{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Wild, Wise & Working","title":"From £300 to 15 businesses: Darya Simanovich on immigrant entrepreneurship","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":3118,"description":"What would you do if you arrived in a new country with £300 in your pocket, barely speaking the language, knowing almost no one? Darya Simanovich called it a start, and what she built from there is nothing short of remarkable.In this episode of Wild, Wise & Working, Jackie is joined by Darya Simanovich, entrepreneur, business mentor and author of The Immigrant Entrepreneur- a raw, honest account of building from nothing in a country that wasn't hers. Originally from Russia, Darya arrived in London at 22 to study at Imperial College and never really left. In the two decades since, she has launched 15 businesses, sold one, and is still actively building, all while raising three children and supporting other founders to do the same.Jackie and Darya cover a remarkable amount of ground in this conversation: the moment the 2008 financial crash closed a corporate door and opened an entrepreneurial one, the swim school born out of a basement pool and a new mother's need for human connection, and the Chelsea crêperie that survived six years, a pandemic, and Brexit before Darya decided to sell. But this episode is really about the mindset underneath all of it: how to spot a problem worth solving, why sales is the first skill every founder needs, and why being direct, whether you're Russian or just plain tired of the British habit of not saying what you mean, is actually a superpower. Darya's \"100 coffees\" framework alone is worth the listen, and her core belief that you should fall in love with the problem rather than the solution will stay with you long after the episode ends.Covered in this episode:Arriving in London at 22 with £300, limited English and no contacts and why Darya saw that as an opportunity rather than a crisisHow the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008 ended her corporate career and pushed her towards building her own businessesThe Chelsea swim school that started as a personal pool, grew into a five-day-a-week operation, and began simply because Darya...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/4zXlrEmq0Y4Q3AmmXMf5WyFguFCjgPl5ddlys_lODM0/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS8yNzEy/OTM3YWU1OGNiMGEw/NzEwZWJmMzQ2YmMw/MWU2Yi5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}