From Zero to $1.5B: The Mindset Behind Building a Unicorn

00:00:00: A very warm welcome today in the podcast Skillionaires, The Podcasts where a story stick and strategy scale.

00:00:14: And Today's guest is Arina Arenetti who was a visionary entrepreneur and philanthropist whose work bridges innovations human development and social transformation.

00:00:27: as co-founder of technology unicorn and a founder of Ariniti Future of Humankind Foundations, she has quickly become prominent voice in the conscience of leadership international capitalism.

00:00:43: And community design.

00:00:45: based in Dubai her initiative spans continents and discipline from sustainable ecosystems to woman empowerment and creative collaborations.

00:00:59: She is here today in my podcast and I say happy welcome, very warm welcome here, Arina.

00:01:06: And a welcome to Dubai!

00:01:08: Thank you so much for such a warm welcoming.

00:01:11: Thank you.

00:01:12: I

00:01:15: wanted to go and jump in right away because when i saw, in the preparation of this interview that uh...you have to do something with a unicorn my ears got very wide and big And I want it know more.

00:01:33: how?

00:01:33: To become a unicorn!

00:01:35: When did you know It is one?

00:01:39: You develop into direction

00:01:44: very much related to your inner discipline and also, to your mindset.

00:01:52: It's extremely important because my company achieved its unicorn status in only two-five years of this existence.

00:02:06: talking to my ex-husband that I said in three years, I want achieve such and such level.

00:02:13: I wanna have a house on the best neighborhood And i wanna travel business class and do this or that?

00:02:21: No!

00:02:22: It's not possible.

00:02:23: no one achieves these statuses is only for three year.

00:02:28: it gonna take minimum of five yrs.

00:02:31: For us its gonna take three years.

00:02:35: Two and a half years.

00:02:37: we achieved our valuation of one point five billion dollars.

00:02:42: Wow!

00:02:43: So yeah, you have to believe in yourself You have to be persistent And working on your mindset non-stop every day Self development self growing taking care of your body, energy and mental health.

00:03:07: You have to make sure that you are not lying... on outer things, like your outer success or relationship.

00:03:17: Or you money but in your inner values.

00:03:21: Energy is the key as well and I know that you are very aligned with your energy work And i heard already a lot about inter-preparation of this interview.

00:03:36: Arina ,I wanted to jump into What motivated you in the first place to have a unicorn?

00:03:43: I mean, when i started the business.

00:03:45: I didn't even know thirty years ago what was a unicorn.

00:03:49: that only came alongside When I grow and then there were such an achievement Such a specification about having a company That's a unicorn with special revenue A special size In a special time.

00:04:06: It wasn't that I was building specifically a unicorn, but wanted to get rich.

00:04:12: I want it to have freedom of choice and security in your life because my philanthropic mission right now is to build paradise on Earth And now I can share with others how to go from zero, because... ...I know poverty as well.

00:04:42: And i was born in a very poor family and.. ..i am like self-made master you know?

00:04:51: Now I teach other people how to achieve your goals How to fulfill your dreams How follow your mission.

00:05:03: I find it fascinating when you said your ex-husband said, You cannot do this.

00:05:08: Yes

00:05:09: And i wanted to know from you because I know for me When somebody says It's not working I'll try anyway and that much more a push To achieve.

00:05:20: How did it affect Your drive?

00:05:22: Your vibe?

00:05:24: Your motivation ?

00:05:25: When Somebody Says Its Not Working or You Cannot Do

00:05:29: This is my major strengths that I understood.

00:05:33: if you adjust yourself, and try to meet someone's expectations.

00:05:39: You're not going anywhere!

00:05:41: You are not living your own life... ...you tried to match someones vision of yourself but it is not YOU.

00:05:49: But If you wanna pursue your dreams?

00:05:52: You have to go for it And no one should be able to stop it, but it took me many years.

00:05:59: And my ex-husband was in a way teacher and that matter.

