Barrel Holdings

What if growth wasn’t about “more” but “better”?

And what if there was a system for “better”?

That’s what we do at Barrel Holdings.

We help agency founders turn strong businesses into scalable, durable companies by installing agency systems that reduce chaos, protect margins, and unlock real value by:

→ partnering with agency founders & leaders
→ shifting founders out of daily sales & delivery
→ installing financial visibility & margin discipline
→ training teams on scoping, pricing & resourcing
→ building frameworks for recurring revenue streams
→ engineering systems for growth without dependency
→ coaching on workload capacity safeguards & burnout

There’s more.

And it is my job to make “more” - and all - of that agency wisdom binge-worthy.

Curious how we acquire, manage, and launch agency businesses?

🔗 Check us out: https://www.barrel-holdings.com/

Marketing Lead

outonomi

There’s no shortage of advice on how to become successful.

The real challenge?

Staying successful.

(In a way that evolves with you.)

My private coaching work is built for executives, entrepreneurs, founders, and thought leaders who’ve built great careers, businesses, and companies - but feel the quiet strain of titles, KPIs, and growth outpacing their vision for life.

Problems I helped my clients solve:

"I’m clear on what I don’t want.”
“This isn’t the life I truly want to lead.”
"This next chapter needs to be intentional."
"For the first time, I don’t have a 5-year plan."
"I’ve outgrown the version of myself. Now what?”
"I’m no longer sure this is my definition of success."
"I just can’t see myself doing this for the next 10 years."
"Success doesn’t mean the same thing it did five years ago."
"I’ve worked so hard to get here, but I don’t want here anymore."
“Ambition isn’t the problem. Figuring out what to do next with it…is.”

Since I’ve lived what you are walking through, I now bring both the personal experience and 7 coaching certifications to help you move through it all clearly, calmly, and efficiently.

My approach blends:

• Designing beliefs that fit your whole life
• Figuring out who you are & what you want
• Expanding your personal capacity for growth
• Building leadership identity grounded in clarity
• Untangling the subconscious patterns you carry

Because success isn’t one definition.
It’s allowed to evolve as you do.

If you’re an executive or founder ready to grow into what’s next, this is where we do that work.

✨ Private coaching application opening soon.

Founder | Private Coach to Executives

Chief

As I infamously said: "Success is just a starting point."

To us, at Chief, success is a place of service.
It is where grace, grit, and intention meet.
It is a place of connection.

It is how we live our lives.

This is why I am incredibly proud to belong to a private membership network that connects and supports the most powerful women executives, sharing playbooks with those who see themselves as both ambitious and empathic, driving change on all levels of their organizations.

Welcome to a place where there is room for all of you - and where we celebrate those who pave the way to bring others with them.

🌿 Here's to building impactful businesses.
✨ Here's to being impactful humans.

Member

IM Digital

Stories power strategies.

I learned that here.

I learned what it means to translate a story into...
→ an impactful initiative;
→ an ROI-driving project;
→ a needle-moving event.

I've learned what it means to champion transformational narratives and had a front-row seat to their power unfolding over multiple cities, continents, clients, partners, projects, and company sizes.

This is all to say...

Our job is not to get the strategy piece first.
Our job is to get the story right. 

If the story is right, the strategy unfolds.

Purposeful storytelling isn't show business; it is simply good business.

Vice President Strategic Initiatives

Innovation is the movement of intellect and imagination in the direction of growth.

It is NOT a result of logical thinking, even though its result should be logical structure.

Its goal is NOT to identify THE thing to say "Yes" to but to identify all the things we will say "No" to. 

In its essence, innovation is about making a bet on a future only few can see and trusting yourself enough to be willing to go on the journey.

👉 Whether through workshops and sprints (over 150 under my belt);
👉 Whether through events big and small (Shoptalk included);
👉 Whether through working with clients (valued at $1,9B)

I have been on journeys that resulted in creating an innovation portfolio, building diversified innovation strategies, and driving top-line growth through innovation.

