When I was 20, I made what seemed like an insane decision: I dropped out of university in Novosibirsk, Siberia, and moved to Berlin with nothing but determination and terrible German.

I learned the language the hard way – by showing up, working, connecting, and making plenty of mistakes along the way. Eventually, I got into a German university and spent the next decade building a career in EdTech, specializing in UX research and research operations.

At 31, I thought I’d landed my dream job leading research operations at Babbel, the language learning app. For a while, it was everything I wanted. But both the company and I changed, and I realized I was building someone else’s vision when I needed to build my own.

So at 35, I did another “insane” thing: I moved to Spain (again, without speaking the language), founded YesIt’sMe – a voice authentication startup tackling deepfake detection – and launched Pollo Digital to help other immigrants in Germany navigate cultural fit, layoffs and life transitions that follow along those events.

YesIt’sMe startup did not survive the tough PMF realities, but Pollo Digital has proven to deliver value from day 1.

I’d be lying if I said I don’t enjoy research gigs, over 10 years in EdTech taught me how institutions make buying decisions, how to build research systems that scale, and how to turn insights into strategy. I’ve managed research operations, built participant networks, and learned what it takes to align teams around user needs.

So now I have a wide area I’m operating in, helping people and companies:

• Everything Research: Build human-driven strategies that actually impact the business. I prefer working my brain more than AI when I do research – so my qualitative insights might just move the needle.
• Layoffs in Germany: Helping immigrants navigate layoffs: seriously, don’t sign anything and talk to someone who can create clarity so you actually make an informed decisions.
• Mentorship for immigrants: Make strategic decisions when the path forward isn’t clear
• Facilitation: I am a certified workshop facilitator

I also speak and facilitate workshops on research strategy, entrepreneurship, and the immigrant founder experience – because those perspectives matter and aren’t heard enough.

I share many insights on LinkedIn and in my blog – not because I have it all figured out, but because nobody does, and we should stop pretending otherwise. I, by the way, write everything myself, without AI helping me. So if you’d like to keep on reading from me, sign up for my mailing list.

Let’s work together if…

• You are an immigrant in Germany and find yourself in the middle of an unclear mess called Layoff. I’ll help you understand what your options are when your employer fails to do so.
• You’ve moved to Germany and simply cannot crack the soft skills level. All is well, but the cultural code is simply not making sense.
• You want workshops or speaking that’s honest, practical, and don’t BS
• You need human-centered research strategy that drives real business decisions
• You’re thinking about going from employee to founder and want someone who’s been there

It’s a fun ride. You should join me.