December 14, 2023 • 40 mins
In this PostdocTransformation show episode, Prof. Dr. Eleonore Soei-Winkels interviews Dr. Tina Ruseva, a multi-faceted serial entrepreneur (www.mentessa.com). Tina shares her inspiring journey about transitioning from business to academia to building a business aligned with her values, in the US, Germany and Bulgaria. She offers valuable insights into the importance of purpose in driving our careers. The conversation touches upon key topics like breaking down workplace silos, fostering a connected learning culture, and the intersection of technology with purpose-driven entrepreneurship. A candid discussion about Tina's book 'Big Heart Ventures' further explores the importance of impact-making through purposeful business endeavors. This episode is a must-listen for anyone contemplating a leap from academia into business or to start-up a company.
Listen to Prof. Dr. Eleonore Soei-Winkels and Dr. Tina Ruseva as they inspire for your PostdocTransformation!
Click here for the edited transcript of this episode.
In this episode we gift you our free email course with ten email lessons until you start your new job in business!
1) Check your readiness to leap out of science (episode 0001)!
Introducing myself, I share how I capitalized on my PhD as a mom, professor and business owner!
2) How to build your sustainable LinkedIn profile?
3) How to read social media & network?
4) How to research your fave jobs & employers?
5) How to do informational interviews to get insights?
6) How to create your customized applications?
7) How to prepare your thesis from a business POV?
8) How to apply to your fave employers?
9) How to choose the right job offer?
10) How to prepare for your new job?
- While or after listening to this episode, you can check your readiness to leap out of science in an instant - for free.
- If you are ready to leap into business, but need free structured guidance, enroll here in your email course with 10 actionable lessons until you start your job in business.
- Nominate an employer of choice, so that I can ask them bold questions informing your job application!
- I have fun mugs, hoodies & baby onesies to inspire you for your #PostdocTransformation. Enter "Show" to get a 25% discount in my shop.
- Follow me on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube & LinkedIn!
- I'm Prof. Dr. Eleonore Soei-Winkels, Founder and CEO of PostdocTransformation, mom of two little ones and happy to share how you can build a #PostdocTransformation according to your vision of life! Thanks for listening and subscribing!
- Please share our show with your underprivileged, underrepresented & underserved (future) PhD bestie!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:01):
Eleonore Soei-Winkels,postdoc transformation.
Postdoc transformation.
Invest in your PostdocTransformation.
(00:23):
Welcome to the seasonal show forscientists leaping into business.
In every sponsored episode, we are happyto recommend employers of choice for you.
Make sure to check your readinessto leap out of science with us for
free, as linked in the show notes.
For your career transition, weoffer customized career transition
e courses and memberships, also atgraduate schools all over the world.
(00:46):
Maybe yours too.
And if your university isn't yet ourcustomer, enroll in your free email
course for career transition madesimple as linked in the show notes.
I'm your host, Professor Dr.
Eleonore Soei-Winkels with myteam who is rooting for you.
And let's build yourPostdocTransformation with this episode.
(01:08):
Hello, PostdocTransformers.
I'm here to give you a treat.
I'm talking to Dr.
Tina Ruseva she is originally fromBulgaria, but she lives in Germany
and she is a computer scientist.
Turned MBA turned startup founder,turned PhD, turned entrepreneur.
(01:28):
So she can really share a lot ofstories, how you can shift around
difficult situations and turn thatinto something good and useful.
She is a very extroverted person and shealso is purposeful and legacy driven.
Will learn from her why she did a PhD.
She'll be also talking about heraccompanies and the current one is
(01:51):
Mentessa AI, which is a platformthat connects people at companies
to build a learning culture.
Last, but not least (01:59):
she's also a mom of two wonderful children.
So welcome to the stage.
Let's go.
Tina
I'm , so grateful that you areparticipating as one of the
very first experts and leadersfor the PostdocTransformation
show, I, you know, followed yourway for a couple of years now.
(02:24):
I also participated inone of your conferences.
So, I'm a big fan because youare an inspiring role model.
Oh,
So this is your stage
I.
thank you so much.
I'm really happy to be here.
There's nothing above empowerment.
I think in our society, everyone shouldtake care of at least one other person.
(02:44):
So, I'm really happy to be here totalk about careers, to talk about
entrepreneurship, but also about,postdoc, personal development.
So, thank you for inviting me.
Thank you.
All right.
So, without further ado, you are avery special PhD because I know that
you studied computer science, butyou also then ventured out, became
(03:08):
an entrepreneur before you did a PhDand that you did in Bulgaria, right?
So tell me a little bit more about that.
Yes, actually not in Bulgaria.
I have been living inGermany for 22 years now.
I came when I was 18,right after high school.
I, started studyingcomputer science at the LMU
(03:31):
in Munich.
It was a great time, but ever sincethe first day in lectures, I knew I
am a bit different than my colleagues.
Not just gender wise.
We were very, very, very many students.
So Audi Max computer science,first semester, more than
thousands of students back then.
Very, very few women, butthere was something different,
(03:54):
something else different too.
So I was very extroverted.
I was very outgoing.
I really wanted to get toknow the people around me.
I cared about their stories andhow we could help each other.
That's not the normal profileof a tech person, unfortunately,
and I think this is changing.
So I felt a little bit not inthe right place, in the studies.
(04:16):
And after one year, I changed intoan NC subject numerous clauses.
So, a lot smaller computer sciencecourse, which was specialized
on human computer interaction.
So it led to my interest to userexperience, to a lot of skills that I
benefit from right now as an entrepreneur,but also to subjects like psychology,
(04:39):
sociology, and economic, which I thinkreally shifted my career towards more like
building in the intersection with peopleand not so much behind the curtains.
After I graduated, I started towork for Microsoft, near Germany.
I didn't have any ambitious todo a PhD or to start a startup.
(05:02):
I was a young Bulgarian.
I knew, how great my salary was.
I think when I started my job atMicrosoft, I was only 24 years old, so
I really had a really nice income andthe whole world was before me, so to say.
for.
Yes, unfortunately I just didn'tfound myself again in the right place
(05:25):
again, so everyone was so focusedon their task and on the software.
My job at Microsoft was actually as asupport engineer, so not on the phone with
consumers, but with business partners.
So very difficult installationsand very custom processes.
So it was really interesting.
However, I was supporting aproduct called a CRM system.
(05:48):
Mm-Hmm.
Customer relationship management system.
As a computer scientist, I didn't knowwhy you need one, so I really wanted
to understand why is it what I'm doingpurposeful and useful for somebody.
And I was not encouraged tounderstand this within my job role.
So, as a techie, I was supposed tosay in the tech role and do the tech
(06:10):
stuff and not ask too many questions.
And this is when I started very, veryfew weeks after I joined Microsoft
to look for alternatives and I found,an MBA program at T Munich and I
just said, okay, it's now or never.
I applied and as soon as I got theZulassungsbescheid, I quit my job.
So within one year I was gone and thisis where my startup journey started.
(06:40):
And once you have determined yourreadiness to leap and want to transition
into business or industries, then youcan enroll in your free email course with
10 actionable, bingeable email lessonsuntil you start your job in business.
You'll get 10 emails like this.
Number one, how to leap out of science.
Number two, how to build yoursustainable LinkedIn profile.
(07:03):
Number three, how to readsocial media and network.
Number four, how to researchyour favorite jobs and employers.
Number five, how to do informationinterviews to get insights.
Number six, how to create yourcustomized applications with ChatGPT.
Number seven, how to prepare yourthesis from a business point of view.
