Brand Management | Communication | Digital & IT Comms | Jewelry Industry | Career Change | Decision Making | Reflections | Laura Dzurna was Communications Manager at Pandora from August 2020 until September 2022, with a special focus on digital & technology. In October 2022, she took on a new role at Pandora as Brand Manager, managing one of Pandora’s collections.Her career in the jewelry industry spans a variety of roles within Brand Communications & PR and internal communication, driving various initiatives and campaigns. A recent example is setting up internal communications for Pandora’s digital & technology function and working to establish the digital & technology community with various initiatives amongother Hackathons.Laura has a master’s in Brand & Communications Management (Copenhagen Business School).  She loves sports, reads voraciously, and enjoys exploring new cultures.In this interview we discuss Laura’s career progressions, lessons learned, and the thought process behind deciding to change the department within an organization. She will share more about the importance of community building and how to tackle a career change. Follow Laura on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-dzurna/ Episode Timeline:02:30 Laura, tell us more about your current work setup. 04:45 How does one start to build communities within organizations?11:30 What are the challenges you've encountered and how can one be successful? 15:45 Is community building important outside engagement inside the company? What does it help with?19:00 For those of our listeners who want to start a career in brand management and communication, what skills should they focus on building?For the leaders who listen, what is your advice on building you career in this field? How do you navigate your career progression?25:20 You shared with me that deciding on a career change was not easy, what were your main focus areas when deciding to make the switch? 28:57 What is one of the latest reflections you've had about your career?32:25 What are the 3 main leadership lessons you've learned from your professional endeavors?33:20 What is the biggest surprise of your career? What is one thing you would change if you could about your career? 38:05 The Final 5 Fire Questions.The podcast is available on all major streaming platforms. More details on www.femmeleadpodcast.com

Coaching | Self-Awareness | Career Development | Bring Your Whole Self to Work | Career Progression | Reflection | Mindfulness | Women in STEM | Role Model | Our guest is a former Latvian diplomat with more than 21 years of experience in stakeholder management, negotiation, advocacy, and communication.Inese Podgaiska is the Secretary General of the Association of Nordic Engineers, ANE, and previously worked for the European Environment Agency. She received the 2019 Women Economic Forum Award for Women of the Decade in Science Leadership and was included in the 100 Brilliant Women in AI and Ethics list 2021.She is a mentor and certified mindful coach and advocates for engineers’ role in advancing responsible AI and achieving sustainable development goals.We’re discussing bringing your whole self to work, and how we can combine our professional aspirations with our personal development plans and not divide the two instances of our life. Follow Inese on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/inesepodgaiska/ Check out Inese’s coaching practice: https://beyoumindfulcoaching.dk/index-en.html Episode Timeline:02:00 Inese, tell us more about your work on empowering women. 04:50 What made you decide to start a coaching practice on the side?09:25 What is your opinion on ‘bringing your whole self to work’? 15:50 What is your inspiration for hosting workshops on assertive communication? What can we learn from you? 18:48 Example of assertive communication in practice. 23:20 What were 3 important career lessons you learned in your career?27:25 What is your view on career progression?31:32 How do you tackle work-life balance?35:10 Looking back, is there anything you would change about your career?37:15 Final 5 Fire Questions. The podcast is available on all major streaming platforms. More details on www.femmeleadpodcast.com

Cultural Adjustment | Living Abroad | Culture Shock | Consultant | Integration | Well-Being Specialist | Intercultural Awareness | Founder |  Role Model | Trainer | Our guest is Kathy Borys Siddiqui the founder of Active Action, an organization supporting International companies as well as internationals and their families in the intercultural transition when moving abroad. Active Action focuses on raising awareness and bringing solutions to challenges that internationals, their families, and employers are faced with, in order to create thriving and positive environments. Kathy lived in 4 countries and on 2 continents and holds MA’s in Cultural Studies and in American Studies. A firm believer that "if you are lacking something - create it."  She has been able to combine her passion and profession as an Intercultural Trainer, and owner of Active Action, with public speaking and branding initiatives, and describes herself as a well-being specialist. We discuss cultural adjustment and the notion of identity when moving abroad and we deep dive into the stages of cultural adjustment to a new country, culture, and environment.Follow Kathy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathybsiddiqui/ Episode Timeline:01:58 Kathy, can you share more about the focus of your work?05:50 What does it mean to help companies with intercultural awareness?12:00 The definition of subtext. 13:25 What are the phases of cultural adjustment? 22:10 What are the Nordic cultural adjustments differences you’ve noticed compared to other places?30:35 What does it mean to feel at home once you move abroad? What about your career prospects?38:30 What are the 3 important lessons you learned in your career?43:30 Final 5 Fire Questions. 

