In this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Mark Balneger, a Dutch expat 🇳🇱 who moved to South Korea 🇰🇷on a whim and ended up building an incredible life there over the past 9 years. What started as a last-minute university exchange turned into a decade-long adventure! Since arriving in Seoul, Mark has worn many hats - from working in marketing by day and bartending by night, to starring in over 20 movies and 15 commercials, and even launching his own startup with support from the K...
Jul 10, 2025•32 min•Season 2Ep. 5
In this episode, I sat down with Melanie O'Connor - a former elite swimmer for Australia who is now a marketing leader in Ireland. Originally from Australia, by the age of 16, Melanie represented Australia at three world championships, winning multiple medals. But when an injury ended her swimming career, she faced a major turning point - one that sparked an incredible journey of reinvention. Now based in Ireland for over 10 years, Melanie is recognized as one of Ireland's top CMOs. We chatted a...
Jun 19, 2025•34 min•Season 2Ep. 4
In this episode, I had such a fun time chatting with Galina Dormishva. 🍷💃🏻 Galina is originally from Bulgaria and is now based in Switzerland. Before settling down in Switzerland, she also lived in France, Slovakia, and Spain. We talked about her life in Switzerland, the cultural differences she's experienced across Europe, and her career in Ad Tech - plus how the universe brings things full circle. ✨ Galina's positive energy is contagious, and I laughed a lot during our chat. As she puts it:...
May 28, 2025•35 min•Season 2Ep. 3
In this episode, I had the absolute pleasure of chatting with the lovely Chloé Chamard - truly one of the kindest and sweetest people I've ever met! Chloé is originally from France and moved to the UK last year in 2024. We talked about what made her fall in love with the UK and why she decided to make it her new home. She also shared her experience of looking for a job and navigating the big move to a new country. Chloé is also a multilingual - she speak French, English, Spanish, and is currentl...
Apr 24, 2025•37 min•Season 2Ep. 2
{🎉 Welcome to Season 2 of Self-Made Expats Podcast 🥳} In the first episode of Season 2 (Yay!), I interviewed Sastya Wardani , the CEO & Co-Founder of PLans, a FemTech company based in Indonesia that empowers women by bridging healthcare providers with an AI-powered, data-driven platform to assist in early diagnosis and maintenance of women's reproductive health. Sastya grew up in Indonesia, and also lived in Malaysia and Singapore, and now she's pursuing her PhD at UCL while building her s...
Mar 26, 2025•30 min•Season 2Ep. 1
Hey Dreamer! In this episode, I interviewed Busi Gwiji , a passionate Content Creator (In total of almost 100K followers across all platforms - YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Podcast - wow, you name it!) and an experienced Customer Success Manager (10+ years of experience working in Tech). In 2019, Busi immigrated to Canada from South Africa and she also lived in the Netherlands before. In the episode, we chatted about her life in the Netherlands, her Canada immigration story...
Nov 30, 2023•56 min•Season 1Ep. 35
Hey Dreamer! In this episode, I interviewed Pauline Mura , a Parisienne and the host of Meet the Expats Podcast. Pauline is from France, and so far, she's lived in 6 countries across 3 continents! In the episode, we chatted about her childhood as a bilingual (French and English) in Ireland and South Africa, and her time in Japan, the U.S., and the UK. We also chatted about the cultural differences in Dublin and Paris which I find very interesting. If you love cultural conversation, I'm sure you ...
Nov 21, 2023•47 min•Season 1Ep. 34
Hey Dreamers! In this episode, I interviewed Lena Rekdal , the Sweden Relocation & Immigration Expert and the Founder of Nimmersion , an employment-based immigration and relocation company where she and her team help companies successfully move employees to Sweden. Lena is currently based in Sweden, but she grew up and lived in many different countries including Sweden, Tunisia, Switzerland, the US, and the UK. In this episode, we talked about her expat journey, and what you can expect as a ...
Nov 09, 2023•56 min•Season 1Ep. 33
Hey Dreamer! In this episode, I interviewed Nina Cataldo , the founder of Hafu Ladies , a global community for hafu and mixed-Japanese womxn. (1,200+ members around the world!) Nina was raised in a bi-cultural and bilingual household and grew up both in Japan and America which allowed her to embrace two cultures and languages. Now, Nina is based in London. In the podcast, we talked about her experience living in Japan and America, her life as a bi-cultural and bilingual, her entrepreneurial jour...
Jun 01, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Season 1Ep. 32
Hey Dreamer! To honor the mental health awareness month, in this episode, I interviewed Gabriela Encina , a licensed psychologist who is specialized in helping expat women discover themselves and their happiness in a new country. Gabriela was born and raised in Chile, and after working in Chile for 10 years, she moved to Austria and lived there for 8 years. In 2017, she moved to Spain and she's based in Valencia, Spain. Gabriela brings 20+ years of experience as a psychologist she has helped mor...