(07:23):
Number eight, how to applyto your favorite employers.
Number nine, how to choosethe right job offer.
Number 10, how toprepare for your new job.
Allright, both universitiesare prestigious universities
Yes, they're,
they were,
I am very proud to having graduatedtwo of the top European universities.
(07:49):
I just want to say, I wasnever seeking after a career,
I come from a country where.
While I was growing up,career was not a thing.
So while I was growing up, Bulgaria wastransitioning from communism to democracy.
So everything that was was canceled.
So there was no such thing likelooking up to your grandparents for
(08:14):
their longstanding corporate careerand wanting to do the same or having
a mentor who is navigating you inan institutional or research career.
Everything was reset, rebooted.
So I just grew up with for thisreason with an extremely strong
sense of integrity, becausegrowing up in a transformational
(08:35):
environment, leads to two things.
You either say, oh.
Everything is changing.
There's nothing I can do,and you can just resign.
You can back up and say, I'll justbe passive and see what's going
on, and you can do this secondalternative, which is the one I chose.
You can develop something on theinside, which you can hold yourself
(08:57):
onto so that there is at leastone stable thing in your life.
And I call this integrityand this is the path I took.
And I think this helped me a lotbecause I was always thinking,
am I at the right place?
What's really important for me?
What is that really, really matters?
What do I want to be my legacy?
How do I want to make an impact?
(09:19):
Be small or big?
So yeah, very twoprestigious universities.
I haven't looked for prestige.
I'm happy I found it, but I think thereasons for everything turning out
successfully were more on the inside.
I.
Yes, absolutely.
I mean, both universities can be reallyhappy to have you because what I have
(09:40):
already shared in the introductionis that you are winning awards.
You yourself are inspiring,but also your company.
So, before we also talk about thecompany, can you also say why did
you do a PhD then on top of the MBA?
Yes.
So, I walked you through my earlycareer days, through my first studies.
(10:05):
I didn't, tell you about mystartups though, and I think I have
to say it before because my PhDwas a little bit of a coincidence.
I was first an entrepreneur,
entrepreneur turned PhD,turned entrepreneur again.
, and this is what happens.
So, I went to study MBA, witha focus on entrepreneurship and
innovation management at TUM.
(10:27):
And I saw a business plan for thefirst time, a business model canvas.
So, it was all very new and inspiringand exciting, and I just started
applying these things I learned atschool and I quickly developed an idea.
The idea for my first startup, Gymzap.
was, it was one of the first fitness appsin Europe, if not the very first one.
(10:50):
And the idea was that back then, a YouTubevideo, it was limited up to four minutes.
You cannot imagine how difficult it wasto, find good content online, because the
internet connectivity was not that goodand there was just technical limitations.
Live streaming was a thing only for nerds.
(11:11):
You would need a time.
Passion and, you know,
patience to live stream anything.
So it was actually impossible.
So, I connected the dots as acomputer scientist and, and as an
MBA I knew the internet is coming.
It was the year I.
When the iPhone came to,
(11:31):
Live and, DSL connectivitystarted to spread in Europe.
So I was a big fitness fan and I knew,okay, my grandfather had this audio
cassette and my mom had the VHS with,
,Cindy Crawford and I had the DVDs, and now it's all online.
So, all of those trainings are going to.
Come to the internet and YouTubewas not an option back then.
(11:52):
So this was how my first company started.
I ran it, spinning it off from myMBA and throughout the successful
development of Gymzap, which wasan award-winning technology, and we
had a lot of international exposure.
I met a professor from Bulgaria, from myhome country at one of the conferences in
(12:15):
Barcelona, a large very well connectedplatform with Silicon Valley investors.
He said, Tina, you actually havethe perfect profile for a PhD student
because you are already engagedwith the California ecosystem.
You live in Munich and you are fromBulgaria, from Sofia, and those
(12:35):
three places collaborate on a veryspecial PhD system, run throughout
the Intel initiative for fosteringtechnology entrepreneurship worldwide.
So it was like, I was the personconnecting those three dots that wanted
to operate to bring entrepreneurshipto techies like me back then.
(13:01):
And did you know that we offerdeep dive e course workshops and
memberships at graduate schools,maybe also at yours in the future.
Ask your graduate schoolcoordinator, whether they want
to book my services so that I candeliver them to you 24 seven 365.
on your mobile device.
And even better, if you get us paid byyour grad school, we will pay you 50
(13:25):
percent recurring sales commissions.
So you will earn money with us aswe help you and your PhD besties
to transition into business.
We can build ourPostdocTransformation together.
And I have to say, and I'm sayingthis, although it is a postdoc podcast.
(13:48):
I know how hard it is to write a PhDand I don't want to discourage anyone,
because we should be bold and we shouldempower ourselves at the first place
before we can empower others, however.
I only agreed to do that PhD for superselfish reasons, and I thought, oh, how
lovely it would be if I would have a Dr.
(14:10):
Titel, as they say in Germany, and Icompletely underestimated the effort, the
whole pain that you have to go throughto write anything, especially a PhD.
And I also did externally because I wasliving and running my company here in
Munich .At the Sofia University, I hadto fly there and teach and do stuff,
(14:33):
and it was four years of no weekend.
So, it was really, really, reallyprize too high, given that afterwards,
I didn't stay in academics, so I justwanted to say, this is a disclaimer.
I was a young person too, and I also, youknow, not always had the purpose in mind.
(14:53):
So, some from time to time,every one of us, you know,
is not doing the right thing.
And this is how I ended up as a PhD.
But I think it was really great.
So, although it didn't, directlyinfluence my income, I think in a
formal country like Germany, it hasalways been more beneficial, to have
the highest study degree possible.
(15:14):
Hmm.
Yeah.
And actually I think that once youreach your autumn of life or your
winter of life, you can also come backto academia and share all your wisdom
that you have acquired already andwill acquire because you shouldn't
go back to academia right away, thatwould be a waste of your talents.
(15:37):
But I am awaiting for the time, like in20 or 30 years when you will come back
and share everything that you have alreadyshared now in this podcast episode, but
also even more because I know that therewill a lot of things coming your way.
So, in the introduction, I alreadysaid that you are award-winning.
(15:58):
So Gymzap was one of the companies.
You probably sold that, right?
I.
. Okay.
mm-hmm.
So Gymzap I ran between 2009 and 2013.
In the meantime, I became a mom twice
and.
my god.
Yes, at one point, you know,I, I will just open brackets
(16:19):
here because entrepreneurshipis, I think, a way of life.
So
it doesn't really matter ifyou are an academic or just a
corporate employee or a freelancer.
I think every one of us has thecapacity to build our lives on purpose.
Yeah.
This is how I approach things.
So life happened and I had twowonderful children, which now are quite
(16:44):
grown up, for that for that reason.
So it's a benefit.
Again, it was difficult back then.
So everything has upsides and downsides.
So, to come back to yourquestion, I ran the company.
It started to get really, really difficultand we had a personal thing in the
family, which I needed to take care of.
And I was just putting this on thescales and I said, okay, is there
(17:08):
someone who can, take care of bringingof fitness and sports activities
and guidance to the internet?
Somebody else in the world?
And I was like, Hmm,yes, probably there are.
And as history showed, there were many.
Companies that followed on thetrend and it became a big thing.
And today it's very normal topractice with your smartphone or
(17:31):
with your watch or in any other way.
And then I was looking at the scalesand I was like, okay, is there somebody
else in this world who can take careof my family that needs me right
now and of our special situation?
