Business as Poetry

This is the final episode of Business as Poetry. Fifty episodes. Three years. Four seasons. A mosaic of conversations with women who reinvented themselves, found their voice, and dared to do things differently. And now — a conscious, deliberate ending. In this solo episode I'm sharing everything: why I knew it was time, what this project gave me, what I'm leaving behind, and the lessons I couldn't...

What if everything in your life right now — the career, the exhaustion, the feeling that something needs to change — is simply the result of choices you made? And what if that's actually the best news you've ever heard? In this episode I'm joined by Tamsyn Signe — former Chief Merchandise Officer at Walmart South Africa with a career in retails spanning over 20 years, wingsuit acrobatics world cha...

What do you do when you can't go back to what you knew — and the traditional path won't take you either? In this episode I'm joined by Krystal Hille — theatre director turned life coach turned publisher — who during COVID lost her events business overnight and went through a divorce as a single mother of two. No corporate experience, no business qualifications - and no plan. What she had instead w...

Leaving corporate won't fix it — if you take the pattern with you. This is the conversation nobody has about career change and burnout recovery for women. In this episode I'm joined by Marijana Sommerfeld — former business analyst at Coca-Cola, corporate consultant at Lufthansa, and someone who spent years pushing through exhaustion, suppressing her emotions, and performing "fine" — until her body...

In this brand new episode of Business as Poetry , I’m joined by psychologist, art therapist and family constellations facilitator Elitsa Velikova . Elitsa is the founder and director of the Art Therapy Institute in Bulgaria and has over two decades of experience working with family constellations, expressive arts therapy, and trauma-informed psychological methods across Europe, Asia, and the Ameri...

In this final episode of 2025, I sit down with Patrice Gordon — executive coach, business author, and the world's leading expert in reverse mentoring — for a conversation about reinvention, purpose, and navigating the spaces we may not always be invited into. Patrice’s journey spans PwC, British Airways, Royal Mail, and Virgin Atlantic, but the real story begins when she stepped off the corporate...

In this episode, I share something I’ve never shared publicly before — the full story of how I rebuilt my life, work, and identity from the inside out. For years, I was successful on paper but disconnected on the inside. It wasn’t one moment that changed everything, but a series of inner shifts — an awakening, a remembering, an alignment — that changed the entire direction of my life. In this deep...

In this powerful season opener, host Hristina Vaceva sits down with Dion Johnson — former midwife turned executive coach and founder of The Queen’s School — to explore what it really takes to lead as a woman in a system that wasn’t built for us. Dion’s story is one of radical self-inquiry and transformation: from hiding behind physical and emotional masks, to discovering her sovereign voice and te...

In this episode of Sound of Breaking Glass , host Hristina Vaceva speaks with Mayra Hurtado – co-founder of Prelude Health – about the connection between our hormonal health, our identity, and the transitions that shape our lives. After spending nearly two decades in the world of commercial strategy and marketing, Mayra’s personal health struggles became the catalyst for something much deeper: a j...

In this episode of Sound of Breaking Glass , host Hristina Vaceva speaks with Dr. Leah Murray - a former emergency physician turned integrative health practitioner - about what it means to stop overriding your body’s signals and begin a deeper journey back to balance. After facing a personal health crisis and burnout on the frontlines of traditional medicine, Leah began to question the systems she...

Welcome to One Bite — a short monthly voice note to help you slow down, reflect, and realign before your next big jump. Can doing work you love ever get too much? This month’s check-in is a gentle reflection on that exact lesson. I went for a break, thinking I’d rest and finish my Substack, record content, edit posts… but my body had other plans. Back pain. Fatigue. Resistance to even the things I...

In this episode of Sound of Breaking Glass , host Hristina Vaceva sits down with meditation guide, empathy teacher, and author Katie Mantwa George to explore the beauty of starting before you feel ready. Katie’s journey hasn’t always been linear — but it’s one marked by grace, resilience, and a quiet trust in life’s nudges. Whether in the boardroom or a meditation circle, Katie has made it her mis...

In this soulful episode of Sound of Breaking Glass , host Hristina Vaceva sits down with Jane Marle — modern-day healer, founder of House of Jiriki, and host of the Heart.listic podcast — to explore the power of energy work, sacred rituals, and listening to the wisdom of the body. Jane shares her journey from burnout in the fashion industry to finding alignment as a Reiki master, sound healer, and...