May 19, 2023•57 min•Season 1Ep. 31
Hey Dreamer! In this episode, I interviewed Joey Li , a social entrepreneur and the co-founder of Leiho , the social enterprise where every purchase helps to fund basic essentials for those without a home. Joey is currently based in London, but before she moved to London, she lived in Hong Kong, Singapore, LA, and Vancouver which allowed her to connect with lots of people from different backgrounds and cultures. We talked about her experience living in different places, her entrepreneurial journ...
May 11, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Season 1Ep. 30
Hey Dreamers! In this episode, I interviewed Lindsay Davis , the founder of FemTech Association Asia , Asia's first industry network for professionals in FemTech. Lindsay was raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in the U.S., then she moved to Austin, Texas to attend the university. After living in Texas for a while, she moved to London in the UK and lived there for more than 10 years. In 2020, she moved to Singapore and founded One Bee Consulting, a management consultancy company, and then in 2021, sh...
May 02, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 29
Hey Dreamers! In this episode, I interviewed Zakaria Jaiathe (Zak), the co-founder and CEO of WAANDA , the SaaS-enabled B2B marketplace that facilitates trade between African SME producers and European retailers. Zak was born and raised in Safi, Morocco, and in 2012, he moved to France for his study, and now he is based in Berlin in Germany. Before he started WANNDA in 2021, he founded Xibit in 2016, an award-winning augmented reality startup, and before founding Xibit, he worked as a technology...
Mar 23, 2023•1 hr 17 min•Season 1Ep. 28
Hey Dreamers! In this episode, I interviewed Matthieu Zeilas , an entrepreneur and the co-founder of Palma Coliving in beautiful Mallorca, Spain. Matthieu was born and raised in France and in 2020, he moved to sunny Mallorca in Spain and opened Palma Coliving, a conscious coliving place for remote workers and digital nomads. In the past 12 months, Palma Coliving opened 3 premium coliving properties in Spain and hosted 150 international remote workers, and now they’re looking to extend towards 10...
Mar 09, 2023•59 min•Season 1Ep. 27
Hey Dreamers! In this episode, I interviewed Daniela Redondo Vélez , the Founder Scout at Slimmer AI. In 2019, she moved from Colombia to the Netherlands to study masters and now she is the Founder Scout at SlimmierAI, a venture studio based in the Netherlands. Recently, she also made it to the TNW’s list of the Top 500 most talented people under the age of 30 in the Dutch tech space which is a huge achievement! Before she moved to The Netherlands, she founded three startups in Colombia in her e...
Mar 02, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Season 1Ep. 26
Hey Dreamers! In this episode, I interviewed Ewa Golan , the Marketing Director at LVL Wellbeing and the Founder of Dance Body DXB, a dance studio in Dubai. Ewa was born and raised in a small town in Poland and when she was 18, she moved to London and lived there for more than 10 years. Then in 2016, she decided to move to Dubai and now Ewa is enjoying Dubai life so much! We talked about her life in Dubai, and also some of the misconceptions people tend to have about Dubai, and lessons she learn...
Feb 16, 2023•1 hr 18 min•Season 1Ep. 25
Hey Dreamers! In this episode, I interviewed Devon Keakulina DeAngelo , the co-founder of Landng, the travel platform that helps people experience the world through personalized itinerary discovery, powered by the Creator Marketplace. Devon was born and raised in Hawai’i, and in 2014, she moved to Paris. She speaks fluent French, and now she is based in Paris and Los Angeles. Devon has extensive experience in marketing, media relations, global social media management, and digital events activati...
Feb 09, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 24
Hey Dreamers! In this episode, I interviewed Nini Fritz , a certified bucket list coach, a remote team building coach, and a co-founder of eyeConnect. To give you a quick intro, Nini was born and raised in Germany, and in 2016, she moved to Australia and now she is based in beautiful Bali. In this episode, we talked about her life in Bali and how she became a bucket list coach and a remote team building coach and worked with people from around the world and impact their lives! She worked with gl...
Feb 02, 2023•1 hr 10 min•Season 1Ep. 23
Hey Dreamers! Happy (almost) New Year! How are we feeling? As it's that time of the year when we reflect on ourselves and set new goals, I had this urge to create this solo episode to share what I've earned about visualization and manifestation over this year. Although I love the idea of manifestation, I'm also the type of person who believes in facts and data, so in this episode, I'm sharing with you the science behind manifestation. I had to share this with you before the new year arrives! :) ...
Dec 28, 2022•24 min•Season 1Ep. 22
Hey Dreamers! In this episode, I interviewed Benedikt Becker , a sales and marketing leader based in Malaysia. To give you a quick intro, Benedikt was born and raised in Germany and in 2017, he moved to Vietnam after traveling in Asia for 9 months. We talked about his journey from pursuing his dream to be a rockstar drummer, to working in the music industry, to becoming a sales and marketing leader today and I'm so inspired by his journey and his mindset towards taking risks and getting out of o...