I clearly had to admit that I wasthe only person who can do it now.
So for me, it was one of those momentswhen integrity pushed through and I
(17:55):
said, okay, as much as I love beingan entrepreneur in this company,
and no matter how far we've come.
I have to now put it, on theshelf and go back to deal with
stuff that needs to be dealt with.
And this is how I stopped being anentrepreneur, how I started, to work in
corporate again, this is where actuallythe most of the four years PhD took place.
(18:20):
I was working back incorporate a normal job.
I was taking care of my familyand I worked on my dissertation.
And I think, one of the things that Ilearned from that, or if my personal
humble story can be Of use for anybodyis that we just, if we stay flexible,
there's always ways how you can shiftaround difficult situations and turn them
(18:43):
into something good and something useful.
Wow.
If you were doing something else,come back to me and listen to that
like five minutes before that.
This is really important and I thinkthat integrity is something that is a
value of Tina, and I hope that you willfind values in your life that will help
(19:06):
you to, you know, create a vision ofyour life and also to accomplish that
even if you have to navigate hardshipsobstacles like Tina already alludes to.
Have you ever wondered how to makeyour grad school stand out in the
(19:27):
crowded landscape of academia?
Do you aim to attract the bestmaster's students from all over the
world to learn from and work with yourprofessors so that your research remains
globally recognized and well funded?
Do you wish to repel bad applicationswhich aren't tailored towards your
grad school's research profile?
Now, let's talk about a powerfulbranding tool, podcasts.
(19:51):
They're a game changer forhigher education institutions.
As a professor, active on TikTok,Instagram, LinkedIn, and a podcast
host and producer of this postdoctransformation show, I'm here to
encourage all the graduate schoolrepresentatives to think beyond the
conventional marketing mechanism.
Instead of being one of many vendors.
At a time limited grad school fair, whynot create a podcast that showcases your
(20:17):
grad school as the ultimate destinationfor the world's best masters students
share inspiring and encouraging storiesof your top PhD students, high profile
alumni, I'll Your faculty and theincredible opportunities your grad
school offers a podcast can be a windowinto your school's vibrant community.
(20:37):
It's cutting edge researchand unique experiences.
And in times of AI generatedmarketing material, a podcast
with your academic leaders.
in real life is a very humanand innovative way to attract
prospective PhD students.
You can inform them every day,everywhere, not just during the typical
(20:58):
grad school application seasons.
This would prepare your bestcandidates for the application.
Even better, you can support andmake your current PhD students and
postdocs visible for their nextcareer steps in academia or business.
Remember, successful graduateselevate your grad school's reputation.
(21:19):
So, if you are a university chancellor,grad school dean, speaker, Consider this.
By launching a podcast for your gradschool, you can elevate your grad
school's brand and tell aspiringscientists and employers what makes
your grad school the best choicewith scalable, evergreen content.
(21:40):
If you're interested, Forward this toyour marketing representative and get
our list of 30 sample episode titlescustomizable for your grad school podcast.
And just enter an emailaddress on my website, www.
postdoctransformation.
com as linked in the show notes.
As a seasoned professor and podcaster,I'm also happy to strategize about
(22:05):
how you can launch your grad schoolpodcast on Podbean, the podcast
hosting platform we use for thePostdoc Transformation Show supporting
scientists leaping into business.
All right, so you hadnot only one company.
We understand now that you did a PhD andfrom the energy level you could probably
(22:29):
say that this is not where your heart is.
But instead you ventured out again andcreated a new company, which we now know.
Yes.
Which one is it?
My company is called Mentessa.
It's an award-winning AI platformthat helps organizations.
Okay.
ai.
We already talked about theimportance of ai, so listen to this.
(22:53):
Absolutely.
So it's a, it's an AI platformthat helps companies, Connect
their employees for learning andcollaboration based on skills.
If you look at that on a largerscale, it helps companies build
a connected learning culture in avery, very distributed workforce.
And this is one of the corechallenges business and
(23:14):
organizational leaders have today.
How do we forge a sense of purpose?
How do we connect people so they.
Collaborate, interdisciplinary, but alsobeyond gender function or anything else.
There are many reasonswhy we need to do it.
The most important and criticalone is that the challenges we face
(23:34):
today are more dramatic than anytime before in human history, and
we need any single skill and talent.
Applied and not wasted so that we havea better chance to, to solve them.
Another, another reason is thatit's just a fair thing to do because
it allows for diverse talent, notjust like women or minority or or
(23:58):
other underrepresented people in adominant culture to participate in the
workplace and by this in the economy.
But it's also just fair thing to do onan individual level to give everyone
the opportunity to achieve their best.
And, there are many, many other reasons.
So companies todaycannot innovate if they.
Stick to the status quo.
(24:18):
They have to move fast.
And a lot of the knowledge and solutionsare not available out there, but they
can be created in the right team.
So, this is what we want to bringinto a company culture and this
is what I'm really passionate for.
I think you also hear that it kindof Sprouts from my personal story
and my personal, development in theworkplace where being a woman in tech
(24:42):
or a woman in academia or a womanfrom Bulgaria in Germany or a female
founder has very often been a reasonfor barriers for knowhow exchange, for
mentorship, for funding, et cetera.
So I really want that everyone in theworkplace has the opportunity to have
access to the knowledge and peoplearound them and not just the very, very
(25:05):
entrepreneurial people in the workplace.
I think we should drop the mic.
I don't know what , what else I could say?
I mean, what I seldomly say is thatI'm also a professor for industrial
and occupational psychology.
I've also worked in the IT workplaceand everything that you said is so true.
We, I mean, the human workforceneeds that they, we need connected
(25:29):
learning and collaboration.
So I'm really, reallyhappy that I have you.
And I think that we should invite you alsoto my real lectures in real life for my
Bachelor and Master's students of businesspsychology, because then you can also
have a deep dive in these kind of topics
Have you found this episodeso far helpful for yourself?
(25:49):
Well, maybe you can subscribe onYouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts,
Podbean, or wherever you get our show.
And also, share this episode withyour PhD bestie because that would
encourage us to help the underprivileged,underrepresented, and underserved early
career scientists leaping into business.
This would also ensure that youdon't miss a future episode.
(26:10):
Also, Our subscription and listeningnumbers are key for finding the
right sponsors for our show sothat we can help you for free.
And now back to the show.
now for the podcast itself.
So for early career scientists, Ialso want to have like your two
cents on the future of work.
Where do you think is your companymoving, in that context of new work?
(26:34):
Big and growing?
I mean, already said that, thatwe know each other from, I I
participated in one of your sessionsfor, big and growing festival.
So new work and you are alsothe president of that thing.
You can you allude tothat a little bit more?
Yes, I'm happy to.
So first of all, thank you and let'sdo all of this and let's create more
(26:55):
opportunities and collaborate more becauseI think this of the future of work.
Yay,
And about the festival (27:02):
I started big and growing as a New Work
festival, as a movement on paralleltogether with Mentessa back in 2019,
after five years in the workplace.
Just seeing how little people talkto each other and how little is
going on and how many barriers thereare, and said, okay, let me try
(27:22):
to fix this again with a startup.
Technology, entrepreneurship isthe most powerful way to shape
the world today because you canscale technology and you can bring
solutions equally to more people.
So.
I, I started the company and I saw,okay, technology won't be the problem.
(27:45):
AI won't be the problem because backin 2019, AI was available as a service.
The problem was how people were thinkingabout technology, ai, and matching, and
especially about the culture of beingable and being free to collaborate
and talk and learn from everyone.