00:06:03: when he was telling me you cannot do it!

00:06:07: You are nothing... I mean i would remember my childhood how my father would tell it to me like no now i'm grown up adult and not doing it myself anymore.

00:06:20: every time Reminded me of my father.

00:06:24: I'm like, no this time i gonna do differently!

00:06:27: I don't want to revive My childhood traumas over and over again.

00:06:33: so my ex-husband was teaching Me in a way.

00:06:36: he wasn't my teacher In that way.

00:06:38: He was the one who is pushing me towards achieving And after there were No lessons left We just divorced.

00:06:48: He just left me,

00:06:50: we're gonna go a little bit in this as I'll check later on because it's also something important for being an entrepreneur and how to deal with your private life.

00:07:00: but i wanted to know what you exactly doing?

00:07:03: In the technology of company The unicorn company that you scaled.

00:07:10: And when did she realized okay now i have it.

00:07:13: That is big scaling point.

00:07:15: Tell us a little bit about the product, where you help people.

00:07:19: What are exactly doing with that and what is your tangible point?

00:07:24: You know I was more like inspiration to my husband who's technology guy And he created this product.

00:07:37: it's a workflow product.

00:07:41: I was kind of like behind the scenes and because i am very much connected to higher powers, I remember we had once, this story.

00:07:56: We have the next investment round and... ...we had an opportunity to sell one percent of the company which was already evaluated at one point five billion.

00:08:08: And they said hey!

00:08:08: This is a time for selling one percent.

00:08:11: He says no maybe not but then i say yes because he knew that when you see big picture it kind happens the right way.

00:08:24: And after we did it, and big investors invested money into this... The whole market has crashed!

00:08:32: The market had crashed in company valuation lowered down two times like it started to cost less than a billion like eight hundred million dollars.

00:08:43: All these investors that lost money at this time on this deal they approached.

00:08:48: my husband said How how did you do that?

00:08:52: Tell us the secret.

00:08:53: What is this secret?

00:08:55: he said, oh my wife made her magic.

00:08:58: I don't know she made your magic Don't ask me.

00:09:03: So it was like Advising more than You know then doing some technical things inside the company.

00:09:14: so its a workflow Company or a technique technology that enhances workflows behind the scene in companies.

00:09:23: Yes,

00:09:24: it's an open source product.

00:09:26: Okay very interesting.

00:09:28: so then you have sold one percent of.

00:09:35: get away to basically.

00:09:37: Yeah, so the next day I woke up having fifteen million dollars on my account and it's like what?

00:09:44: You know all these stories when you wake up a millionaire right away.

00:09:50: Was this Arena then the point where who had encountered also your wish to make The World A Better Place And Happy place and also navigate into foundation part that I chose mentioned, tell us a little bit about this.

00:10:07: Yeah I understood at once that money is not the goal because they don't fulfill you.

00:10:16: if your empty inside then it wouldn t fulfill.

00:10:21: they wouldn't make you happy.

00:10:23: So money couldn't be a goal, but it could be tool.

00:10:27: It is energy actually isn't?

00:10:28: And

00:10:29: its tremendous energy and the energy has to flow.

00:10:34: You cannot just throw into your bank account and they stuck there.

00:10:39: Yeah!

00:10:40: percent, little babies.

00:10:42: But what is happening with adult of this money?

00:10:46: You know these bankers and investors.

00:10:49: they do something with your money but you don't know What are doing that kind of products the investing in it.

00:10:56: Why don't you invest your money into something bigger in some like bigger mission?

00:11:02: why don't people happy or do something really big with that, you know.

00:11:10: And yeah this is how my mission started and I've realized the person is rich of not they have in a bank account but what they give to others.

00:11:22: This is what fulfills you much more.

00:11:27: it gives your sense of belonging And when you make so many people around, happy.

00:11:33: When you build this amazing place I call it paradise... I built paradise on earth!