Welcome to One Bite — a short monthly voice note to help you slow down, reflect, and realign before your next big jump. When was the last time you did something  just because ? In this short and soulful solo episode, I take you with me on a spontaneous journey to Barcelona — but not the kind you might expect. This trip turned into an unexpected invitation to reconnect with my inner child, break my...

What if your body’s symptoms weren’t something to fight — but an invitation to pause? In this episode of  Sound of Breaking Glass , host Hristina Vaceva sits down with Dr. Malvina Bartmanski — a clinical psychologist, author, and safari guide — to explore the deep connection between autoimmune conditions, emotional trauma, and the healing wisdom of nature. Malvina shares her own experience of livi...

Welcome to One Bite — a short monthly voice note to help you slow down, reflect, and realign before your next big jump. What happened after? In this follow-up mini-episode, host Hristina Vaceva reconnects with certified nutritionist and founder of Feel Human , Dorota Cloke , 9 months after recording their first conversation. But this time, the focus is what’s happened since : the business breakthr...

We're launching Season 3 of Sound of Breaking Glass with a guest who embodies what this podcast is all about: purpose, transformation, and the courage to build something real. Dorota Cloke is a certified nutritionist, fasting guide, and founder of Feel Human . In this episode, she shares her powerful journey from corporate life to running a business rooted in healing — and how personal loss, deep...

In this episode of Sound of Breaking Glass , host Hristina Vaceva speaks with Uche Enemchukwu , a former corporate lawyer who has shifted her expertise into founding an innovative employee benefits consultancy. Uche shares her inspiring transition from corporate law to leading her own firm, emphasizing the importance of creating tailored benefits solutions that truly meet the diverse needs of all...

Welcome back to the One Bite Podcast — a short monthly voice note to help you slow down, reflect, and realign before your next big jump. In this episode, I dive into the 3 silent blocks so many women face when stepping into entrepreneurship: Pricing, Projections, and Proving. I unpack how old corporate patterns sneak into your new chapter, how to stop over-explaining your worth, and why the energy...

Welcome to the first mini-episode from my new Sound Bite series "One Bite Podcast" - a short monthly voice note to help you slow down, reflect, and realign before your next big jump. In this episode of "One Bite," I open up about my personal struggle with a lack of inspiration and how I overcame it, offering actionable advice on reigniting your creative spark. Discover my techniques for moving fro...

In this episode of Sound of Breaking Glass , host Hristina Vaceva speaks with Elspeth Shaw , Director and Practice Leader at C&C Search, about creating a human-centered approach to recruitment and leadership. Elspeth shares her journey from candidate to recruiter, emphasizing the importance of partnership, empathy, and authentic connections in today’s business landscape. She discusses why empo...

In this episode of Sound of Breaking Glass , host Hristina Vaceva invites Liz Gebhard , a seasoned commercial executive whose career has dynamically spanned across the realms of video games, fashion, and technology. Liz began her journey in supply chain management, a field she never planned to enter, but one that sparked a deep and lasting interest in the intricacies of a vast industry. This early...

In this episode of Sound of Breaking Glass , host Hristina Vaceva speaks with Gail Bishop , a recruitment powerhouse with over two decades of experience transforming how senior leaders and board members are placed in influential organizations. Gail’s career began in nursing, but her natural talent for connecting people led her to recruitment and eventually to becoming Head of Talent Research &...

In this episode of Sound of Breaking Glass , host Hristina Vaceva speaks with Nneka Orji , Senior Director at Alvarez & Marsal and a passionate advocate for youth and diversity. Nneka shares her journey from engineering to corporate leadership, revealing how she found her voice in male-dominated boardrooms and why diversity at the top is crucial for driving real change. With a passion for ment...

In this episode of Sound of Breaking Glass , host Hristina Vaceva sits down with Kevin Powell , a chartered physiotherapist and former professional athlete who transformed his personal setbacks into a holistic approach to healing. Kevin shares his unique perspective on the interconnectedness of the human body, why traditional quick-fix approaches often fall short, and how addressing root causes le...