Lona Alia

SafetyWing

Build & Scale Revenue channels. 

• Built our B2B SaaS sales team from Zero to One by defining the appropriate growth strategy. Recruited 
   the team at all levels (SDR to VP of sales). Grew the team from 0 - 13 members in 9 months. 
• Helped Scale our revenue from $5M ARR to $45M ARR. 
• Built Partnerships team from 0 to 110 partners and over $1.5M in Revenue Attribution.

Head of Revenue

500 Startups

Mentor startup founders on: 
1. Building & Scaling Revenue Channels. 
2. Go to Market Strategy.
3. Build and scale direct B2B sales teams.
4. Set up Demand Generation
5. New Business Verticals
6. Talent (attract & retain top talent) 
7.  Y combinator application

Mentor

Swiss EP - Swiss Entrepreneurship Program

Supported the startup ecosystem in the Balkans as part of a global Expert-in-Residence capacity 
Built programs for emerging startup ecosystems. 
Focus included: investment readiness, internationalisation, ecosystem building, corporate involvement, business angel activity, and supporting female founders in the region.

Entrepreneur In Residence

Style Lend

•	Conceived and launched the world’s first Peer to Peer luxury fashion rental platform
•	Developed robust proprietary technology comprised of a website, mobile app, interactive styling bot and CRM platform to scale the business online, all the whilst providing a unique client experience and accruing invaluable data 
•	Powered a San Francisco & New York showroom rental / retail experience as well as over dozens of global pop-up experiences, with partners such as The Kooples, Farfetch and more.  
•	Leveraged and built vast network of targeted influencers, luxury brand ambassadors, to produce meaningful content that enriched the offline and online experience and added cache to rental as a luxury service offering 
•	Formulated a five-year plan with financial goals, developing mid and long-term strategic objectives, plans and budgets
•	Hired, trained and led a team of 10 full time and 15+ freelance employees and created an environment which fostered the growth and retention of high-caliber talent 
•	Raised more than $2m from VCs, in Silicon Valley, NY, Europe, Middle East and Asia

Founder

EU for Innovation

Help Strengthen the innovation ecosystem and boost startup creation in Albania. 

• Built linkages within the Albanian innovation ecosystem and internationally

• Mentor innovative startups

Advisor

Rendia, Inc.

HealthTech SaaS - Acquired by PatientPoint

•	Right hand manager to the Director of Sales and key advisor to the VP of international sales.  
•	Formulated sales goals, sales budgets, by evolving marketing strategies in response to market needs.   
•	Maintained the #1 sales producer ranking for the duration at company by continuously exceeding monthly targets by 125% to 150% even during challenging economic times..
•	Personally responsible for generating over $2M in sales (i.e. 50% of software revenue in a year) by successfully selling our SaaS platform to large private practices, C-Level Executives and MDs, Universities and Hospitals.
•	Chosen consistently by senior management to represent the company at all domestic and international trade shows/medical conferences in all markets (ophthalmology, optometry, and ENT [ear, nose & throat]) due to guaranteed high performance and strong networking abilities. 
•	Led team in reaching 99% of their quota each year. 
•	Sold to Hospitals, Universities and Private Practices in EMEA, North America, South America and Asia.

Regional Sales Director

Procter & Gamble

-Developed Successful Street Marketing Campaigns 
-Identified and reached idea target audiences for various brands under Procter & Gamble 
-Conducted effective market research 
-Increased brand awareness and sales
-Collaborated with cross-functional teams to achieve business goals.

Marketing Specialist

Revenue Leader | Y combinator Founder | Remote Work Expert | Digital Nomad Family

Venture Backed Y combinator founder YC W14.  I’m a top-performing revenue leader with a background in startup  marketing, sales & demand generation. 

I’m a founder that has build products, companies and revenue channels from $0 to $45M ARR. 

Advisor to Startups and EU for Innovation.  Future of Work Thought Leader.

Build & Scale Revenue channels. 

• Built our B2B SaaS sales team from Zero to One by defining the appropriate growth strategy. Recruited 
   the team at all levels (SDR to VP of sales). Grew the team from 0 - 13 members in 9 months. 
• Helped Scale our revenue from $5M ARR to $25M ARR. 
• Built Partnerships team from 0 to 110 partners and over $1.5M in Revenue Attribution.

ZarAngarita Media

Journalist, Creative Writer, Strategist, Producer, and Consultant at my one-person creative agency, developed during 10 years of digital nomad experience across 25 countries, mainly in Latin America and Europe. 

