Introducing…our latest venture. Mpowered is a podcast made by women for women. Our aim is to spark conversation, to create podcasts that you can listen to while getting ready for work, during your morning run, while you’re commuting in the car (or anywhere, really!). Most importantly, our aim for these podcasts is for women to inspire other women.
Hosted by Trudy Kerr, this podcast will bring you inspirational women and their stories, their successes, and their experiences, good and bad, that they’ve gone through along the way. We launched our first podcast with none other than the story of Mvintage’s Founder and Director, Krystle Penza.
Krystle explains how Mvintage comes from very humble roots. Mvintage started from scratch. It wasn’t always big shops and displays. Krystle’s journey all started nine years ago. Her passion was always retail with a special interest in jewellery. Designing her own collection was the dream but to get there she had to take it one step at a time.
‘I remember it was crazy. I went back home with a space for a kiosk, but the collection was not ready yet! I already had Francesca when we opened the kiosk. Most people there remember me as the woman with the red pushchair behind the kiosk. I used to put a throw on the floor so that Francesca could play, and I could still run my business’.
Krystle admits that she was not the ‘typical’ mother to her daughter Francesca.
‘I feel that, as women, there’s a lot of pressure put on us to be the perfect mothers and the perfect wives. Sometimes, I felt bad for not being present for Francesca in the way most mothers are. However, I believe that I’m present in different ways. I teach her what it means to work hard and what it means to be successful. She’s part of the company and the team. She’s with me everyday and she knows everyone on the team’.
We all have bad days, Krystle included.
‘There were a lot of bad days, especially at the start of my business. I was 29 years old, and from an outsider’s point of view, I left a good paying job with an established company, simply to chase a dream. It took me five years to finally start seeing some profit from my many investments. However, I always believed in myself. The only person who can truly believe in you is yourself’.
Being a few days after Mother’s Day, Krystle speaks about how her mother taught her resilience and about how she invested in her education because she strongly believed in it. A defining moment between Krystle and her mother was when her mother told her how proud she was of her. Being a mother herself, Krystle wants her daughter to know that it’s all about finding your happiness.
‘My mother always told me that if you’re not happy with one glass of water, how can you be happy with two? I want my daughter to know that it’s ok to take risks and to go through hard experiences in life because they will make you who you are. I was the person no one would bet on succeeding but with my own determination, I got there. I want my daughter, and all women out there to know, that if I can do it, anyone can’.
When asked where she sees Mvintage in the future, Krystle says that the sky has no limit!
‘Mvintage is a community of women who work together. I am the captain of the ship, but I would be nothing without my team. I was lucky to meet such a brilliant team who I now consider family. We are all fully determined to see Mvintage grow’.
Listen to the first episode of Mpowered and get ready for more inspiring stories coming your way.