This was not a welcomedperspective in the regular company
(28:07):
in Germany or in Europe back then.
So I started it and I saw, oh, thedigital transformation is not a technology
problem, not digitizing processes.
It's a cultural transformation problem.
It's how we can learn to thinkdifferently about work and
the purpose of organizations.
And this is why on parallel next tothe technological solution, I saw
(28:31):
myself, required to start a movement.
To rethink the workplace and what we dothere, and this is how the begin growing
New York Festival emerged, and this iswhy it is a decentralized platform where
people can contribute independently oftheir career level or academia, because
it is important today, and this is tocome back to your original questions.
(28:53):
What is in, for us in the futureof work, it is important today
to create an inclusive workplace?
So my vision is silo free.
How can we remove the silos thatstop people for giving their best,
that stop them from being seen,contributing because in a world
that's changing so fast, diversityis not just gender and race.
(29:17):
It also encompasses nationality, youknow, really social class, age, ability,
diversity of thought, most of all.
And this is required for us tosolve the challenges we spoke about.
absolutely agree.
I already said that pre-recording thatI joined the big and growing festival
(29:38):
as someone, I think that on LinkedIn Ionly had 2000 followers or so, and that
festival was so enlightening in thesense of I started to become visible.
Mm.
As someone having a maternal leave, um, assomeone who's having a different career.
(30:00):
And I, that was one of the opportunitiesto connect with a lot of inspiring people.
So thank you again for thatopportunity because one of the, one
of the hashtags that I used backthen was really non-siloed thinking.
So this without silos, I meanthinking beyond the borders
of . Of, you know, a small box andto sort of like outgrowing that.
(30:25):
These were the values that were reallyresonating for me back then with you and
also today, and I hope that everyone whois following the PostdocTransformation
will also connect with you on LinkedIn.
I will also include everythingthat we are talking about.
Uh, in a couple of minutes,but also what we have already
talked about in the show notes.
So please check up the show notes.
(30:47):
I know that Tina is alsooffering mentoring capabilities.
I'm not sure whether you will have a run.
I would say that you will have abig run for your mentoring slots.
I don't know, I'm not sure whetherthis is a wise idea, but . If you ever
have a capacity for being a mentorfor me, I'm the first, remember me,
(31:11):
remember me, but before, but we, beforewe will talk about your mentoring
capabilities or you know, capacities.
I also wanna ask about thebooks that you have written,
but also that you are writing.
So I know of two.
Which one is the one that isprobably most suitable for
the PostdocTransformation show
(31:34):
And now it's time to thank companyABC, who sponsors this episode of
the PostdocTransformation show.
I would now be reading the company'sanswers to one of six bold questions
so that you can choose to apply.
For example, number one, describeyour most valuable experts
versus leaders in your company.
Have they typically earned a doctor title?
(31:55):
Number two.
For whichever company roles orunits do you encourage somebody
with a doctor title to apply?
Number three.
How would you describe your organizationalculture in which your most valuable
experts and leaders thrive in?
To nominate an employer ofchoice so that we can ask our own
formative bold questions, let usknow by the click on the link.
(32:18):
If you are a company representative,like in recruiting and employer
branding, and now you want your companyto be highlighted as an employer
of choice for our audience, youcan become a sponsor of a dedicated
PostdocTransformation Show episode.
Just click on the link in theshow notes and now back to the
PostdocTransformation episode.
(32:43):
Yeah.
I wrote a book called Big Heart Ventures.
Technology, entrepreneurshipfor the next age of development.
It is a book that helps aspiringentrepreneurs who connect
their business to a purpose.
Uh, my favorite sentence from theentire book, I think I wrote the
entire book, so I can say the sentenceto more people, is the benefit of
(33:06):
purpose is the courage to pursue it.
I think very, very many people start aPhD or a startup or a family or some other
project out of other reasons than purpose.
And for me, it is required in orderto stick around for as long as it's
necessary to turn it into a success.
(33:27):
And purpose, I define as somethingthat is, important for me, but also
that is beneficial for other people.
And this is why the book iscalled Big Heart Ventures because
big is more than one person.
More than you.
So a purpose is more than my career,my stuff, my money, my development.
It's beneficial for atleast one other person.
(33:49):
It can be as small or as big as you wish,but it has to bring something to somebody.
And if you think like this aboutentrepreneurship, you will find that
there is no need to differentiate betweensocial and other entrepreneurship.
You'll find that there is no need totalk about SDGs and economy, you will
(34:10):
find that it creates a very cohesive andholistic approach towards life and work
in general, because everything we doimpacts somebody else and it impacts us.
So, I wrote a book to encourage youngpeople to look beyond the investor,
to look beyond all the perks thatcome with being a startup founder, the
(34:30):
conferences and the visibility, andactually think about why am I doing this?
Why does it matter to somebody else?
Because in every career, Um, thesame also in, in, uh, writing a PhD.
There are days and moments whereyou really have to struggle.
And in startups, those are maybeeven more because entrepreneurship is
(34:53):
actually a very, very mundane work.
You have to, create stuff.
You have to sell it.
So it's not only the,the nice, nice things.
not only.
It's not only, um, you know, it's notas exciting most of the days as people
think, because creating somethingnew for real, creating it means
(35:14):
applying it and seeing if it works.
And this is where it is very, verysimilar to the scientific method
where you just have to collect dataand analyze and do stuff, and do
it again, and do it one more time.
So.
when those a little bit harderdays come, or when the real, you
know, hardship comes on the way.
Most people are like, Ooh.
(35:37):
In this big, beautiful world, there'sso many other things I could do, I just
might wanna drop this, but if you reallywant to make something that lasts, no
matter in which area of life you have tostay as long as it requires to overcome
those things, and this is where purposecomes into place and gives you a reason.
(35:57):
To try it one more time andto try it a little bit better.
So, I wrote a book about this.
It's called Big Heart Ventures.
Any one of your listeners who connectsme on LinkedIn and writes me a message,
I will give away a free digital copy.
But you can also find a book of course,and you can also find the book on Amazon
or just on my website, TinaRuseva.com.
(36:21):
I'm really happy to share itbecause I think this is something
we still teach too little.
And during my PhD, I, I wasteaching entrepreneurship and
I actually, in my MBA learnedentrepreneurship at the university.
And I think we talked so muchabout the hows, uh, about how to
(36:41):
write the business plan and how tofind investors and how to build a
business model and all of the house.
But we really talk really toolittle about the what, like.
What are you actuallyinvesting your life into?
What are the reasons that willdrive you even when it's hard?
And I think those are the thingsthat the, the end of the day matter.
(37:01):
So I.
Oh my God, yes.
Thank you.
And this is really the moment where Iwould say that, I have prepared a lot
of questions, but I'm so, so glad that Ididn't ask you any of these . I wanted
to do interviews with people who areinspiring PhDs, and I never got around
with that because it's like, it's timeconsuming to prepare myself and also
(37:23):
to find people who are willing to shareabout , their journey like you just did.
And I'm so, so glad that youhave spontaneously said yes.
And within I think two or three days.
We just recorded this episode, and Idon't think that there will be a lot of
editing needed because every word thatyou said should be listened to again
(37:50):
and again, and I already know a lot ofpeople who need to listen to this, and
I will share that with them so happily,because I think that you are so inspiring.
So.
thank you Elli.
Thank you.
It was an honor to be on your showand good luck to everyone listening.
Don't give up.
Be strong and help each otherstick to each other so we
(38:12):
women, get stronger together.