Career Break | Career Development | Digital Innovation | Digital Agency | People Leader | Goals | Reflections | Learnings | Career Progression | Pause | Our guest today is Sonja Lakner. Originally from Austria, Sonja studied communications and media and after a few years of working in digital agencies in London, she has worked in leadership positions in Sweden for the past 15 years. Sonja is passionate about people and helping them develop their full potential in the work environment and loves to work with people from different cultures.Her latest position was Managing Director for the Swedish office of the digital consultancy Futurice. She is on a career break since the end of November 2022 and she’s joining us to talk about what it means to take a career break and how can it help your career development. Taking a career break can be scary for most people, and in this episode, we explore the steps Sonja took to ensure that her career break will benefit her current career setup. Sonja worked for the past 11 years at the same company and is now taking the time to reflect on what is next while sharing how she plans her future career. Connect with Sonja on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sonjalakner/ Episode Timeline:02:45 Sonja, tell us a bit about your current career gap.06:20 Weren’t you worried to take a career break? 08:15 What is your career motto?Share with us more about the importance of taking a break and what are you experiencing now.10:15 How do you start planning your next career step? 22:25 How to decide that a career break is for you?27:10 What is the setup of working in a digital agency? Who inspires you in your professional life?31:11 Did you change the way you look at work-life balance?36:30 What inspired you to document your journey on LinkedIn? 39:10 What is one thing you would change if you could about your career?  41:20 Final 5 Fire Questions.

In this episode, we review all the career breakthroughs that 2022 brought along, including hosting our first career conference and planning new community events in Denmark. Join our next event in Copenhagen on January 25th, 2023 with AWS: https://www.femmeleadpodcast.com/events Stay up to date with all of our events via email: https://www.femmeleadpodcast.com/subscribe Follow Femme Lead online for more inspiring content:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/femmeleadpodcast/  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/femme-lead-podcast/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/femmeleadpodcast/ Share the news with your friends! 

Finance | Trading | Chief Dealer | Capital Markets | Nordea | Career | Progression | Leadership | Graduate Program | Role Model | Women in Finance | Sophie Jelstrup is the Chief Dealer & Functional Lead - Global Trading at Nordea Markets. Sophie is based in Copenhagen, Denmark, studied economics and have a double master degree in Finance from University of Copenhagen and Imperial College London.She worked within the financial industry since I started at a pension fund as a student worker while studying and continued since then through the graduate program at NORDEA Markets. She is also the co-founder of BlueTomorrow - the Large Corporates & Institutions’ shadow board that connects top management with employees' voices.Nordea Markets is the leading capital markets partner in the Nordics. Nordea Markets takes part in the Nordea Graduate Programme. The Nordea Graduate Programme is an extensive programme that covers a variety of business areas whether that is in markets, IT, business or compliance – all in which you will be able to accelerate your career and evolve both professionally and personally.Connect with Sophie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophie-jelstrup-70bb0343/ Sign up for the Nordea LC&I and Markets Graduate Open House: https://email.nordeamarkets.com/public/event/RegistrationForm/43425F4B7143415E417740 Apply to the Nordea Graduate Program 2023 (deadline Oct 31st): https://careers.nordea.com/job/K%C3%B8benhavn-S-Tech-and-Finance-Graduates-to-Nordea-Markets%2C-Investment-Banking-and-ESG-2300/856005401/?feedId=335801&utm_source=CareerSite Episode Timeline:03:55 What does it mean to be a dealer at Nordea Markets?08:11 How did you start your career in the finance sector?10:41 What do you think are the 3 most important skills to consider to pursue this career path?14:43 How would you describe your career path?20:32 What advice can you share for professionals looking to enter the financial sector?25:00 Networking and the transition to a full-time role. 28:05 What is financial freedom? 33:20 How do you manage challenges at work? 37:20 What is the culture like within the financial sector?38:28 What does it mean to build a showdown board like Blue Tomorrow?41:30 What was the impact of the graduate program when you started?49:00 Final 5 Fire Questions.