I have loved every single moment, especially the ones where I served as a "professional needle mover" operating on the intersection of strategy, creativity, and psychology.

💌 In the words of the people I was able to serve: "It's like you borrow us the energy to see change as an opportunity. And then we get to translate the opportunity into clarity, and from there... well, it's easy to grow."

Vice President of Innovation

The role that became a platform for expression.

Our clients.
Our own.
Mine.

Taking over the creative efforts at an agency that was deeply rooted in complex integrations and known for its technological savviness was... a lot.

But I was curious, I loved a challenge, and I saw a gap between the ask and the value we could deliver. It asked for slight restructuring, rebranding, and navigation of 9 - but we made it happen.

🙌 It resulted in a top-performing revenue channel.
🙌 It resulted in the launching of Design Sprints.
🙌 It resulted in a profit increase.

More importantly, it resulted in us re-positioning ourselves as a full-service agency, a place where creativity and commerce meet, with competence and contribution at its core.

Over this period, we launched mid-COVID-19 materials, which led to 3 deals worth over $600k signed in a week, collaborating and partnering with the likes of PayPal, Adobe, and Salesforce, and personally heading tailor-made workshops with target key accounts.

🎯 As I fondly like to remember, that was the moment when we started pushing our brands in new directions, fueling their growth through visual, visionary storytelling.

Head of Creative

From nothing... to - my oh my - quite something.

I was always a storyteller.
I loved stacks of books.
I enjoyed the words.

(I adored their power. 🤤)

This role was the first place where my words found a home.

They got me from a small-town adventurer and aspiring dreamer into the role of blog writer who got her work published on the Adobe website, driving the Mobile Optimization Initiative and spearheading the Magento Imagine efforts.

The words spoke through me, and they were loud, and they were clear. They got us leads (over 130 per venture), they got us on the Imagine Excellence awards shortlist, and they got us into rooms where the impact was made.

It was there and then that I realized...

→ I want to keep talking.
→ I want to keep sharing.
→ I want to keep evolving.

And I want to take as many people as possible with me.

Marketing Director

Inchoo

Marketing and Communications Coordinator

Sales and Marketing Intern

AIESEC

Vice President for Business to Customers

Talent Development Manager

External Relations Team Member

Organizing Commitee of Local Training Seminar

Task Force for Brand Audit

I was always the “behind-the-scenes” girl:

• Servicing $1.9B clients;
• Leading growth and strategy;
• Pushing Inc. 500 agencies forward;
• Starting & scaling 7-figure departments;
• Collecting big brand platform partnerships;
• Evolving agencies from 12 to +100 employees;
• Running PayPal initiatives & Shoptalk workshops…

Eventually, I noticed a pattern, one I’ve seen in boardrooms, exec teams, and inside myself:

Scaling a business isn’t the hard part.
Scaling your leadership, your identity, and your capacity for success happening 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 you, instead of 𝘵𝘰 you—that’s where it starts to ache.

That realization cracked open a question:

What if the goal isn’t just growth, but 𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁?

So I made space for a new kind of success. One that is sustainable. One that included my full self. 

Since then:

→ Got 7x coaching certifications
→ Became a VP & a Board Member
→ Grew from 1k to ~15k social followers
→ Organized events with the US Embassy
→ Spoke at events, panels, and workshops
→ Personally coached 50+ female executives
→ Became a top 3% LinkedIn Creator (Favikon)
→ Became a member of CHIEF (hi, female execs!)
→ Launched my own newsletter for high-performers
→ Confidently moved from the agency world to holdcos
→ Founded OUTONOMI, the platform for sustainable success

None of this happened by accident.

It happened the moment I redefined success on my terms, and built everything else to match it.

That’s the work I now do every week: helping high-achievers recalibrate what they lead, how they live, and who they get to be inside OUTONOMI.

And I’m so grateful you’re here.

———

👋 Follow for weekly insights on leadership, growth, strategy & sustainable success.

