This week, we ran away on the adventure that is entrepreneurial life with Co-Founder and Creative Director of Misadventures Magazine, Zoe Balaconis. A woman whose obsession with the outdoors and travel saw her fill a serious niche in the magazine market where most outdoor mags were only speaking to men who wanted to push themselves out there, Zoe decided that this was a situation she must disrupt! We hear more on who and what drives her to inspire other women, hungry to eat up the world and every big crazy, epic challenge it has to offer.
OC: It’s a sexy word that FEELS BIG, but what does the new breed of “entrepreneur” really mean in your world?
ZB: It means those who bring new voices and new perspectives to industries that have been, and in many cases continue to be, homogenous at the leadership level.
OC: What’s your elevator tweet?
ZB: Misadventures is an outdoor and adventure mag by and for women.
OC: You open your eyes, take a deep breath, what gets you movin’ to meet the sun?
ZB: The sun! I’m pretty sure I photosynthesize.
OC: WE ARE STALKING YOU {in a loving, totes not creepy way} – what will we see?
ZB: You’ll see me doing lots of random handstands throughout the day, some reckless city biking, and quite a bit of me lugging my laptop to new places to get a change of scenery (a cemetery! a park! a tree!). On the weekend, I try to be on the water, either surfing or on a boat or just floating on my back.
OC: You’re a fictional character = who + why?
ZB: This is a tough one. I’ve been rereading The Odyssey this summer (the ultimate beach[ed] book. I’ve been identifying quite a bit with Telemachus this time around. He wants to strike out on his own, but is also feeling a strong pull from home and a desire to learn about his roots. Things can look tough, at times, but he gets signs at just the right moment that make him pretty sure the gods are on his side.
OC: What’s the brick wall challenge you are scalin’ like a ninja right now?
ZB: I have many professional roles that I’m juggling at the moment, and the balls haven’t dropped yet.
OC: EPIC books + podcasts that have blown the matrix of your mind?
ZB: I love the She Explores podcast. Gale Straub is a friend and an inspiration.
OC: What’s your coffee religion and how do you worship?
ZB: I’m a tea drinker! As soon as I get up I put the pot on, stretch until the whistle, then prepare my first (of many) cup of PG Tips.
OC: Insta quote that has you stroking your white cat + planning world domination?
ZB: It was a Julia Child quotation, which is even better because I get to imagine her voice when I think of it.
“Find something you’re passionate about and stay tremendously interested in it.”
OC: You get your very own misty, dream sequence in a movie of your life, where 3 people alive or dead come to you like the ghosts of the Christmas past, present, future – who makes the cut?
ZB: Helen Mirren, Frida Kahlo, Mary Leaky