Collection: The Good Leaders Podcast
Good Leaders Podcast Episode 6 – Yonca Braeckman: ‘It never felt like an option, to me, to not lead’
At Pioneers Post, we’re interested in a specific kind of leader: those who are both trying to make a difference and doing business differently. In our Good Leaders podcast, founding editor Tim West meets some of the best and brightest of social enterprise, impact investing and mission-driven business for a series of candid conversations – expect to be surprised.
This month: Yonca Braeckman, founder and CEO of Impact Shakers, speaks to Tim West about what it means to build an impact ecosystem, and shares her experience as a social entrepreneur and investor in underrepresented founders.
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There are only a few days left before the Impact Shakers summit in Brussels – which its organisers describe as “Europe's first big startup event focusing on inclusive entrepreneurship and impact”. But what does “inclusive entrepreneurship and impact” actually mean?
In this episode, Tim West speaks to Yonca Braeckman, CEO and co-founder of Impact Shakers, about what drove her to want to build an “impact ecosystem”. She also recounts her career path from a Belgian chip-shop to social entrepreneurship – which took her to the pre-2008 banking sector, and virtual reality filmmaking in New York along the way.
For me, it's all about being kind and caring
Being a good leader? “For me, it's all about being kind and caring,” says Braeckman. Being too caring can also prompt her to take on too much – although she admits she performs well under pressure: “It never felt like an option, to me, to not lead… I'm good in crisis situations… when big challenges arise, I go into some type of problem-solving mode, and move on.”
Pioneers Post is a media partner of the Impact Shakers Summit.
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