Kira Golenko: Moving to Win
“Sometimes you will go through phases in business or in life where it’s just tough. We all have good days and bad days, and the question is how you get through the bad ones. Know there is light at the end of the tunnel. Keep working hard, believing in yourself, keep moving and take care of your health. ”
Kira and I met at a friend’s party in New York City over a decade ago when we both had just started our careers in finance. We clicked immediately because not only were we both immigrants trying to find our place in the concrete jungle, but we also shared a similar level of ambition with the hope of creating our own legacies in the finance industry. About a decade later, we both found our place outside of finance.
Kira founded Motko, a performance driven solution focused on creating an inclusive and engaging workplace through programs designed for employees’ wellbeing, physical, mental, and emotional health. Growing up as a professional tennis player in Latvia, Kira understands all too well what it takes to be a champion and deliver consistent performance. It means not only do you have to work hard, but you must also practice self-care religiously.
Through her years of working in finance, she experienced first-hand the mental and physical toll (on herself and those surrounding her) of not being intentional with self-care. When COVID hit, she saw a huge opportunity in the wellness market. Moreover, the pandemic put the importance of health and wellbeing in spotlight, and more corporations began to explore how they can support their employees. With her passion for creating a sustainable work environment, she made the brave decision to quit her finance job to create a movement that brings awareness to mental and emotional health.
Kira is also a strong advocate for women empowerment and inclusion. Women do not have to choose between career advancement and family. As a society, we cannot advance and move forward without gender equality. To achieve this equality, organizations must improve their human capital framework. They must prioritize employee’s health issues and benefits. Through Motko, Kira and her team are prepared to work alongside organizations to accelerate awareness and create value in a tangible manner.
While working on Motko, Kira shares lessons she had learned through the process. In the end, she provides invaluable advice to those who are currently struggling in life one way or the other.
What inspired you to create Motko?
Motko was created because I saw problems in the corporate world pertaining to wellbeing, physical, mental, and emotional health, performance, as well as inclusion and diversity.
I was born in Latvia and grew up playing tennis competitively. Since I was little, I had always found sports a powerful way to bring people together. When you play sports, your gender, race, and background don’t matter. It is all about enjoying the activity together. One other thing I learned through playing sports is self-care. Practicing until you drop on the court would not make you a champion or help you win matches continuously. Getting enough of sleep and rest, nutrition, as well as taking care of your mental and emotional state are key elements for sustainable performance.
When I first started working in the finance industry after graduation, I was super excited, ambitious, and driven; however, culturally I did not feel like I fit in. I was often the youngest person in the meeting, often the only woman, for sure the only immigrant woman from Latvia. I was struggling to fit into the community within our organization. I remember spending so much energy and effort just trying to fit in. It was taking a toll on my mental health. I wanted to get to know my colleagues outside of the office, but I didn’t know how. That’s when I started thinking – if only there was a way where we could create opportunities to connect with each other in a healthy and inclusive manner.
In addition, I remember we used to compete in the office about who slept the least because that was viewed as a benchmark for performance. If you pulled an all-nighter, you must be in high demand. This was such a skewed way to evaluate an individual’s performance. Performance should be based on your value-add. If you are a high performer and are productive, you should not be judged based on the amount of time you are spending in the office.
These experiences combined inspired me to think about a potential solution to help workplaces create a better work balance and a healthier approach to performance evaluation.
“I really do believe that if we, as a society, continue to do the right things and move together in a progressive and inclusive manner, we can win together and create a better future for the next generation.”
What’s your vision for Motko?
Our mission is to make the corporate world a healthier and more inclusive place through sports. Professional success should not come at the expense of health. Women are particularly susceptible to this in the corporate world. I believe women can have it all, and do not have to choose between career advancement and family. Organizations need to have more conversations about health and wellbeing, and not only that, but they also need to dedicate resources to it. As an organization, you will get higher productivity, retain talent more successfully, and create a more inclusive culture if you have engaging employees.
