Braved Podcast

Hayley Mirek left Rochester, New York, self-funded a master's at University College London, landed her first job at Groupon in one of the most intense startup environments in the UK, and then spent eleven years reinventing herself across five different businesses inside Amazon. She breaks down every move, what she learned, and why she kept choosing to stay and grow instead of walking away.

Hayley is a Principal Tech Business Developer at Amazon Ads, where she leads International for the Amazon Publisher Monetization Stores team. Before Amazon, she spent five years at Groupon UK in strategy and business development. Over the past eleven years at Amazon, she has worked in Hardlines Retail, Softlines Marketplace, Launchpad, AWS Demand Generation, and Amazon Ads. This conversation will change the way you think about what it means to build a career within the same company.Hayley covers it all: moving to the UK at 20, surviving a brutal startup culture that doubled as an informal MBA, choosing Amazon and rebuilding her identity inside five different parts of the same company over eleven years.

We discussed:-Growing up in Rochester, New York, and the academic pressure that shaped her drive -Spending a year at Oxford as an undergrad and deciding the UK was where she belonged-Joining Groupon UK, crying every day, and staying anyway because of the friendships and the adrenaline -Hitting a ceiling at Groupon after four and a half years and knowing it was time to go-Choosing Amazon because it was growing fast and offered the freedom to reinvent herself internally -Moving through vendor management, Launchpad, AWS sales development, and Amazon Ads, each time starting from scratch -Why eleven years at one company felt like working at five separate companiesIf you've ever wondered whether staying put can be braver than starting over, this is your episode. Hayley didn't follow a guide. She wrote one, rewrote it, and kept going.

Guest Links:🔗

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/hayleymirek

BRAVED Links🔗

Instagram: https://instagram.com/bravedpodcast

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BravedPodcast

TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@bravedpodcast

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/bravedpodcast

Website: https://bravedpodcast.com

#ClimateAction #WomenInSustainability #CareerReinvention #ChicagoClimatePlan #BRAVEDPodcastShe followed her husband to three countries, built a sustainability firm in the Netherlands, and came home to lead sustainability work in Chicago. If you've ever moved for someone else's career and wondered what happens to yours, this episode answers that question with a decade of proof.Tannis Williamson Thomas is a Project Manager for the Climate Action Plan at the City of Chicago's Department of Environment. She is also the Founder and Managing Director of The Sustainability Firm and an Adjunct Professor at Illinois Institute of Technology, where she teaches in the M.S. in Sustainability Analytics and Management program. She holds a B.A. from Clark Atlanta University, an M.P.A. from Illinois Institute of Technology, and a Master's in Entrepreneurship and Innovation from the University of Luxembourg.What happens to your ambition when you become the person who moved for someone else's job? How do you build professional credibility in a country where nobody knows your name, your resume, or your references? And what does it take to come home after a decade abroad and find out that home isn't what you remembered?This conversation will change the way you think about reinvention, identity, and what it means to follow someone else's path and still end up leading.We discussed:● How her aunt Joan (one of the Greenville Eight) was arrested at 17 for quietly reading in a whites-only library, and how that story shaped everything that came after● Six years working at Rev. Jesse Jackson's Rainbow Push Coalition and what it taught her about power and getting things done● The time she moved to Europe for her husband’s work and found her path ● Being the only American in a Master's program at the University of Luxembourg● The passion about sustainability work and how it all clicked for her● Coming back to a Chicago that was boarded up, grieving, and unrecognizable after a decade away● Working now for the city, making a difference and so much moreIf you've been the one who followed, if you've restarted your career in a country where nobody owed you anything, or if you're standing at the edge of a reinvention you didn't plan, listen to this. Tannis didn't wait for someone to hand her a role. She saw what was missing and built it, in every city and every country she landed in. That's not luck. That's a pattern you can learn from.Guest Links🔗 Website: https://www.thesustainabilityfirm.com🔗 IIT Profile: https://iit.edu/directory/people/tannis-williamson🔗 Influential Women: https://influentialwomen.com/connect/tannis-thomasBRAVED Links🔗 Instagram: https://instagram.com/bravedpodcast🔗 TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@bravedpodcast🔗 LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/bravedpodcast🔗 Website: https://bravedpodcast.com

Kate Davis was told at 17 that her neck was too short to be a dancer. A decade and three career changes later, together with her husband and kids, she packed up and moved to a country she'd never planned on. She is a proud mother first, everything else is secondary.

