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Tanya Maslach
Tanya Maslach
United Kingdom
0 SUPPORTING
4 SUPPORTERS
0 ASPIRATIONS
Escape Profile
Escape Profile

Ex scientist/management consultant goes tribal

Tanya traded her suits and heels for running shoes and yoga pants, and built a worldwide community for women who aspire to live active, healthy lifestyles - and then reward those for supporting others in their active lifestyle journeys.

ESCAPED FROM

  • N/A

ESCAPED TO

  • N/A

ESCAPE ROUTE

  • Start a business

How I can help Esc members

Go out and find communities of people that share your strengths and passions (e.g. coding, designing, skiing) - or strengths/skills you WISH you had - and join them. Ask them questions and pick their brains - they will love talking about their passions with you and teaching you how to get involved and play.

It's all we do in my community! We infect people who want to learn how to feel the way we feel, and do what we do... even if it means they want to be a part of it from the business side. We'll take them if they have the motivation and the attitude!

Currently...

I build relationships with brands and individuals around a common shared passion: healthy, active living through sports like jogging, cycling, triathlon and swimming. 

I create a platform that allows those voices to find each other, and then match them up with personalized connections (person-to-person, and person-to-brand) and experiences so everyone feels strong, happy, and magnificent every day.

In any given day, I am writing endless lists, talking with great people trying to make a difference, chatting with our worldwide community, inviting investors to become part of the vision, and struggling through a financial spreadsheet that I've ignored for too long.

Before I escaped...

I was a marine biologist for 8 years; reluctantly defected and went to the corporate side and served executives and senior level managers as their leadership development advisor. I like to say that I linked their tendencies to be polite, kind and caring to how well their departments performed in sales, efficiency and productivity.

I found myself energized by the people I socialized with (outside of work) and drained by the people I worked with - I just wasn't sure how to tackle that issue.

My optimism and energy for my work (leadership development) and the power and impact of it for their lives/businesses didn't seem to bleed too much into the hearts of my clients, whether they were internal or external clients.

Escape Profile

My moment of truth...

I was looking for something that allowed me to give back to the sport community that had given me so much. And I couldn't find a resource that brought all these millions of people together; for advice, recommendations, shared story-telling and meaningful connections.

So I built it. 

I really didn't dream of doing it for very long. About 6 months... I was just ready I guess!

Planning for it...

Planning was really very organic. I gathered women I knew and we drank lots of wine and they generously listened to my idea. I brought women together under a Mentorship Program, and brought others with expertise together to help them tackle a tough athletic challenge they thought they couldn't do. 

Then they did it. And they wanted it more.

I continued to consume mountains of data on my sector, and the economic, technological and societal factors affecting my business, and connecting the dots on a daily basis to figure out how the business could be successful.

And making a whole bunch of mistakes along the way!

The worst and best bits...

Best part:  Building something that will change the health of human beings around the world for the better, and recognizing/rewarding them for their own influence in being a part of that change.

Worst part: That big vision has lots of moving parts. The toughest is sharing my company's vision and value (to individuals or companies) when you don't have a fully formed brand yet to stand in front of. So it's not necessarily the 'worst' part, but it's definitely the hardest part.

The worst part is how slow things move!  As an entrepreneur, I experience life at warp speed. And few others (outside of other founders' and their companies!) are moving as quickly.

Best advice...

I re-learned the importance of authentic, meaningful relationships and being comfortable asking for help.

I can't build a company alone. And surrounding myself, in my experience, with people that believe in me, my character, my abilities, and my vision for GOTRIbal is, and will continue to be, the only path to success.

Also, I would add two important things I've practised, to that:

Be adaptable (don't fall in love with every idea you have or document/product your create) and find time to do things you enjoy to give your mind/body a break from the fast paced, hectic, and stress of building a business. That's when more ideas/relationships emerge, and can serve a great purpose for your next step.

Useful resources and information...