Motivational Monday – Robotics & AI

For our latest Motivational Monday, we spoke to Arianna Namaki – a Growth Strategist at a robotics start-up.

Following her graduation from South Hampstead, Arianna (class of 2013) didn’t exactly know what avenue she wanted to pursue. At school, she enjoyed French, Art and Economics – what she describes as ‘a wonderful mix.’  Undecided on what she wanted to study at university, she found that Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, presented her with the perfect opportunity; she started as ‘undeclared’, before deciding to study Sociology & Anthropology in her second year.

In fact, not narrowing down her career path early on is, in part, what Arianna maintains led to her success at Starship Technologies. From working at a global advertising agency to starting her own business during peak Covid times, Arianna has certainly learnt how to be resourceful, and such creativity is crucial to her role at Starship.

As a person with many interests, she notes that paying attention to the parts she enjoyed most about every subject and role has enabled her to make strategic decisions, and ultimately to reach a point in her career where she feels a strong sense of fulfilment. Her message to students who are undecided about what they want to study, or what field they want to work in, is that it is totally normal. ‘The key is to try enough things until you have a solid understanding of what you enjoy the most (and least), and not be scared of ‘failure’, because nothing is a failure if you learn from it!’

She attributes her practicality to the excellent teaching she enjoyed at South Hampstead. At school, the abundance of opportunities gave her a secure foundation and provided a crucial building block to her confidence in the working world.

Today, Arianna is a Growth Strategist at autonomous food delivery startup, Starship Technologies, a leading robotics delivery company. Having launched in cities across the UK, and recently having hit 4 million deliveries, Arianna says how she loves the fast-paced environment of the start-up. ‘South Hampstead gave me a strong foundation for my career.’ As an ambitious, empathetic and practical individual, Arianna has truly embodied the values of South Hampstead, and carries them with her in her career today.