The Unwrapped Series - Virginia Stagni
Hosted by Anastasia Baklushina ⭐
Ever wondered how you can bring your ideas to life within the already established corporations? 🤔
Our today’s guest, Virginia Stagni, Head of Business Development at the Financial Times, proves by her own example that it is indeed possible to become an intrapreneur at the one of the world’s leading global business newspapers, and even more - shows that these companies are actually willing to offer space to young creative and entrepreneurial minds. 🙌🏻🪄
Alongside her main role, Virginia is the Founder and Director of FT Talent Challenge programme, which she launched back in 2018 to invite youth with diverse experiences to change the future of media. 📰 She was previously named as the youngest Business Development Manager in the 135-years history of the FT, and is in Forbes Italia 30 under 30 list (2021) & Fortune 40 under 40 list (2021).
Virginia’s entrepreneurial path has started long before her current role at the FT. As Bocconi university student, she had an experience of founding digital editorial platform Revolart and Bolognadasballo tour guides project. One of her most recent ventures was GoodSaints, a fairtrade sustainable start-up. 💫
Virginia graduated from MSc in Media and Communications from the London School of Economics (2016) and BSc in Economics and Management for Art, Culture and Communications from Bocconi University (2015). 🎓
Become the next digital news revolutioniser: ⚡
Timestamps:
1:36 - Who is Viriginia Stagni?
1:54 - Virginia’s start at LSE
2:19 - Landing in front of the Financial Times office
5:06 - Entrepreneurship vs. intrapreneurship
9:33 - Shifting your mindset from employee to entrepreneur
10:59 - Virginia’s ethical mental health startup
13:43 - How did Viriginia’s LSE masters help her journalism career?
17:40 - The power of good journalism
18:26 - How a newspaper led to a full merit scholarship
20:58 - Carving your niche
21:25 - Creating a new role at the FT
22:20 - A typical day in Virginia’s life
26:35 - Reading through thousands of CVs
29:03 - Why the younger generation is the future of journalism
32:20 - The inspiration behind Virigina’s book: COVID?
34:12 - A higher-level look: why specialists have to help each other
38:04 - Virginia’s advice for LSE students
Shoutout to Jessica Ge for producing this episode! 🕺