Remember, you are a PostdocTransformer.
You are highly intelligent, welleducated, a bachelor, master, and
maybe you have already your doctorunder your belt, or you are a postdoc.
You are internationally experienced,fluent in English, a leader and
expert in your prior researchfield, you're resilient, brilliant
(38:36):
in adaptation and problem solving.
You are eager to bring in thetransferable and monetizable
skills needed in many companies.
To embrace the future and to become orremain an innovator in their markets.
Do you want a transcript of our episode?
And our episode sponsors answersto all six bold questions so
(38:57):
that you can choose to apply.
Do you want to nominate yourpotential employer of choice so that
we can ask them our bold questions?
For all of that, click on our links inour show notes and on our website, www.
postdoctransformation.
com.
Remember to check your readinessto leap out of science and to
enroll in our free email courseCareer Transition Made Simple.
(39:19):
Thanks for your attention.
I'm Professor Dr.
Eleonore Soei-Winkels, the host of yourseasonal PostdocTransformation show.
Postdoc Transformation
Eleonore Soei-Winkels,postdoc transformation.
Postdoc transformation.
Invest in your PostdocTransformation.
(00:23):
Welcome to the seasonal show forscientists leaping into business.
In every sponsored episode, we are happyto recommend employers of choice for you.
Make sure to check your readinessto leap out of science with us for
free, as linked in the show notes.
For your career transition, weoffer customized career transition
e courses and memberships, also atgraduate schools all over the world.
(00:46):
Maybe yours too.
And if your university isn't yet ourcustomer, enroll in your free email
course for career transition madesimple as linked in the show notes.
I'm your host, Professor Dr.
Eleonore Soei-Winkels with myteam who is rooting for you.
And let's build yourPostdocTransformation with this episode.
(01:08):
Hello, PostdocTransformers.
I'm here to give you a treat.
I'm talking to Dr.
Tina Ruseva she is originally fromBulgaria, but she lives in Germany
and she is a computer scientist.
Turned MBA turned startup founder,turned PhD, turned entrepreneur.
(01:28):
So she can really share a lot ofstories, how you can shift around
difficult situations and turn thatinto something good and useful.
She is a very extroverted person and shealso is purposeful and legacy driven.
Will learn from her why she did a PhD.
She'll be also talking about heraccompanies and the current one is
(01:51):
Mentessa AI, which is a platformthat connects people at companies
to build a learning culture.
Last, but not least (01:59):
she's also a mom of two wonderful children.
So welcome to the stage.
Let's go.
Tina
I'm , so grateful that you areparticipating as one of the
very first experts and leadersfor the PostdocTransformation
show, I, you know, followed yourway for a couple of years now.
(02:24):
I also participated inone of your conferences.
So, I'm a big fan because youare an inspiring role model.
Oh,
So this is your stage
I.
thank you so much.
I'm really happy to be here.
There's nothing above empowerment.
I think in our society, everyone shouldtake care of at least one other person.
(02:44):
So, I'm really happy to be here totalk about careers, to talk about
entrepreneurship, but also about,postdoc, personal development.
So, thank you for inviting me.
Thank you.
All right.
So, without further ado, you are avery special PhD because I know that
you studied computer science, butyou also then ventured out, became
(03:08):
an entrepreneur before you did a PhDand that you did in Bulgaria, right?
So tell me a little bit more about that.
Yes, actually not in Bulgaria.
I have been living inGermany for 22 years now.
I came when I was 18,right after high school.
I, started studyingcomputer science at the LMU
(03:31):
in Munich.
It was a great time, but ever sincethe first day in lectures, I knew I
am a bit different than my colleagues.
Not just gender wise.
We were very, very, very many students.
So Audi Max computer science,first semester, more than
thousands of students back then.
Very, very few women, butthere was something different,
(03:54):
something else different too.
So I was very extroverted.
I was very outgoing.
I really wanted to get toknow the people around me.
I cared about their stories andhow we could help each other.
That's not the normal profileof a tech person, unfortunately,
and I think this is changing.
So I felt a little bit not inthe right place, in the studies.
(04:16):
And after one year, I changed intoan NC subject numerous clauses.
So, a lot smaller computer sciencecourse, which was specialized
on human computer interaction.
So it led to my interest to userexperience, to a lot of skills that I
benefit from right now as an entrepreneur,but also to subjects like psychology,
(04:39):
sociology, and economic, which I thinkreally shifted my career towards more like
building in the intersection with peopleand not so much behind the curtains.
After I graduated, I started towork for Microsoft, near Germany.
I didn't have any ambitious todo a PhD or to start a startup.
(05:02):
I was a young Bulgarian.
I knew, how great my salary was.
I think when I started my job atMicrosoft, I was only 24 years old, so
I really had a really nice income andthe whole world was before me, so to say.
for.
Yes, unfortunately I just didn'tfound myself again in the right place
(05:25):
again, so everyone was so focusedon their task and on the software.
My job at Microsoft was actually as asupport engineer, so not on the phone with
consumers, but with business partners.
So very difficult installationsand very custom processes.
So it was really interesting.
However, I was supporting aproduct called a CRM system.
(05:48):
Mm-Hmm.
Customer relationship management system.
As a computer scientist, I didn't knowwhy you need one, so I really wanted
to understand why is it what I'm doingpurposeful and useful for somebody.
And I was not encouraged tounderstand this within my job role.
So, as a techie, I was supposed tosay in the tech role and do the tech
(06:10):
stuff and not ask too many questions.
And this is when I started very, veryfew weeks after I joined Microsoft
to look for alternatives and I found,an MBA program at T Munich and I
just said, okay, it's now or never.
I applied and as soon as I got theZulassungsbescheid, I quit my job.
So within one year I was gone and thisis where my startup journey started.
(06:40):
And once you have determined yourreadiness to leap and want to transition
into business or industries, then youcan enroll in your free email course with
10 actionable, bingeable email lessonsuntil you start your job in business.
You'll get 10 emails like this.
Number one, how to leap out of science.
Number two, how to build yoursustainable LinkedIn profile.
(07:03):
Number three, how to readsocial media and network.
Number four, how to researchyour favorite jobs and employers.
Number five, how to do informationinterviews to get insights.
Number six, how to create yourcustomized applications with ChatGPT.
Number seven, how to prepare yourthesis from a business point of view.
(07:23):
Number eight, how to applyto your favorite employers.
Number nine, how to choosethe right job offer.
Number 10, how toprepare for your new job.
Allright, both universitiesare prestigious universities
Yes, they're,
they were,
I am very proud to having graduatedtwo of the top European universities.
(07:49):
I just want to say, I wasnever seeking after a career,
I come from a country where.
While I was growing up,career was not a thing.
So while I was growing up, Bulgaria wastransitioning from communism to democracy.
So everything that was was canceled.
So there was no such thing likelooking up to your grandparents for
(08:14):
their longstanding corporate careerand wanting to do the same or having
a mentor who is navigating you inan institutional or research career.
Everything was reset, rebooted.
So I just grew up with for thisreason with an extremely strong
sense of integrity, becausegrowing up in a transformational
(08:35):
environment, leads to two things.
You either say, oh.
Everything is changing.
There's nothing I can do,and you can just resign.
You can back up and say, I'll justbe passive and see what's going
on, and you can do this secondalternative, which is the one I chose.
You can develop something on theinside, which you can hold yourself
(08:57):
onto so that there is at leastone stable thing in your life.
And I call this integrityand this is the path I took.
