Emilija Vukovic: Women love Money

Sounds a little off, doesn’t it?
Almost inappropriate.

But what if the headline were:

Men love money. Would it make more sense? Would it catch your attention, or would you just glance over it as a common fact?

‍

During my career, I’ve met a lot of amazing women — heroines, scientists, mothers, fighters, entrepreneurs… sometimes I met all of them in one woman.

And I cannot describe how many times they were selling themselves short.
I did it too.

The hardest part of my journey wasn’t getting good at my job, working long hours, or organizing a babysitter to come at 4 a.m. because my meeting was at 5 a.m. and my son would wake up by 6 (thank you, time-zone-struggle fantasy experience).
It was learning how to value my own expertise and time in the same way I valued others’.

Money is the currency that provides both pleasures and essentials in my life.
If I could pay my bills with a smile, I would.
But we live in a material world.
And I don’t have the luxury of working for free.
Neither do you.

I’m not going to lie — it was hard managing those feelings. There was always something feeding my inner insecurities.

I would return from Saudi Arabia, where we landed a six-figure consultancy gig for one of the biggest companies in the world…
I would open an email telling me I had passed my final PhD exam (proud nerd here, with a 10.0 score)…
I would sit at closed roundtable discussions in Russia…
and still, I’d walk into a meeting where someone would ask me to prepare their coffee, assuming I was the assistant of some “big shot” about to arrive.

Why?
Because I’m young, I’m blonde, I like to dress up — and they hadn’t done their homework of who is coming.

I had to remind myself: maybe I don’t sit at the front of the table, but I know my place at it.

After working on countless projects, running a nonprofit for breast cancer patients, co-authoring a book, doing business in Asia, Russia, and the Middle East…
People would still refer to me as “that young girl who has plenty of time ahead of her.”

I’m 34.
In some rooms, I’m “too young.”
In others, I’m “too old.”
The message is the same: I don’t fit in.

Sometimes, I’d get offers for projects where the idea was simple: Work for free.

I am invited to share my expertise and knowledge, develop MVP, procedures and arrange investments…
and then, when we raise $100M, I’d be compensated accordingly.

Because, of course, everyone has “the most brilliant idea in the world,” and my job is “just to make it happen.”

Easy, right?

But here’s the thing.

I started working at 18.
I spent 5 years in market research, becoming a Research Executive before moving into a senior management role in a private hospital system.
I worked in Zurich as a business developer for a biotech incubator and accelerator.
I ran a Web3 Supercluster.
I co-founded a private healthcare center (my first business exit — yay, me).
I worked on projects for some of the biggest companies in the world (look it up on my LinkedIn).
I am a doctor of medicine, writing my PhD dissertation on the use of blockchain in healthcare.
I’ve spoken at over a hundred conferences worldwide.

I am loyal.
I will give it my all.
And I play to win.

We will finish first.
But I don’t race for free anymore.

It was a long journey just to reach this starting line.

Wasn’t it?

I know you’ve had a rocky path too.
You were afraid.
You were tired.
You were frustrated.
And yet, you showed up when it mattered.

I know how valuable you are.
So let this be your reminder — you should know it too.

Don’t back down.
Not for you, not for me.
Not for us.

Honey is made by female bees.
Don’t stop.
Go as high as you can go — and when you get there, pull someone else up with you.
Take what you deserve.

There’s always room at the top if you started from the bottom.

So…
Ready.
Set.
Go get them, girl.

‍