Female Founders: Maira Genovese of MG Empower On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder

An Interview With Vanessa Morcom

You’re going to fail but that doesn’t mean you’re done. I think the whole journey I’ve shared above explains why this is the first piece of advice I wish I had been given.

As a part of our series about Women Founders, we had the pleasure of interviewing Maira Genovese.

Maira Genovese is a Brazilian entrepreneur, Founder & CEO of MG Empower — a London-based integrated marketing agency. She moved to London in 2005, leaving behind a successful marketing career in Brazil to pursue a vision: empowering people. Her story comprises over two decades of experience in marketing, creative and strategy development for global brands, and a journey of successes, learnings and challenges — including three acquisition processes. Since founding MG Empower in 2017, Maira has become a mentor, a global public speaker, a podcast host and an advocate for female empowerment, gender equality and diversity.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?

Thank you so much for having me. I’m from Brazil and I’ve been living in London for the past 20 years. So, I started my career back in Brazil in marketing within the finance industry. I had a five-year experience in American Express, in Sao Paulo. I had a dream at the time to have an opportunity to live abroad and pursue an international career — so American Express was a very good platform for me to learn how to work in a corporate international environment. In 2004 I came to London to study English. I knew that if I wanted to have an opportunity in American Express to apply for a role in another country, I would have to be confident about my English. But this trip ended up opening my eyes to life outside Brazil and the opportunities I could have. So, I decided to move to London and, with that, step back in my career to focus on this vision of future I had, starting all over again without speaking the language properly. I was 24 at the time, and when you’re young, you have a lot of dreams and ambitions, so it sounds crazy — but at the same time, I think that’s when you have to really take those risks. So, I took the risk, and this led me to all the challenges of being a foreigner — working in pubs, clubs and stores for around three years, while focusing a lot on my studies. I saved money, started a fashion master’s focused on marketing, and started pursuing hard an opportunity in the fashion industry within PR and marketing. And I got my first internship at Alexander McQueen. I remember I was into fashion, but I didn’t know that McQueen was McQueen, I had no idea about the size of my accomplishment — all I knew was I had this dream to be a CMO in a massive luxury fashion brand. I remember once I was in a press showroom with him and his PR and he looked at me and asked me to bring a waistcoat and I brought everything but a waistcoat — because I didn’t even have the English vocabulary for that.

Then I moved to Saint Laurent, which is part of the same group, and then I moved to Sergio Rossi, which was finally a permanent job. I spent around 13 years working in fashion in London and it was a very successful journey. I had the chance to work with big brands like Burberry, I travelled the world, I attended countless fashion shows in Paris, Milan, London and New York, and produced events, a lot like end-to-end marketing. And I love marketing, I love communication, I love PR, I love talking, and I’m very curious — so it all made sense. Then I got pregnant with my son Antonio by the time social media had started bubbling. And I remember conversations were similar to the ones we have today about AI: this is going to be the future of marketing but what’s the impact, what are they going to change? I was working for a big company called Value Retail and we were activating journalists for a press trip and it was the first time I suggested influencers to be part of it. I was called crazy but managed to get approval and it was a huge success. We had to escalate it to different markets and I thought: yes, this is going to be the future of marketing. So, I started thinking about creating my own business as a consultancy to offer digital strategies to brands. And I remember as when I decided to move to London, I had the same reaction from people, everybody thought I was crazy. But again, I took the risk. Looking back to my journey, when I moved to London, I always knew I wanted to empower myself and my career. That was the moment when my vision changed because I got what I wanted that was to work in fashion but I felt empty. What was next? So, I had my baby and started redeeming my purpose. Why am I doing this? And that’s how the name MG Empower came to me, translating my vision of empowering people and brands as a way to give back everything that so many people gave me throughout my journey, all the doors open to me as a foreign, all the times people believed me, mentored me and gave me a chance. You really don’t achieve anything in life if you don’t have these angels along the journey, supporting and helping you. Then it all made sense. My idea of a business, my purpose, leaving everything behind, it all made sense. I started alone, in a coffee shop, with a 3-month-old baby, and very quickly, I started getting a lot of traction because we were one of the first agencies in the UK that were doing influencer marketing, social strategy and consultancy — and it all happened with word of mouth and client support. I worked in a coffee shop for seven months until I hired my first employee. And today here we are, offering a holistic and integrated approach to marketing for global brands.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

