My story

I’ve been socially active, curious, and asked a lot of questions since I was a child; the most common one that came out of my mouth being “Why?” When I was little, I was always highly imaginative and creative, with a natural ability to connect with people around me. As an adult, this imagination turned into my mission, while my natural ability to relate to others became my networking superpower. It’s this combination of skills and aptitudes that has allowed me to forge forward with a career in global PR, where thinking big and working across cultures are the keys to success.

How I started my career

My love for PR first began while I was still in high school, when I started working for the city’s youth newspaper and then the local TV station. Not surprisingly, it was interviews that I loved doing the most. Two years of experience with these local media organizations inspired me to study further, so I enrolled into university, to study Journalism.

After completing my studies, I was offered an exciting opportunity to go to London for an internship at the Metia Group agency, delivering PR and communications for tech companies. This helped me to look at the world of communications from a completely fresh perspective: every day, I helped experienced professionals pitch stories to journalists, write about their clients’ new products, draft press releases, and invite journalists to press conferences and presentations.

It was here that I also learned some of the subtler skills of PR, simply by observing my colleagues. For example, I once heard a team lead convincing a journalist to write about a client’s new product. His arguments and facts were so compelling, and his knowledge of the processes in the newsroom and the journalist’s role was so clear, that he persuaded the journalist of what needed doing. At that moment, I realized that strong negotiation and persuasion skills are essential to the PR profession.

Until 2013, I honed my PR skills by working at various communications agencies, culminating with the Edelman agency, where I worked a full-time contract on Microsoft clients. It was a fantastic time in my life, which gave me the opportunity to travel, to meet global colleagues and clients, and to collaborate with some of the best in the business to deliver excellence. The whole experience resonated with my love of culture, and my desire to always be bold in my thinking and approach.

Building my own business

My shift into independent consulting came about when I learned of the brilliance and passion that drives the bright startups within the global venture capital industry. At that time, I began to actively travel to international conferences such as DLD, Web Summit and Techcrunch Disrupt, to meet entrepreneurs, talk to international journalists, and develop leadership skills. And I started to see the potential that PR offers to accelerate change within this transformative industry.

This ultimately led to the launch of my agency, Mindset Consulting, and to me and my team working with some of the most creative entrepreneurs and forward-thinking tech brands in the United States and Europe. These include Fortune 500 companies, world-changing startups, and venture funds.

Today, my growing team of talented high-level PR professionals and media relations experts comes from major global cities, and we work with companies from various sectors, including healthtech, fintech, agtech, edtech and foodtech. Since 2020, we have implemented more than 300 successful projects in the United States, Great Britain, Europe, and Latin America.

Mindset Consulting as an extension of me

I wanted to launch an agency that seamlessly merged all I have learned and loved about working in the agency world with great companies, startups, and brands – and that’s what I’ve done. I am thrilled that in just two years, Mindset Consulting has emerged as a thriving consulting firm successfully forging forward with our mission to work globally with a portfolio of creative, bold, and progressive tech startups and entrepreneurs.

Our mission is to provide a helicopter view and develop strategic communications, and we take an objective and independent approach. We believe in our clients, and in order to deliver excellent results to them, we immerse ourselves deeply in their businesses. In fact, many of our clients and partners have become our friends. We don’t just work together, attend conferences, or accompany clients to interviews; we also go running in the morning or go to concerts together. We’re invested in our work professionally and personally, so that we can achieve the excellent results our clients deserve.

My professional mission

Being truly professional for me means being a master, constantly seeking to go deeper and become better at my work. I see my big mission in helping others be courageous and creative in their business pursuits, and leveraging PR and communications to help them do so.

I understand the importance of lifelong learning in order to help my business stay fresh and relevant, and in ensuring my clients remain one step ahead in an ever-changing world. One of my values is learning, so I’ve dedicated myself to being a lifelong PR and business student, constantly learning from others so that I can always be of value to my clients.

Today, I work with a number of coaches, mentors, and experts – including award-winning PR leader and Professor at the NY University, Claudine Moore, and Executive Vice President at Red Havas, Linda Descano. Since 2013, I have spent time talking to international consultants, the great experts of the market, and I have never spared resources for education and my own development.

I first approached a coach five years ago, when I was just at the beginning of my career as an independent PR consultant. As a result, my life took a new turn. Continuous mentorship helps me to achieve my goals several times faster, overcome the impostor syndrome, and stay focused on what really matters. In fact, I was so inspired by the idea of coaching that I took a program at EY Business Academy called “Leader as Coach”, and I’ve been coaching several students myself. Witnessing their growth is a privilege, and truly inspirational.

I am so excited to live out my PR dreams – to tell the world about bright minds, courageous entrepreneurs, and the products and services they create to make people’s lives better. The energy in my line of work is constant, and I feel inspired every day by my team, my partners and my clients. I am in the right place, and even though my career began several years ago, I still have so much enthusiasm that I feel like I am just getting started.

Facts about me:

• I am a high-level professional, media relations, and crisis communication expert. In particular, I help my clients with strategy development, international communications, personal brand creation and Investment PR
• I am a member of the Global Women in PR Association, an ICF-certified business coach, a member of the TEDxWaterStreet’s Advisory Board, and a Judge for The International Business Awards by Stevie Awards
• In 2020, I was shortlisted for the Impact Award by Global Women in PR
• I was selected as part of a group of 25 female specialists from around the world to join the GWPR Empower programme as a mentee in 2022
• I was named the Best Woman in Public Relations by the international Davos Communications Awards 2022
• My client list includes Ecwid (acq. by Lightspeed), FoodRocket, Gett, Jiffy, OneSoil, venture funds Target Global and Flint Capital, and others
• As a guest speaker, I speak at conferences such as the Third Eurasian Women’s Forum, EMERGE, Tech Spirit Barcelona and EdCrunch, and give lectures at the Higher School of Economics (HSE), Startup Investor Accelerator, and others
• I enjoy mentoring and participating in sessions for entrepreneurial programs including Sber500 Accelerator, Startup Leadership Program (SLP), and HSE Business Incubator