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#87 Entrepreneurial Ecosystems w/ Marlina Ramchandran
56 Plays2 months ago
Every once in a while, we like to give the opportunity to highlight the incredible work of other immigrants that have been dedicating their professional lives to supporting entrepreneurs and this amazing ecosystem we are part of.
Marlina Ramchandran is a Special Projects Manager at YSpace York University. She is responsible for planning and implementation of corporate partnership projects, has led the national expansion for YSpace’s women entrepreneur focussed program (ELLA), and supports the international outreach strategy for YSpace, that helps international entrepreneurs to establish businesses in Canada.
With over 20 years of experience spread over startup consulting, hospitality, education and media, Marlina has significant expertise in leading high-performance teams to accelerate the growth journey for startups. Marlina has served on the advisory board of Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship's initiative to build a sustainable entrepreneurial campus ecosystem across 500 universities and academic institutes in India. She is a mentor to early-stage startups and advises on business models, value proposition and GTM strategies. As a lead player in the pioneering team that launched entrepreneurship across major cities in India, she has built large scale city-based startup ecosystems, increased capacities of mentor and investor pool, and trained 200+ university faculty to teach outcome-based entrepreneurship.
Marlina holds a Master's in Business Administration, with a specialization in marketing and has completed her Bachelor's in Arts from St. Xavier's college, Ahmedabad in India.
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Transcript
Introduction of Marlena Ramshindran
00:00:33
findaway
Hello. Hello. I'm so happy to be here ah today. This is episode 87, entrepreneurial ecosystems. And today our guest is Marlena Ramshindran. Every once in a while, we like to give the opportunity to highlight the incredible work of other immigrants that have been dedicating their professional lives to supporting entrepreneurs and this amazing ecosystem we're part of.
00:00:53
findaway
Marlena Shambrandom is a specials project manager at YSpace York University. She is responsible for planning and implement the implementation of corporate partnerships projects, has led the national expansion of for YSpace women entrepreneur focused program Ella and supports the international outreach strategy for YSpace that helps international entrepreneurs to establish business in Canada. With over 20 years of experience spread over startup consulting, hospitality, education, and media, Marlena has a significant expertise in leading high-performance teams to accelerate the growth journey for startups.
Marlena's Career Journey
00:01:29
findaway
Marlena has served on the advisory board of ministry of skill development and entrepreneurship initiative to build sustainable entrepreneurial campus across
00:01:38
findaway
500 universities and academic institutions in India. She is a mentor to early stage startups and advises on business models, value proposition, and GTM strategies. As a lead player in the pioneering team that launched entrepreneurship across major cities in India, she has built large-scale city-based startups ecosystem, increased capacities of mentors and investor pool, and trained 200 plus universities faculty to teach outcome-based entrepreneurship. Welcome, Borrelina.
00:02:07
Marlina
Thank you so much and i'm excited to be here and share some of my journey with you.
00:02:09
findaway
ah
00:02:13
findaway
We are so happy to have you. Thank you for your time. And Marlena, you've had a rich and diverse career across industries like hospitality, education, media, and now startup consulting. How have these varied experience shaped your approach to leading high performance teams and fostering innovation?
00:02:32
Marlina
That's a really good question to get started with. And I want to take you a little back in time as to how things really started off for me. So um after I finished my MBA, I was at a stage in my life where I was not very sure what I'm going to do. And you know eventually you plan something for your life, but you end up doing something else. And that's really what happened. I got a job in hospitality, realized this is not my thing, moved to education, realized this is not my thing.
00:02:59
Marlina
And eventually, I got introduced to the startup ecosystem about 15 years back. And this is what I felt was something that I want to look up to when I wake up every single morning. So I think the first thing is you need to find what you love to do. That's number one. um In terms of how all of this helped, now when I look back in time, because I had such a diverse industry experience,
00:03:27
Marlina
It helps bring a lot of perspectives when I really start working with startups. So now when I work with startups from any kind of industry, I will have some understanding of where that startup is coming from, what the concept is, you know what some of their challenges are, because I've got the experience of really living that and really being through that. So overall, this entire experience you know now turned out to be very helpful, and I feel like so much of a fit when I work with startups.