Main projects & highlights:

🎥 Strategized and produced the journalistic coverage of the Convening LatAm Congress in Bogota, the first PCMA event in Latin America.

🎙️ Structured and hosted the interview series and livestreams promoting the Purpose Sages Summit by Re-Vision Academy.

🌐 Offered consultancy about the Latin American market to the Ukrainian language learning app company Promova.

🎥 Produced and published independent journalism (#DrainingColombia) with video interviews and articles on the most prominent Danish Newscast TV2 and VerdensSkove Magazine — supported by a travel grant from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark.

🎥 Created and hosted #TheDigitalTransformationShow in collaboration with Love Aarhus TV.

👩‍🏫 Served as trainer in EU-funded workshops on media literacy, inclusion, and combating hate speech (Portugal & Greece).

🎥 Produced SoMe video content for international conferences (Next Library, Aarhus) and behind-the-scenes content for Danish commercials (Stefan Kragh Production).

🎙️ Co-hosted the podcast & TV program “You’ve Got 5 Options”, exploring storytelling, conscious consumption, motivation, and healthy living.

📱 Trained communication teams in Denmark on mobile video production for social media.

Kenes Group

I spearheaded media engagement and communications strategies that elevated Kenes Group's profile in the events industry.  

• Authored diverse publications, reaching a global audience and strengthening brand authority, with a particular focus on Sustainability efforts.  
• Engaged as a keynote speaker and panelist at major industry congresses - IMEX Frankfurt, IMEX Las Vegas, and IBTM Barcelona -, fostering valuable connections.  
• Secured multiple awards, including the IAPCO Innovation Award 2024, underscoring the company's innovative approach.
• Successfully contributed to the development of non-formal education workshops at the Next Generation Committee of IAPCO.

Media And Communications Manager

I excelled in driving Kenes Group's marketing communications, achieving significant media exposure and international representation.  

• Developed and executed social media content strategies that increased audience engagement across platforms.  
• Wrote articles for prestigious publications - including the Headquarters Magazine, Northstar Meetings Media publications, PUNTO MICE, and more -, securing free press appearances and enhancing brand credibility.  
• Led the organization of the global team at IMEX events in Frankfurt and Las Vegas, strengthening our international partnerships.
• Wrote successful Awards submissions, achieving prestigious accolades from Eventex and IAPCO for the organization and its members.

Marketing Communications Manager

• Developed a comprehensive communications strategy focusing on internal communications, social media, and public relations.  
• Designed and executed the award-winning campaign "25 Days of Gratitude," recognized with a Gold Medal by Eventex in the category People’s Choice – Marketing, Communications & Strategy.
• Collaborated with cross-functional teams to enhance brand visibility and engagement through strategic media appearances.

Marketing Communications Specialist

iPaper

I played a crucial role in expanding iPaper's digitalization services in Latin America, achieving remarkable success in client acquisition.  

• Pioneered as the first Latin American hire in the role of Inbound Sales Specialist at iPaper, driving the expansion of digitalization services across the region.  

• Closed significant international deals with major retail brands, including Oriflame and Mondelez, enhancing market presence in Brazil, Mexico and Colombia.

• Collaborated with Marketing and Customer Success teams to foster cross-cultural relationships, ensuring client satisfaction and retention.

💻 HubSpot, Slack, Intercom, WhatsApp, Miro.

Inbound Sales Specialist Latin America

Erasmus Mundus Association

EMA is the global, volunteer-run nonprofit association for students and alumni of Erasmus Mundus Joint Master's and Doctoral programmes—prestigious, highly selective international degrees funded by the European Commission. It connects over 12,000 members across 170+ countries.

Key Contributions:

• Directed the Communications & IT Unit, leading a team of volunteers across editorial, social media, design, and IT sub-units. 
• Designed and executed EMA’s communications strategy, ensuring clear, consistent, and engaging messaging across internal and external audiences.
• Spearheaded EMA’s first fully virtual General Assembly during the pandemic, enabling global participation despite lockdowns.
• Oversaw EMA’s digital tools and platforms (GSuite, Google Analytics, CleverReach, Hootsuite, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Zoom, GoToWebinars), ensuring efficiency and engagement.
• Strengthened cross-cultural collaboration and volunteer engagement during a period of organizational restructuring.
• Participated in all Management Board meetings, contributing to the development of the organization's leadership.