🔥 Try my newsletter OUTONOMI—1,500+ women executives subscribe for private insights on sustainable success every week.

🚀 Want to grow your leadership, inside and out? Apply for my private coaching. Next slot available in July.

Ivona Namjesnik

Weatherproof Business Launchpad

8-Week Online Accelerator & Mastermind for Women in Tech.
Launch your business in 8 weeks, with a validated idea, an irresistible MVP, and a waitlist of beta users, without quitting your corporate job or burning out.
Next intake is starting on September 29, 2025 and enrolling soon. DM for details.

Founder / Business Coach

Digital Consulting Lab

1. One-on-One Coaching for Women in Tech

Personalized 1:1 coaching for executive women in tech who are ready to transition from corporate careers to building scalable, profitable SaaS businesses—without financial risk or overwhelm.

Through a structured, high-impact coaching process, I help my clients:
✔️ Gain clarity on their business vision and roadmap
✔️ Validate their business idea through real customer insights
✔️ Build and test a minimum viable product (MVP) with no code
✔️ Develop a scalable business model and land their first paying customers
✔️ Confidently replace their corporate income and transition into entrepreneurship

DM to schedule a call and explore if we are a fit.

2. Group Coaching & Mastermind: Weatherproof Business™ Launchpad

For women who want structured guidance and a high-impact peer network, I run the Weatherproof Business™ Launchpad—a 10-week group coaching and mastermind program designed exclusively for women in tech who want to launch their SaaS business while maintaining their executive careers.

✔️ Live group coaching sessions for real-time guidance and Q&A
✔️ A step-by-step roadmap to go from idea to MVP and first customers
✔️ Mastermind accountability groups for peer support and collaboration
✔️ Exclusive community of like-minded women in tech building businesses together

Next cohort starts in June 2025. DM me for details.

3. Online Educator & Speaker: Free Masterclasses & Expert Talks

I'm passionate about demystifying entrepreneurship for women in tech and regularly share actionable strategies through:

✔️ Free live masterclasses on a tech business while in a corporate job
✔️ Guest expert talks & workshops for women in tech communities and non-profits
✔️ Podcast interviews & speaking engagements on tech entrepreneurship & startups.

If you run a community for women in tech, host a podcast, or are looking for speakers for your event, let’s connect! I’d love to contribute.

Business Coach for Executive Women in Tech |  Online Educator | Speaker

Founder / CEO

INSEAD Executive Education

1. Facilitated over 1000 projects focusing on innovation and digital strategy across key executive education programs, both online and on INSEAD’s Fontainebleau campus. 

Programs include "Strategy in the Age of Digital Disruption", "Innovation in the Age of Disruption", "Business Strategy and Financial Performance", "Design Thinking and Creativity for Business", and "Driving Digital Marketing Strategy".

2. Advanced leadership skills in emerging professionals through the "Developing Emerging Leaders" program, aligning with the evolving demands of the future of work.

3. Conducted Design-Thinking workshops to enhance creative problem-solving and innovation.
Active contributor to INSEAD's Online Education innovation think-tank, developing cutting-edge digital education solutions.

Business Coach

Le VPN

As a Co-Founder of Le VPN, I've spearheaded the development of a premier personal VPN service, driving innovation and strategically integrating AI to empower our teams to do more with less and enhance our customers' security and user experience. Our products, available in software and app form in five languages, have established a strong presence in over 100 countries, making us market leaders in France and the UK.

The 2019 acquisition of our competitor, My Private Network, has showcased our dynamic growth strategy and adaptability within the cybersecurity sphere. My leadership has been crucial in pioneering work-from-anywhere policies, encapsulating the 'future of work' ethos. These policies have not only boosted operational efficiency but also advanced diversity and equality by engaging a global and diverse talent pool.

In my multifaceted role, I've combined entrepreneurial spirit with actionable strategy, contributing to startup development, strategizing for business growth, fostering entrepreneurship, managing marketing efforts, and driving business development, all of which have been instrumental in scaling Le VPN to its current esteemed stature.

