One of my most inspiring friends is Karolina Pelc, BeyondPlay Founder, Vice President of FanDuel and author of HerPlay.
I met Pelc over 15 years ago in London, and our peers raved about her professionalism and competence in the role she was in at the time. We had conversations about the challenges in obtaining work Visas with our international lifestyles and navigating the tough work-life balance, especially when we love our work. We also enjoyed discussing healthy living and diet, all subjects relevant for thriving entrepreneurs.
Pelc was always a standout within the companies she worked for in the iGaming space. She graciously accepted my invitations for interviews at conferences throughout the years, sharing valuable insights and advice with pleasure. I was so proud when she founded BeyondPlay in 2021 (formerly known as SharedPlay) because I just knew it would be a success. If anyone could make it happen, it was Pelc.
And a success it was. Just three years after its launch, SharedPlay was acquired by American online sports betting giant FanDuel, and Pelc now serves as the Vice President. To top it all off, she’s written her first book, HerPlay, a 650-page memoir of her journey from a dealer on a cruise ship to a founder, investor, mentor, author, and keynote speaker.
“I think the two words that I would describe the book is the story of resilience and reinvention because reinvention is a type of risk in my eyes,” Karolina shared during our most recent meet-up at iGB L!VE in London.
“I wrote the book to show people that you can start from nowhere, but as long as you believe in yourself and as long as you persevere, you have that resilience in yourself and you build the confidence, you can really achieve a lot,” she said.
“So, I want to showcase that message, give people confidence, and also show women, particularly, that you don’t need to be born an extrovert, confident, and resilient. Even if you’re shy, lack confidence, you can still make it and you can learn how to come across confident and showing people that you know what you’re after,” Pelc added.
For all the entrepreneurs out there, I’d love to pass on a few anecdotes of Pelc’s that she shared with me at iGB Live. These anecdotes have played a significant part in her success story and undoubtedly will be covered in her book.
The first is to follow your gut.
“I think your gut is sort of your inner strength, and quite often we just brush it aside as something that is not data-backed, not market research-backed, and we don’t trust ourselves, but I truly believe that the biggest part of your success is believing in yourself, overcoming your self-doubt, and trusting the process and your internal guide that is leading you.”
The second is that we make our own luck.
“You cannot force luck. Luck is not something that you can predict, luck is not something that you can influence, but you can do things to make space for that luck.”
What Pelc has achieved in her career so far is nothing short of inspiring and not at all surprising. In the emerging tech space, we need more entrepreneurs like Pelc. To learn more from Pelc’s journey and to get your hands on her book, simply visit the HerPlay website and follow @storiesbypelc on Instagram.
Watch: Inside the mind of an entrepreneur
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Source: https://coingeek.com/herplay-a-tale-of-resilience-reinvention-instinct-luck/