In this episode, I connected with Alina Hekelaar, co-founder of workwonder.co, entrepreneur and community builder who is learning how to navigate ambition, motherhood and identity without losing herself in the process. 

Alina’s journey begins in post-Soviet Ukraine, growing up during a time of instability where uncertainty was not an exception, but daily reality. At 17, she left everything familiar behind and travelled 40 hours by bus to the Netherlands with little more than determination, survival instinct and a suitcase filled with potatoes from worried parents.

What followed was years of hustling. Learning English fast enough to study abroad. Working nights behind bars while surviving university. Fighting visa insecurity. Carrying the pressure of not wanting to fail herself or disappoint her family. Again and again, life pushed her into situations where she had to figure things out before feeling ready.

But beneath the entrepreneurial drive and resilience was a deeper journey unfolding. Motherhood became the mirror that forced her to confront boundaries, self-worth and the exhausting habit of always pushing forward. Slowly, through therapy, coaching, relationships and lived experience, she began shifting from survival toward self-awareness.

Today, through WorkWonder, Alina is building something rooted in human connection, belonging and culture. Yet her story is ultimately not about startups. It is about learning how to trust yourself while life keeps changing around you.

Deep dive talking points:

👉🏾 Growing up in uncertainty: navigating post-Soviet instability and leaving Ukraine at 17 to build a life abroad;

👉🏾 The pressure to succeed: carrying responsibility, fear of failure and the need to prove herself through achievement;

👉🏾 Boundaries and motherhood: how becoming a mother revealed patterns around people-pleasing and self-abandonment;

👉🏾 Entrepreneurship and identity: learning to lead, take risks and rebuild after painful business setbacks;

👉🏾 From survival to alignment: shifting from constant hustle toward self-awareness, acceptance and meaningful impact;

Empowering nuggets:

🙌🏾 Sometimes the bravest thing is not pushing harder, but allowing yourself to pause and listen inward;

🙌🏾 Failure is rarely the ending. Often it is life redirecting you toward something more aligned;

🙌🏾 You do not need all the answers before taking the next step. Clarity often arrives through movement;

In Alina’s words:

🙌🏾 “Every day is a new chance. I can treat it as a new day and do everything in my power”

Alina reminds us how easy it is to confuse constant movement with certainty. But real growth often happens when we stop trying to control every outcome and begin trusting who we are becoming through the uncertainty itself.

Connect with Alina:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alina-hekelaar/ 

Website: https://workwonder.co 

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