What does Motko stand for?
Motko is a combination of Latin words “Motus” (to move) and “Vinco” (to win) and stands for “winning movement”. This reflects our core belief that great things are achieved through moving. I really do believe that if we, as a society, continue to do the right things and move together in a progressive and inclusive manner, we can win together and create a better future for the next generation.
When did you decide to leave the finance industry and dedicate full-time to Motko?
Launching my own company that addresses a sustainable wellbeing at the workplace was already percolating in my mind before COVID. I started thinking more about how the potential solution could look and work practically. When COVID hit, all the health trends I saw played out further – the physical, mental, and emotional toll, the disconnections with your team, the lack of sense of belonging and inclusion – all became front and center topics in everyone’s minds. I knew if there was a time to pursue this idea fully, this was it.
Motko started at an interesting time considering COVID and many macro uncertainties, did you have any doubt / fear when you pulled the trigger to quit your finance job and commit full time to the business?
There were many things going through my mind. But this ultimately comes down to my personality and investment style. I do my analysis and research, and if I have a strong conviction, I go for it.
I saw there was a huge market opportunity before COVID. When COVID hit, the trends, which I had analyzed, were developing further. Emotionally, with the economic uncertainty, I was very nervous and scared, because it just was not a good time to make the jump. But then I looked at the hard data in front of me objectively, and I knew this was the time to do it.
Pulling the trigger was not the toughest part, it was the aftermath. I remember how much I struggled in the first couple of months. When you are building something from scratch, there are so many things you need to learn. It’s a completely different mentality when you are an investment professional versus an operator. You cannot learn to be an operator without rolling up your sleeves. You also need to a build a very good team that supports your vision and is comprised of people with the right skillsets.
How did you overcome the earlier challenges?
I practice journaling – a habit that I have developed since my competitive tennis days.
We come across so much information daily, it’s natural that our mind will not be able to keep up with everything or will be unable to digest it adequately. When I write things down and take a moment to reflect on them, I’m able to process problems with a clean, fresh, and objective mind.
Separately, I also think as women, we are afraid to make mistakes. This is driven by the need to have to prove ourselves, otherwise we are scared that people will write us off. Journaling allows me to see my own fears, emotions, strengths and weaknesses clearly. I think being honest with yourself is an important first step to overcome obstacles.
The world did not start talking proactively about mental health until COVID hit. Even with more discussions on media today, there is still some social stigma attached to this topic. Do you think corporates are progressive enough today to recognize the importance of mental health and are they prepared to implement initiatives accordingly?
We see a wide range of approaches from corporates regarding the employee health topic. At the core, it’s coming down to the organization’s DNA, specifically their culture and receptivity to innovative solutions. The top management has the capacity to shape an organization’s culture and build foundation that is based on trust and empowerment. For example, very conservative organizations tend to easily write off new ideas. They are more prone to see risks than opportunities. Then there are organizations that are very progressive, they are not afraid to change things around and bring in fresh perspectives to help raise the importance of mental and physical health. They understand what it takes to create a sustainable work environment that fosters an open and safe space for everyone, and why it’s critical to the company’s success in the long-term.
COVID effectively accelerated people’s awareness of our emotional and mental health.
Seven or eight years ago if I were to talk about health and wellbeing with my colleagues, everyone would look at me as if I had something in my coffee. There was simply no space for these conversations, especially in finance. In an industry where there is so much pressure for performance, you don’t get an opportunity to discuss and share topics that are not directly related to your day to day business. But COVID allowed us to have these conversations.
Around the same time that COVID hit, I joined an impact investing fund. Being part of that team allowed me to see how impact driven funds can really make a difference in our society, particularly our next-generation youths. It inspired me to follow my dream and make an impact in areas I’m passionate about.
Do you observe major differences in attitudes towards the topic of mental and emotional wellbeing in Europe compared to the U.S.?