00:03:58
findaway
That's so exciting.
Challenges for Women Entrepreneurs
00:03:59
findaway
um And you've clicked. One of the things that I really was excited to ask you also is that you've played a crucial role in the national expansion of Y space Alice program focused on supporting entrepreneurs. For those of you that that don't know what have been some key insights or lessons you've learned about the unique challenges that women entrepreneur face.
00:04:20
Marlina
So, so I see two aspects to your question right. ah One is the international expansion. So that's a very recent initiative at wide space, to be honest. ah The Canadian government has been running a startup visa program which allows startups from across the world to actually come and establish pays in Canada and really have the opportunity to come and live here as a permanent resident. So we have a designated incubator for that. ah I have tried to set it up ah in terms of building visibility for the program in some of the other countries, but specifically India, but it's still at a very early stage. um I'd like to focus more on the Women's Entrepreneurship Initiative because there's more groundwork which has been done there.
00:05:06
Marlina
So basically, I've spent almost three years working and um working with women-led startups. Some of the key areas that we've learned is, number one, women set very high standards for themselves when it comes to anything, you know whether it's wanting to become a mother, or being a good wife, or being a good entrepreneur. And many times, you know they forget to pat themselves on the back for small achievements. so One of the things that we've been learning and working with entrepreneurs is helping them to celebrate some of their small wins because it's important to celebrate the journey. Eventually, the output will definitely happen. So that's one.
00:05:48
Marlina
The other thing that we've noticed about women is women usually tend to start businesses in areas where they have personally identified a problem, right? It could be a mother, you know, who is a newborn baby and she's not very happy with the kind of health food which is available and then she'll come up with something on her own and then she'll try and make that a business.
00:06:11
Marlina
So what happens is when women are so invested in solving the problem themselves, the overall product or service which comes out is so much more authentic and you know more genuine because they are invested in the problem themselves. So so that's number two. And then, of course, you know in general, like it's been amazing to see you know how resilient women entrepreneurs are. like how multitasking they could be, you know how they are good at managing families, still running businesses, you know taking care of their children. So I feel absolutely honored and privileged you know to be part of such a vibrant ecosystem and to be able to work with such incredible women entrepreneurs.
00:06:57
findaway
It's exciting and I'm sure i'm that's one area that I'm deeply involved in, very passionate, not only as an entrepreneur myself, but also supporting other like-minded individuals. and I really want to highlight what you mentioned about celebrating the wins because um as an immigrant, of course, you go through many stages during your immigration process um and you know you you leave behind everything you once knew, the connections you once have had,
00:07:27
findaway
and celebrating the wins, I think it's ah it's a way to project yourself forward and actually see the amount of things you've conquered along the way. Because it's always really really easy to be looking forward, but not recognizing everything you were already accomplished and celebrating the wins is something that I am deeply um very consistent in. It's celebrating the little things, that's the little as they are, and the big things, of course. So thank you for pointing that out.
Strategies for International Entrepreneurs
00:07:54
findaway
um As someone that is also deeply involved in the international outreach, what strategies have you found most effective in helping international entrepreneurs establish successful businesses in Canada?
00:08:08
Marlina
So um one of the things that we've learned is we've helped them understand what to really expect when they come here. A lot of the times, you know when you start marketing to international startups, it's easy to sell canada Canada as a destination and show all the good stuff. But I think it's equally important to help them understand the challenges that they could face and how do we really prep them for some of the things that um are very different in the way Canada works, right? Like for example, I've spent a lot of time working in India with the corporates and one big difference that I've seen is um the concept of personal space, right? In India, if someone wants to come and have a conversation with you, it's okay to you know walk over to your desk and have a conversation, but in Canada, you know there's the distance of a space that has to mean be maintained, right?
