated and as a result applied for
Oxford and got the grades I needed.
How was it being the only girl in your Maths set??
Without a doubt walking into my first
Maths lesson was one of the more nervewracking moments of my two years at
Wellington as I was the only girl, and although
I tried to hide at the back of the class, it did
not really work?! And being asked to repeat
my name several times on the first day as the
tutor could not hear really did not help.
How has Maths been helpful??
Although I don’t use much of what I learnt
in my Maths a level directly, being numerate
has been hugely helpful for me, first of
all doing my accountancy exams at Price
Waterhouse after I left Oxford, and now
running my own business.
Also everything online can be measured
and analysed therefore being numerate is
rather key to being able to take advantage of
all the information available. I have also found
that employees working in online marketing
who are numerate (as well as literate) have
out-performed in a wide variety of areas
(not just the analysis of the data available).
Therefore numeracy is a key requirement
when I am looking to recruit anyone to work
in online marketing.
How did MyTights evolve??
I disliked buying hosiery and could never
find what I wanted. I used to buy a five-pair
pack from the chemist or a supermarket
for £5.99 which looked and felt horrible
and laddered immediately, or I went to a
department store, spent a fortune and got
the wrong thing. I therefore decided to set
up the hosiery service I would like to have
and MyTights was the outcome. A one-stop
shop with a huge range of products, in lots
of sizes, a plethora of colours, together with
comprehensive information about everything
sold in clear English, plus quick delivery.
How did you make the idea a reality??
Lots of hard work?!
What advice would you give to would-be
online entrepreneurs??
Go for it? but it will be much tougher
—?
than you anticipate, but very rewarding.
You hadn’t been back to Wellington for a
while, w