Co-Founder / Board Member

Bali Luxury Villas

General Manager

Director of Marketing & Business Development

INSEAD

Organizer of INSEAD Women’s Leadership Conference in France (300 attendees).
Organizer of 2 INSEAD Cabaret events: in Singapore & in France (200 performers & 300 attendees). 
Section’s Academic Representative (74 students). 
Winner of INSEAD Alumni Fund Women's Scholarship.

MBA candidate

Riskdata

Finance & Administrative Officer for Paris, London, Moscow and New York offices

Decathlon

Analyzed the recruitment strategies for new business launches, developed and supervised a process of recruitment and training of the managerial team for the first Decathlon store in Budapest.

International Human Ressources

I help women in tech start SaaS businesses, thrive outside of corporate & reclaim their freedom | INSEAD Business Coach & MBA | PCC ICF | Serial Tech Entrepreneur

I built my first profitable SaaS business (Le VPN) 14 years ago, and now I'm supporting other women in tech who are DONE waiting for someday to build something of their own.

Since then, I’ve guided 1,100+ executives to turn after-hours “what-if” ideas into profitable, freedom-based businesses they can run alongside their careers, without gambling their salary, sanity, or status.

Drawing on 3,000+ hours of coaching at INSEAD and privately, my Weatherproof Business™ method distills the launch journey into four decisive steps (Why → Who → What → How) that cut guesswork and protect your reputation.

If midnight Slack pings have you whispering “I can’t do this for another year,” take my 4-minute Next Step Scorecard assessment, and it will reveal your smartest first move, so you can build your exit plan and let your next ping celebrate your wins, not extinguish fires.

Ksenia Votinova-Arnaud

Two of my MBA classmates spoke at Slush last week. 

One of my clients even asked me, 
"Were you on stage there too?”

Honestly… I probably should have been. 
But I didn’t even go.

And I’m actually glad I didn’t.

While the world’s top founders were in Helsinki, 
I was home in Paris with:

→ a baby who had a fever, 
→ a house that looked like a small tornado hit it, 
→ a calendar that was bursting with end-of-year work,

Helping my clients build meaningful tech businesses.

I couldn’t take two days off. 

→ Not this time. 
→ Not in this season of life.
→ And that’s absolutely okay with me.

Because we talk a lot about ambition, stage presence, building authority and visibility...

But sometimes the most important work happens quietly...

→ off-stage, 
→ in messy homes, 
→ with sick kids on our laps, 
→ client calls in between fever checks.

Slush, WebSummit, and VivaTech will be there next year. 
And the year after that.

My two kids under 3 won’t always need me like this.

So I’m adding “Speak at Slush” to my 2026 bucket list. 
And I’ll start preparing for it now.
Slowly, intentionally, sustainably.

And who knows… 
Maybe next year, you’ll see my name on that list. 😉

Build a validated, customer-backed tech business alongside your full-time role | Weatherproof Business™ Launchpad for Senior Women in Tech | INSEAD Business Coach & MBA · Le VPN Co-Founder

I spoke on 3 podcasts this month. 
For me, this is a quiet milestone.

I used to panic at the idea of unscripted speaking. 
Visibility felt unsafe. 
My fear felt louder than my voice.

What changed is simple. 
My mission became stronger than my fear.

If I want to reach 10,000 women in tech, I must go first. 
If I want them to see real options, I must be visible. 
If I want to share my method, I must speak.

These conversations made me reflect deeply. 
The hosts asked questions no one asked me before. 
Their questions connected dots I had missed.

I saw my parents lose and rebuild their businesses.
Years later, I created the Weatherproof Business™.
Now I see how it all makes sense.

Yesterday I spoke with an ex-Googler in transition. 
He asked how I figured out my path. 
My answer was honest.

You test. 
You pivot. 
You learn by doing. 

The dots always connect backwards.

One recording last week was in a Paris studio. 

Warm lights. 
Quiet room. 
One person in front of me.

In that moment, I forgot the camera. 
I forgot the fear. 
I focused on her.