00:09:01
Marlina
So there are a lot of cultural nuances, ah which um unless someone gets a sense of it, it's very difficult to understand. So when we talk to startups, we try and help them understand the cultural part of it as well. ah The other thing I think which is important is to kind of give them a sense of what kind of support can they expect from the government and what are some of the expectations that startups are supposed to work with when they come to this country. because um Not everyone is used to working in a systems-driven approach, and Canada has very specific systems in terms of how they want to work with new startups. So coming back to it, like be real. Tell them what to really expect. Don't sell dreams just like that. The more real we are, it's definitely helpful to them. And then when they come down, they come with realistic expectations.
00:09:56
findaway
for sure. And there is a lot, right? Even though ah when you if you have a successful successful business in your home country, and when you're bringing it to a new ah setting, a new culture, there are a lot of changes that need to be adapted. So you can actually enter that market um efficiently and you know, focusing on the market that you're, you're focusing on. um So that's thank you for pointing that out. um One other thing I'm curious Marlena is that you've been a part, a big part of building large scale startup ecosystems across major cities in India. So I know we're at we're talking about, you know, we're focused on north North America now, but this tells a lot about, you know, everything you've built, everything you've gone through. Could you share a memoral memorable challenge that you faced during this process and how did you overcome it?
00:10:47
Marlina
That's, I love that question. And, you know, it's one of my favorite examples to give. So I'm glad you asked me this question. um So I got introduced to entrepreneurship very early on when not everyone was interested, you know, ah interested in entrepreneurship as a career. Number one, um it was easier to get the salary in the bank account every every month rather than, you know, risking what's going to come and where the cash was going to come from. So that's the time when I started entrepreneurship.
00:11:18
Marlina
The challenge which came with that was one of my first assignment was to speak to a list of 40 universities, set up a meeting with them, with the director to help them understand why they should invest in entrepreneurship education for their students and why it is important for students to build entrepreneurial skills. So my first day on the job, you know, I get this list of 40 universities, I start calling all of them, you know, I'm a new consultant,
00:11:46
Marlina
38 out of 40 don't pick my call. I leave a message. I don't get a response. um There are two who decide to speak to me. And I eventually, after a lot of follow ups, I get an appointment with one of the university directors ah to go and talk to them about entrepreneurship.
00:12:06
Marlina
On the day of the appointment, I have an 11 o'clock appointment. I reach there at 10.30. I don't get let until at least an hour and a half after the appointment was due. And once I do my meeting another half an hour, I've been told, you know we'll think about it. And you know what we'll think about it means. So so that's that was my day of one in 2011 in terms of introducing entrepreneurship education.
00:12:32
Marlina
um Fast forward three years down the line, the same director now calls me and invites me to his campus to come and speak to a crowd of 500 plus students as to why entrepreneurship education is important. And when I go into the campus, I get someone to come and welcome me outside. so So what changed in this three years was I believe that I was consistent, I was persistent. I believed in what I was selling to the university. ah What I did was
00:13:06
Marlina
the first director after that who spoke to me, you know, and we organized a big event at that place. I put it all over my social media and I made sure that everybody who didn't pick up my calls were tagged into that. So took me about six months to keep doing that. Eventually people started seeing the good work. You know, we started seeing results. We started seeing outcomes. And um that's how we started from a campus-based ecosystem and then built an entire city-based ecosystem.
00:13:35
findaway
That is absolutely incredible, Marlena. You should be very proud of yourself. And leading actually to um what you just mentioned, my next question your also has, I'll ask you, it it's going to go back to a little bit what you already mentioned, but I would like to explore a little bit more. um It's about the work that you also did with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship in India and and the focus it has on creating sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystem across the universities that you mentioned.
