Katri Teller is well known Estonian woman, who has made her own money and is a great example of how you don’t bear into wealth but you make your wealth with hard work. A story about a woman who believed that she can be successful and then became a millionaire.

Katri didn’t bear into a wealthy family, rather than a middle-wage family, who struggled from time to time with money. She and her two sisters got to enjoy childhood, according to Katri. But because of the family’s unstable money situation, they were moving from place to place almost every year without ever getting to settle in one place to call home. Even though times were tough from time to time for her family, it made her appreciate things and find creative solutions. Her mother played a big role in these trades because she would never blame “richer” people for their situation or make her hate wealthy people. Instead, she encouraged her children to think outside of the box and said to them if there is no other way there is always some way. This kind of thinking ensures that the children don’t grow up thinking that they would be at disadvantage compared to the rich people. But gives them the freedom to build their characteristics and the courage that they can do what they put their head to.

Katri’s first investment was in her 23’s. She had her eyes on a lovely apartment and was determined to get it. At that point in life, her salary was not that much and she was renting an apartment with her boyfriend of that time, but she was still able to get a loan for the apartment she wanted. She was confident about the investment, even though not all of her family was supporting her. In 2005 she bought the apartment and took a loan worth 1 million kroons and just in a year she was able to sell the apartment for around 2 million kroons and was left 1 million kroons to herself as a profit. Her instincts and her bravery to believe in herself were awarded and she became a millionaire.

After celebrating her profit she took another loan and invested part of her money in the next apartment. But in 2008 she faced a big drop when her apartment worth dropped under the loan amount and she had been making not-money-wise smart moves in her private financial life. She was in minus and it was time to learn. The crisis was on and Katri found many people struggling with money and falling from the top to the bottom. It was tough to see and it made her look at her situation as a lighter drop compared to the others who got hit hard. At those times she was working as a brands product manager in Campari under a known importer and during the crisis, her salary was not cut luckily. But she got a motivation to learn and went to study at Estonian Business School about business management. After graduating and gaining wisdom about money and business she wanted more out of her life. She became to dream of working abroad and getting more challenging work.

Determined to make a bigger change in her career-wise she messaged boldly the Campari Group international if they would want to employ her. It came as a surprise to them and there were unknown questions to be answered. Like, would how would she fit into their company and would she be the experienced and right person to lead the Scandinavian and Baltic areas. But she was bold and insisted on an interview for this position.

Unexpectedly she was given an interview for the position. The company flew her to Milano for the interview. The interview went well and she was hired for the position. Not only because of her interview skills but also because of her social skills. She was able to gain this work position because of her courage, bravery, and characteristics.

After the promotion she moved to Milano in 2013, to pursue a career. Working in a multicultural environment, she was responsible for leading Campari brand growth and success in Scandinavia and the Baltics. Not too long and the company decided to move her to work in London. Where the atmosphere was new and expensive. Regardless of the expenses, she was able to put money aside and invest it in the apartment market in Estonia. Thanks to those apartments that she rents and resells she has been able to grow her net worth and gain financial freedom. Even though most of her investments are in the apartments in Estonia, in the future she has been thinking of buying property outside of Estonia and looking more into other investing opportunities.

At the moment she is one of the most known Estonian women. Not only because of her success and money but also she has a podcast called Blondcast, where she encourages women and talks about well-being and life in general. She is also a known influencer in Estonia, having over 9 000 followers on her Instagram account.

It is inspirational to see this success, where a person goes from zero to ten. Just by working hard and believing in herself. It doesn’t matter where we come from or how much money we have, what matters is how determined we are and how much we believe in ourselves and trust our dreams. Also, her work is an inspiration for other women to pursue a career that is in today’s society needed.

Sources:

Toomas. 2022. Finantsivabadus. Investor Toomase ajakiri.

Teller K. 2021. Blondpodcast.