Born into diversity and making her way around the world from the Middle East to Europe, Maya has worked across multiple industries in online tech, launching brands in new markets, working across diverse international teams and holding customer-facing roles spread across the globe. Her story advocates transparency, authentic communication and challenging preconceptions and existing cultural taboos - especially within international teams. It's about challenging herself, overcoming preset conceptions from her upbringing and the learnings she got along the way, that make her who she is today.
After some years abroad, Hauke returned to Germany with a proposal to start his first position as managing director. Together with investors and existing customers, he set up an IT-company in Sofia and put together a team to build a fashion marketplace platform. A promising challenge with great timing and low risk. However, the venture ended quicker than he ever imagined.
Startup life can be an emotional rollercoaster. During our Accelerate-edition, Stephanie shares key takeaways of her first venture. A story about fake investors, negative feedback and limited funding.