We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Polina Kirichuk. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Polina below.
Hi Polina, thank you so much for opening up with us about some important, but sometimes personal topics. One that really matters to us is overcoming Imposter Syndrome because we’ve seen how so many people are held back in life because of this and so we’d really appreciate hearing about how you overcame Imposter Syndrome.
To be frank—I haven’t yet overcome it completely, as I believe it is a continuous journey and challenge that I am tackling every day of my entrepreneurial life. But I will be happy to share some of the insights that have helped me to become confident at what I do which is being a founder of a sex-positive brand nympho life. Here they are:
1) Change the environment that does not nurture your confidence.
Growing up in Belarus, I was taught in school that there is only one “right” way to do things and only one “right” belief system, and if you dare to think differently or disagree, you will be punished. As a business owner, you ought to do things differently, ask WHY and how to change things for the better. I moved to Prague, Czech Republic, right after finishing high school and it was the best decision I have made. Changing the environment to one where I feel free and accepted was paramount in building confidence.
2) Surround yourself with people and collaborators who genuinely support you.
Whether it is your partner, family member, friends or your industry folks, it is extremely important to have someone in your life who celebrates your wins and sees greatness within you, even at times when you don’t see it yourself. I can only recommend connecting with fellow entrepreneurs because no one will understand you better than someone who is also on this journey.
3) Stop never-ending competitor research, look for inspiration outside your industry.
As someone who is very design-oriented, I LOVE looking at beautifully crafted branding, websites, newsletters, product photography and thinking “Woah, this is sooo good, can I ever get this level? Can my website look as good?” Comparison is a killer of progress and getting things done. If you are someone like me who needs inspiration, try to at least learn best practices OUTSIDE your niche. After all, the true business inventiveness lies not in copying and repetition but in introducing novelty and innovations from other fields.
4) Do what scares you.
The best example here is public speaking or content creation where you are in the spotlight. I’m sorry, but there is no easy way to become confident in this besides actually doing it. And doing a lot of it and often. It will become less scary after you present your pitch 20 times in front of 1 person but then you would need to do it in front of 20 people on stage and it will be scary again. It is a muscle that you need to train but once you get a grip on that, it gets easier.
5) Understand that nobody “knows it all”.
A smart leader is the leader who hires even smarter people to help her/him. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and use every opportunity to learn from others, be curious. Maybe imposter syndrome persists because we have the idea of getting to the level of being an expert in literally everything and the way to get rid of it is to just accept that you don’t NEED to know everything but to have the strategy, vision, and passion.
Ultimately, the imposter syndrome isn’t a flaw—it’s a sign that you care about what you are investing yourself into and a desire to become better at it. Confidence isn’t about never doubting yourself; it’s about showing up anyway and overcoming your fears.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
Ever since I was a little girl, I have been fascinated with erotica. Blame it on the pre-internet era of the local LAN network which connected computers in my neighborhood and a mysterious user named “Cop” who generously opened access to his enormous archive of untitled .mov files with adult movies which I was entertained by and shocked by at times for years to come. Or late-night soft-core erotic films on the local TV channel I discovered while on vacation, getting to the hotel earlier than my parents did. Or accidentally seeing the glimpses of affection between my parents which showed me that being intimate with your partner is healthy and beautiful.
On the flip side, there were formative years of school in Belarus, with the school system reflecting the authoritarian, character-crushing regime of the state. I was a kind-hearted misfit who was expressing herself through makeup and clothing. When I came to school wearing red lipstick and red high-heeled shoes for Valentine’s Day, I was met with comparisons to a prostitute by the school officials. I was made clear that my WORTH as a person and student was reduced to my look and compliance with the system. I dedicated those challenging teenage years to fighting the system and protecting myself and others who suffered from oppression by a close-minded society for simply being themselves.
Those experiences plus my natural curiosity made me question the status quo. Why are my body autonomy and self-expression being challenged, labeled, or shamed? Why is there so much “bad” depiction of intimacy and a woman’s body—vulgar, tasteless, male-gazed? Why are we ashamed to talk about something that brings us so much pleasure?
I became passionate about finding answers. I found them through photography, art, articles, podcasts, books, movies, and poetry that bring a truly different perspective—on sexuality, femininity, and eroticism. I see a woman as a sacred goddess, the Greek nymph—fully in control and at peace with her sexual energy, the vital energy that creates life (literally and figuratively speaking). This is how the name ‘nympho life’ came about. I started writing my own narrative on how sexuality can be shown—by founding the community on Instagram dedicated to erotic photography and art. This community grew into something bigger than just curated content. It became a safe space for people to learn, ask questions, and share personal experiences. I learned a lot along the way too. And it became much more than my outlet for self-expression and sharing inspiration.
Over the years, nympho life has transformed into the Erotic Intelligence Hub dedicated to fostering conversations around sexuality & intimacy, celebrating erotic arts, offering knowledge & bedroom inspiration, and supporting creators and businesses in the sexual wellness space. The Hub includes the blog, podcast, directory of erotic artists and experiences, and recently relaunched store with carefully curated lingerie, pleasure and kink tools, digital guides and games. I invite you to give me your valuable feedback on the store and support our platform by purchasing products that get close to your heart at nympholife.com.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
The first skill that has helped me a lot in expressing my ideas is learning design tools. Back in the day, it was Photoshop and now I mostly use Canva and Shopify for websites. I used to find Photoshop tutorials on the Deviant Art forum (a forum!!! do you remember those?) and repeat them. It then helped me to visualize my ideas, create graphic content for social media, and land freelance jobs. I also designed my own website, which was a significant budget saver and means that I can implement changes easily and quickly, as I am able to do it myself.
The next skill is continuous learning. I watch videos or online courses or listen to podcasts every day to learn something new —while I’m jogging, working out, cooking, or doing my makeup. In the age of content creation and AI, it is a misstep not to benefit from the vast ocean of knowledge that is out there.
The last skill that is very crucial is not being afraid to reach out to people—from your industry and beyond. Ask about their journey, the challenges they have overcome, ask for advice. You would be surprised how many people would be happy to jump on a call and talk if they feel that it is important to you and they have some time to spare. Do not be discouraged if someone did not get back to you, we all have to juggle a lot of responsibilities in our lives. Always kindly follow up. Reaching out to people was scary to me but it is also a skill you can develop by practicing it consistently.
Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?
I have recently relaunched my online store with intimate wellness products. In my niche, which is highly censored and restricted, advertising opportunities are quite limited. I can’t advertise sex toys, bondage or erotic accessories directly on Meta, Google is quite restrictive too. So I had to find a workaround, and the solution I found was to advertise lingerie and, this way, drive traffic on my website where visitors can then discover the more spicy product range I am offering. Besides this, most of my professional life I have been focusing on brand marketing, positioning, content production, and traditional advertising. I have been purposefully avoiding digital marketing since numbers were not as sexy to me as branding or well-produced content. But in eCommerce, this is literally unavoidable. You need to understand data, KPIs, metrics, conversion optimization, how to strategize and test your hypothesis, and this is a completely new world to me that I am learning to navigate. I launched a campaign on Meta for one market, spent $200, got around 400 clicks, and only 1 purchase… My current challenge is to understand why my beautiful website I spent so much time on and put so much love in is… not selling!! So I am constantly watching videos on conversion optimization, making tweaks, and planning to book a few consultations with professionals who can help me solve this.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://nympholife.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nympho.life/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nymph0life
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/polinakirichuk/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@nympho_life
- Other: https://nympholife.com/pages/store
