About me

Hi,

In addition to the formal introduction at Goaleurope, here you can find a few randomly selected facts about me.

I’ve been running Goaleurope properly since 2004. Before that I’ve done “large corporations” bit and “traveling around” bit since 1997, when I arrived from Siberia to sleepy Zurich to work for Unisys. After a year snowboarding and working in finance, I moved to the UK to spend the next 8 years learning to speak British English.

From 2004 onwards my UK work permit was no longer dependent on Unisys, and I decided to try out running my own business. Since then its been like running a marathon – in a circle. Inspired by my Professor of Entrepreneurship John Bates of London Business School I have started Goaleurope as advisory firm, focusing originally on technology and outsourcing (something I knew very well from Unisys) and Eastern Europe (something – unlike Switzerland – that changes so rapidly, you can never claim you know it through and through).

The great visionary idea was to find exciting Russian technologies and help make them successful through hard work, luck and much cleverness. So I have learned a great deal about active millimeter wave weapon detection technology, diamond making machines, wireless sensors, fiber lasers and acoustic emission to mention but a few. Some projects are still ongoing, whilst others got simply unmanageable. Even a “cultural bridge” like myself might still struggle with the intricacy of Russian decision making (how do you explain a reasoning behind refusing money to turn a patent into a operational prototype of a new-generation body scanner?)

Still, do let me know if you want a bag or two of yellow diamonds, will you?

England and London were fun for a long time, but then the nature called, literally, and I found myself in countryside. In Germany. What happened is I visited Kenya for a bit of relaxing (much needed after the ongoing marathons). I met Michael there, and he convinced me that the life with him in the Northern Germany is just what I dreamed of all my life. So in 2006 I moved to be with him.

Michael and I now sail Olympic class catamaran in the North Sea, hang out with his large family, train our Main Coon cats new tricks, invest in a clean energy, recycle, and run our respective businesses.

Once in a while I do miss my friends, outrageous Jonathan Ross, Sunday Times, small talk and Cotswold stones. However once a German weekend newspaper made me laugh, I look positively at my future here.

email: natasha.starkell(at)goaleurope.com