Nina Moldovan On How To Make Your Dreams Come True

If you want to make your dreams come true, you can’t be idle.

You need to take responsibility and start building something beautiful, one step at a time.

We know, it’s not easy.

Especially when you’re a woman and you still struggle with discrimination in the workplace.

But Nina Moldovan made it.

She was a Managing Partner at City Travels, General Manager at City Hotels, CEO of Liberty Technology Park Cluj, Member on the Board of Directors at the Spherik Accelerator and President of The Board for Radisson Blu Cluj.

Nina’s been through a lot.

And she has a lot to show for it.

Who is Nina Moldovan?

Like all of us, Nina Moldovan is defined by her job title.

She is, in her own words, a lucky person that grew up in the countryside with a lot of freedom and exercise. Her parents were always entrepreneurs, and she has a brother that works in IT.

She graduated from the University of Computer Science, got her Master’s Degree in the same field, but then shifted her focus and went on to study the Hospitality Industry.

Perhaps most importantly…

She’s driven.

She spent around 8–9 years in each and every one of her previous projects, she cares about her community, she’s motivated and patient.

But she wasn’t always one of the most successful businesswomen in Cluj.

So let’s turn back time and see where her story begins.

How Was Nina’s First Job?

In her last year in University, Nina really wanted to get a job, but the workforce was very different back then.

In 2001 there were considerably fewer opportunities, and there was no Indeed or LinkedIn.

So she started going door to door, with her printed CV.

And that’s when she first encountered misogyny.

One time, she left a CV at a big IT company in Cluj.

But they didn’t give her a shot at an interview. They were just confused as to why she would try for a programmer job, when all of their “women” positions available were as an assistant manager.

But like with the rest of her career, she kept trying.

And in the end, she found a job as a sales agent at a tourism agency that sold high-end vacations. In a few months she was promoted to agency manager, and that’s when she started developing her network.

Doing the same thing she was used to…

Going door-to-door to find possible partnerships.

All of these experiences taught her something important.

It’s very easy to get discouraged, but you need to be ambitious if you want to succeed.

“That’s how I grew professionally, by accepting bigger and bigger challenges.” — Nina Moldovan

Retroactively, she realizes it had a lot to do with her age.

It’s easy to stay motivated when you’re young.

You really do feel like you can conquer the world.

But even if you’re not 20 anymore, it’s still important to hang on to something from that youthful energy:

The desire to always get out of your comfort zone and grow.

“The biggest threat to your personal or professional growth is to remain in your comfort zone.” — Nina Moldovan

It’s also important to take responsibility quickly.

But advice is easier to give than to actually apply.

So how do you get out of your comfort zone?

How do you assume responsibility quickly?

Nina thinks that personality, education and culture matter.

But the most important aspects are experience and focus.

No matter how much it hurts, it’s important to stay focused on the goals you set for yourself.

And to keep working on your Resume.

Only experience can shape you into a successful person.

Moreover, it’s important to surround yourself with the right people. People that inspire, help and encourage you.

And yes, it’s up to you to build that circle. You decide who you spend your time with.

And believe us: if you want to make it, you’ll need the right people around.

And for Nina it mattered a lot.

How Was The Transition from Manager To CEO?

The most important change is who you answer to.

Suddenly, you’re no longer dealing with an investor, or a big boss.

You have a board you need to satisfy, and everyone needs to agree on how you proceed as a company.

Nina doesn’t think it’s harder to be a CEO.

There’s just more work in it, because you need to have everyone aligned and believing in a common future for the company.

She was able to pull that off with a lot of preparation.

But the fact that she was connected, both to the industry and to the right people, also mattered a lot.

(see why it matters to surround yourself with the right people?)

The fact that she worked hard, smart, and with the right people helped her climb the corporate ladder.

And since we mentioned that…

How Do You Climb The Corporate Ladder?

Nina admits that it’s hard to find a one-size fits all answer here.

Everyone is different, and everyone works in different companies.

But she knows one thing for sure: Obstacles, of any kind, won’t let you grow.

Obstacles that test your ambition and skill…

You need to be ready for those.

