Make Space for Growth Podcast

In this episode of Make Space for Growth, Sara Vicente Barreto sits down with Alicia Vivanco, founder and CEO of Holos, a wellness company helping people feel better—so they can live and work better. From national dance competitions in Peru to a career in engineering at IBM, Alicia's path to entrepreneurship was far from linear. She shares how grit, clarity, and consistency helped her pivot through personal and professional challenges—including nearly going bankrupt and becoming a mom of twins—while scaling a wellness platform now active across Peru and Mexico. Tune in to hear her reflections on leadership, wellness as fuel, and why building something meaningful requires showing up, even when life gets messy.

In this episode of the Make Space for Growth podcast, Sara Vicente Barreto sits down with Anais Cisneros, co-founder of Amela, a private network designed to uplift entrepreneurs—especially women—by helping them build, fund, and scale their ventures.

From growing up in Peru with her nose buried in books to moving to Europe at 17 and building a global career across consulting, tech, and venture capital, Anais's story is a testament to preparation, resilience, and purpose. Together, Sara and Anais explore why no amount of preparation is ever truly enough, the power of building networks early, and how decisiveness and empathy shape Anais's leadership style.

This conversation goes beyond strategy—into joy, flow, and the small rituals that keep Anais grounded as she builds a platform to help founders leapfrog the hardest parts of entrepreneurship.

Tune in for wisdom on preparing for the journey, choosing your hard, and staying clear on your why.

What does it take to reimagine how we teach tech to the next generation? Dora Palfi, co-founder of Imagi, joins me on the Make Space for Growth podcast to share her powerful journey—from neuroscience student to edtech founder breaking boundaries in inclusive computer science education.

In this episode, we explore:

✅ How Imagi began as a coding app and charm for girls and evolved into a global edtech platform

✅ Why AI literacy and ethical tech education are central to the classroom of the future

✅ Lessons Dora has learned as a first-time founder—from time blocking to "clarity is kindness"

✅ What it means to lead from purpose, not perfection

✅ How breaking self-imposed limits is shaping Dora's entrepreneurial path

You can also listen wherever you get your podcasts or read the full blog on makespaceforgrowth.com

Explore Imagi: https://imagi.com

Follow Dora on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/dorapalfi

In this episode of Make Space for Growth, I speak with Joana Trigueiros, CEO of Maray—a Portuguese shoe brand rooted in heritage, purpose, and bold design. Joana is not only a remarkable entrepreneur but also my business partner and lifelong friend, which made this conversation even more meaningful.

We cover:

✅ How Joana balanced a full-time executive role at Danone while launching Maray

✅ What it really means to be a "Chief Everything Officer"

✅ Her people-first approach to business and leadership

✅ The brand's origin in her family's shoe shop

✅ Her word of the year: Brave

Whether you're launching a business or redefining what success looks like, this is a must-listen.

🔗 Full episode notes: [Insert blog link]

Quote to remember: "What would you do if you were not afraid?"

#MakeSpaceForGrowth #ChiefEverythingOfficer #JoanaTrigueiros #MarayShoes #WomenInBusiness #FemaleFounders #FootwearDesign #Entrepreneurship #ResilientLeadership

How do you turn a real-life pain point into a thriving business? Can you keep the human element in an AI-driven business?

In this episode of Make Space for Growth, I sit down with Katia Yakovleva, co-founder of ContentRadar.ai, to talk about:

✅ Her journey from marketing at Coca-Cola to being one of the first 150 employees at Spotify ✅ The challenges and lessons of building an AI-powered marketing tool ✅ Balancing automation and human creativity in content marketing ✅ Why finding the right co-founder and early clients makes all the difference

Katya's story is a masterclass in execution, resilience, and innovation. Tune in to hear how she's redefining content marketing and what AI means for the future of work!

🚀 In this episode of Make Space for Growth, I sit down with Marta Palmeiro, co-founder of Student Finance, to explore her journey from investment banking to entrepreneurship, the challenges of funding a high-impact fintech startup, and the role of AI in the future of work.

🎧 Marta's story is one of resilience, adaptability, and a deep commitment to bridging the skills gap in today's fast-changing job market. Through Student Finance, she is helping individuals upskill in high-demand fields like AI, engineering, and the green economy—all while ensuring financial accessibility through innovative funding models.

In this episode, we cover:

✅ How Marta transitioned from banking to fintech and impact-driven entrepreneurship

✅ The challenges of building a business with an entirely new business model

✅ How AI is transforming both Student Finance and the broader job market

✅ The importance of flexibility and self-reflection in leadership

✅ Marta's vision for the future of upskilling and workforce transformation

📖 Marta's book recommendation: Surrender to Flow by Phyllis Lane

💡 Favorite quote: "If you're offered a seat on a rocket ship, don't ask what seat. Just get on." – Sheryl Sandberg

🔑 Word of the year: Freedom

🔗 Listen now and join the conversation!

💬 What did you find most inspiring about Marta's journey? Drop your thoughts in the comments!

📢 Subscribe to Make Space for Growth for more inspiring conversations with female entrepreneurs and leaders!

