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TRAILBLAZERS
WE ARE
​We are innovators in personal and corporate wellness, helping individuals and organizations find purpose and direction in life through cutting-edge, science-backed tools.
Our founder Natalya Permyakova, a former Accenture consultant to Fortune 500 clients, noticed that while businesses use rigorous growth strategies, individuals rarely approach their own lives with the same precision.
She partnered with scientists to develop innovative tools to help people find meaning and direction in today’s world in a structured way.
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In 2019, Natalya founded Life Startup, a boutique Life Design Studio. To scale this impact, Natalya launched My Life Quest in 2023—an AI-powered self-discovery platform that helps users find life direction in 10 fun steps.
We have helped hundreds of individuals and global organizations re-orient themselves during life transitions.​
Natalya Permyakova
Founder & CEO
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Natalya is a global wellness innovator with 17+ years of experience. As a member of the Wellbeing Economy Alliance and UN Global Compact, she promotes human wellbeing and sustainability. As a contributor to Harvard Business Review, Natalya writes on personal and corporate wellness.
She is also deeply engaged in Europe’s entrepreneurial ecosystems through the European Startup Network. Additionally, Natalya contributes to global dialogues on mental health and growth through her contributions to the World Economic Forum’s Strategic Intelligence and the Global Mental Health Action Network.​​​​
We believe you can achieve anything. The impossible just takes longer.
Meet the Team
Lutz Goerendt
Corporate Wellness Lead​
MA in Health Promotion and
Psychology
Lutz is an MA in Health Promotion and Psychology. He works in corporate health management and a certified coach in Healthy Leadership.
Petra Hangweier
Leadership & Career Coach
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Senior business executive with years of experience in leadership functions
Senior business executive with years of experience in leadership functions at Unilever - a global FMCG company. Left corporate career to become a yoga teacher, marketing professor, and coach.
Olga
Kugatkina
Researcher & Contributor
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Business consultant and PhD in economics
Business consultant and PhD in economics. Olga specialises in international transitions and personal finance and acts as an expert and the SME for Life Startup team.
Evgenia Lysova
Organizational Behaviour
Researcher & Educator
Assistant professor studying people’s careers and work experiences
Evgenia is Assistant professor studying people’s careers and work experiences as well as their organizations. Her purpose is to help individuals and organizations to experience greater meaningfulness, flourish and operate in responsible and sustainable manner.
Marije Roodhof
Product Development & Branding
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Brand strategist, communications guru and an innovator
Marije is a brand strategist, communications guru and an innovator. She is supporting our product development and brand srategy.
Mihhail Aktsoznoi
Head of Technology
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Experienced technology lead
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Experienced technology lead responsible for enabling technology and ensuring seamless customer experience at Life Startup.
Anne Elize
Viegas
User Research & UX Design
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Architecture and Urban Planning graduate
Anne Elize is an Architecture and Urban Planning graduate with a specialization in UX Design.
She volunteers with us as a User Researcher and a UX Designer, helping us to advance the mission to make the world more fulfilled.
Katharine
Pratt
Head of Proposition Development
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Leads our efforts in developing new digital propositions
Katharine leads our efforts in developing new digital propositions. She heads a cross-functional team of researchers, designers and strategists to build, test and learn new products and services for Life Startup. With her strong background in innovation and strategy she ensures our products are the best of the best.
Soyeon
Wartel
User Research & UX Design
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Our user guru - she researchers customer needs and pain points
Soyeon is our user guru - she researchers customer needs and pain points to translate those into exceptional solutions. Her multi-cultural background really helps Life Startup to be inclusive in our design.
Urte
Gluoksnyte
Illustrator & Graphic Designer
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Graphic designer and an illustrator
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Urte is a graphic designer and an illustrator. She helps Life Startup tell stories in an engaging and visual way by creating original images for our products, blog posts and more.
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She is our head illustrator for Life Strategy programme in charge of bringing the mission to life.
Selina
Nkoile
Community Manager
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Founder and Executive Director of Nashipai Maasai
Selina is the founder and Executive Director of Nashipai Maasai Community Projects in Kenya.
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She helps Life Startup to build a community of trailblaizers, leveraging her passion for bringing people together.
Olga
Permyakova
Programme Director
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Psychiatry PhD and a psychotherapist with 35 years of experience
Psychiatry PhD and a psychotherapist with 35 years of experience. Professor at the Bashkir State Medical University, Russia. She has over 90 scientific publications. Olga brings a scientific lense to all our programmes.
Our Manifesto
For some, a typical life isn’t enough.
We are the ambitious, the brave, the ones who step outside predefined paths to explore what else is possible.
We challenge fears, confront societal norms, and rewrite the rules.
We are the ones starting businesses, leaving behind corporate jobs to travel the world, exploring new ways of living, and daring to dream bigger.
We’re not afraid to lead, inspire, and blaze new trails because we know that everything around us was made by others no smarter than us, and we have the power to change it.
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We are trailblazers.
Because they know that everything around them was made up by other people who were not smarter than them and they have the power to change it and re-write the rules.
Life Startup in the News
Stop Mimicking Real-Life Interactions at Your Virtual Job
Harvard Business Review
Read our article, where Natalya Permyakova and Evgenia Lysova explore what makes it so hard for us to connect in the virtual world. In this article, you will find practical strategies for building meaningful relationships remotely.
Radical Future: Trends and Opportunities
CreativeMornings Hong Kong
Founder, Natalya Permyakova, presented at CreativeMornings HK as part of the Radical series.
Natalya spoke about the future, and the radical opportunities it creates. She shared practical tips and strategies for how to make the most of the new world and stay fulfilled.
