Nastassia Ponomarenko
On connecting YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS with CONNECTFUL
Nastassia is a 20 year-old-second time founder, starting a 7-figure fitness apparel brand at age 18 named Nasty Fit. A couple of weeks ago, Nastassia launched a startup named Connectful, a networking app for young adults. Connectful focuses on breaking outdated networking norms by combining both the professional and personal aspects of making like-minded connections.
What is Connectful?: Connectful is a networking app for young adults to find like-minded people that they don't already know. Our users can find friends, potential cofounders, influencers to collaborate with, mentors and mentees. It's a platform designed for a young entrepreneur, professional and for an overall go-getter.
What inspired you to start Connectful?: It came from a massive personal struggle that I had ever since I started my first business - not having any like-minded and entrepreneurial girl friends my age. It caused a lot of lonely days and a deep desire to just connect with someone and talk all about business, self-improvement and ways to improve the world with someone.
What was the process of founding Connectful? (How did you build your team/did you raise money/what does your current team look like): I officially started working on it in January and hired my first iOS developer to start working on the app in late January, and from there I began hiring more people. The journey had a lot of bumps - I had people I needed to let go of because they weren't the right fit, a website developer who scammed me, a lot of design changes and more micro mistakes. Fast forward to present day, my team consists of 4 programmers, 1 UI/UX designer, 1 art director and 1 podcast manager. Everything that I make from Nasty Fit I pour into Connectful, so we are bootstrapped!
What is Nasty Fit?: Nasty Fit is a fitness apparel brand that I created at 18 years old for women to look the best, feel the best and become the best. We're mainly known for our Contour leggings, they're extremely flattering!
How does fitness play a part in your mental health journey?: Fitness definitely does play a part in my mental health! Moving my body, sweating and becoming stronger is all something that positively affects me. However, I would say that the most important piece of my mental health is being internally aligned and in a state of peace and gratitude. It's easy to get caught up in work and external "stuff," but what really makes me feel the absolute best is being self-aware at all times.
How does your personal upbringing influence the work you do today?: I've always followed my heart over succumbing to fears, I think part of it is just in my DNA. I've had a bit of a "different" type of upbringing because my ambition to do the things I wanted to do often clashed with what my parents wanted me to do, so that did cause some tension in my high school years. I experienced a lot of naysaying and the "I will prove you wrong" mindset growing up, which I do think contributes to that initial motivation I had.
What does a typical day look like for you?: Oh goodness. If I'm going to the gym that morning, I typically wake up at 5:30am, take a cold shower then head to the gym. I try to get home by 8am to start my work day which carries onto 11pm PST. Now, I of course have breaks in between there to eat food, do some social media work and anything else that I do for my breaks. Ever since Connectful launched, it has been quite difficult balancing everything, but with practice I will hopefully get better at it.
Advice for your 16 year old self?: I would tell myself to use my intuition and that whenever I would get that gut feeling, it was my body signaling that something is wrong or that I shouldn't be engaging in something that I'm planning to. I would tell myself to listen to my body and use it as a compass for my decisions and actions. I would also tell myself that how others see me doesn't matter - learn to fall in love with yourself and those negative voices in your head will slowly subside.