Innovation | CEO | Venture Capital | Board Member | Agile Leadership | Energy & Maritime Industry | Top 50 Women in Technology | Braving Innovation | Nada Ahmed is a public speaker, writer, and innovation and tech advisor with over 15 years of corporate leadership experience in the Energy and Maritime industry. She is the CEO and founder of Agile Leadership- an innovation consulting company helping startups validate their products and scale. Previously she served as Vice President of Innovation and Transformation at a leading engineering firm in the Nordics. Nada is passionate about Innovation, particularly in tech, and loves to help companies think creatively to develop breakthrough solutions. She is also an angel investor in tech startups. Nada strongly advocates diversity and inclusion, particularly in tech and investment communities. She has her podcast: Braving Innovation, in which she interviews leaders and shares her own thoughts on topics related to Innovation, entrepreneurship, and venture capital. Follow Nada on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nadaahmed-agileleadership/ Follow Nada on Instagram: @thisisnadaahmedCheck Nada’s work: https://www.nadahmed.com/Book Recommendation: https://www.amazon.com/Art-Possibility-Transforming-Professional-Personal/dp/0142001104 Episode Timeline: 04:45 What is your professional focus right now?08:35 What made you leave corporate for entrepreneurship?12:30 Stepping into entrepreneurship to follow her passion. 15:45 Inspiring others to build a career path. 19:00 How do you build a brand? 25:50 What advice do you have for women who fear the negative interactions at work will follow their career?32:45 We need to build up women’s support systems through collaboration. 36:08 What is your view on the diversity & inclusion topic in the investment world?41:56 Where can people follow communities around investment and impact?43:43 Final 5 Fire Questions. 

Company Culture | Organizational Development | Global Transformation | Coaching | Education | Transition at Work | Role Model | Emotional Intelligence at Work |Summing up all aspects of her work Tamilla Mahkamova is a psychologist, HR, Organizational Development and Transformation expert, coach, and educator.Over the last 15 years, she has worked in HR, OD, and Transformation roles in a corporate and non-profit environment through East and West. Currently, as Global Change Director at GrandVision, she leads change management in large-scale business and IT programs.In addition, within her Coaching & Education practice, she works with senior leaders going through a personal change and transition at work or leaders aiming to implement complex change in their organizations. Whenever she has a chance, she facilitates conversations and teachings around working with young adults' social and emotional aspects. Whatever the role or assignment, she intends to serve as a vehicle for building connected, creative and effective workplaces.In our interview, we discuss work as a force for good, how to retain talent in an organization and how to attract new talent. We focus on the workplace as a place of fulfillment and how we can increase our chances of building a culture that helps employees flourish. Follow Tamilla on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tamillamahkamova/ Check Tamilla's coaching business: nowwhat.globalInstagram account: @nowwhatwithtamillaCompanies with an excellent company culture statement based on Tamilla's notes:https://www.buurtzorg.com/https://www.patagonia.com/home/https://www.benjerry.com/ Book recommendations: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/241823.Women_Who_Run_With_the_Wolves https://www.amazon.com/Reinventing-Organizations-Frederic-Laloux/dp/2960133501 Episode Timeline:02:20 What does the role of the global transformation change director mean?04:38 How should we understand the term 'company culture?10:30 What should companies look to do outside providing remunerations to retain new talent?13:35 How should we mention our activism or projects outside work? 15:02 How should we retain current talent in the workplace?20:52 How can we build a culture that helps employees flourish?29:17 How do you plan your career progression based on your passion?36:50 How do you incorporate self-knowledge in your coaching practice? 42:-3 Final 5 Fire Questions.

