Hello, I am Ivana, and this is my story.

I was born in Serbia just before the Balkan wars broke out and was raised in the 90s amid hyperinflation and uncertainty, a post-communist reality that shaped me more than I thought. At 17, I left for an international boarding school abroad, then a very British university. That meant being catapulted into another world, in every way. I did BSc Chemistry and Maths at the University of St Andrews, and MSc Finance at Imperial College London - as a classic overachiever, I chose what I thought were the hardest degrees at top universities. Ultimately, trying to prove that I am smart - at the time, thinking it was to others - over time, I have learned it was to myself.

Over the last 20 years, I have changed countries five times, started from zero each time, and learned new languages along the way. At 25, I moved to Brazil to follow my dream of living there - another fresh start in a completely different world. My career has been just as non-linear: four significant transitions - from the corporate world to building a food business, to venture capital, and then to building a portfolio career.

This non-linear path enables me to understand "paths less travelled." I know what it is like to build a career that does not fit expectations and templates, and I had to learn how to own that story instead of apologizing for it (which I did for a long time). Having reframed my own successes, failures, and learnings allows me to help others do the same.

I bring different experiences and perspectives into my work - founder hat, investor hat, advisor hat. My own extensive reading and research on success, achievement, money, and beliefs shape how I work with clients.

Before becoming a mum, while still in the high-paced venture capital industry, I stopped and decided what I wanted my life to look like and what kind of mother I wanted to be. Then I reverse-engineered my career from there, which led to the portfolio career I have today, which gives me the autonomy and flexibility I need in this specific season of life, as well as the variety of work and topics that better fit my own multilayered personality and interests (rather than trying to fit into predefined roles and boxes).

My portfolio career consists of 1:1 career-related work, founder workshop facilitation, startup advisory and mentorship, and a venture partner role.