A decade in developer marketing at Microsoft and TigerData taught Lucie Šimečková how to do the work. It didn't teach her how to sell it. When she went freelance after parental leave, sales and client outreach were completely new territory, and her Femme Palette mentor became the person who helped her figure it out, one partnership contact at a time. Read on!
A child falls asleep. You have two hours. For Lucie Pazderská, that was enough to start finding her way back into a senior marketing career after parental leave, without waiting for a full-time return or a grand plan. She skipped the all-or-nothing comeback most people assume they need, took it in small, flexible steps instead, and ended up somewhere she didn't expect: a job-shared Senior Brand Manager role she actually loves. Here's what that path really looked like.
Most adults can name the last time they made a close friend without trying, and can't quite explain why it never happened again. Turns out it's not about you, it's structural: the things that made friendship easy (school, dorms, a first job full of other new people) quietly disappear after your twenties, and this piece gets into why, plus what actually works instead.
Bettina Guirkinger works with global companies to stop losing women after maternity leave, and lately she's focused that work on keeping women in tech. This year, mid-pivot from a B2C to a B2B business model, she needed the same kind of support she gives others. Here's what came out of being matched with her mentor, Zuzana, including the moment she almost talked herself into a 9-to-5.
The number that talks most people out of a career change is almost always wrong. Most people who want something different never even send an application, they just do the math on years left and quietly give up. Here's what the UK data actually says about switching careers at 30, 40, and well beyond.
Aleksandra Arutsiunian has spent over a decade in travel technology, leading international teams and global partnerships. But it is her work as a Femme Palette mentor that she talks about with the most warmth. In this spotlight, she opens up about how she came into mentoring almost by accident, why first-time leaders are her favourite people to work with, and the lesson about confidence that her mentees keep teaching her.
You have the idea. You have the skills. You are just waiting until you feel ready. Here is the truth no one says out loud: that moment is not coming. This guide is for female founders and aspiring entrepreneurs who are done waiting and ready to start building, with practical tips on everything from pricing and money to finding a mentor and surviving the first year.
As the founder of Semínkovna, Klára had years of experience building communities and leading educational projects. But when it came to transforming that expertise into sustainable online learning, she knew she needed a different perspective. Through the Femme Palette mentoring program, she refined her course design, gained confidence in pricing and communicating the value of her work, and began thinking not only as an educator but also as the creator of valuable intellectual property. In this Mentee Spotlight, she shares how mentoring helped turn knowledge into meaningful, sustainable impact.
After being promoted to Grocery National Account Manager at Harry's Grooming Ltd., Lauren Hayward knew she wanted to grow beyond mastering day-to-day tasks. Through mentoring, she strengthened her confidence, developed her leadership skills, and learned to approach difficult conversations with clarity. In this Mentee Spotlight, she shares how having an outside perspective helped her communicate more effectively, challenge self-doubt, and step into her new role with confidence.
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