Born in the Crimean Peninsula, which was a part of Ukraine until the Russian annexation in 2014, Daria’s mother was a teacher while her father served in the military.
At university she studied languages, before opting to become a teacher. But Daria soon decided the world of public education wouldn’t provide the space to grow in her career. Instead, she decided to carve out her own path. In 2017, she launched ‘KIDS Studio’, a private school for students aged between four and 17.
“I found that, if you have your own business, that’s actually perfect because nobody puts limits on you,” she explains.
Over the following four years, Daria led KIDS Studio to become a team of 25 people. She also launched another business, ‘PODRUGI’, this time in the beauty space.
But despite becoming a serial entrepreneur, Daria still felt she lacked some of the fundamental knowledge needed for her businesses—and herself—to grow.
“If you had asked me back then how I managed to create this business model and get the revenue to make it work, it was mostly intuitional,” she says. “I had no theoretical background.”
Enrolling at EAE Business School
In 2022, aged 27, Daria decided the next step in her entrepreneurial journey would be to gain a formal education by applying to business school.
With few institutions nearby, and the attractive possibility of living and studying in a different country, Daria decided to leave Crimea and apply to study abroad.
She felt a top business school in Europe would allow her to experience a new culture while also practicing the language skills she’d cultivated during her bachelor’s degree.
“I wanted to go somewhere to challenge myself, where I’m no one,” she explains. “I wanted to shake myself and see what I’m capable of when I’m not surrounded by my family, my friends, and in this comfort zone.”
Daria chose EAE Business School, in Barcelona, where she’d get the chance to study the school’s Master in International Business, a generalist degree teaching the fundamentals of management within a global context.
Studying a Master in International Business
With a clear goal guiding her path, after arriving on the EAE campus in Barcelona, Daria immediately threw herself into her studies and embraced the learning experience.
“I enjoyed my classes because I got exactly what I wanted—I came there with a specific purpose of getting knowledge to scale and grow my businesses,” she explains.
The curriculum incorporates a range of fundamental theories in areas such as people management, global markets, and internationalization. Students can also learn about topics including data science and business analytics.
While well-versed in running a company, it was the first time that Daria had learned about certain areas that are key for entrepreneurs, such as financial management and balance sheets.
“I had some reports in place but they were very chaotic,” she says. “The financial courses helped me a lot and now I have a much better financial structure.”
Overall, Daria enjoyed the wide variety of subjects covered throughout the curriculum, but adjusting to life on-campus was a challenge, she admits.
Leaving Crimea for an extended period for the first time and immersing herself in Barcelona, one of Europe’s key cultural hubs, proved overwhelming for the initial two months of her studies.
“But I think as long as you know why you’re doing this, if you know your motivations you can always adapt,” she says.
“When life gives you challenges, you can always find a way to overcome them, you have to find your comfort zone in the most uncomfortable place.”
Developing as a serial entrepreneur
Throughout the 12-month EAE program, Daria was exposed to a range of practical opportunities including business simulators and group projects.
Designed to give students the opportunity to practice the skills they learn in class, these experiential learning opportunities provided Daria with a variety of learnings that she could directly apply into life as an entrepreneur, including learning to work with people from different cultural backgrounds, and delegating key tasks.
“They made us work in teams, as things would happen in the work environment,” she explains. “If you want your business to grow, you need to learn how to let control go and teach people how to perform on their own.
“Simulations were my favourite thing because they’re very practical, you can practice how you’re going to be in real life negotiations or crisis management situations, for example,” she adds.
With the program taught by expert professors who have extensive academic and industry experience, Daria relished the opportunity to gain professional advice that she could immediately apply to her businesses.
Now three months since graduating, she has continued to apply the lessons she learned both inside and outside of the EAE classroom.
Today, she is responsible for 33 people across the KIDS Studio and PODRUGI teams, who she manages remotely from her home in Barcelona.
While running two businesses remotely poses some challenges, Daria feels the foundational business knowledge she gained at EAE has been invaluable in her development as an entrepreneur.
“It’s helped me mostly psychologically, and it’s helped me manage my team because I am more confident,” she says.
“If you want to be a leader, if you want to be an entrepreneur, and if you want to build something, that’s actually one of the most valuable skills.”
Student Reviews
EAE Business School