Absolutely! Take holidays for example. In Europe, taking holiday is a right, but in the U.S. it’s more of a privilege. Culture plays a big factor in driving an organization’s priority on health topics. At the macro level, people today are more willing to talk about health and wellbeing. I’m seeing more conversations happening today; however, organizations are still struggling to create the right policy, and that’s where Motko can really help. We co-pilot with organizations to help shape the health and wellbeing policy and create a curated solution for their employees.
Can you talk a little bit about Motko’s value proposition?
We have been very agile in our product development. We spend a lot of time listening and understanding what our clients want and how we can deliver value to them. We roll out our product map in stages. Through this process, we test our early ideas, receive real-time feedback from clients, and use this feedback loop to improve our products.
The next phase of Motko’s growth will be focused on rolling out a dedicated marketplace with curated health and wellness products. Additionally, we will bring on more partnerships. Motko’s framework is not a copy and paste solution. We take pride in ourselves for curating programs tailored to each organization, because we understand health is very individual. So, to deliver an effective solution to our users, we must understand the needs for different age groups, stages of life, capabilities and health interests. We are great at certain things; however, it’s impossible for us to be great at everything. For example, for topics of fertility and other highly specialized medical areas, we need to partner with clinics and doctors that have deep expertise in these domains.
Through this entrepreneurship, what’s the single most important lesson you have learned so far?
I learned to be a better listener. While in finance, after pulling many late nights doing analyses and putting together a cohesive presentation, I wanted to let everyone know that I was prepared, and the way to do that is to be vocal and talk a lot. If you are quiet in those meetings, it means you don’t know your stuff.
When I first started Motko, I had to scratch all of that and learn how to listen to people – our clients, partners, experts, team. I still have the post-it somewhere on my desk, that says “Be Quiet”. Sometimes I get carried away, and when I see the note, I stop talking and give the floor to others. I realized how critical it is to listen to other perspectives. As a team and as an organization, we can only progress when voices are given and heard.
As you continue to build your business, what keeps you up at night?
What keeps me up at night is the state of world we are leaving for the next generation – environmentally and socially. When you think about everything that is happening in the world today, it’s a lot to take in. The effect of social media and the unhealthy obsession with everything digital results in a very fragile mental and emotional state for youths these days because their capacity to make informed decisions still has not been fully developed yet.
At Motko, we are working on an initiative to help children connect with each other through sports. We want to help them pivot away from their reliance on technology and facilitate a way for them to spend more time engaging with each other in a fun and healthy way.
“Believe in yourself. The reality is when you first start out, not many people will believe in you. People will say this is a great idea, but when you are going through tough times, you are the one who is going to have to pull yourself through. Believe in yourself when no one else does.”
What is your advice to those who are currently struggling to find their own path?
I’m going to quote Churchill on this, “if you are going through hell, keep going.” Sometimes you will go through phases in business or in life where it’s just tough. We all have good days and bad days, and the question is how you get through the bad ones. Know there is light at the end of the tunnel. Keep working hard, believing in yourself, keep moving and take care of your health.
Working hard means a lot of preparation. You never know when opportunities will arise, but when it does, you need to be prepared to seize it.
Believe in yourself. The reality is when you first start out, not many people will believe in you. People will say this is a great idea, but when you are going through tough times, you are the one who is going to have to pull yourself through. Believe in yourself when no one else does.
Take care of your health. When you are going through a difficult time, it’s especially easy to forget yourself. Take five minutes out of your day to focus on yourself and do whatever lifts your mood.
Last but not least is relationships. I have always been a big believer in quality over quantity. It is important to develop long-lasting relationships and treat people with respect. A simple act of kindness can go a long way.
We all can make a difference in this world and make a positive impact on someone else’s life regardless of our title and seniority.
What is the best way to contact you if any of our readers want to learn more about anything discussed in this interview?
Please feel free to reach me at kira@motko.co – look forward to connecting!
More information on Motko is also available on our website www.motko.co