And I think this helped me a lotbecause I was always thinking,
am I at the right place?
What's really important for me?
What is that really, really matters?
What do I want to be my legacy?
How do I want to make an impact?
(09:19):
Be small or big?
So yeah, very twoprestigious universities.
I haven't looked for prestige.
I'm happy I found it, but I think thereasons for everything turning out
successfully were more on the inside.
I.
Yes, absolutely.
I mean, both universities can be reallyhappy to have you because what I have
(09:40):
already shared in the introductionis that you are winning awards.
You yourself are inspiring,but also your company.
So, before we also talk about thecompany, can you also say why did
you do a PhD then on top of the MBA?
Yes.
So, I walked you through my earlycareer days, through my first studies.
(10:05):
I didn't, tell you about mystartups though, and I think I have
to say it before because my PhDwas a little bit of a coincidence.
I was first an entrepreneur,
entrepreneur turned PhD,turned entrepreneur again.
, and this is what happens.
So, I went to study MBA, witha focus on entrepreneurship and
innovation management at TUM.
(10:27):
And I saw a business plan for thefirst time, a business model canvas.
So, it was all very new and inspiringand exciting, and I just started
applying these things I learned atschool and I quickly developed an idea.
The idea for my first startup, Gymzap.
was, it was one of the first fitness appsin Europe, if not the very first one.
(10:50):
And the idea was that back then, a YouTubevideo, it was limited up to four minutes.
You cannot imagine how difficult it wasto, find good content online, because the
internet connectivity was not that goodand there was just technical limitations.
Live streaming was a thing only for nerds.
(11:11):
You would need a time.
Passion and, you know,
patience to live stream anything.
So it was actually impossible.
So, I connected the dots as acomputer scientist and, and as an
MBA I knew the internet is coming.
It was the year I.
When the iPhone came to,
(11:31):
Live and, DSL connectivitystarted to spread in Europe.
So I was a big fitness fan and I knew,okay, my grandfather had this audio
cassette and my mom had the VHS with,
,Cindy Crawford and I had the DVDs, and now it's all online.
So, all of those trainings are going to.
Come to the internet and YouTubewas not an option back then.
(11:52):
So this was how my first company started.
I ran it, spinning it off from myMBA and throughout the successful
development of Gymzap, which wasan award-winning technology, and we
had a lot of international exposure.
I met a professor from Bulgaria, from myhome country at one of the conferences in
(12:15):
Barcelona, a large very well connectedplatform with Silicon Valley investors.
He said, Tina, you actually havethe perfect profile for a PhD student
because you are already engagedwith the California ecosystem.
You live in Munich and you are fromBulgaria, from Sofia, and those
(12:35):
three places collaborate on a veryspecial PhD system, run throughout
the Intel initiative for fosteringtechnology entrepreneurship worldwide.
So it was like, I was the personconnecting those three dots that wanted
to operate to bring entrepreneurshipto techies like me back then.
(13:01):
And did you know that we offerdeep dive e course workshops and
memberships at graduate schools,maybe also at yours in the future.
Ask your graduate schoolcoordinator, whether they want
to book my services so that I candeliver them to you 24 seven 365.
on your mobile device.
And even better, if you get us paid byyour grad school, we will pay you 50
(13:25):
percent recurring sales commissions.
So you will earn money with us aswe help you and your PhD besties
to transition into business.
We can build ourPostdocTransformation together.
And I have to say, and I'm sayingthis, although it is a postdoc podcast.
(13:48):
I know how hard it is to write a PhDand I don't want to discourage anyone,
because we should be bold and we shouldempower ourselves at the first place
before we can empower others, however.
I only agreed to do that PhD for superselfish reasons, and I thought, oh, how
lovely it would be if I would have a Dr.
(14:10):
Titel, as they say in Germany, and Icompletely underestimated the effort, the
whole pain that you have to go throughto write anything, especially a PhD.
And I also did externally because I wasliving and running my company here in
Munich .At the Sofia University, I hadto fly there and teach and do stuff,
(14:33):
and it was four years of no weekend.
So, it was really, really, reallyprize too high, given that afterwards,
I didn't stay in academics, so I justwanted to say, this is a disclaimer.
I was a young person too, and I also, youknow, not always had the purpose in mind.
(14:53):
So, some from time to time,every one of us, you know,
is not doing the right thing.
And this is how I ended up as a PhD.
But I think it was really great.
So, although it didn't, directlyinfluence my income, I think in a
formal country like Germany, it hasalways been more beneficial, to have
the highest study degree possible.
(15:14):
Hmm.
Yeah.
And actually I think that once youreach your autumn of life or your
winter of life, you can also come backto academia and share all your wisdom
that you have acquired already andwill acquire because you shouldn't
go back to academia right away, thatwould be a waste of your talents.
(15:37):
But I am awaiting for the time, like in20 or 30 years when you will come back
and share everything that you have alreadyshared now in this podcast episode, but
also even more because I know that therewill a lot of things coming your way.
So, in the introduction, I alreadysaid that you are award-winning.
(15:58):
So Gymzap was one of the companies.
You probably sold that, right?
I.
. Okay.
mm-hmm.
So Gymzap I ran between 2009 and 2013.
In the meantime, I became a mom twice
and.
my god.
Yes, at one point, you know,I, I will just open brackets
(16:19):
here because entrepreneurshipis, I think, a way of life.
So
it doesn't really matter ifyou are an academic or just a
corporate employee or a freelancer.
I think every one of us has thecapacity to build our lives on purpose.
Yeah.
This is how I approach things.
So life happened and I had twowonderful children, which now are quite
(16:44):
grown up, for that for that reason.
So it's a benefit.
Again, it was difficult back then.
So everything has upsides and downsides.
So, to come back to yourquestion, I ran the company.
It started to get really, really difficultand we had a personal thing in the
family, which I needed to take care of.
And I was just putting this on thescales and I said, okay, is there
(17:08):
someone who can, take care of bringingof fitness and sports activities
and guidance to the internet?
Somebody else in the world?
And I was like, Hmm,yes, probably there are.
And as history showed, there were many.
Companies that followed on thetrend and it became a big thing.
And today it's very normal topractice with your smartphone or
(17:31):
with your watch or in any other way.
And then I was looking at the scalesand I was like, okay, is there somebody
else in this world who can take careof my family that needs me right
now and of our special situation?
I clearly had to admit that I wasthe only person who can do it now.
So for me, it was one of those momentswhen integrity pushed through and I
(17:55):
said, okay, as much as I love beingan entrepreneur in this company,
and no matter how far we've come.
I have to now put it, on theshelf and go back to deal with
stuff that needs to be dealt with.
And this is how I stopped being anentrepreneur, how I started, to work in
corporate again, this is where actuallythe most of the four years PhD took place.
(18:20):
I was working back incorporate a normal job.
I was taking care of my familyand I worked on my dissertation.
And I think, one of the things that Ilearned from that, or if my personal
humble story can be Of use for anybodyis that we just, if we stay flexible,
there's always ways how you can shiftaround difficult situations and turn them
(18:43):
into something good and something useful.
Wow.
If you were doing something else,come back to me and listen to that
like five minutes before that.
This is really important and I thinkthat integrity is something that is a
value of Tina, and I hope that you willfind values in your life that will help
(19:06):
you to, you know, create a vision ofyour life and also to accomplish that
even if you have to navigate hardshipsobstacles like Tina already alludes to.
Have you ever wondered how to makeyour grad school stand out in the
(19:27):
crowded landscape of academia?