Season 4 of Make Space for Growth is here, and this time we're exploring the theme of Strength. Hosted by Sara Vicente Barreto, this podcast celebrates the resilience, bold decisions, and leadership that drive women entrepreneurs and leaders to thrive in both business and life.

In this kickoff episode, Sara reflects on the personal and professional dimensions of strength, offering insights into what it means to navigate challenges and create impact. She also previews the incredible lineup of guests joining this season, including Marta Palmeiro of Student Finance, Katia Yakovleva of ContentRadar, and Carmen Alfonso Rico of Cocoa Ventures. Together, they'll share stories of determination, transformation, and growth.

Whether you're seeking inspiration, actionable advice, or just a moment to reflect, Season 4 is packed with empowering conversations to help you embrace your own strength and make space for growth.

Tune in and join the journey! 🎙️

You can feel the energy in the voice or the video. It is contagious. A breath of fresh air in a world that is almost afraid of joy. That is how I felt coming out of recording the new season of the podcast with Carmen Alfonso Rico. It is not every day that you meet someone who is unapologetic about having fun and enjoying what she is doing.

Kicking off with politics

Carmen wanted to be the US Secretary of State when she was a little girl. Note she was not a US national or living in the US, but that did not seem to stop her. Serendipity determined she would start her career in politics, in the middle of the PIGS crisis. What she most learnt that stayed with her was the human aspect of the industry. The work was very human-driven, which aligned with Carmen's goals.

London and Finance

Carmen is quick to affirm her life is not a straight line. As she wanted to grow and learn more, she realized a lot of her peers had moved to London to work in Finance, so she decided to follow along and "served" her time in Investment Banking. Despite the clear change in seniority level, she did learn the value of attention to detail, translating it into a responsibility when you are entrusted with someone's business. We share a few stories on our focus on the colour of charts or the spacing between words. I am not always proud of it, but Carmen's interpretation certainly makes me feel better.

Finding out what you do not like

Carmen wanted to keep moving and go into what she thought would be her future - being an entrepreneur. First, she got herself into VC and then decided to go on to become a tech entrepreneur. Against her expectations, she did not like it and she also missed investing. She preferred to cover many things rather than a single thing very deeply. For a moment, I thought it was me talking I must admit. She came to the conclusion she preferred the variety of content and took that as she moved her career forward.

Serendipity and opportunity

As Carmen found her way back into the VC world, she stumbled across the Hopin opportunity. That is when she first started being an angel investor. But not just any angel investor. Carmen built a unique relationship of trust with the founder, working alongside him in a very collaborative manner. She truly enjoyed becoming the trusted advisor and went on to do more angel investments.

Seeding Killers with a Heart

Carmen saw the opportunity to scale up the angel investments she was doing into a business model. Counter-intuitively, she went back on the cap table by moving to the seed stage of the companies to focus intensely on the "power of small", as she calls it.

Why Killers with a Heart? Carmen has a strong preference for companies that are solving a very painful pain and have a high amount of customer love, almost like a cult. As to the Killers part, she did learn in banking that you can be delivering but still be kind, so that is part of her due diligence process. Over time, the importance she placed on IQ and EQ was a journey of acceptance of what truly mattered in making a business successful.

Energy from fun

For Carmen, a good day will start early and have exercise, reading a book, meeting great founders and hosting people. This will give a good perspective of what matters to her. As I tried to understand what drives her energy, her response no doubt surprised me:

"I'm obsessed"

It is the fun and energy she puts into things that drive the enjoyment that you hear in her voice. And she reminds herself of the importance of having fun before every meeting, no matter how big or small. She does it with immense conviction that she has found her superpower and is joyful about living it.

When I came out of the podcast, a smile of energy lightened me up on a day that had started very gloomy. And more importantly, I felt connected, and just a bit more normal. Passion and obsession are more common than we think sometimes.

Carmen's List

• Advice: Find your superpower
• Book: The Power Law (Non-Fiction), Pushing Past the Night (Fiction)
• Quote: Function in disaster, finish in style
• Word of the Year: Growth

Stay connected

• Meet Carmen on Linkedin
• Join the Make Space for Growth newsletter and newly launched Linkedin Group
• Follow me on Linkedin, Instagram or Twitter

Before the summer break, I reconnected with old colleague Samreen Ghani to talk about her journey and her role as President of Moonbug Studios. It had been a long time since our M&A times together! And we end up finding ourselves in a similar life reflection on "how you measure your life"!

The Early Days

Samreen did not follow the expected path. Her earliest memory from childhood was spelling the word "doctor", which was exciting for her parents as she grew up. In Pakistan, her expected paths would have been doctor, engineer, lawyer or banker if she wanted to define herself as successful. So as she finished her degree, she joined investment banking, which she sees today as a great grounding experience to give you the technical skills, but also the discipline and work ethic you need later in life. From there, Samreen started moving along her "5-Year-Plans".

Career Transition

As she evaluated the next 5-year period, Samreen realized she did not want to stay in M&A and started looking at the industry she enjoyed and the type of transferable skills she had. With that, Samreen moved to entertainment but stayed in Finance. Whilst she gained the work-life balance, she did not feel she had a fit with the corporate culture. She found herself only halfway through her 5-year plan but not happy with where she was going. That is when she really started exploring what she wanted to do and in which type of corporation.