Director of Communications & IT Unit - Management Board 2019 - 2021

Editor In Chief - EMANATE Magazine (Ad Honorem)

Communications Team Volunteer

Caracol Television

As a reporter of the weekend team of Noticias Caracol (the Colombian television most viewed newscast with between 3,735,570 and 13,697,090 spectators tracked and 30 million estimated) I covered socioeconomic news, citizen stories and did reports for noon and night edition, investigative reports and international broadcasting.

Newscast Reporter

As a journalist of the regional correspondents' board at Noticias Caracol (the Colombian television most viewed newscast with between 3,735,570 and 13,697,090 spectators) I worked in the weekend shift (from Friday to Tuesday). My main responsibilities were editing and fact checking regional news packages and voice overs, supervising in video editing rooms and putting together "national panorama" reports, among others for different sections of the newscast.

Regional correspondents' board journalist

El Espectador

The research shows the taboo,  the defence and the lack of protection of sexual rights in the country through experts interviews and life stories. Central Theme in El Espectador (national newspaper in Colombia with approximately 2 million readers) on June 30th, 2014.

Director and Producer of the research "Talking about sex in Colombia. Eleven rights, one reality"

Caracol Televisión

I covered the night shift in the digital newsroom of Noticias Caracol (most viewed Colombian newscast) during legislative elections 2014.

Digital Journalist

As a digital journalist of Noticias Caracol (most viewed Colombian newscast) y was in charged of feeding the portal, searching and adapting audiovisual and written content. During my internship I conducted five live interviews with experts on different subjects for internet audience in a videochat format, around 200 image galleries including the four most watched of 2013 and a special report for December 1rst, 2013 newscast.

Digital  Journalist - Internship 

Media Interactive

1. Generating social media content, both commercial and institutional.
2. Researching topics and news for the development of the accounts. 
3.  Producing weekly content strategies. 
4. Arranging institutional reports about social media performance. 
5. Participating in the consolidation of marketing and SEO strategies. 
6. Monitoring social media. 
7. Social media analysis in Radian6.

Social media manager assistant 

Revista Crossover

1. Interviewing music artists. 
2. Covering music events (album releases, concerts, etc.)
3. Writing pieces for the printed and for the online version. 
4. Generating web and social media content. 
5. Photographing artists and events.

Journalist

Journalist · Creative Writer · Strategist · Producer · Consultant

I help individuals, organizations, and global communities communicate consciously and with impact across multiple channels, with a strong focus on digital and audiovisual storytelling.

With over 15 years of international experience—from newsrooms in Colombia’s most-watched broadcaster, Caracol Televisión, to global Professional Conference Organizer communications with Kenes Group, to leading my own agency ZarAngarita Media—I bridge journalism, marketing, and strategic communication to craft messages that resonate across cultures.

💡 My career spans:

Independent Journalism & Media Production → Produced the #DrainingColombia project, with articles and video interviews published on TV2 Denmark and VerdensSkove magazine (supported by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs); Creator & Host of The Digital Transformation Show; producer of behind-the-scenes and SoMe video content for conferences and commercial productions.

Global Communications & Consulting → Directed Communications & IT for the Erasmus Mundus Association, spearheading its first fully virtual General Assembly; provided consulting and workshops for European companies expanding into Latin America.

Events Industry Leadership → At Kenes Group, drove international media engagement, authored award-winning campaigns (25 Days of Gratitude), secured industry accolades (IAPCO Innovation Award 2024, Eventex), and represented the company as keynote and panelist at IMEX Frankfurt, IMEX Las Vegas, and IBTM Barcelona.

Broadcast & Print Journalism → Reporter at Noticias Caracol, covering national socio-economic news and investigative stories; Producer of “Talking about Sex in Colombia” research at El Espectador.

🤝 Volunteering & Purpose-Driven Work → I have served on the Management Board of the Erasmus Mundus Association, leading communications for a global alumni community of 12,000+ members across 170 countries. I’ve also worked as a trainer in EU-funded workshops on media literacy, social inclusion, and combating hate speech in Portugal and Greece, mentoring young leaders and fostering cross-cultural understanding.

🎤 I am passionate about storytelling, cross-cultural communication, and conscious messaging, and have spoken, trained, and collaborated with teams across 25 countries, mainly in Latin America and Europe.

📣 I advocate for women's right and water protection. I stand for diversity and sustainability. 

✨ At the core of my work is a belief: stories have the power to inspire, connect, and transform. Words create reality.

taplio

The Battle

Lona Alia

Estefanía Zárate Angarita ♀

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