How People Learn | Subject Matter Expert | Learning & Development | Passion | Entrepreneur | Learning | Book to Courses | Learning Design | Instructional Design | Thought Leader | Olimpia Mesa is a leading expert and consultant on brain-based learning design. President of Instructional Design Ltd., a company behind hundreds of successful corporate and educational programs, both online and in-person, delivered in various languages. Olimpia designs and consults with organizations on learning projects for leadership development, transformational change management, coaching, and the development and implementation of learning strategies. Olimpia’s broad industry experience includes banking, insurance, retail, real estate, technology, and manufacturing.In addition to consulting Fortune 500 organizations on learning projects, she is the founder of Book to Courses™ Online School, whose primary goal is to consult authors on how to transform a nonfictional book into online academies or apps.In our interview, we discuss the career path of an instructional designer, what it means to teach people how to learn and what a successful career looks like. Olimpia opens up about her challenges in starting a company and shares the learnings that helped her turn her passion into a business.  She is the author of "How People Learn" book: https://howpeoplelearnbook.com/ Follow Olimpia on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/olimpia-mesa-45345310/Learn more about Olimpia's mission: https://olimpiamesa.com/Episode Timeline:00:30 Thank you note from the Femme Lead team.02:40 What does it mean to work with learning and instructional design systems?06:10 How did you start working with instructional design?10:30 What is the focus of the ‘hoe people learn’ concept?13:55 How can we best integrate learning experiences?20:45 Are there ways to learn faster?25:40 How can people build subject matter expertise?29:55 What are the steps to ensure the learning efforts work? 33:11 Changes when starting a business: the entrepreneurship life. 37:38 One key piece of advice.42:40 Final 5 Fire Questions.

Director | Career Path | Media Industry | Gen z | Adolescent Content | Advertising Agency | Promoting Talent | Entrepreneur | Diversity & Inclusion | Content Creators | New Generation | Ramaa Mosley is a commercial director, filmmaker, and advocate. Ramaa came across her passion for content creation and advertising at the young age of five when she directed her first documentary, screened at the United Nations, by the time she was 15. Not long after that, she began directing commercials and music videos and now has hundreds of commercials, feature films, and numerous documentaries under her belt. Today you’ll find Ramaa as the founder of Adolescent Content, a Black - and female-founded Gen Z media company with an advertising agency, content studio, digital platform, app, and global network of over 4,000 GenZ, Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) and LGBTQ+ creators in 20 countries. She found her inspiration beyond the agency, not only because of her extensive experience but also because she wanted to bridge the gap between agencies and Gen Z creators by starting an agency to help support them to thrive in creating branded content they care about. In this interview, we discuss a filmmaker's career path in the creative realm, entrepreneurship lessons, and how Ramaa plans to inspire the new generation of leaders to be more inclusive through her work.Follow Ramaa on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ramaa-mosley-02a73211b/ Follow Ramaa on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ramaamosley/ Check out Adolescent Content: https://adolescentcontent.com/ Episode timeline: 02:15 What is Adolescent Content and how did you decide to start the business?05:10 What are some key differences when you look at the consumer behavior of GenZ? 07:50 How should we promote more women & people of color in the audio-visual space? 13:00 What feedback do you receive from Adolescent Content clients? Tell us more about the impact GenZ creators have?16:47 What traits do you see in an entrepreneur to succeed in the media industry?20:25 When it comes to difficult moments, how do you handle situations when things don’t work your way? 25:10 You started your career as a director: What inspired you to pursue this career path?31:10 How do you see the field changes since you started your career? 33:07 Final 5 Fire Questions.