00:14:03
findaway
So how do you see the role of those like academic institutions in nurturing future entrepreneurs? Because of course you you clearly had a vision for it back in 2011. You worked for it a lot. In 2013 or 2014, they called you back, asked you to ah come and present to 500 plus students. But what would you, if it was like a, if you could put it in a message, clear message for all universities to um take away from this. What would be the role that they could play the best way possible in nurturing the future entrepreneurs?
Role of Universities in Entrepreneurship
00:14:40
Marlina
So I think universities have a very, very important role to play because I strongly believe that someone who has the mindset to become an entrepreneur should be identified at a very early stage in life and should be given opportunities to experiment with entrepreneurship as soon as possible because the sooner you get into it, you build more experience.
00:15:02
Marlina
You fail often and you learn often, right? So that's the role that we've assigned to universities. like If you have students you know who are interested interested in entrepreneurship as a career, as a university, can you lay down the foundation for them? Can you help them launch businesses in a small manner on the campus? you know Once they launch the business, can you help connect them with some mentors who can work with them? Eventually, the rights to the rights when I say the right ones, I mean the ones with the right mindset to become an entrepreneur.
00:15:30
Marlina
are going to come back to the same university once they are successful and probably come and recruit ah from the university students. right So I believe two people have an important role to play, the family and the schooling at the university. So that's why it's very important for universities to continue to do this and really work with the students who are interested in entrepreneurship.
00:15:52
findaway
Amazing. Thank you for answering that. And I want to switch gears now to ah your experience in the mentorship ah position, mentorship role. So you've mentored early stage startups. And I want to understand what in your point of view, what are some common misconceptions that entrepreneurs have about their business models or their go to market strategies? And how do you often guide them through these challenges?
00:16:19
Marlina
So I always always tell you know especially early state startups, you know this is like falling in love when they have their idea. like They are so blindsided by their idea. Sometimes they forget to see the the shortcomings of the idea. right So one of the first things I tell them is you need to separate yourself from the idea and always look at it objectively if you really want to be successful. So that's that's always my number and advice to them.
00:16:46
Marlina
ah The other advice to them, it can be contradictory, but that's an advice. Entrepreneurs are a different breed. like They like to do their own thing. They like to be their own boss. So on one hand, because they like to do their own thing, they don't want to listen to anybody else. On the other hand, some of the most successful entrepreneurs are the ones who figured out how to take nuggets of wisdom from people around them in terms of what aligns with their venture or what aligns with their personal value system. right So it's a constant struggle to help them understand, to kind of balance out this approach about them still being in charge of their business, but still making sure that you know they are making use of the extensive support which is available these days from the community, from mentors and taking what works for them.
00:17:38
findaway
Yeah, I always like to, it's I'm glad you mentioned that because I always like to highlight that um being coachable is not the same thing as being um told what to do. It's just you're being coachable. You're just ah being smart to add, you know, get the nuggets, the snippets and and tips ah from other people that have been there, done that or that have extensive experience. That's why.
00:18:02
findaway
both me and Ingrid were very big advocates for, you know, mentoring and and coaching and also being coached as well. ah i'm I've had multiple ah mentors along my journey that I'm so grateful for. And as always, when you're, you know, your first business and your second business, there's always learning to take away from it. So ah we cannot stress this enough and thank you for pointing that out.
Adapting Leadership Across Cultures
00:18:27
findaway
ah I also want to, ah your Your bio is pretty impressive and you've led projects across um multiple multiple sectors and geographies. How do you, Marlene, adapt your leadership style when you're working in different cultural contexts, especially when scaling entrepreneurial programs internationally? Because you did did that in India and then you come to Canada, you're doing this in Canada. So how do you adapt the leadership style across these different cultural contexts?
00:18:55
Marlina
Again, a really good question. you know But as far as leadership is concerned, I've seen that people are people everywhere, regardless of which country they are in. right Eventually, you know whether I'm working with a startup or whether I'm working with a team member, like my approach always is number one, to identify their strengths and then help them build on their strengths.
