by Google
Michaela Dhiman is one of the most prominent Slovak influencers and entrepreneurs, known for her approach to taboo topics such as sexuality and education. In our interview, she shared with us how she got started with influencer marketing, why it's important to talk openly about relationships and mental health, and the challenges of her Sex Education podcast ". Miška also revealed to us the behind-the-scenes of building an authentic community and her plans for expansion abroad.
Hello Miska, how are you?
Quick but perfect.
Who is Miska? If you were to introduce yourself to someone who doesn't know you, what would you tell them about yourself?
I'm a young, successful, ambitious woman, haha. I'm an entrepreneur and influencer at the same time, I'm on the Sex Education podcast and I like to talk about topics that are taboo, either in my personal life or on the podcast.
What were your first steps in the world of social networks or in the media?
It probably started more seriously in college. I worked for Bubbleology, and as far as the media is concerned, during college I was already on the university radio station, on the university TV station, and then I was also a presenter for Bubbleology on their YouTube channel. There I discovered that maybe I enjoy marketing more than the media. Then, when Snapchat came to Slovakia, I founded Snapchat for Bubbleology and managed it and came up with some marketing activities. At school, I also switched from mass media to marketing, and there I started going to some internships in different agencies in different positions.
When did your "Instagramming" turn into an influencer? Do you also remember your first collaboration?
In my opinion, when I reached 10 TIS. so I could already say it. It was definitely after the beginning of Sex Education. My first collaboration was Tatrakon pâtés and I received €50. It was a long time ago, I had very few followers, I think about 2000.
How did you get to work with so many followers?
I think it was also because I was so active on Instagram, and that I devoted myself to those social networks. I also had a Michellegraphy social profile and I gave a lot of such lectures where I educated about social networks.
How do you choose collaborations? What are your criteria?
Depending on when they give the deadline, when I can handle it, haha. But it has to be a brand that I use or can imagine using. I don't take something I don't use. Now, for example, I was approached by a diary, but I've been using a different diary for several years, so I don't want to graduate from it completely. So only those things that I actively use, I will graduate.
Is there anything you would definitely not graduate?
It's hard to say, but I certainly wouldn't graduate from a political party I wouldn't vote for. I don't have a problem with politics as a promo, but it has to be someone I vote for. And probably something that wouldn't make sense to me, that wouldn't be believable and wouldn't be in line with my values.
Do you think you have crossed the line of sharing your personal life? If so, would you have done it differently?
After every single interview, I said this to myself. Before, I had it after every single podcast, every single episode, and now I have it after almost every interview, that I say to myself, Jesus Mary, I revealed this again. I don't know where the line is, I'm pushing it myself. I don't have that limit set somehow, but so far it's always had good reviews. Whenever I say to myself that this was too much or that I am ashamed of something, a lot of people always write to me that finally someone is talking about it. 
What surprised you the most about the work of an influencer?
Probably still those clients who simply enter things late , they don't give complete briefs, they don't know what they want, so probably the client's approach. But I wouldn't say that it surprised me, because I used to work in agencies and because we deal with those clients for a longer time at Sexual Education, so it doesn't surprise me, I'm more surprised that it's still happening.
What do hate comments do to you? Does it affect you?
Mostly no. It happens that I have a bad day and something hits me, but mostly not. Because I've been in the media for a long time and eight years ago I was in Shopping Maniacs, where I had a million hates on me, so that also trained me. Even at university, I was many times in our newspaper, on the radio, I had some interviews there and so on. I was also trained by the fact that I worked at Refresher as a community manager, where I was in charge of deleting comments and regulating it. It happens that it surprises me that I say to myself, "you seriously hate this kind of thing". I have a very nice community from the beginning, and even if I get some hate, my community usually stands up for me and responds to the haters more than I do, and that always makes me happy. 
Has your marriage affected your career? Did it happen that they didn't want to cooperate with you because of cultural differences?
In my opinion, they just want to, because the videos I make with my husband are very funny, with his broken Slovak it's always great and they also have the best results on my profile. Since we are a couple, it has already happened that I had a collaboration just because it was some kind of couple collaboration. So they want, or those who would reject us won't even write to us, so we won't even know.
Recently with the Sex Education podcast, you got 2 sponsors in Jam Levov's show, whose idea was it to sign up for this show?