I think the story of this business is a very interesting one itself — I feel like it happens in seasons and every season teaches me something and makes me evolve and grow somehow. But if I could highlight one moment it would be my recent journey going through three M&As. I sold 100% of the business in 2021 to an American public company, listed on Nasdaq. It was a very good deal at the time which helped us expand and grow with investment — and the first year and a half went really well. In 2023, this parent company started facing very difficult financial challenges and I had to be very reactive and really follow my instinct: what is next if this company goes down? What happens with MG Empower? So, I started a very intense journey to acquire it back. And it was a deeply tough journey with the huge pressure of having people working with me, clients trusting me, loads of speculation about the company’s real situation and endless negotiation. This experience taught me a lot about how much gender equality does not exist when it comes to boards of directors, to seniority. I had to deal only with men during this process and I was constantly underestimated about the value I was bringing to the table as a woman. Seeing there was no female representation in decision-making rooms was eye-opening for me. But I managed to buy it back — just a few days before the parent company filed for Chapter 11. That was a huge relief followed by serious symptoms of anxiety and stress, while also confident in my resilience and passion. But then I had to clean up the financial mess that was left behind. I again asked myself: how am I going to do that? But every time I question myself, I go back to the beginning, the purpose, why I’m doing this, why I’ve worked so hard to get it. So, I continued and to clean up I had to make loads of difficult business decisions. Then in February this year, I did another M&A, my third one in less than three years, leading MG Empower to be now part of a new group. I remain as a shareholder, Founder and CEO, and we are now much more sustainable and healthier. But these three years for me will be forever remarkable — it’s definitely not for everyone.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I have lots of funny stories, because as I said we started in a coffee shop. So, I got the usual questions during my pitches such as “Where is your office?” or “How many people do you have in your team?” — and I used to come up with different answers, which sometimes led me to funny situations. But I was just starting, so I didn’t want to say I had no office — the pandemic changed everything but at the time it was a very big deal. I was actually afraid of being discriminated against and that brands would underestimate the potential of my business because my business was literally just me in a coffee shop. I was very immature, if that was today, I wouldn’t have lied. But I don’t see it as a mistake, I see it as a learning. We can’t underestimate these learnings, they are necessary.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

I think I never talk much about my perspective on that, but I’ve been feeling empowered lately to speak more openly. People tend to avoid mixing spirituality with business. And I get it but after everything I’ve been through, I truly believe we need more and more to bring spirituality into business. And by spirituality, I don’t mean religion. I mean anything around energy — it might be the universe, God, Jesus, crystals, whatever you believe. We’ve been discussing a lot about the role mental health plays in a business, but I really see spirituality as another pillar. Along with emotional and business, we need spiritual support to make things happen, it’s a tripod.

Considering that, throughout my whole journey, I had a lot of people that helped me a lot. But today I truly believe God, as the force of my spirituality, is to whom I’m most grateful. My faith and the strength God has been giving me these years are holding me. He’s the one actually whispering in my ears and telling me what to do and the decisions to make.

And after God comes my family — my husband and my mother. I wouldn’t be here today if it was not for their emotional and mental support.

And then, I had business supporters, of course. Sarah Bartlett, for example, was one of my first bosses. She hired me in 2008 to work for this big company called Bamford, she gave me a chance, and I’ve learned a lot with her. Then she later hired me again at Value Retail, she was really a catalyst of my career, opening doors and teaching me a lot.

Also talking about the business pillar, I am very grateful to my team for their work and energy. It doesn’t matter if I’m the CEO and founder, I’ve learned with each of them because I don’t know everything.

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. According to this EY report, only about 20 percent of funded companies have women founders. This reflects great historical progress, but it also shows that more work still has to be done to empower women to create companies. In your opinion and experience what is currently holding back women from founding companies?

I think it’s the historical lack of trust. When I bought the business back, I had to look for new investors and new partners, and I was shocked at how much this is still embedded in the corporate environment. I used to go in meetings and hear questions about whether anyone else would be joining me or if there was any male partner behind me. I heard from lots of private equity and VCs that investment in solely female-founded companies was not a possibility. It led me to become more aware and also more conscious of my role in society. Now I’m much more involved in communities of female entrepreneurs or female talents that want to start a business. I genuinely ask myself every day about what I can do to help change this context a bit through my experience. As women, we need to be united, there’s no other choice for us. When you see the history of female-founded businesses, you understand that immediately. We need to be united to drive change — and also engage men to do the same. We need to find these men who can come on board to change the scenario and fight together.

Can you help articulate a few things that can be done as individuals, as a society, or by the government, to help overcome those obstacles?

I think of course we need to push for more incentives from the government and projects that can really encourage businesses to shift this reality. But before that, I believe in education. It’s been ages since patriarchy tells us men need to provide for families and be in charge of major decisions, having roles that are more valued than women’s — at home and out of it. We won’t change it from one day to the other, so we need to focus on educating new generations to cut this historical cycle. And this is also the responsibility of the ones who got there somehow. That’s how I feel about my mission in society. I took a risk. I failed, I succeeded, I failed again. But I never gave up and I learned how to fight. So, I feel ready to support the next generation with my experience and contribute to this transformation. I truly believe in the power of communities in that sense, powerful collectives of people that can push for education and open spaces for those who couldn’t make it. And companies can play a massive role in supporting these communities.