00:19:18
Marlina
and also identify areas where they need support and coach them on those areas and work with them as more as a as a friend, you know rather than someone who comes from a point of, okay, this is how things should be done. And I believe that's really helpful because when you create space for people that you work with and allow them to do things their own way,
00:19:40
Marlina
Eventually, they they go out and perform. um I don't consider myself a micromanager. I personally don't like being micromanaged, and i I don't like doing that either. My style of working is you know I try to bring in people who have the right approach to working and who have a sense of ownership of their task. I give them what needs to be done, and then I wait and see. and How are they doing the task? right And then if need be, you know if they need any guidance, I come in. ah What I've also learned is it's absolutely OK to allow people working with you to make mistakes because only people who work are going to make mistakes. The difference is don't repeat the same mistake twice. right If you've done one mistake once, learn from it and move on. Make a new set of mistakes because if you are going to repeat the same mistake again and again, then there's a problem.
00:20:31
Marlina
So this is what I use, so far it has worked and I hope it keeps working in the future.
00:20:37
findaway
I love that. and And I always love the the phrase I went to say that if you're not making mistakes, it means you're not making decisions, right? So it happens. Just, of course, learn from it and don't make it twice. A big quota of that too. so And you mentioned a lot about the trends that are you know in in place or at the time. So looking ahead, what are the emerging trends or opportunities in the global startup ecosystem that you are most excited about?
00:21:07
findaway
And how is YSpace positioning itself to tap into these opportunities?
Trends in Climate Tech and Smart Mobility
00:21:12
Marlina
So ah honestly, there's a lot happening in today's startup ecosystem, right? But i think I think where I see a lot of work going in future, specifically considering the global warming and you know where the climate change is happening,
00:21:28
Marlina
My personal interest specifically is in climate tech, and I've seen lots of amazing startups coming in this space so um I'm also working with a couple of VCs from India on seeing you know how we can bring some of those programs to Canada and how we can kind of integrate some of those things here. So that's definitely one area of interest. ah As far as why vi our white space is concerned, you know we have we keep our eyes open for new things happening. One of the latest programs that we have launched is in the smart mobility space because as automobiles go into the hybrid mode, you know there's a lot of technology in it. So that's one area where we've invested in and we're working with the SmartTO initiative.
00:22:12
Marlina
And we very recently launched a cohort on that as well. So these are basically the two main areas that currently I'm super excited about.
00:22:20
findaway
Thank you for sharing those. ah You've been in Canada for what, how many years now?
00:22:26
Marlina
I came here in March 2018. So yeah.
00:22:28
findaway
2018, so almost six years, almost, yeah. It's exciting.
Marlena's Decision-Making Principles
00:22:33
findaway
And what are some of the personal values or principles that guide you your on your decision-making, both in business and on daily life, like on a daily basis, that you brought back from India as something that's already you know ingrained with you and you never want to lose?
00:22:49
Marlina
Again, um i think I think end of the day, you know all of us need to be so true to ourselves and get into things which we really feel passionate about. So for me, you know when I wake up in the morning, I want to be excited about the day ahead. I want to be excited about my job. So so that's my number one driving force. If something doesn't excite me, I don't like to put half-hearted effort. So that's that's one.
00:23:13
Marlina
Number two, um I believe you know like all of us have a purpose in life. I think my purpose is I love helping people. I love creating an impact. And I feel lucky that you know I'm in um in a job that allows me to do that. And also in the process, learn and enhance my personality or my personal growth. So in terms of value system, yes, like focus on what i idea what my purpose is and align that with what I'm doing so it doesn't look like a job and money is a byproduct.
00:23:43
Marlina
um Number three, you know, I also believe in not delivering low quality stuff, right? Like if I've been given a task, I will invest in it and you know, I want to deliver it to the best of my ability and not just do it for the heck of it. So driving excellence in what I do is also um a very important value system for me.
