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In this episode of the Femme Lead Podcast, we have a special guest speaker, Alina Engel, who is not only a source of inspiration but also a close friend of the show. Alina's entrepreneurial journey started with the co-founding of Hooves, an app that revolutionized the expensive sport of horse riding and brought it into the sharing economy. Although COVID-19 forced the app to shut down, it had a massive impact with over 35,000 horses registered.

Alina's strength in people-facing roles was evident early on in her career, and she constantly focused on building relationships to create commercial impact. After the closure of Hooves, Alina found herself at a crossroads, but she quickly found her footing as a venture architect at OBI Squared, where she worked on creating cutting-edge business models and startup collaborations.

Currently, Alina is working at Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, where she uses her skills to build relationships with strategic partners, from investors in startups to clients and stakeholders in a corporate setting. In this episode, Alina will discuss the ups and downs of being a founder, as well as the importance of building relationships in both the startup and corporate worlds. Don't miss this fascinating conversation with Alina Engel, a true role model for anyone looking to make an impact in their career

Follow Alina on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alinaengel/

Article Male and Female Entrepreneurs Get Asked Different Questions by VCs — and It Affects How Much Funding They Get: https://hbr.org/2017/06/male-and-female-entrepreneurs-get-asked-different-questions-by-vcs-and-it-affects-how-much-funding-they-get

Book Recommendation - The Culture Map: https://www.amazon.com/Culture-Map-Breaking-Invisible-Boundaries/dp/1610392507

Episode Timeline:

03:55 Tell us about your entrepreneurship journey.

07:15 What happened with Hooves at the end, how was the decision made to close the company?

11:53 Pitfalls of first-time founders.

12:57 How important is the relationship between the co-founders?

14:50 The importance of bringing together the right team.

15:45 What mindset do you have when approaching difficult conversations?

19:00 Transparency as the key to moving forward.

23:10 The benefit of working for a start-up: the impact you can have.

24:15 What's the biggest learning from your start-up founding path? Would you do it again?

25:00 What’s the main lesson from your entrepreneurial journey?

27:50 Have you noticed any difference between men and women when raising funds?

35:10 Why did you decide to move to a corporate? What guided you in your career decision?

39:35 How is it to work for Meta?

41:45 What do you appreciate about the start-up world vs corporate culture?

48:55 Do you have advice for listeners who are unsure about their next professional career? How do you guide your decision-making for e.g. joining Meta?

50:55 If you could, would you change anything looking back?

53:04 The Final 5 Fire Questions.

153 - Nussknacker, All of the Otter Reindeer, Advent: Hope & Joy