Nov 02, 2022•1 hr 6 min•Season 1Ep. 21
Hey Dreamers! In this episode, I interviewed Jonathan Moore , a Tech enthusiast, and Entrepreneur based in South Korea. This is hands-down a value-packed episode. If you're interested in startups, this is definitely a free masterclass for you! To introduce Jonathan, he was born and raised in Texas and he moved to Seoul in 2006. He is the Chief Innovation Officer at PowerPT, a Startup mentor and entrepreneur in residence at Techstars, a Co-founder and advisor at Roborus, and the host of Podium st...
Oct 05, 2022•1 hr 7 min•Season 1Ep. 20
Hey Dreamers! In this episode, I interviewed Shelley Pascual , the Senior Communications Specialist at Siemens Healthineer and a Journalist at heart. Shelley was born and raised in Canada and she moved to Germany in 2012, which makes almost a decade since she's been living in Germany. In this episode, we talked about her expat life in Germany, her career in Journalism (she was a reporter at The Local in Germany) & corporate communications, her desire to be an entrepreneur one day, and so man...
Aug 25, 2022•35 min•Season 1Ep. 19
Hey Dreamers! In this episode, I interviewed Jaclyn "Jacki" Demuynck , the Co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer of Mangtas , a marketplace with a mission of providing reliable outsourcing solutions through vetted vendors. Jacki was born and raised in the Philippines, and in 2010, she moved to Belgium. Now she is living in Belgium with her husband and toddler. We talked about her entrepreneurial journey, life abroad, the cultural differences between Asia and Europe, Happiness in life, and so ma...
Jul 21, 2022•1 hr 4 min•Season 1Ep. 18
Hey Dreamers! In this episode, I interviewed Pierre Mauriès , founder, General partner & Chief Investment Officer of Japan-based Deep Tech Venture capital fund, Nemesis Technologies . Pierre was born in the countryside in France and in 2007, right after he graduated from the London Economics and Political Sciences, he moved to Japan, and now it's been 15 years since he made Japan his home. Pierre is the Founder, General Partner, and Chief Investment Officer at Nemesis Technologies, Japan-bas...
Jun 16, 2022•53 min•Season 1Ep. 17
Hey Dreamers! In this episode, I interviewed Alastair Mclntyre , the president and the CEO of Altiplano Metals in Canada. Alastair was born in Glasgow, Scotland and his family moved to Canada when he was young. After the university, he started his career as a geologist, and then later in his career, he transitioned to business roles and held various leadership roles focusing on leveraging risk, value creation, and deal execution. While working for Scotia Bank for 12+ years, he had great opportun...
May 09, 2022•44 min•Season 1Ep. 16
Hey Dreamers! In this episode, I spoke with Carlos Leyva Salas , the Co-Founder and the CEO of Cysense , the all-in-one cybersecurity for startups. Carlos was born and raised in Mexico, and after working in KPMG for 2 years, he moved to France for his Master's. After his study, he moved to the Netherlands and lived there for around 7 years. In 2019, he moved to Singapore for MBA and it's where he lives now and where he and his co-founders founded Cysense. We talked about many things, but one thi...
Apr 28, 2022•1 hr 12 min•Season 1Ep. 15
Hey Dreamers! In this episode, I spoke with Tarun Raisoni, the CEO and the Co-Founder of Rahi in Silicon Valley. Tarun was born and raised in India and moved to the US for his study. He started his career as an engineer at Cisco and also worked for Emerson Networks. In 2012, he and his co-founders founded Rahi and now Rahi has around 800 staff across 30 different offices globally and the business is growing rapidly on a global scale! I worked for Tarun back in 2016 and he is an amazing leader. J...
Mar 24, 2022•18 min•Season 1Ep. 14
Hey Dreamers! In this episode, I spoke with Alfonso Fiore, the Chief Product Officer (CPO) at HappyFresh. He is Italian, he was born and raised in Italy and before moving to Southeast Asia, he also lived in so many different countries - Finland, the Netherlands, France, Luxembourg, the US, and England. We talked about various topics - expat life, MBA, entrepreneurship, project management, his passion for teaching, the little prince(yes that little prince), and so many more. If you're in a rush, ...
Mar 17, 2022•1 hr 30 min•Season 1Ep. 13
Hey Dreamers! In this episode, I spoke with Nino Melikidze, the founder of VisaWire in Canada. Nino moved to the US from Georgia when she was 17, and after studying and working in the US, she moved to Bogota in Colombia, Vancouver, and Toronto. She founded her company, VisaWire, with her passion and mission to help immigrants in Canada and other western countries immigrate and settle in new countries successfully. I really enjoyed speaking with her because we share a similar background - immigra...
Mar 08, 2022•46 min•Season 1Ep. 12
Hey Dreamers! In today's episode, I was honored to speak with Murillo Soranso for an hour to talk about his journey from Brazil to America and his journey to find his passion. He is currently working for a tech company but up until recently (around 6 months ago), he was an Assistant Dean at the university. We talked about many different topics from immigration, education, career transition, design thinking, working in tech, to books and I'm sure you'll enjoy listening to this episode and getting...
Feb 10, 2022•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 11