00:11:40: I said having an Earth one Paradise at a time and living in love, to nature and each other enjoying their life.

00:11:51: They stop fighting, they stop worrying, they stopped struggling...they just enjoy what they do!

00:11:59: They co-create with each others' Earths, with Nature.

00:12:05: They dedicate the time into creating something beautiful You know, into creating happy future for themselves and the children.

00:12:17: This sounds like a big mission!

00:12:21: And of course then you have this entrepreneurial background The support or inspiration from your ex-husband Tell us about now that are here in Dubai.

00:12:35: I heard you are here since three or some months.

00:12:39: Let us a little bit dive in why Dubai and what is your motivation to be in this city, especially at these very special times where we have some political challenges that will undergo now?

00:12:53: You know Dubai inspires me because it has such big concentration of business people, of spiritual people, entrepreneurs and give so much opportunities for everyone.

00:13:11: and also what I like about it, that they have a Ministry of Happiness.

00:13:16: And the Minister of Happiness cares so much for people being happy!

00:13:21: So this is the same thing i practice within my communities but mine are still small.

00:13:27: But here its on bigger scale.

00:13:30: Everyone can find their way to flourish if they do right things.

00:13:38: For me, it's an amazing time here.

00:13:41: The weather is perfect and I love the architecture of

00:13:45: art

00:13:46: you know, because everywhere it's... everything is handmade.

00:13:51: Like in Costa Rica where I build my paradises its nature made beauty and here is human-made hand-made beauty.

00:14:03: That is

00:14:04: such a nice

00:14:05: correlation

00:14:06: between the two of them

00:14:07: Yes!

00:14:08: And i like this saying that gods fulfill their dreams with human hands.

00:14:17: You know, so God has a dreamed creator and he wants the dream to be fulfilled by our people's hands.

00:14:25: And this is what we do in Costa Rica.

00:14:28: We build paradise through our hand.

00:14:31: Here it was already built because such an amazing architecture Such an amazing museums and art It inspires me a lot of human potential because I am so much into the human potential.

00:14:48: And what humans can do with their hands, is they're mindset.

00:14:53: all these engineers that create this amazing project just gives me tremendous inspiration.

00:15:00: Very, very good.

00:15:02: Arina when it comes to leadership your community you just mentioned your Community When he comes through.

00:15:08: scaling at his podcast is about scaling and the story set stick behind.

00:15:13: It is also and you mentioned a human potential?

00:15:21: With the unicorn company that you built it up, had to have some team and yeah what is your leadership style?

00:15:29: And also in the community.

00:15:31: You must be somehow The person who's leading with motivation or at the direction Inspiration with all kind of things.

00:15:40: I'm interested too big to pick your brain actually on that On that part of leadership and scaling

00:15:47: opportunities.

00:15:48: I have a special education in psychology, and coaching different types of coaching, different types learning and studying my whole life.

00:16:03: It's never ending process, the more you know... You understand that you don't know anything.

00:16:10: That is what I am saying as well!

00:16:13: So..I didn´t ever go to the pride state like I know everything no?

00:16:21: constantly learning and you're constantly adjusting yourself because I always work, or have one of two sometimes three personal coaches.

00:16:33: And they show me my flaws from different ways like Oh My God!

00:16:38: So Of course as everyone else i do mistakes... ...and i do financial mistakes in all kind of mistakes.

00:16:44: but the way to success is just look at your fall down You get up and you continue

00:16:52: going.

00:16:52: Exactly, yeah!

00:16:53: So neither of the mistakes have to stop you.

00:16:58: It has to teach something And try to learn as soon as possible.

00:17:05: This is a major way for success.

00:17:07: just keep on going.

00:17:09: Get rid Perfectionists, ways aside or whatever.

00:17:13: just keep going.

00:17:14: Keep fulfilling... Keep working on yourself.

