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come from a very patriarchate society where women are encouraged to study and
to meet future husband in the their early 20s, then to get married and to take care
of the home. The entrepreneurship “a la russe” usually includes your husband or
father “buying” a beauty salon/ retail brand/ fashion magazine and the woman
“running it”, usually without a solid understanding how business operates and
mostly without ever becoming profitable. It just wasn’t for me. My biggest fear in
life was not that of failure, but that of leading the most predictable life in Moscow
and being like everyone else. | saw modeling not as long-term career path, but a
way to explore the world, gain financial independence, and eventually move to the
US (I got denied for a tourist visa but approved for a work permit in the fashion
industry). My parents and friends thought | was completely out of my mind when |
quit a well-paid job in finance to move to Milan, but in less than two years | had
enough savings to invest in real estate in Russia (one of the best investment
decisions | have ever made).
Modeling is one of the most competitive industries in the world where thousands
of women compete for one job. The supply outweighs the demand dramatically,
and consequently most models (even the most accomplished ones) have to face
rejection on a daily basis. Embracing rejection and maintaining confidence at the
same time is one of the most important lessons | have learned from modeling.
What's a challenge or failure you've faced in your journey thus far? From
growing up in an intellectual family in Moscow until now. How did you get
through that challenge? What did you learn from it that has led to your
entrepreneurial resilience today?
| grew up in the 90-s in Moscow, one of the most dramatic and controversial times
in Russian history. When Soviet Union collapsed, my family was on the one hand
excited about the future opportunities, but in the other hand, completely
unprepared for capitalism. In order to provide, both of my parents had to quit high
rank government jobs and to start their careers from scratch trying to embrace
entrepreneurship — something that used to be condemned during the communist
regime. In 1998, Russia experienced one of the worst financial crises in its history,
resulting in our government defaulting on its debt. The situation was so unstable
and unpredictable that my parents thought it would be safer for me to get enrolled
in college two years earlier than | was supposed to. We just couldn’t predict what
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