From Ukrainian refugee to Dragons Den star – the amazing story of Yana Smaglo, MD Nenya
What would you do if you had 15 minutes to get out of your home? Listen to the amazing story of Ukrainian refugee, Yana Smaglo. Yana discusses the business she built, and had to leave behind, in Ukraine, how she set up a new business in the UK and how she ended up on Dragons Den, getting four offers and winning investment from Stephen Bartlett and Deborah Meaden. Yana also shares her experiences of understanding ‘Yorkshire English’ !
INTRODUCING YANA SMAGLO
Yana Smaglo left the town of Kyiv in Ukraine the very first day the war started, being woken in the night by the first bombing raid that hit the city. She travelled through Poland and Germany to finally reach the UK and was initially housed through the UK Government refugee scheme and was based in Huddersfield. After appealing for help through the Yorkshire Post, a team of local businesses came together to support her, and she founded the wholesale Ukrainian fashion business Nenya – meaning motherland. Nenya supports the fashion industry back in Ukraine, enabling people in her home country to still support themselves, and provide a livelihood. It now retails in over 120 countries and has enabled Yana to fully support herself living in the UK. In 2025 Yana hopes to expand the company into the retail market and is currently looking for business partners to support this.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
[00:00:30] Hello from Kyiv
[00:03:00] Transition from finance to fashion
[00:06:00] Selling to friends and family
[00:09:30] The early challenges and business lessons
[00:13:00] Try to break your business
[00:17:00] Half an hour to get out of Kiev
[00:27:00] From Poland to Huddersfield and the language barrier of Yorkshire
[00:30:00] Launching Nenya and how it grew
[00:46:00] Appearing on Dragons Den
3 KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS
• If you are encountering problems, this allows you develop as a manager finding solutions
• Try to break your own business
• Pitching to the Dragons is just like a normal meeting selling your products or services
3 MOMENTS TO LOOK OUT FOR
“I had 15 minutes to leave my flat in Kiev as the bombs started falling”
“I thought I could speak English until I came to Huddersfield”
“Getting investors on board is like getting married”
VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU
Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/leeds-business-podcast/
Work with Phil – www.philfraser.co.uk
Watch Yana’s episode on Dragons Den at https://youtu.be/4Pr_uBiEewQ.
Website: https://www.nenya.online/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yana-smaglo-188798155/
Shout out: Claire Strachan https://www.linkedin.com/in/cstracs/
Antonia Kinlan – https://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniakinlan/
DON’T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘FAIR DEAL’
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YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/kate-ball/ (also a Dragons Den success)
https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/laura-bartlett/ (Dragons Den rejection)
https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/phil-fraser/
ABOUT YOUR HOST
Phil Fraser went from an accidental kitchen table start up, with no investment, all the way to multi-million pound sale to a PLC 18 years later. He’s travelled the full SME business journey of launch, growth, scale and exit.
As well as hosting the Leeds Business Podcast, Phil now works with ambitious SME-owners as a Business Sounding Board (think somewhere between Business Coach and Business Mentor). In simple terms, he’s ‘a pair of ears and an extra pair eyes’ for SME Owners helping them to be better at what they do. Phil’s mantra is It doesn’t need to be ‘lonely at the top’. He helps Business Owners to be better business owners, by helping with their clarity and focus.
As a Business Sounding Board, he gives SME Owners the time & space to regularly discuss their challenges and opportunities, with no sense of judgement or bias, and in complete confidence. This allows them to explore their options in full, culminating with a list of issues to address/clarify, a clear target in mind, a roadmap to success, and a renewed enthusiasm and confidence for the challenges ahead.
Want to work with Phil to help you? See www.philfraser.co.uk.
LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST
Nenya, Dragons Den, Stephen Bartlett, Deborah Meaden, Leeds, Business in Leeds, Leeds Business, Business in Leeds, Nous of Fraser, Business Sounding Board, Business Coach, Business Mentor,
