Interview: Munay Zamorano x MumsFounding

We love to share the stories of amazing mums and today we are thrilled to share the inspiring journey of Munay Zamorano, entrepreneur who embodies the spirit of innovation, determination, and mentorship. Munay's story is not just about business success; it's a testament to the power of seizing opportunities, believing in oneself and being persistent. Remarkably, Munay's first job was as an entrepreneur.

At the young age of 23, she took over New Natural GmbH, a sustainable beauty distribution company. This bold move marked the beginning of an extraordinary career path that would see her become a strong voice for business succession and entrepreneurship education.

What makes Munay's story even more inspiring is that she secured a significant bank loan to purchase the company while six months pregnant – a courageous decision that defied conventional expectations and showcased her crude determination.

Today, Munay is not only a successful business owner but also a passionate advocate for aspiring entrepreneurs, particularly women. Her latest venture, the Female Founder Academy, is a mentoring business she created to share her entrepreneurial knowledge with the next generation of founders. This project underscores her commitment to empowering others and giving back to the entrepreneurial community.

In this interview, Munay shares insights into her motivations, the challenges she faced, and the lessons she's learned along the way. From navigating the complexities of acquiring a company to balancing motherhood with entrepreneurship, Munay's experiences offer valuable lessons for anyone looking to make their mark in the business world.

The Journey

Tell us a little about your journey. You bought a company, where you were a working student at just 23 and secured a massive bank loan while six months pregnant! What motivated you to take such bold steps?

I was motivated by the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. How often is the company you work for suddenly for sale? Even in a lifetime, that usually doesn't happen.

When the previous owner told all of us in the team about wanting to sell the business, I raised my hand and immediately said "ok, I'll buy it!".

Entrepreneurs often face rejection or skepticism when seeking funding—especially young women. How did you convince the bank to grant you such a significant loan at such a pivotal moment in your life?

There were two key factors in getting the loan approved: I had hired a financial advisor specialised in startup funding who created a document with all the information the bank needed, most importantly a business plan and a market analysis. At that time, I wouldn't have been able to produce those myself, much less in a way that would convince a bank. Secondly, I had to convince the bank to buy into ME as a person. They had to trust me to be able to successfully run a business and essentially guarantee the loan would be paid back. Without a degree and really any work experience, I had to focus on my motivation, my goals and my ability to learn new things. Luckily, that worked!

What key factors led you to believe in the success of the company you acquired?

The company was already up and running, we had customers and were successful at the time of the transaction. There were sales and numbers to prove it, so I didn't have to believe in it, it was a fact. There was something else I really believed in: myself. I was sure I would be able to run the business and find things to improve.

Building Networks

You are an incredible networker. What advice would you give to entrepreneurs, especially women with children, about the importance of building and maintaining relationships?

Having a network that works for you makes all the difference. Many of my "firsts" happened because my network talked about me, recommended me and said my name when I wasn't in the room. My network works for me because I do the same for them. I always have my people in the back of my mind and mention their names when opportunities arise. The most common mistake I see with networking is people thinking their LinkedIn followers are their network - that's not the case. Your network is the relatively small circle of people that know about your goals and problems and will actually help you take the next steps. Foster those relationships!

Mentorship and Empowerment

You're also a mentor to many female entrepreneurs. What inspired you to give back in this way?

I started volunteering as a mentor out of frustration about the low number of female founders. That quickly turned into a whole lot of aspiring founders being sent my way for help and advice. It started taking up so much of my time that I had to make a decision: If I want to keep doing this, I will have to find a way that's sustainable for me. That's why I founded the Female Founder Academy.

When women come to you for mentorship, what are the most common challenges they face, and how do you help them tackle these issues?

My mentoring often starts with identifying the market-fit for their product and how to design their offer. Once I help them figure that out, the next issue they bring to my table is visibility. Where should I invest in visibility? How do my customers find me? Who even is my ideal customer? The questions are often the same, the answers vary wildly because each founder and each startup are so different. One of my mentees was struggling with marketing - she had a broad idea but never knew what kind of content to put out there and what platform to focus on. I helped her continuously niche down until she had a niche that was so specific she suddenly felt all of her marketing fall into place and the next steps were super logical.

How does your mentoring program work, and who can benefit from it the most?

My mentoring is essentially one hour of one-on-one time with me per week. The warning I always like to give is: there is no program. I won't take anyone through pre-defined steps or run through a list of topics, instead I ask the founders to bring a list of questions and topics they would like to learn about for each session. It's very proactive - so my mentoring works for people who are driven and work on their idea during the week, collecting as many questions, pain points and problems as they can so they can get the most out of that hour. As for founding stage: my knowledge is most valuable when you have a clear goal and are about to start. It will also greatly benefit anyone within the first two years of founding. After that period I would recommend more specific experts in your niche, since my expertise is founding.

Balancing Act

What's the most rewarding part of your both roles—being a mom and a successful entrepreneur?

Getting to combine the two. Taking my son to networking events, having him grow up in contact with Berlin's Startup Scene. Sometimes I stop and think: "Wow, what a cool role model I am! My son is growing up in an environment where it's normal to have a CEO mom."

What's next for you and your business? Are there any exciting projects or goals you're working toward?

I am very happy with the way my businesses are operating right now. I have a most wonderful team, I have a beautiful office and my job is diverse and fun. At the moment, I don't want to change anything. But of course we are working on a few projects here and there, for example expanding into the B2C space with New Natural's own online shop.

Words of Wisdom

If you had to leave our audience with one piece of advice about business, life, or following their passion, what would it be?

Don't be afraid to give. I'll give you an example: when I had questions about building my online shop, but not really enough questions to warrant hiring an expert, I called two people who work in building shops. One of them gave me virtually no information and tried selling me their online-shop-building offer. The other helped me out with two tips that were basic knowledge to them but super helpful to me. Since that day, I have recommended that person 15 times.