Women in Leadership | Product Leader | Executive Team | Professional Advice | Career Progression | Role Model | People, Product & Process | Healthy Company Culture |  Poorvi Shrivastav is the GM and VP of Products at HubSpot. She has more than a decade of experience leading global customer, product, and engineering teams. She has launched products, built high-performing teams across enterprise SaaS companies, and is known for scaling emerging businesses. Poorvi Shrivastav is passionate about education, technology, and culture and is an investor and advisor for multiple educational and software organizations. She holds a Bachelor's in computer science engineering from India and an MBA in strategic management from The Wharton School.In our interview, we discuss Poorvi's career progression and pillars for success. We also look at building healthy company cultures and the highlights that can make a difference in a company's progress. Poorvi shares: I am looking at Femme lead as a platform for connecting with more women by highlighting my story, talking about female mentors and managers who paved the path to my success, how we invest in female leadership at HubSpot, and highlighting the importance of investing in people, process and product to grow strong leaders for tomorrow. I'd also like to bring in how we [at HubSpot] build teams and cultures that resonate with equality and efficiency, empathy and outcomes, humility and confidence. Follow Poorvi on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/poorvishrivastav/Episode Timeline:02:15 Poorvi, what do you consider makes a career successful?04:20 When could you identify the pillars for success in your career progression?09:24 How to balance empathy with the skills you need to succeed in your role?12:48 What are some insights for women in leadership? 14:30 What is the advice for listeners at the beginning of their careers?15:24 How to approach mentorship in our career path?18:05 How can we support more women in leadership?20:15 How do you advise we approach difficult conversations? 23:14 How do you see us investing in the leaders of tomorrow?25:27 What is your stance on building a healthy culture? 28:08 Looking back, would you have done anything differently?29:52 Final 5 Fire Questions.

Career Transformation | Career Growth | Pivot | Life Sciences | Life in Denmark | Inclusive Leadership | Diversity & Inclusion | Women of Color | Mentorship | Role Model | ProWoc | Life Science | Researcher |  Phaedria Marie St. Hilaire is a Dominican-born Science Business Leader with over 20 years of experience in the Pharmaceutical and Biotech industries with a passion for people development and making a difference. She has a proven track record of inspiring and driving cross-functional, multicultural teams to deliver results from her leadership positions at global companies like Carlsberg, and Novo Nordisk; and from her non-profit organization, Professional Women of Color Denmark.In addition to a Ph.D. in Chemistry, Phaedria has over 45 publications and patent applications in Chemistry and Biochemistry. She is passionate about diversity, inclusion, and belonging and changing the gender and race narrative. Phaedria believes in empowering self and others, continuous learning, self-reflection, and reinvention. She is a Mentor and Executive Coach. She enjoys pushing mental and physical boundaries and being out of her comfort zone.In our interview, Phaedria shares how she managed to transform her career multiple times. Transformational journeys are inspiring because these are the moments when you must get out of your comfort zone more than ever and trust that things will turn out OK. This is the central message of our interview: things will turn out OK. Phaedria also shares thoughts on her inclusive leadership work, advice for other leaders, and advice for young women looking to join for the first time a managerial role. We also discuss ProWoc Denmark (Professional Women of Color Denmark) and its mission.Follow Phaedria on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phaedria-marie-sthilaire/Follow Phaedria on Instagram: @thesainteddoc Check our ProWoc's mission: https://prowoc.org/Follow ProWoc on Instagram: @prowocdk  Episode Timeline:03:15 What makes a career successful?06:50 When did you realize a career path is not about the outcome?14:40 How do you connect your identity with your new path?18:00 Did you have a safety plan for your career path? 23:38 How do you advise others to take the first step towards their career transformation28:15 Your career path is going to turn out OK.29:30 What is inclusive leadership?33:28 What is the mission of Professional Women of Color Denmark?41:39 Final 5 Fire Questions.

