BAFF ALUMNA ELINA ALEINIKOVA: ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE, IF YOU WORK HARD AND AIM HIGH!

There are no neutral reactions when it comes to our associations related to 2020. Although this was an undoubtedly hard year for all of us, I feel very grateful as I had an invaluable opportunity to spend it in Silicon Valley, California, working as a Ventures Analyst at Plug and Play – an innovation platform connecting startups with global corporations from all across the world.

I was lucky to be surrounded by highly professional and intelligent people in a truly international team that kept challenging me day by day. I gained new skills related to investment analysis, presentation and negotiation, thought leadership, acceleration programs and webinars. I’ve had hundreds of calls with ambitious and world-changing startup founders, as well as corporation leaders spearheading innovations in global organizations. There was no day when I wouldn’t feel inspired or when I couldn’t see the value of the work I did… and isn’t it a dream of a purpose driven person? 

However, this year wasn’t just all about professional growth and work as besides that, I was blessed to meet people that will always be an important part of my life, discover natural wonders of this world, such as Grand Canyon, visit national parks and climb up the volcano, observe the Golden Gate bridge at night, see the largest tree in the world, hold an alligator in my hands, hike the trail that some call the scariest in the US, bike along the ocean at the Venice Beach and make a photo at the Hollywood sign. This is just a small part of my highlights and I could go on and on…

My main takeaway from this experience is that anything is possible if you work hard enough and aim high. Thanks to BAFF, my life has changed forever and I will always be grateful for that!