00:24:06
Marlina
and then And then lastly, you know i'm I'm very a people-oriented person. So anything that I take up, you know I want to work with a set of people. you know I want to bring people across, bring some joy about it, bring excitement around it, and you know get everyone to love what they do rather than do it as a job. So these are the few things. Sorry, I thought I closed that off, but that keeps our ringing in.
00:24:31
Marlina
So these are some of the um personal values that I hold and they really work well for me so far.
00:24:33
findaway
where Thank you for sharing that Marlena.
Personal Growth and Success
00:24:41
findaway
And as you know, our previous guests, they usually leave a question for the next guest.
00:24:48
findaway
So the question that was left for you is, how high is your ceiling? And is it still as high as when you first moved to Canada?
00:24:59
Marlina
Wow, I need to understand what that question means.
00:25:00
findaway
I love that too.
00:25:04
Marlina
Okay, if I understood that correctly, it's basically how um how high are the goals that I set for myself, right?
00:25:13
findaway
That's what I understood too, yeah.
00:25:14
Marlina
Okay. Okay. Okay. I love, I loved all of the questions, but this is again, and a very interesting one. So I constantly believe it's very simple. My tomorrow has to be better than my today. Given what has been offered to me in terms of circumstance resources, you know, what can I make of it for tomorrow for a better tomorrow?
00:25:35
Marlina
That's how I look at it. I'm not someone who will have a 15, 20, 30 year old plan because you never know how you're going to go there. A lot of things can change. But I think what's important for me is when I reflect each year of my existence and I do that end of every year, you know it's always about how have I better myself as a person? How have I made a difference in the lives of people around me?
00:25:59
Marlina
and what can I do better for the future. So it's constantly changing. It's never stagnant and that keeps me moving and that keeps me motivated to do things that I do.
00:26:12
findaway
Thank you for sharing that Marlena. And what you mentioned about being always better on the next day than you are today. I saw a video yesterday about it was Michelle Obama mentioning about that we're always constantly practicing. So and that's what she shares with her daughter. And I love the concept but I'm definitely going to share with my daughter.
00:26:30
findaway
that we're always practicing what we you know where we're heading. So if you're you know just reading a lot of books, you're practicing being a good reader. If you are um taking time and focusing on you know the things that matter to you, you're practicing being better at that. So I love the concept of doing the being the best version of yourself every day. Let's sum it up that way, right? And diving into a little bit more personal questions, not that the other ones weren't personal, but what is success to Marlena?
00:27:00
Marlina
So i'm going to I'm going to recite a quote. I personally identify with that. So I feel that success is a combination of um talent, opportunity, and resources. And that's how I always look at success. ah But if I have to really define personal success for myself, I always measure it by the lives of people that I've impacted. For me, nothing is more gratifying than someone coming and telling me that
00:27:31
Marlina
Thanks to this particular conversation that you and I had that particular day, this is the change that I've brought in myself, and this has been helpful. And as long as I continue to do that, um that will define you know my purpose in life and my idea of success.
00:27:48
findaway
I love that, thank you. Thank you for sharing, Marlena.
Marlena's Personal Insights
00:27:51
findaway
And if you could choose one superpower, what would it be and why?
00:27:54
Marlina
Oh, my god.
00:28:01
findaway
It's hard, but I would pick so many, but.
00:28:04
Marlina
Jafred you know what I feel like I i love to be surprised like I i prefer not to have superpowers I like being human I like being vulnerable you know because that way you can blame someone like once you have power there's a problem yeah but I'll make it personal if I have a superpower like
00:28:18
findaway
so yeah i
00:28:25
Marlina
I want to know what my teenage daughter is thinking about every single day, every single point of time in life, because every time I try to figure out what she wants, I'm still struggling.
00:28:37
Marlina
So I limit my superpower to understanding my teenage daughter's needs.