This might be intuitive to you as a woman founder but I think it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you share a few reasons why more women should become founders?

Firstly, to get the equality we look for to make the world a better place. As simple as that. I have a ten-year-old son who’s been watching me travel all the time and asked me, when he was six, why I am the one who travels so much and not my husband. So, my mission starts by changing the mindset of my son and showing, by example, that I can be the one travelling and working. And fighting hard for more women to do so. The more examples, the more we’ll change generation after generation towards equality that leads to fairness. Even from an economic perspective, gender equality is the smartest thing to fight for, because we can create solutions the world needs and use the female power that is so natural in us to make a difference for everyone. It’s not only the right option, but also the most effective and sustainable one as well.

What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a founder? Can you explain what you mean?

I think that thinking founding a business is glamorous is the biggest myth. There’s still this perception and it couldn’t be further from true. The behind-the-scenes of being a founder, a CEO or a business owner is tough and requires a lot of passion, resilience and, mainly, a lot of mind strength. Don’t believe everything you read on social media, or magazines and interviews. The reality is that when you decide to sit in this chair, you need to really want to be sitting there. Because once you sit, it’s a roller coaster. When everything goes well, you’re the best person. But when things go really bad, you are the worst human being and the amount of hate you can get can be really disturbing. You need to know how to deal with this roller coaster of love and hate. And for that, you need your mind strong, in the right place, focused on the right direction. It demands a whole new level of energy; it can mess up your emotions and your mindset. It’s also rewarding when you see that you are capable of managing your mind in that sense and continue, it makes you feel strong and empowered — especially when you realise your vision is still there. That’s what matters, that’s the advice I give to entrepreneurs: ignore the noise outside. People will always talk. They’ll always say you should’ve done things differently. Don’t get distracted by the noise — even the noise that comes from people praising you when you succeed. Only you know your why.

Is everyone cut out to be a founder? In your opinion, which specific traits increase the likelihood that a person will be a successful founder and what type of person should perhaps seek a “regular job” as an employee? Can you explain what you mean?

Being a founder is not for everyone at all. As I said, it’s a chair where decisions need to be made with an impact on others’ lives and yours. There’s going to be love and hate and very challenging moments when your personal life will be affected by the amount of work. Especially in the beginning, your social life might no longer exist, and you might need to give up on other plans to make this one work. In my case, for example, I wanted more kids, I had to pause this project because of the business, time passed, and the business ended up taking more of my time than I expected. It’s a constant journey of decisions to be made — and this is not for everyone. You need to want it with all your heart.

Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)

1 . You’re going to fail but that doesn’t mean you’re done. I think the whole journey I’ve shared above explains why this is the first piece of advice I wish I had been given.

2 . Resilience is the most important skill you can nurture. You really can’t have a business without building resilience as part of your skill set.

3 . Don’t hire friends and family. It seems obvious but this option can come up as a solution through the journey, many times. And things can get messy with the business, so I wish I had been told that in a more practical and tangible way.

4 . Use your faith to inspire others. By faith, here, I mean anything that gives you the energy and strength to continue. We can make a huge difference when we use our beliefs to help others keep believing — and this brings purpose to the journey.

5 . Delegate, delegate, delegate. We tend to protect the business as if it was our baby, but this can be harmful long-term. Focus on the vision and open space for things to be done in different ways.

How have you used your success to make the world a better place?

I hope I’m doing it by empowering people, by using my experience to guide people, by using my experience to inspire women and show that things can be done, and dreams can be achieved as long as we put the energy and work on them. I hope my beliefs help bring a different, more humanised perspective to business under the lenses of spirituality. And I hope this path I’ve decided to cross also continues to help me evolve, grow and change as a human being so I can continue giving back. That’s the cycle I believe in.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

That would be a movement of faith. That’s actually my next project, a movement connected to faith. Because faith can move and change a lot of things. I always say that I am moved by faith. And I think if I had to create another business, it would be something to connect people around this topic, to dive deep into it and create something positive to help people navigate uncertainty.

We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.

If you asked me this question one year ago, I’d probably have a completely different answer. But again, every season of my journey is a season of change, growth, and opportunity to see things differently. So, if I could, I would pick two. I would love to have a moment with Deepak Chopra to talk more about the connection between business, spirituality and purpose and understand this intersection. And the second would be Jay Shetty, because, again, purpose has been my strength during this journey.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.

About The Interviewer: Vanessa Morcom is a millennial mom of three and founder of Morcom Media, a performance PR shop for thought leaders. She earned her degree in journalism and worked for Canada’s largest social enterprise. She can be reached at vanessa@morcom.media