Embracing the Startup Journey with Sandrine & Monika

The leap from a secure job to the rollercoaster world of startups might seem daunting, but it was a challenge worth taking for Sandrine and Monika. With a shared spirit of resilience, they recount the personal hurdles that sparked their entrepreneurial flames.

Sandrine unveils her transformation from finance to founder of a vintage furniture marketplace, while Monika discusses her pivot from advertising to creating an app that revolutionises mental health access. 

Navigating the startup ecosystem requires a blend of intuition and expertise. Sandrine and Monika reveal that trusting your gut isn't just about internal hunches; it's about weighing those instincts against the advice of seasoned investors and advisors.

Embrace the uncomfortable as we explore why conflict can catalyse innovation and the mindset shifts founders face as their companies scale.

BIOS

Monika is the Founder of OMA Mind, a platform for instant access to mental health support focused on the startup ecosystem. Before Oma, Monika led global brand teams at BlaBlaCar, OYO and Ankorstore, living between London, Paris and India. Back in Poland she worked with Saatchi & Saatchi and Isobar in the early days of social media.

Sandrine founded Vinterior in 2016, coding the marketplace's first version herself. Seedcamp funding in 2016 supported growth, and sales of £1m were achieved in 2017 with 500 sellers. Fast forward to 2021 and a series A funding round of £8 million was secured to further invest in the platform and make Vinterior the UK's market leader. In 2023 the platform was opened up to non-professional sellers and now has 400K listings from over 5,000 sellers, consolidating its position as largest supplier of pre-owned premium furniture and homeware in Europe. Prior to founding Vinterior, Sandrine worked in financial services - latterly 3 years in the investment team of fa family office. In her earlier career she worked in structured products at TFS and audit at Ernst & Young. Sandrine holds a masters degree in Finance from the ESSEC Business School.

What Does It Take To Win is produced and managed by Urban Podcasts.