Daniel Stojanovski

Growing up in Wagga Wagga, Andrew Francis and his brother regularly found themselves in the saleyards. Looking back on it, he thinks it might have been his parents' way of getting the boys out of the house. Francis' family business has a long history in farming, operating a stock and station agency, spanning generations from his grandfather to father, as well as his father's brothers and cousins.

Born in Bulgaria into a family of academics with deep roots in the fields of economics and social studies, Lidia Tomova recalls conversations around the dinner table that likely differed from those most kids her age experienced. It was at the dining table that Tomova's interest in the world of finance was sparked and, when her family uprooted and moved to the UK, those dinner time debates served as the "rail tracks" that led her to the London School of Economics.

Growing up in Brazil, Generation Life chief executive Felipe Araujo was a promising athlete with a world of opportunities ahead of him in swimming. While he represented his country at several international meets, Araujo was also successful academically with a wide range of interests that could easily have turned into a career. What I have learned is to recognise that high performance is not for everyone and does not need to be for everyone.