We got an invitation, as it were, because a friend recommended us there, and we said of course, we are definitely going to TV. But we auditioned there already last year, and we would have gotten there, we would have passed the audition, but it was a period shortly after Vala left and we still hadn't fully resolved the accounting and we were so hrr. We knew that when we went into it, we wanted to do it properly. We were preparing that application for several months and we needed to prepare more for it, so we rejected it then. I arranged for Puneet, my husband, to go there instead of us and he got the investment then. And now I don't know if we contacted them or they contacted us, anyway we knew that we would try again in a year.
What does this mean for the Sex Education podcast? Will anything change?
A lot of work, haha. A lot of accounting and a lot of paperwork. For now, we are meeting with investors, we are solving what will be involved, how much it will cost, we are solving our ideas, how fast it will be, how much money we need for it, we are solving the details of the contract and all the accounting, because we have to hand it all over, from the beginning of the company . They have to go through the whole thing, it's called Due Diligence, they have to go through the whole thing from a legal point of view, whether we have any loans, whether everything is in order with former people and so on. So we clean up all the accounting and legal aspects and deal with the details of the contract, and when we sign it, the money comes to us and we start working on all the things we agree on. 
Are there any negatives, such as being told no to something?
It depends on what exact % we agree on, what exact share they will have, but we will try not to do that. Of course, the influence is there, but more like pressure to perform. There will definitely be an influence on some bigger decisions, but I can't judge that at the moment. For now, we see only positives there, because the know-how and the individual meetings are extremely inspiring and move us forward.
What does the Sexual Education podcast mean to you personally?
For me personally, it's completely a mission, it's something that I found myself in, that I enjoy, it's a part of my life and it's not just my job for me, but it's something that I really fulfilling. It gives meaning to my life, because I see the real results and the social impact that the podcast has and I am very happy that it has a business impact at the same time, but at the same time it also helps a lot of people.
Why do you think it is important to open taboo topics? Do you think it also stems from your conservative upbringing?
I personally think, but that's just my guess, that I have it this way precisely because I come from such a conservative family. We never talked about such things, so maybe I missed it and that's why I'm talking about it now. To a certain extent, it can also be a bit of rebellion against the closedness and inauthenticity of my parents. It's very important to talk about it because it's a natural part of our lives and when we don't talk about it, not only about sex but also about relationship topics, relationship problems and health problems, there's a lot of shame associated with it and people feel they think they are the only one and are afraid to ask for help. Even yesterday, the grandmother told me in an interview that her friend went to the doctor thanks to us, because she had a urinary tract infection, and this is why we do it, so that people don't feel alone and get answers to their questions.
Have you ever wanted to completely stop Sexual Education?
Never. Really. Even though Vala told me that she was quitting the podcast, it never crossed my mind for a second that I would quit too. If Denis hadn't joined me, I would have either done it myself or found another moderator, but I certainly wouldn't have stopped it. It's hard sometimes, mentally or financially, but I've never thought about quitting.
Do you somehow separate Misha from Misha from Sexual Education?
No, it is very, very closely connected. Sexual education is really not just my job, but I live it, I think about it non-stop, I deal with it, so I don't separate it.
What does Miška do when she is not an influencer or doing Sex Education?
I have very few hobbies, almost none. My hobby is my job, and I realize that's not quite right. I started working out, so sometimes some yoga, fitness, Netflix...but most of the time when I'm not working, I spend with my husband.
What activities do you and your husband have in common?
We go to the gym together. By doing these collaborations together, we record, at the same time, we also have very closely connected businesses, that I am a member of the supervisory board in his business and I help him. Puneet, on the other hand, helps me with Sexual Education by DJing for us at events or being in some videos and so on. We are united by common ambition and purposefulness, that's why we like to talk about our businesses and ideas, where we want to take it, and that's such a bonding activity for us. And Netflix, classic.
What are you planning for the future? Also regarding Sexual Education personally.
As for Sexual Education, we plan to finalize everything with investors and then we plan to start making content in English and expand abroad. And, of course, tap the app that we presented in Jama Levová. As for me personally, I would like to profile myself a little more as a businesswoman, learn more about it, maybe attend more workshops, self-development, mentoring and so on. Mainly the self-development, I now also have a couch and I plan to spend a lot of time with it and achieve my personal goals. I would also like to include sport more in my life so that it is a natural part of me and travel more and go to India with my husband.
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