00:17:17: so it's constant work and the higher I go things in my personality that come up from very deep And they have to work even more Even More but as i said Working On My Mindset On My Physical Body On My Energy Body In My Spirit all the time.

00:17:37: I think it only speaks for you as a good leader to have this in alignment of seeing people and forgive if they've done mistakes, forgive yourself also so that the mistake culture or making mistakes is In my understanding, also something that I celebrate every mistakes.

00:18:05: Especially here in Dubai when people out of different cultures have sometimes in my team done a mistake ahead already happened.

00:18:14: they wanted to give actually the resignation and said no you did this mistake You had to stay until XYZ paid off because it costed an amount money.

00:18:27: Let us learn all of it.

00:18:29: And that is something I think only speaks for some good, good leader who actually forces a mistake relation or a mistake culture like this?

00:18:42: very well

00:18:43: Yes and also work with my team meeting, we have a group coaching session and I coach them on different subjects.

00:18:55: On leadership, finances or mindset.

00:19:00: so...I work with my team closely because they are conscious.

00:19:04: Consciousness level of my team is very high.

00:19:08: It's much higher than anyone else's team, you know?

00:19:12: So I teach them how to learn from your mistake not how to be destroyed by mistakes or lifetime.

00:19:22: but sometimes people cannot keep up with my speed.

00:19:26: That happens.

00:19:27: Yes

00:19:27: that happened so i experienced it too.

00:19:30: and if you speak... If you behave very fast then But then again, I think also out of respect to do what the people they don't have too.

00:19:39: You know some people there just going a while long with you and your speed And then part ways.

00:19:48: that leads me to exactly The next question which i already asked or Mentioned i wanted To ask about when entrepreneurs are scaling their business When entrepreneurs are growing Their Business.

00:20:02: Yeah, the private part of it.

00:20:05: The partner is I think a very important part because if you don't speak the same language for entrepreneurship then interests are parting ways.

00:20:16: If You cannot take your partner alongside Your journey It's hard to keep up because entrepreneurship is something so spiritual, I think if they don't keep up with this and can follow also.

00:20:32: Yeah what's your secret to either as you said already from your ex-husband?

00:20:39: To say okay This Is It Let's Part ways.

00:20:43: So there we have a good relationship As friends maybe.

00:20:47: And what is your secret, maybe?

00:20:50: Or you're learning out of this to foster a relationship that holds together along the journey of entrepreneurship.

00:21:00: Now I'm staying in solitude and it's tremendous time to know yourself better and to heal your own wounds, and feel your own holes.

00:21:18: Before you complete a whole person.

00:21:21: if you expect something from someone then it's not the right path.

00:21:28: so I heal myself.

00:21:32: child traumas from my relationship, traumas for everything.

00:21:37: So I give total attention to relationships with myself and this is the most important part because you are there.

00:21:46: only person in your life that gonna stay with you until the end of his life That would be loyal to you.

00:21:54: it will always say too You cannot rely on anyone else or dad You're the closest person to yourself.

00:22:03: And if you were able build relationship with yourself, then... ...you can start building a relationship with others.

00:22:12: and what happened in this world?

00:22:13: that people without building relationships themselves is not knowing themself scaring lots of traumas lot's conflicts inside them.

00:22:25: they go into next relationship ask, seek for validation.

00:22:30: And when you stay in solitude and you understand that you don't need validation from anyone... ...and you do not need a partner for that I want to find the partner to co-create together.

00:22:46: Yes

00:22:46: To fortify each other Not get something from him.

00:22:53: I don't want him to get something from me.

00:22:55: Let's unite our strengths and make each other stronger.

00:23:04: If you want something for Me, You will make me weaker!

00:23:08: And i dont need anything from you.

00:23:11: And this is how you become a co-creator of life, reality and everything.

00:23:18: I want the whole person... The whole man who already built relationship with himself.

00:23:24: Who has accepted his own demons in way he knows his own shadows.. ..and i am responsible for my hell!

00:23:36: inside me.