Do you aim to attract the bestmaster's students from all over the
world to learn from and work with yourprofessors so that your research remains
globally recognized and well funded?
Do you wish to repel bad applicationswhich aren't tailored towards your
grad school's research profile?
Now, let's talk about a powerfulbranding tool, podcasts.
(19:51):
They're a game changer forhigher education institutions.
As a professor, active on TikTok,Instagram, LinkedIn, and a podcast
host and producer of this postdoctransformation show, I'm here to
encourage all the graduate schoolrepresentatives to think beyond the
conventional marketing mechanism.
Instead of being one of many vendors.
At a time limited grad school fair, whynot create a podcast that showcases your
(20:17):
grad school as the ultimate destinationfor the world's best masters students
share inspiring and encouraging storiesof your top PhD students, high profile
alumni, I'll Your faculty and theincredible opportunities your grad
school offers a podcast can be a windowinto your school's vibrant community.
(20:37):
It's cutting edge researchand unique experiences.
And in times of AI generatedmarketing material, a podcast
with your academic leaders.
in real life is a very humanand innovative way to attract
prospective PhD students.
You can inform them every day,everywhere, not just during the typical
(20:58):
grad school application seasons.
This would prepare your bestcandidates for the application.
Even better, you can support andmake your current PhD students and
postdocs visible for their nextcareer steps in academia or business.
Remember, successful graduateselevate your grad school's reputation.
(21:19):
So, if you are a university chancellor,grad school dean, speaker, Consider this.
By launching a podcast for your gradschool, you can elevate your grad
school's brand and tell aspiringscientists and employers what makes
your grad school the best choicewith scalable, evergreen content.
(21:40):
If you're interested, Forward this toyour marketing representative and get
our list of 30 sample episode titlescustomizable for your grad school podcast.
And just enter an emailaddress on my website, www.
postdoctransformation.
com as linked in the show notes.
As a seasoned professor and podcaster,I'm also happy to strategize about
(22:05):
how you can launch your grad schoolpodcast on Podbean, the podcast
hosting platform we use for thePostdoc Transformation Show supporting
scientists leaping into business.
All right, so you hadnot only one company.
We understand now that you did a PhD andfrom the energy level you could probably
(22:29):
say that this is not where your heart is.
But instead you ventured out again andcreated a new company, which we now know.
Yes.
Which one is it?
My company is called Mentessa.
It's an award-winning AI platformthat helps organizations.
Okay.
ai.
We already talked about theimportance of ai, so listen to this.
(22:53):
Absolutely.
So it's a, it's an AI platformthat helps companies, Connect
their employees for learning andcollaboration based on skills.
If you look at that on a largerscale, it helps companies build
a connected learning culture in avery, very distributed workforce.
And this is one of the corechallenges business and
(23:14):
organizational leaders have today.
How do we forge a sense of purpose?
How do we connect people so they.
Collaborate, interdisciplinary, but alsobeyond gender function or anything else.
There are many reasonswhy we need to do it.
The most important and criticalone is that the challenges we face
(23:34):
today are more dramatic than anytime before in human history, and
we need any single skill and talent.
Applied and not wasted so that we havea better chance to, to solve them.
Another, another reason is thatit's just a fair thing to do because
it allows for diverse talent, notjust like women or minority or or
(23:58):
other underrepresented people in adominant culture to participate in the
workplace and by this in the economy.
But it's also just fair thing to do onan individual level to give everyone
the opportunity to achieve their best.
And, there are many, many other reasons.
So companies todaycannot innovate if they.
Stick to the status quo.
(24:18):
They have to move fast.
And a lot of the knowledge and solutionsare not available out there, but they
can be created in the right team.
So, this is what we want to bringinto a company culture and this
is what I'm really passionate for.
I think you also hear that it kindof Sprouts from my personal story
and my personal, development in theworkplace where being a woman in tech
(24:42):
or a woman in academia or a womanfrom Bulgaria in Germany or a female
founder has very often been a reasonfor barriers for knowhow exchange, for
mentorship, for funding, et cetera.
So I really want that everyone in theworkplace has the opportunity to have
access to the knowledge and peoplearound them and not just the very, very
(25:05):
entrepreneurial people in the workplace.
I think we should drop the mic.
I don't know what , what else I could say?
I mean, what I seldomly say is thatI'm also a professor for industrial
and occupational psychology.
I've also worked in the IT workplaceand everything that you said is so true.
We, I mean, the human workforceneeds that they, we need connected
(25:29):
learning and collaboration.
So I'm really, reallyhappy that I have you.
And I think that we should invite you alsoto my real lectures in real life for my
Bachelor and Master's students of businesspsychology, because then you can also
have a deep dive in these kind of topics
Have you found this episodeso far helpful for yourself?
(25:49):
Well, maybe you can subscribe onYouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts,
Podbean, or wherever you get our show.
And also, share this episode withyour PhD bestie because that would
encourage us to help the underprivileged,underrepresented, and underserved early
career scientists leaping into business.
This would also ensure that youdon't miss a future episode.
(26:10):
Also, Our subscription and listeningnumbers are key for finding the
right sponsors for our show sothat we can help you for free.
And now back to the show.
now for the podcast itself.
So for early career scientists, Ialso want to have like your two
cents on the future of work.
Where do you think is your companymoving, in that context of new work?
(26:34):
Big and growing?
I mean, already said that, thatwe know each other from, I I
participated in one of your sessionsfor, big and growing festival.
So new work and you are alsothe president of that thing.
You can you allude tothat a little bit more?
Yes, I'm happy to.
So first of all, thank you and let'sdo all of this and let's create more
(26:55):
opportunities and collaborate more becauseI think this of the future of work.
Yay,
And about the festival (27:02):
I started big and growing as a New Work
festival, as a movement on paralleltogether with Mentessa back in 2019,
after five years in the workplace.
Just seeing how little people talkto each other and how little is
going on and how many barriers thereare, and said, okay, let me try
(27:22):
to fix this again with a startup.
Technology, entrepreneurship isthe most powerful way to shape
the world today because you canscale technology and you can bring
solutions equally to more people.
So.
I, I started the company and I saw,okay, technology won't be the problem.
(27:45):
AI won't be the problem because backin 2019, AI was available as a service.
The problem was how people were thinkingabout technology, ai, and matching, and
especially about the culture of beingable and being free to collaborate
and talk and learn from everyone.
This was not a welcomedperspective in the regular company
(28:07):
in Germany or in Europe back then.
So I started it and I saw, oh, thedigital transformation is not a technology
problem, not digitizing processes.
It's a cultural transformation problem.
It's how we can learn to thinkdifferently about work and
the purpose of organizations.
And this is why on parallel next tothe technological solution, I saw
(28:31):
myself, required to start a movement.
To rethink the workplace and what we dothere, and this is how the begin growing
New York Festival emerged, and this iswhy it is a decentralized platform where
people can contribute independently oftheir career level or academia, because
it is important today, and this is tocome back to your original questions.
(28:53):
What is in, for us in the futureof work, it is important today
to create an inclusive workplace?
So my vision is silo free.
How can we remove the silos thatstop people for giving their best,
that stop them from being seen,contributing because in a world
that's changing so fast, diversityis not just gender and race.
(29:17):
It also encompasses nationality, youknow, really social class, age, ability,
diversity of thought, most of all.
And this is required for us tosolve the challenges we spoke about.
absolutely agree.
I already said that pre-recording thatI joined the big and growing festival
(29:38):
as someone, I think that on LinkedIn Ionly had 2000 followers or so, and that
festival was so enlightening in thesense of I started to become visible.
