The Blog

The Engagement Appeal x Alice Garnett: Start-Ups and Side Hustles

By Emmeline Armitage 

The meeting point of art and commerce is ever-changing and hard to define. What place does art have in the world of finance? How can young, savvy individuals learn to secure their footing in the world of work through smart investment? What advice do successful entrepreneurs have for the youth of today about finance, culture, and belief in the self? These are all questions ‘Art and the City’ seeks to answer, by interviewing some of the brightest and boldest minds in both the art world and the city.  

In this week’s episode, we interview Alice Garnett, a writer and young professional working in the city for a start-up whilst balancing her side hustle of being a columnist. She graduated from Oxford after reading English in 2021, and has since worked for various organisations, including slow news media outlet Tortoise and The Joy Club, who aim to help older adults make the most of their retirement. Whilst at university, she began to document her observations on Gen Z dating culture in a blog called Nice To Meet You, I’m A Slut! Her work has since been picked up by numerous magazines and journals, including Lithium, Adolescent, and Prospect magazine, where she currently writes a young life column.  

Alice first entered the workplace at an ethical chocolate company, learning from the ground-up about what working in a start-up entails, whilst developing mechanisms to help balance the world of work with her other creative outlets. She speaks highly of that time, and her experience with start-up grad scheme JumpStart, crediting the scheme as getting her familiar with more corporate environments than she had been used to working in. She also says she found empowerment in working for a small team, and a feeling of confidence that helps her with her job today, at climate action platform Hurd.  

Does she have any tips for young people entering the world of work? “Be less afraid to put your voice out there!” Alice once felt underqualified, and as a woman was less encouraged to put her ideas on the table, “the imposter system runs really deep”. But now she has spent two and a half years learning from those around her, and finds joy in the balance of responsibility – “you really have to really believe in yourself, and also in your creative abilities as they exist within corporate environments.” 

To hear more of what Alice has to say, listen to the episode in full please head to: Art x City feat. Alice Garnett

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