Personal Branding | Thought Leader | Entrepreneurship | Career Advice | Failure & Success | Leadership | Hiring Tips | Role Model | Amelia Sordell is a thought leader in personal branding, and as she describes herself: “I brand people, not businesses.” She started the agency Klowt in a small bedroom in the middle of a global pandemic. She believes that the future of branding is personal. People buy from people, and trust is vital in any interaction, whether personal or professional. And that is what a personal brand does, it builds trust. Amelia Sordell, the founder of Klowt agency based in the UK, is joining us for a special interview about branding yourself and building an engaged audience online. Amelia has an impressive following on LinkedIn, where she shares content daily, and you can find her accounts below to hear more snippets of her interviews.Follow Amelia on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ameliasordell/ Follow Amelia on Instagram: @ameliasordell  Check our Klowt’s website: https://klowt.io/ Episode Timeline: 02:10 Introduction to Amelia Sordell, Founder at Klowt, the personal branding agency.03:56 Why is personal branding important?07:55 Entrepreneurship spirit & founding a company in personal branding. 13:38 Failure is part of success. 15:36 The fear of failure is real. 17:10 What changes when you become an entrepreneur?20:20 Interviewing your manager and the hiring process at Klowt.  24:35 What do you see as key to a good personal branding strategy? 29:10 Inspiration for sharing content and the creative process. 30:57 Where do you start to share content? What about confidence? 34:40 Comparison paralysis when building a personal brand online.39:45 What should businesses focus on in branding? 42:06 What is the #1 tip for building an online audience?44:20 Final 5 Fire Questions. 

Product Management | Leadership | Career Progression | Promotion | Career Planning | Technology | Scale-up | Corporate | HR |  Innovation | Growth | Gurpriya Bhatia is a product leader in big tech. She works on product strategy and has over 15 years of experience in growth strategy and business model innovation and has worked across the UK, the US, India, Japan, Switzerland, and Zimbabwe.After growing up and studying in New Delhi, India, she moved to the UK in 2007 to pursue a Master's at the London School of Economics.Gurpriya started her career in the UK in management consulting with Accenture's graduate program. She then moved to EY, where she started working with tech and fast-growth companies, which started her career in tech. While at EY, Gurpriya also did a 9-month part-time coding boot camp to further understand how technology stacks work. She then joined Google in 2020. She describes her career as a jungle gym. In our interview, we discuss her career breakthrough and how to grow your profile to reach the next professional step. Gurpriya shares the scope of her role, what framework she followed in her career growth, and her mindset when it comes to professional development.Follow Gurpriya Bhatia on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gurpriyabhatia/Episode Timeline:02:30 What does it mean to work on product strategy?04:20 What makes a good product leader?06:56 What process should we consider when asking for a promotion?12:15 Interviewing your future employer.13:24 A career at Google and what makes it interesting. 14:35 How to ask for a promotion? 16:55 Use documentation for your career planning. 19:00 Should we consider a framework for career planning? 20:30 What is your professional motto?24:25 What are three key factors to consider if you want to grow a business?26:30 How do you manage difficult conversations? 30:00 Did you ever feel pressure to continue to reach higher?33:00 Final 5 Fire Questions.

EdTech | imagiLabs | Girls Education | STEM | Entrepreneurship | Coding for Future | Creators with technology | Dora Palfi is the co-founder & CEO of imagiLabs, an ed-tech company making products that empower girls with the skills, confidence, and community to create with technology. Dora worked as a developer at Morgan Stanley and as a UX Designer at Cisco, and has substantial experience teaching programming to children and teenagers as well as advocating for women in technology. Originally from Hungary, and true to her fictional namesake Dora the Explorer, she has lived, studied, and worked in 10 countries across four continents. In addition to her work to bring technology closer to girls, she is also a yoga instructor, bringing mindfulness closer to engineers.Dora has been recognized on the Forbes 30 Under 30 2021 list as one of Europe’s leading social entrepreneurs and as a Cartier Women’s Initiative Fellow in 2020.In our interview, we discuss the role of technology in shaping the future for women and girls. Dora co-founded imagiLabs with the wish to empower young women to pursue a career in STEM. The interests of both boys and girls in technology, math, and science are similar until the age of 12 years old. After that age, it seems that gender stereotypes play an important role in how teenagers see their life options and this shapes their choices in their careers as well. imagiLabs' mission: To build diversity among technology's creators so it can benefit everyone. Incredibly, women still make up less than 25% of the tech workforce in Europe. We give coding superpowers to girls and nonbinary kids so that the next generation is equally equipped to use technology to shape the future. How do we do it? image has worked with hundreds of young people to make learning Python fun and relevant. Our team is building the only mobile-first community targeting 300 million pre-teen girls worldwide with the goal of encouraging them to start coding. The imagi apps introduce Python programming through a visual and gamified learning journey, where colorful designs can be created + shared. We also made a programmable accessory, the imagiCharm, which enhances the learning experience by making code projects more tangible and easy to show off!Follow Dora Palfi on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dorapalfi/Read more about imagiLabs:  https://imagilabs.com/Episode Timeline:02:30 Tell us more about imagiLabs and where are you now in your entrepreneurial journey?05:05 What product does imagiLabs sell?06:28 How many users do imagiLabs have now, and what engagement do you see?08:29 When did you decide to become an entrepreneur?11:15 How did you find the confidence to start your start-up, and how did you get started?13:33 What is the target group of imagiLabs and how do you target parents as part of your business strategy?17: 37 What do you think is the key to success when putting together a team? Tell us more about your team setup.21:04 How do you tackle scaling your business? What piece of advice do you want to share for those looking for investments?23:05 What is your experience pitching your business and any advice worth sharing?25:07 How does your day look like as a co-founder and CEO?26:55 What is next for imagiLabs?29:45 As an entrepreneur, how do you take care of yourself and your mental health?32:40 Looking back, is there something you would have done differently?33:40 What is one final thought you want to share with the listeners?34:56 Final 5 Fire Questions.