Kate is a certified Pilates and fitness instructor in Luxembourg City. Before that, she spent a decade as a newscaster in the US earning. Before that, she studied deaf education. Before that, she was a dancer. She describes herself as a mom first, a dancer at heart, and someone who keeps choosing to begin again.

Have you ever stayed in a career that paid you in prestige instead of money? What would it take for you to leave everything familiar and rebuild your professional identity from zero in a foreign country? And what happens to a woman's relationship with her body when she's told at 17 that it isn't built for the thing she loves most?
This conversation will change the way you think about reinvention and what it actually means to start over when you have children, a marriage, and no roadmap.

We discussed:
● Being told at 17 that her neck was "too short" to continue in dance, and what that rejection meant
● Pivoting to deaf education and later discovering another path to journalism
● A decade as a journalist and what that career looks like
● The 2016 decision to move to Luxembourg with a 5-year-old and a 7-year-old when her husband got a job offer
● Arriving in a new country with no career plan, no language, and no professional identity
● Finding Pilates and reclaiming a physical practice with dance as well
● Calling herself a mother first, raising two kids abroad, and working with refugees in a restaurant
● Why she says "I'm a mom first, everything else is secondary”.
If you're standing at the edge of a move, a pivot, or a reinvention and wondering whether you're allowed to start over again, listen to this. Four careers, two kids, one pattern: see the closed door, grieve it, and build the next thing on purpose.

Follow Kate Davis:
🔗 Instagram: https://instagram.com/baby_davisii

Follow BRAVED Podcast:
🔗 Instagram: https://instagram.com/bravedpodcast
🔗 TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@bravedpodcast
🔗 LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/bravedpodcast
🔗 Website: https://bravedpodcast.com

#BRAVEDPodcast

Today, Vera sits down with Tanya Naydukh, a Senior Account Manager at one of the world's biggest tech companies, who is also building a finance education platform for women on the side, with her corporate career running at full speed.Tanya Naydukh is the Founder of The Finance Goddess and a Barcelona-based investor. Alongside a successful career in corporate tech sales, she created a substantial portfolio across stocks and real estate and founded Finance Goddess, a financial coaching business for women. She helps women make smarter decisions with their money and work toward financial freedom.Why do so many women earn well but still feel behind when it comes to wealth? What does it take to build a business on the side of a demanding corporate career without burning out? And how to silence your fears and press publish anyway?This conversation will change the way you think about money, risk, and what it actually costs to build something of your own while running a corporate career at full speed. We discussed:The moment she realized she wants to help women to understand finance and build a strategy that fits them personallyThe difference between the income gap and the wealth gap, and why the wealth gap compounds faster than most women realizeWhat burnout actually looks like when you're building on two tracks, and how to tell the difference between tired and doneHow she decides what gets her time, between work, FinanceGoddess, and herselfHer one financial action every woman should take right after listening to this episodeIf you've been earning well but still feel like your money isn't working for you, or if you've had an idea sitting in your head for months because the timing never feels right, listen to this. Tanya didn't wait for “the right timing”. She built it alongside everything else and at her pace. Follow Tanya Naydukh:🔗 Instagram: https://instagram.com/the.financegoddess 🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/thefinancegoddess Follow Braved Podcast:🔗 Instagram: https://instagram.com/bravedpodcast🔗 TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@bravedpodcast 🔗 LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/bravedpodcast🔗 Website: https://bravedpodcast.com#bravedpodcast

Today, Vera sits down with Tatiana Pantiukhina, who left a respected career as a coloring expert in St. Petersburg, moved to Luxembourg with no network, no clients, and no work permit, and built a thriving beauty studio from scratch,Tatiana Pantiukhina is the owner and lead colorist of I'M SURE, a hair and beauty studio in Luxembourg City. A trained coloring teacher with deep experience in professional color education, she grew her studio entirely through word of mouth, assembling a team, building a reputation for technical excellence, and turning one home visit into a fully booked operation known for advanced coloring techniques and genuine client care.