The woman who will hear the episode on her commute. 
The woman who feels successful but stuck. 
The woman who knows she is meant for more.

If she feels less alone, it is worth it. 

And if more conversations help reach more women, 
No fear will stop me now.

Is there a podcast you think I should appear on? 

Especially one for women in tech or women founders. 
I would love your suggestions. 🙏

True wealth is not measured in your bank account. 
It is measured in your freedom.

For me, it means designing a life on my own terms.

Here is what I no longer accept as a mother and founder:

→ Waiting for PTO approval 
→ Negotiating time for family 
→ Asking permission for time off 
→ Missing the moments that matter 
→ Relying on daycare as the only option

Here is what I choose instead:

→ Using tech and automation to create time freedom 
→ Building systems that work even when I do not 
→ Owning my calendar with intention 
→ Creating resilient revenue streams 
→ Designing life on my terms

My philosophy is simple. 

Build the life first. 
Then build the business that protects it.

It started with one profitable business. 
From that success, the next ones became possible.

Freedom is never an accident. 
It is created by design.

What is the one freedom you want to create in 2026?

I didn’t know motherhood came with superpowers. 
But it does. 

And they’re nothing like what I expected.

→ The superpower of taking a 6-minute shower 
(2 shampoos + conditioner included)

→ The superpower of doing full makeup in 40 seconds

→ The superpower of sleeping 2 hours, skipping 3, sleeping 2 more, and still showing up the next day

→ The superpower of running 3 businesses in 30 hours a week (on the rare weeks when no one is sick)

→ The superpower of coaching two parallel cohorts of 20 executives each, and giving everyone what they need

And the superpower of leveraging AI to turn your voice notes while on a daycare run or picking up toys, into:

→ Clear and structured client recommendations,
→ Content for LinkedIn, my blog, and my community,
→ Newsletters that get replies that move me to tears.

I’m a beginner mom.
Less than 3 years of experience raising 2 tiny humans.

Still learning every day. 
Still making many mistakes. 
And tired down to my bones.

But I also know this: 
I’ve never functioned at this superhuman level before.

And then a client says, 
“Working with you feels like an injection of vitamin C.”

Two days later, she launches the podcast we dreamed up on a call, and it blows me away with pride.

Moments like this remind me why I do what I do.
And it all suddenly makes sense.

Mom-superpowers exist for a reason.

Because when you are:
→ Building businesses, 
→ Raising incredible tiny humans, 
→ Serving clients you care deeply about, 

You have to be superhuman. 
There’s no other way.

If I can do it with a 2–3–2 sleep schedule, 3 businesses, and 2 kids under 3, you can too.

As my American mom from West Virginia would say:
"You've got no excuse. I'm sorry." 💛

Ambitious women in tech aren’t just climbing corporate ladders.

We’re building our own tech companies.

Success used to mean:

🅧 Taking late-night meetings in other time zones. 
🅧 Skipping gym or yoga for work deadlines. 
🅧 Sacrificing time with friends and family. 
🅧 Not investing time in our growth.

We’re rewriting those outdated rules.

Here are our New Rules of Success:

→ Explore your passions.
→ Turn them into a business idea.
→ Talk to ideal customers to validate it.
→ Build a business model in the evenings.
→ Market, learn, and run new tests until it works.
→ Network with other women in tech who get you. 
→ Keep your corporate job until the business takes off. 

Forget the idea that success = titles + promotions.

In 2025 and beyond, success = life on YOUR terms.

Invest your most valuable asset (TIME) →
 into building your own DREAM life and business.

It's time to start living life on your OWN terms. 💛

What would you add to our New Rules of Success?

The moment I knew I was ready to start my own business?

It wasn’t loud. 
It wasn’t dramatic. 
But it hit me like a wave.

I missed another Bali sunset as I stayed working late,

→ Chasing fires in my new fancy job,
→ Leading a 20-person team of Indonesians,
→ And earning 6 figures as a General Manager.