She felt the clock ticking on her as she engaged in her career break (I can see where she is coming from) and really gave herself time to reflect. For her, what worked was to talk to different people and be open about what the future would be. She was talking to people across industries and different types of small to large corporations. More importantly, she was open to herself about what worked and did not work for her.

"Sometimes there is so much noise around us that we forget who we are and what makes us happy!"

Listening to your inner self

You may not always want to listen to it, as sometimes it tells you things you don't want to hear. But it is when you hear yourself that things may work out better, so talking to people is a part of the process but can't be the main driver. Amongst one of the many conversations, an opportunity came up to participate in a project that then became a role. Samreen stayed close to the finance space and used her early career skills along the way.

Further along the way, as her 5-year plan included building a family, she also had the opportunity to join Moonbug as CFO and later President, while doing multiple acquisitions and funding rounds. This experience tested her in ways like never before.

Prioritizing and Focusing

There is enough work to fill any hour of the day, so you need to focus on the big things you want to achieve. Samreen runs a to-do list across work and family, but she reminds us that you also need to create the right level of infrastructure and autonomy so that people can help you and you are not the bottleneck.

On top of it, it is important to keep an eye on the end goal, to ensure you are prioritizing accordingly and ensuring you are taking small steps towards the longer-term goal.

A non-linear path

Samreen describes herself as very organized. But when you are figuring out your path you can't always expect it to be very linear. Staying nimble and going out of her comfort zone has been key for her, however if she were to look at the chart of her career throughout time, it would still be on a positive trajectory towards her goals. It just does not have to mean the same path to everyone. It is important to remember that you could do things differently, but they may not have been better or worse than your current choices.

"Don't be afraid to be not liked"

As a leader, you can't always be liked. That is a defining characteristic of Samreen. You need to make difficult decisions, but they are not always going to be popular. You can make difficult choices, but you can do them with empathy and kindness. In running a business, there is a big people element in it, with a lot of grey areas that need to be managed.

Samreen reminds me that the need the small kids have goes away very quickly and there is a short amount of time to make the most of it. That helps her keep perspective with her priorities and the demands on her time coming from everywhere.

Samreen's List

• Advice: There is a lot to be said about listening to yourself. So try to get to know yourself better
• Book: The Alchemist
• Quote: Fail Fast
• Word of the Year: Soul-searching

Stay connected

• Meet Samreen on Linkedin
• Join the Make Space for Growth newsletter and newly launched Linkedin Group
• Follow me on Linkedin, Instagram or Twitter

Rita Vilas Boas first connected with me on Linkedin. After a lot of online engagement, we finally met in person last year to find out we shared many passions. When she was a little girl, Rita wanted to dismantle things and figure out how things worked, but deep down, she wanted to be part of Fame, and dance on a Taxi roof in the streets of New York. Can you picture it?

Rita studied biotechnology but soon found out about marketing, where she started her career. She threw herself into it and got a job at Loreal. For 20 years, she was a marketer in multinationals and large family businesses. Through social acquaintances Rita started investing on the side and, in the Covid era, thought this was something she could do full-time, supporting founders and thriving as an investor. Between these areas, Rita talks only about serendipity:

"if we plan too much, it never happens, be ready to change and pivot."

Rita believes we should have 3 careers in our lives. She is now onto the second one, but the future is open for the third phase. Perhaps that's when she will get to the dancing part!

Rita is a hands-on investor and puts her money where her efforts will also be. She is keen to be part of the journey and be there along the way for founders.

"Instead of just saying the talk, I walk the talk"

Rita is taking an increasing role in the ecosystem and going through the VC Lab to take her efforts as a business angel further. She wants to bring more transparency into the VC world and is keen to put the new ideas to life. She invests when she believes, and that energy and passion translate into her day-to-day actions.

Rita has a structured approach to her day, reserving some focus time for due diligence on her potential investments, but also a lot of time out there to see pitches and attend conferences. The balance is hard to find, but it is important to be open to the flow of information constantly thrown your way.

Rita claims the common thread in her life is "breaking ceilings". She chose a male-orientated sales environment over marketing, she chose the wine business as the first woman director in the family business, then start-ups in China and now an investor in Portugal. She wants people to hear her voice, and through that, also be inspired to find their own voice. She has become a player with a diverse background because she believes that is where her advantage lies. Rita is a strong believer in diverse teams and believes time will demonstrate the results.

• Advice: You can't please everyone.
• Make space for: Learning
• Get rid of: all the people wanting to "pick your brains"
• Quote: "Work hard, play harder" AND "If I want to go faster, I will go alone, if I want to go far, I will go with others"
• Word: Achievement

• Meet Rita on Linkedin
• Join the Make Space for Growth newsletter and newly launched Linkedin Group
• Follow me on Linkedin, Instagram or Twitter

Coming back to the podcast after a long pause has been refreshing and inspiring. The next guest is already in the oven. Send feedback and enjoy!