00:23:38: And you are responsible for yours, You don't reflect on Me your problems and Your expectations.

00:23:45: I don't Reflect On YOU!

00:23:47: This is how we can become co-creators of something new Something amazing.

00:23:55: If a man... No Let's see I want to be valued for who you are, and I'm not agreeing with someone just telling me that they cannot do this.

00:24:18: That it's bad in these or whatever... No!

00:24:21: If you accept the way I am and love about myself.

00:24:26: let us go together.

00:24:27: if you want to show my flaws what is wrong then probably we're not right mage

00:24:34: anymore.

00:24:35: i think when your entrepreneur have a partner You are not managing to take them along the journey of development, because entrepreneurship is a development and spiritual journey.

00:24:50: Then it is somehow growing apart And having that then you have two out-of-the perspective To be the most closest person yourself?

00:25:09: being a copper, it can be anything else.

00:25:12: But the copper situation is not working.

00:25:16: because you're going this direction.

00:25:18: I go this direction.

00:25:19: so i think um It is something most important of an entrepreneur whether its man or woman to make decision on these part either To Go At The Same Path Or Make A Decision That You Wanted To Go Somewhere Else And Doing So.

00:25:39: It's sometimes really tough, but I think divorces or any kind of these relationship traumas will bring only harm to the business.

00:25:51: Don't you think?

00:25:52: Yeah what i learned through this divorce which is very good and helping me in my business right now Is letting go of people Letting go expectations And now it creates a very healthy dynamic for me, because I'm not grabbing... ...I am not attached to someone.

00:26:17: You know these attachments?

00:26:18: To either loved one or somebody at your work Or relatives and friends.

00:26:25: It doesn't serve us Because they attach this attachment to something which might not work anymore.

00:26:34: So let's go what I learned a lot along this process.

00:26:39: And now it's very easy letting go of people, situations or problems and places because when you are attached to specific place your kind is stuck in that space.

00:26:53: so for me its very easy being on the floor Because I go with the flow.

00:26:59: You know, because i don't have any these attachments it's really easy for me to let go and It was the biggest lesson for me in ending this relationship.

00:27:11: Very good very Good that you let us be part of this journey Of yours.

00:27:17: And I wanted maybe pick your brain on That last point that I wanted to ask you, do you know there is a library in Dubai which will be built.

00:27:31: In very nice house it's also going but i'm aware this library holds one thousand books and those are from entrepreneurs who would have chosen the book if they had to go to the moon And could only take one book.

00:27:49: So If You Would Have Been Ask What book you would take, what book do put in this library for everybody else?

00:27:58: It's so important.

00:28:06: This is the only book I would take with me.

00:28:21: It's an amazing book, it's from a Russian writer and he tells us how to live two lives because we as people are living one life on Earth physical reality and other life, our spiritual life with God.

00:28:44: Because half people have gods!

00:28:47: And how to unite these two lives in one?

00:28:52: How to live in divine at the same time as human reality.

00:28:58: It's very interesting because there are so many ideas.

00:29:00: like every page you can write down quotes from this book.

00:29:06: So amazing book.

00:29:07: Yes,

00:29:08: very good!

00:29:08: Very interesting.

00:29:10: and one more last question Arina what would you advise somebody who wants to also build up a unicorn?

00:29:19: Start developing your consciousness in your mindset.

00:29:22: this is the first thing.

00:29:23: without the proper mind set nothing's gonna happen.

00:29:28: Well, that's a very good thing.

00:29:30: Mindset is ultra important for having and good business.

00:29:34: I mean there is as i said nothing more spiritual than being an entrepreneur.

00:29:39: mindset development this every minute of the way in essential things.

00:29:44: Thank you for being here.

00:29:45: And thank you, for letting me pick your brain and if you like this episode please share it.

00:29:52: give us the attention of a thumb up activate the bell find all of the information in the show notes or in the info box we connect to with arena.