Mia Therese Wagner is a lawyer, founder, executive, and one of the four investors of the Danish version of Dragon’ Den, 'Løvens Hule'. When Mia started her career, she became a defense attorney, and later she became a partner in “Wagner attorneys”. In 2017 Mia became CEO of the family-owned company, Freeway until 2020. In November 2020, Mia co-founded Nordic Female Founders together with Anne Stampe Olesen, and she is currently the CEO. Nordic Female Founders is working towards equal rights and terms for male and female entrepreneurs in Denmark.Mia is known for her performance in the Danish television show “Dragon’s den” on DR1 and is currently the only female investor on the panel.It is important for Mia to use her voice to ensure justice and equality, and she is especially active in the gender equality debate for female entrepreneurs. She is a board member of UNICEF in Denmark with the important mission of helping all the children of the world.In her spare time, Mia loves to read a good book, a nice glass of rum, and spend time with her family and friends.In our interview, we explore her career, life, and decision to start a new venture after a prolific career as a CEO. Follow Mia on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/miawagner/ Episode Timeline:02:52 Did your experience change your idea of success?03:50 What lessons did you bring from your experience as a lawyer and CEO of Nordic Female Founders?05:33 How did you decide to start a new venture in 2020?08:24 How important is it to have a good relationship with your co-founder?10:54 What advice do you have for entrepreneurs starting up?13:00 Do you feel any pressure to be the only woman on Løvens Hule?16:00 How can men be promoters of women in leadership?17:00 What do you see as traits to succeed in entrepreneurship?18:45 What surprised you most when working with women entrepreneurs?19:46 What is a winning strategy for a pitch?21:55 What sort of profiles are you looking for at Nordic Female Founders?26:20 What do you advise women about sexism in business?29:05 What is your view on being feminine and being taken seriously? 32:05 What surprised you in your career?33:15 Would you do anything differently looking back?34:18 How do you manage work-life balance? 37:40 What are the new plans of Nordic Female Founders?42:35 Final 5 Fire Questions.

