I grew up in a tiny town in Estonia where the path was predictable: go to university, settle down, play it safe. But I’ve never been drawn to the expected. At 14, I left home to pursue a modeling career internationally. By the age of 20, I had lived in over 20 countries and worked with brands like Vogue, ELLE, Balmain, and Guess, moving to a new city every three months. It looked glamorous from the outside, but the reality was something else. I was a teenage girl managing contracts, rejection, and intense career pressure — completely alone. In every new city, I had to start over. No one was there to guide me or protect me. What I craved — more than anything — was community. 

 

Along the way, I was offered a full-ride scholarship to a leading university — but I dropped out during the first months. I didn’t want to follow the system. I wanted to create my own path.

 

At 23, I moved to New York with just one suitcase and without knowing a single person. I cold-DM’d everyone on the Forbes Top Entrepreneurs list, asking them to grab a coffee. One person said yes — and that conversation opened the door to the world of startups. He saw me for who I really was — not a model, but a builder. It was the first time I felt like someone believed in the version of me I was working toward.

 

Soon after, I co-founded Frich, a Gen Z financial platform built to make money more transparent, social, and empowering. We’ve grown to over 1.5 million users and raised $2.8 million in funding — but at its core, Frich is also about community. I wanted to create the space I wish I had in my early 20s: a place to talk honestly about money, ambition, and identity — without shame. The truth is, I had no business background, no connections, and no playbook. I was a young immigrant woman with a modeling past, constantly underestimated, trying to figure out how to survive in a world that wasn't built for people like me. I had to prove myself over and over while pretending I had it all together, even when I was completely lost. 

 

So now, I'm building ONDA — a community and event series for ambitious women navigating change. Whether you're starting a company, shifting careers, or craving real connection, this is a space to be seen and supported. From Frich to ONDA, every step of my journey has been rooted in one thing: creating the kind of community I’ve spent my whole life searching for.