Meet Saana Allie, Founder of Saana Design Company
Meet Saana Allie, she is the Founder & CEO of Saana Design Company.
How do you stay motivated?
“I am asked this question often. The answer is deeply personal and sometimes reveals more about me than I want to share. But I’ve learned that people respect a complicated truth than a dismissive cocktail-party answer.
My family left behind a life of comfort to raise children in the US, and in doing so, chose a spartan life that swapped out riches for safety and opportunity. I grew up in New York City, a place as gritty as it is gratifying. I learned by osmosis that it doesn’t matter where you come from or what you look like - all that matters is how hard you are willing to work. With the support of brave and bold parents, I pushed past a patriarchal mindset and forged my own path. Graduate degrees, professional success and financial security are conventional metrics for success but I am most proud of my spiritual attainment. The most important work to me has always derived from my moral compass. I have always been quick to call out exploitation and wrongfulness and as I grew into my own person, it was clear the advocate in me would not be silenced.
I started Saana Design Company with Whitney Jennings. We spent months learning how to run a business and crafting a business model. As we witnessed incredible accomplishments and courage from women, we knew our company had to participate in our generation’s fight for women’s empowerment. We infused each design and business decision with this ethos.
It is not easy - there are moments when I cry from exhaustion - but I hope to make the most of the resources available to me because of my parents and create a brand + community with a positive impact on women’s lives in the future. And one day I hope to say I followed in the footsteps of my heroes.
In June of 1928, just before she would embark on her first TransAtlantic flight as a passenger, Amelia Earhart sent a telegram to her mother. It read “Don’t worry. No matter what happens, it will have been worth the trying.”
There is nothing more compelling, nothing more motivating. ”
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