00:28:42
findaway
Oh, it's so hard, right?
00:28:43
Marlina
and right i can I can work with 200, 300,000 entrepreneurs and impact them, but you know, when it comes to my daughter, it's a different story.
00:28:54
findaway
I feel you Marlena, I feel you. We're moving into some rapid fire questions. So I'm gonna give you two options and then you choose whatever suits you best, okay? Morning person or night owl?
00:29:08
Marlina
Night out.
00:29:10
findaway
ah City life or countryside?
00:29:14
Marlina
Blend of both but prefer city life.
00:29:17
findaway
Okay, ah phone call or text message?
00:29:20
Marlina
Phone call.
00:29:22
findaway
Phone call, good.
00:29:23
Marlina
What's going?
00:29:23
findaway
oh And sunsets or sunrises?
00:29:28
Marlina
Love sunsets.
00:29:30
findaway
Oh, thank you for sharing. ah We are also, as you know, me and Ingrid, we're both bookworms. We love reading. And we always ask our incredible guests to leave a book recommendation one or two that have impacted your life. It could be a professional book. It could be just like a whatever you want. um So what would you recommend to our listeners?
00:29:50
Marlina
So I hope I can talk about two. It's more than impacted my life. These are books that I've identified with in terms of the characters in the story or something that they have brought across. So growing up, I was an avid reader, but the book that I always talk about is Gone with the Wind. It's the story back in time. What I love about Gone with the Wind is the protagonist of the story, Scarlett O'Hara. I love that she's a normal woman like us, you know, with her flaws and with her strengths.
00:30:19
Marlina
But what's most interesting about her, what I love about her is you know she the book ends with a dialogue. Tomorrow is another day. So I love her outlook towards life. you know No matter what has happened today, you've got to hustle. Tomorrow is going to be another day. It's going to bring something else for you. So that's always been my number one book.
00:30:41
Marlina
um And then very recently I got introduced to this really small book. It's called the Little Book of Hege. It's written by Mick Viking and he's the CEO of Happiness um ah for um Denmark. And in in this country, you know, he's actually written specifically about how people, there are the happiest people in the world and What are some of the things that they do to make them happy? And then when I read the book, it's so interesting. you know ah We've known it all along, but it's nice to be put forward in our face that it's some of these small things which eventually bring us happiness and life. But we still continue to pursue pursue you know the larger goal. So these are my two books that I really absolutely swear by.
00:31:27
findaway
Well, I have to add both of them to my list. So thank you so much for sharing.
Question for the Next Guest
00:31:32
findaway
And um before we close the episode, what question would you like to leave to the next incredible guest we're going to have here?
00:31:41
Marlina
So my question is pretty straightforward. um What would you be doing in terms of profession if you were not into this current profession right now?
00:31:56
findaway
Perfect, I got that in the notes. And thank you so much for telling your story, Marlena, and for your time. Is there anything you'd like to add before we close?
00:32:07
Marlina
um Well, formally, I do want to thank you for providing me with this opportunity. You know, end of the day, we are all normal people who do our job and not everybody gets a chance to talk about their stories. I really appreciate the fact that you brought me on board and you asked me some of these questions. And I really hope that um whatever I have shared here, people can learn from my experience. And if anybody wants to reach out in terms of any help, I'm always available, always ready to help. But thank you again.
00:32:38
findaway
No, thank you and thank you for all the impact and for all the support you've been giving and to incredible entrepreneur entrepreneurs, not only international ones, women, female, you know, everybody. ah We're incredibly grateful to have those resources and thank you for the impact that you create. so
00:32:55
Marlina
Don't forget.
00:32:56
findaway
ah And thank you for telling your story. um So this was our episode number 87, entrepreneurial ecosystems with Marlene Ramshindra. We'd like to thank all of our listeners and would like to remind you that we will be posting one episode biweekly, always with a different guest. So make sure to subscribe on your favorite streaming platform.