Mm.
As someone having a maternal leave, um, assomeone who's having a different career.
(30:00):
And I, that was one of the opportunitiesto connect with a lot of inspiring people.
So thank you again for thatopportunity because one of the, one
of the hashtags that I used backthen was really non-siloed thinking.
So this without silos, I meanthinking beyond the borders
of . Of, you know, a small box andto sort of like outgrowing that.
(30:25):
These were the values that were reallyresonating for me back then with you and
also today, and I hope that everyone whois following the PostdocTransformation
will also connect with you on LinkedIn.
I will also include everythingthat we are talking about.
Uh, in a couple of minutes,but also what we have already
talked about in the show notes.
So please check up the show notes.
(30:47):
I know that Tina is alsooffering mentoring capabilities.
I'm not sure whether you will have a run.
I would say that you will have abig run for your mentoring slots.
I don't know, I'm not sure whetherthis is a wise idea, but . If you ever
have a capacity for being a mentorfor me, I'm the first, remember me,
(31:11):
remember me, but before, but we, beforewe will talk about your mentoring
capabilities or you know, capacities.
I also wanna ask about thebooks that you have written,
but also that you are writing.
So I know of two.
Which one is the one that isprobably most suitable for
the PostdocTransformation show
(31:34):
And now it's time to thank companyABC, who sponsors this episode of
the PostdocTransformation show.
I would now be reading the company'sanswers to one of six bold questions
so that you can choose to apply.
For example, number one, describeyour most valuable experts
versus leaders in your company.
Have they typically earned a doctor title?
(31:55):
Number two.
For whichever company roles orunits do you encourage somebody
with a doctor title to apply?
Number three.
How would you describe your organizationalculture in which your most valuable
experts and leaders thrive in?
To nominate an employer ofchoice so that we can ask our own
formative bold questions, let usknow by the click on the link.
(32:18):
If you are a company representative,like in recruiting and employer
branding, and now you want your companyto be highlighted as an employer
of choice for our audience, youcan become a sponsor of a dedicated
PostdocTransformation Show episode.
Just click on the link in theshow notes and now back to the
PostdocTransformation episode.
(32:43):
Yeah.
I wrote a book called Big Heart Ventures.
Technology, entrepreneurshipfor the next age of development.
It is a book that helps aspiringentrepreneurs who connect
their business to a purpose.
Uh, my favorite sentence from theentire book, I think I wrote the
entire book, so I can say the sentenceto more people, is the benefit of
(33:06):
purpose is the courage to pursue it.
I think very, very many people start aPhD or a startup or a family or some other
project out of other reasons than purpose.
And for me, it is required in orderto stick around for as long as it's
necessary to turn it into a success.
(33:27):
And purpose, I define as somethingthat is, important for me, but also
that is beneficial for other people.
And this is why the book iscalled Big Heart Ventures because
big is more than one person.
More than you.
So a purpose is more than my career,my stuff, my money, my development.
It's beneficial for atleast one other person.
(33:49):
It can be as small or as big as you wish,but it has to bring something to somebody.
And if you think like this aboutentrepreneurship, you will find that
there is no need to differentiate betweensocial and other entrepreneurship.
You'll find that there is no need totalk about SDGs and economy, you will
(34:10):
find that it creates a very cohesive andholistic approach towards life and work
in general, because everything we doimpacts somebody else and it impacts us.
So, I wrote a book to encourage youngpeople to look beyond the investor,
to look beyond all the perks thatcome with being a startup founder, the
(34:30):
conferences and the visibility, andactually think about why am I doing this?
Why does it matter to somebody else?
Because in every career, Um, thesame also in, in, uh, writing a PhD.
There are days and moments whereyou really have to struggle.
And in startups, those are maybeeven more because entrepreneurship is
(34:53):
actually a very, very mundane work.
You have to, create stuff.
You have to sell it.
So it's not only the,the nice, nice things.
not only.
It's not only, um, you know, it's notas exciting most of the days as people
think, because creating somethingnew for real, creating it means
(35:14):
applying it and seeing if it works.
And this is where it is very, verysimilar to the scientific method
where you just have to collect dataand analyze and do stuff, and do
it again, and do it one more time.
So.
when those a little bit harderdays come, or when the real, you
know, hardship comes on the way.
Most people are like, Ooh.
(35:37):
In this big, beautiful world, there'sso many other things I could do, I just
might wanna drop this, but if you reallywant to make something that lasts, no
matter in which area of life you have tostay as long as it requires to overcome
those things, and this is where purposecomes into place and gives you a reason.
(35:57):
To try it one more time andto try it a little bit better.
So, I wrote a book about this.
It's called Big Heart Ventures.
Any one of your listeners who connectsme on LinkedIn and writes me a message,
I will give away a free digital copy.
But you can also find a book of course,and you can also find the book on Amazon
or just on my website, TinaRuseva.com.
(36:21):
I'm really happy to share itbecause I think this is something
we still teach too little.
And during my PhD, I, I wasteaching entrepreneurship and
I actually, in my MBA learnedentrepreneurship at the university.
And I think we talked so muchabout the hows, uh, about how to
(36:41):
write the business plan and how tofind investors and how to build a
business model and all of the house.
But we really talk really toolittle about the what, like.
What are you actuallyinvesting your life into?
What are the reasons that willdrive you even when it's hard?
And I think those are the thingsthat the, the end of the day matter.
(37:01):
So I.
Oh my God, yes.
Thank you.
And this is really the moment where Iwould say that, I have prepared a lot
of questions, but I'm so, so glad that Ididn't ask you any of these . I wanted
to do interviews with people who areinspiring PhDs, and I never got around
with that because it's like, it's timeconsuming to prepare myself and also
(37:23):
to find people who are willing to shareabout , their journey like you just did.
And I'm so, so glad that youhave spontaneously said yes.
And within I think two or three days.
We just recorded this episode, and Idon't think that there will be a lot of
editing needed because every word thatyou said should be listened to again
(37:50):
and again, and I already know a lot ofpeople who need to listen to this, and
I will share that with them so happily,because I think that you are so inspiring.
So.
thank you Elli.
Thank you.
It was an honor to be on your showand good luck to everyone listening.
Don't give up.
Be strong and help each otherstick to each other so we
(38:12):
women, get stronger together.
Remember, you are a PostdocTransformer.
You are highly intelligent, welleducated, a bachelor, master, and
maybe you have already your doctorunder your belt, or you are a postdoc.
You are internationally experienced,fluent in English, a leader and
expert in your prior researchfield, you're resilient, brilliant
(38:36):
in adaptation and problem solving.
You are eager to bring in thetransferable and monetizable
skills needed in many companies.
To embrace the future and to become orremain an innovator in their markets.
Do you want a transcript of our episode?
And our episode sponsors answersto all six bold questions so
(38:57):
that you can choose to apply.
Do you want to nominate yourpotential employer of choice so that
we can ask them our bold questions?
For all of that, click on our links inour show notes and on our website, www.
postdoctransformation.
com.
Remember to check your readinessto leap out of science and to
enroll in our free email courseCareer Transition Made Simple.
(39:19):
Thanks for your attention.
I'm Professor Dr.
Eleonore Soei-Winkels, the host of yourseasonal PostdocTransformation show.
Postdoc Transformation
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Nikki Glaser Podcast
Every week comedian and infamous roaster Nikki Glaser provides a fun, fast-paced, and brutally honest look into current pop-culture and her own personal life.