Journalism | NGO | Purpose | Career Change | Public Speaking | In the Spotlight | Charity | Inspiration | Career Path | Personal Growth | Media Training | A former TV anchor, Melania Medeleanu is a seasoned journalist from Romania that now specializes in speech training & public speaking. She left the spotlight and returned to school to study for a master's in speech therapy. Melania wanted to focus on charity and community work, and this is exactly what she started doing instead. She founded MagiCamp, and more recently, the NGO 'Zi de Bine' (A Good Day), inviting people to donate their birthdays for charitable causes.⁣In today's episode, we touch on a lot of things, including:⁣⁣1. Melania shares her perspective on career transition and actions she did to find out how to shape her passion for good into a full-time role;⁣2. Day-to-day management of tasks while running an independent NGO and her public speaking business;⁣3. What does it mean to change your career from the spotlight to helping people personally;⁣4. Life lessons from her career as a journalist and her new career as an NGO founder.⁣Follow Melania's updates: https://www.facebook.com/melania.medeleanu Find Melania's classes here: https://melaniamedeleanu.ro/ Episode Timeline (in Romanian): 03:55 Cum arata viata ta de zi cu zi?05:20 Spune-ne mai mult despre Zi de Bine. Cum putem contribui?10:06 Ce tabieturi ai a.i. sa ai grija de tine?12:14 Cum ti-ai ales domeniul profesional?14:38 Ce sfaturi ai pentru ascultatorii care vor sa urmeze o cariera in jurnalism?17:25 Ce piloni ai luat in viata din cariera de jurnalist?19:20 Cum ai decis sa iti schimbi cariera?24:53 Cum gestionezi frica si nesiguranta? 29:15 Ce secrete poti impartasi despre vorbitul in public?32:50 Ai schimba ceva din parcursul tau in viata?34:22 Planurile organizatiei 'Zi de Bine' pentru 2022. 

Education | Sport Management | Women in Sports | Football Education | Volunteer Manager | UEFA EURO 2020 | Leadership | Mindset | Athlete | Tennis Player | A former Romanian international tennis player, Diana Pirciu studied communications and sports marketing in the USA before joining the Romanian Football Federation (FRF) as a corporate social responsibility manager and education specialist. For EURO 2020, she was the volunteer manager in Bucharest, overseeing a team of 850 to ensure the city's four matches go to plan. Diana is now the education manager of the Romanian National Football Academy and leads engagement projects in FRF.In 2021 she was recognized by UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) as a top woman in football and her profile was showcased among the ‘Five stars of UEFA EURO 2020.’In our interview, Diana shares insights into how to create your role within an organization by knowing your priorities and giving yourself the opportunity to change your mind. Her athlete background shows up in everything she does. Diana is the type of person who starts projects without having the title or official role for it, but rather as a proactive approach to make things happen and push innovation forward.As a good source of inspiration for our mental health, Diana shares tips from when she worked with a mental coach. Follow Diana Pirciu on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/diana-pirciu-43113731/ Here you can read the UEFA article ‘Five Stars of UEFA EURO 2020.’ Episode Timeline:02:35 What is your role at the Romanian Football Federation?05:48 How did you decide to stop your professional sports career and pursue a different career path?10:07 How did you decide from such a young age what your professional path will be?14:22 What did it mean for you to be recognized by UEFA?21:00 What is one realization about your role as an educational specialist?24:45 How should we tackle the pay gap between women and men in sports?28:15 What are the surprises or lessons of your career in sports management?37:00 How did you approach your mental health?40:38 Final 5 Fire Questions.Video & Audio Editing: Laura de Nuzzo.

Success | Entrepreneur | Introvert | 60 Day Startups | Founder | Leadership | Mental Health | Boundaries | Media Platform |  Role Model | Women in Media |Mashal Waqar is a serial entrepreneur who loves being in the midst of startups, cool tech, writing, and good people.Her first media startup, The Tempest, impacts millions of readers globally through powerful storytelling. Mashal Waqar also co-created a business accelerator taking women founders from early-stage to revenue in 60 days.  She is passionate about gender equality, accessibility, and intersectional growth and has previously worked with the United Nations, Xerox, and startups as an advisor and founder.Among her awards, we find Forbes Middle East 30 Under 30, Entrepreneur Middle East's Achieving Women, 19th World Economic Forum Young Leader of the Year, and many more. She is also a speaker at 2 TEDx talks, Harvard Bold Conference, Stanford MENA Forum, and many other events. In our interview, we discussed the definition of success and what it means to “make it.” Mashal confesses her tactics for handling situations as an introvert and how she navigates her entrepreneurial journey.Follow Mashal on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mashalwaqar/ Episode Timeline: 02:37 How do you manage your success? 09:52 How do you set boundaries for work? 15:44 How did you decide to become an entrepreneur?21:02 How do you define success now?25:45 How did your idea of “making it” change?31:55 What are the barriers of women in entrepreneurship?38:24 Fire 5 Final Questions.