“The most dangerous obstacles are the ones we impose upon ourselves.” — Nina Moldovan

But again, if you manage to get out of your comfort zone, you can overcome any obstacle.

However, don’t expect to climb the corporate ladder with nothing but a scratch at the end of the road.

Especially if you’re a woman doing business.

Because it’s tough, and unfortunately you’ll need to put in more effort than your male counterparts to prove you’re worthy.

But in time, it gets easier, especially when your Resume starts speaking for itself.

It also helps to be prepared.

Keep arguments and counterarguments on the ready.

Is Romania Ready For Women In Leadership Roles?

Although we have some problems here, we’re not far from the European average.

Yes, there are still cultural obstacles for a true egalitarian business world.

But there is a silver lining here.

“Digitization and the increasingly flexible work schedule are big opportunities for women in business. They can counteract cultural expectations and an unequal share of household responsibilities. — Nina Moldovan

Most importantly:

We shouldn’t just look at numbers.

How many women in business do we have?

How many women hold leadership positions?

What’s the wage gap?

Nina doesn’t think these are the most important questions we should ask.

She thinks that it’s important to understand the challenges women can have in business.

The Romanian Ecosystem

But that doesn’t mean we can’t work on other stuff in the meantime.

Nina, for example, got actively involved in the Spherik Accelerator, a project that took her all across the EU to understand what young entrepreneurs need.

And she found a glaring problem.

Our youth is very capable, but they don’t have access to qualitative entrepreneurial education.

To solve that, we need to change the educational system.

However, until a real change comes, we must all be united and take responsibility for creating a valuable ecosystem in Romania.

That’s what Nina did with Spherik Accelerator.

But with other projects as well.

Sure, it was easier when she was 23 or 24 and anything seemed possible.

But what mattered most for the startups and businesses she founded was that she was truly involved.

And to make sure that everything turned out right…

She would always take a very close look at her competitors, to make sure that what she’s working on is more valuable.

Moreover, it’s not only the front office that matters in tourism.

Like any other industry, a strong “backend” is needed when you start a hospitality business.

And that lesson mattered in the tech world too.

Between Tech And Tourism

For Nina, the transition to Tech wasn’t too tough. She started with what she knew best:

• Market analysis
• Discussions and plans
• Networking

And a lot of hard work.

“To chat with people from different backgrounds, to pick their brains — there’s nothing more valuable than that” — Nina Moldovan

What also mattered was that she found the right partners.

Moreover, the tech world taught her a very important lesson: In the 21st century, you need to account for global competition and markets, because we’re more connected every day.

After her experience in the tech world, she realized that this trend is powerful in classic industries as well.

And she’s been thinking globally ever since.

Why Did Nina Return To Tourism?

Nina never scheduled her career.

Rather, she’s always on the lookout for different opportunities that allow her to do what she loves:

Working with people that have the same values as her.

Plus, she already had experience in tourism, so it was a natural shift.

Tourism In Romania

Unfortunately, we have a lot to offer.

But to take advantage from a valuable tourism offer, the government needs to get involved more.

We need bigger investments.

And a strategy that we stick to, regardless of who’s in charge.

Moreover, we need to diversify our industry, from the tourism offer to the ways people can get to Romania.

And if we’re passive…

We’re not only losing tourists.

The state’s poor response affects everyone.

Right now, Nina’s working hard to bring Radisson Blu in Romania.

And the whole process took a very long time because the state is extremely slow.

How Will Tourism Recover After CoVid?

Nina believes that hard times are also opportunities to grow.

But it takes a lot of time to understand and apply that.

Plus, she really thinks we are living a very hard time.

Especially for SMBs.

But if we stick together and grow out of this as a community.

We have a better shot at sunnier days ahead.

To Wrap It Up

If you want to build something beautiful, you can’t scramble for excuses.

You need to take responsibility and work hard.

Nina made it.

But it wasn’t through magic, rather she:

• Had ambition, drive and put in the hours
• Always studied her competition closely
• Always took responsibility for what she had to do

What is your dream?

What do you want to build?