Nobody pushed me to as I got carried away:

Building a digital strategy. 
Setting processes and solving  problems. 
Scaling operations and driving business growth.

But none of it was mine.

That was the moment ↓

I realized the businesses I was running for others…
Could have been mine.

→ I had the drive.
→ I had the skills. 
→ I had the experience. 

What I didn’t have? Ownership.

So I walked away from the “perfect job.” 

Great title. 
Real stability.
Dream location. 

And I started over.

No fancy investors. 
No guarantees. 

→ Just a laptop.
→ And a belief I’d figure it out.

That was the beginning of Le VPN. 

A SaaS business I co-founded that’s been profitable for 15 years and counting.

Looking back?

That "missed sunset" moment was the first time I had that realization.

The realization that I was ready.
Ready to build something of my own.

And maybe… that’s the moment you’re waiting for, too.

Ambitious women in tech often feel trapped by success.

The more you deliver, the more is expected.

And the idea of breaking free to start your own business:
Feels overwhelming.

Like you need to sacrifice security, time, or even sanity.
But it doesn’t have to be that way.

I call it building "Life on Your Terms":

1. Prioritize your values and goals.
2. Create time to work on your business.
3. Start building your business on the side.
4. Design a business model to replace your income.
5. Transition out of corporate and thrive with confidence. 

It’s not about rushing to quit your job.

It’s about creating options and building the life you want. 

P.S. What would you add to this list?

Parkinson's Law:

Work expands to fill the time you give it.

No matter how much you eliminate, simplify, delegate...
There’s always:

→ More emails.
→ More meetings.
→ More deadlines.

And it’s easy to let work consume everything.

But here’s the truth:
You’ll never finish it all.

So stop trying.

Instead, focus on what really matters:

✔️ Building a life that feels balanced and fulfilling.
✔️ The 20% of tasks that move your business forward.
✔️ And stop wasting your sacred time on everything else.

Instead, live your life: 

→ Take a walk.
→ Do your yoga.
→ Spend time with family.
→ Read a book that makes you grow.

Work to live.
Don’t live to work.

Because life on your terms starts with balance. 💛

Every December, we all get that burst of motivation to “make next year different.”

But for high-achieving women in tech who are also building a business on the side, setting goals is the easy part.  

The hard part is creating goals you can 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 follow through on while working full-time, managing home life, and trying not to burn out.
 
That’s why I’m hosting a new end-of-year Goal-Setting Workshop.
 
This is a hands-on, 60-minute session where we’ll set real goals for your new business. 

Not vague resolutions or wishful thinking.
 
We’ll work through everything together, live in Zoom:

→ Your top 3 business goals for 2026 
→ The quarterly milestones that matter 
→ Monthly priorities aligned with your goals 
→ Weekly actions you can fit into your schedule 
→ And we’ll lock everything directly into your calendar!
 
I’ll be doing this right alongside you, guiding you step-by-step while we build your 2026 plan together (and I build mine!)
 
I’m going to teach you the exact system I’ve been using myself for years.

The one I first learned from Tony Robbins. 
It genuinely changed my life and the way I work. 
 
This is the system that allows me to run 3 businesses in under 30 hours a week, raise two kids under 3, appear on podcasts, and still make time for pro bono projects that align with my mission. 
 
It’s simple, practical, and it works, 
especially when time is limited.
 
Expect a cozy, low-pressure, productive hour.  

I’ll have my favorite Christmas playlist on in the background, and you’re invited to bring a cup of hot chocolate, tea, or whatever feels festive to you. ☕️
 
If you want clarity, focus, and a practical plan to move your business idea forward in 2026, without quitting your job, you're the one I created this for. 💛

View event: 2026 Goal-Setting Workshop: Build Business Goals That Fit Your Life

2026 Goal-Setting Workshop: Build Business Goals That Fit Your Life

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Ivona Namjesnik

Ksenia Votinova-Arnaud

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The Battle

Ivona Namjesnik

Ksenia Votinova-Arnaud

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