If you had the skill but none of the infrastructure: no clients, no language, no legal right to work, would you still bet on yourself? What does it take to go from being rejected by every salon in a new city to opening your own? And when the system won't let you in the front door, how do you build your own?This conversation will change the way you think about starting over and reveal what it actually looks like to build a business with no capital, no connections, and no safety net, just skill and certainty.Tatiana covers it all: rebuilding a career from zero in a foreign country, turning rejection into self-employment, growing a business entirely through word of mouth, learning to be both the lead artist and the boss, and discovering that freedom and responsibility always come together.We discussed:● Why she named her studio I'M SURE, and the client story behind the name that sealed it ● How she went from one home visit to a fully booked salon without marketing budget●The Scarlett O'Hara approach to fear: "I'm not going to think about all the problems today. I'll think about them tomorrow." ●What your body tells you when your head keeps saying "I'm fine" and why women run on that split for years ● How teaching coloring in St. Petersburg became the operating system for managing a team in Luxembourg ●Why she'll never go back to employment If you've been telling yourself you need more money, more connections, or a better plan before you start, then listen to this. Tatiana had none of it. She had skill, patience, and the willingness to begin with one client. Sometimes that's the whole business plan.Follow Tatiana Pantiukhina:🔗 Instagram: https://instagram.com/imsure.studio🔗 Website: https://sure.luFollow Braved Podcast:🔗 Instagram: https://instagram.com/bravedpodcast🔗 TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@bravedpodcast🔗 LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/bravedpodcast🔗 Website: https://bravedpodcast.com

Today, Vera sits down with Hasmik Gevorgyan, a finance-turned-iGaming executive who has made not one but three deliberate career leaps. Each time betting on herself, her instincts and her ability to create value in a new environment.

Hasmik Gevorgyan is the Chief Strategic Projects Officer at Totogaming, with extensive experience across iGaming, fintech, product and technology. An Executive MBA graduate and former fintech CEO, she specializes in product innovation, strategic development and emerging technologies, with a strong focus on player experience and Responsible Gaming.

• Why do so many women stay in jobs that feel safe but suffocating?
• What does it actually take to walk away from on of the largest financial institutions in your country and start over in an industry you've never worked in?
• And how do you know when it's time to go?

This conversation will change the way you think about career moves and reveal what it really looks like to take a calculated risk with your career.

Hasmik covers it all: leaving a secure corporate path, navigating self-doubt, recognizing when cynicism is a signal, finding environments that match your ambition, and building a career around value creation, not job titles.

We discussed:

• The moment Hasmik knew she had to leave Armenia's largest financial institution and what she was considering
• Why value creation doesn't have to come through hardship and how to find environments that bring out your best
• The one emotional signal that tells you it's time to move on (most people ignore it)
• How she went from finance to iGaming with no industry experience and made it work
• Why "the world is abundant" isn't just optimism. It's a strategy
• How to trust your instincts and disregard the noise
• The mindset shift that turns curiosity and change into her biggest advantage

If you've been sitting on a decision, doubting, calculating the risk, playing different scenarios in your head, wondering if now is the time... this episode is your sign. Not to jump blindly, but to plan your courage and use it.

Follow Hasmik Gevorgyan:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gevorgyan_has

LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/has-gevorgyan-pmp-productmanager

Follow Braved Podcast:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bravedpodcast

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