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Tanja Đido
Episode · #267

RITAM POSLA Tanja Džido

Guest Tanja ĐidoHosted by Lidija KiseljakMay 3, 2026
About this episode
What you'll hear in this conversation

Tanja Đido didn't set out to be an entrepreneur. She envisioned a corporate career, rising through agencies and companies. But when her own rapid growth outpaced the roles available to her, she found herself needing a new path — one that could accommodate her diverse talents in PR, digital marketing, and education. This unexpected turn led her to found "Šefica," a platform dedicated to empowering women, a mission deeply personal to her. Her journey, from navigating traditional expectations to fostering collaboration across continents, offers a sharp look at what it takes to build a business that serves a larger purpose. She shares how the markets in Chicago, London, and Zagreb each demand a different approach to sales and partnership, and why true empowerment starts with challenging ingrained societal norms. By the end, you'll be reflecting on how your own growth might be pointing you toward an unexpected venture, and what it truly means to collaborate, not just compete.

Insights from the conversation
What to take from this episode
01
Tanja Đido "never saw herself as an entrepreneur," always wanting a corporate career within agencies and corporations. Sometimes, the path to independent work isn't a long-held ambition, but an unexpected necessity when your personal growth outpaces the roles available to you.
02
Her parents raised her with the advice: "don't let anyone talk about you, good or bad; just don't stand out from the average." This traditional upbringing, common for women, creates a direct conflict with the demands of modern business, where visibility and self-promotion are essential for growth.
03
The "Šefica" portal naturally arose from Tanja's mission to empower women, specifically addressing the common struggle for them to talk about themselves and promote their work. The most resonant projects often emerge not from a market analysis, but from a personal frustration with a widely felt societal gap.
04
In Chicago, Tanja observed "a lot of mutual cooperation and openness" among women's initiatives, which collectively pressured employers and legislation for better conditions. This kind of unified front, where competitors see shared goals, is what truly moves a market, rather than individual efforts alone.
05
London's market is "far stricter and far more closed," with 15-20 minute sales meetings focused on a precise plan, contrasting sharply with Croatia's hour-long "coffee sales" built on relationships. Your sales approach, whether direct or relationship-driven, is a cultural artifact: an asset in one market, a liability in another.
06
Many people, Tanja included, initially assume online conferences are simpler to organize than in-person events — no venue, no catering. But the apparent simplicity masks a new layer of logistical complexity and risk, especially when managing twenty speakers connecting from different parts of the world.
07
Tanja chose an independent path because she needed "diversity" in her work, combining PR, digital marketing, and education, due to her "very different affinities." For some, true career growth isn't about climbing higher in one domain, but expanding horizontally into multiple disciplines, driven by a personal need for breadth.
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