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I couldn’t wait to sit down with Anais Cisneros for this episode of the Make Space for Growth podcast. Anais is the co-founder (now solo founder) of Amela, a private network supporting aspiring and scaling entrepreneurs, with a mission rooted in uplifting women. But what struck me most is how her story is a powerful testament to preparation, purpose, and the reality that no matter how prepared we are, we’ll always face new challenges to figure out.
This is a conversation about becoming—about growing from a young girl who found freedom in books, to a global business leader crafting opportunities for others to do the same.
From Peru to Europe: Preparing, Always
As a child growing up in Peru, Anais loved reading. In her words:
“Through books I was able to go to different places.”
They were her window into the world—into jungles in the Philippines, the streets of New York, and countless cultures far beyond Lima. Looking back, she sees now how she was always preparing.
Driven by curiosity and a dream to become a “business woman” (before she even knew the word entrepreneur and inspired by her own Mum), Anais set her sights far beyond home. She moved to the Netherlands at just 17, later earned her MBA at INSEAD, and built a career spanning consulting, operating roles in tech companies, and venture capital. Each step gave her a new tool: the structure and problem-solving of consulting, the operational confidence to know she could build herself, and the investor’s perspective on incentives, financing, and scale.
But as she wisely points out:
“No matter how many jobs you do, you will still face challenges.”
Founding Amela: From Frustration to Vision
Anais didn’t start out wanting to build a platform to support entrepreneurs—she had actually planned to build a fintech. But after years spent in boardrooms as one of the only women, and then seeing venture capital teams that felt like “three Martins” (as she jokes), the gender gap became too obvious to ignore.
So she launched Amela, a network designed to increase entrepreneurs’ chances of success—especially women’s. Amela helps founders leapfrog the steepest learning curves by providing courses on building MVPs, fundraising, and more, alongside mentorship, events, and the invaluable support of community.
It is important to say that the journey wasn’t linear. Anais had to pivot from focusing only on women founders (too small a pool to build a sustainable business) to serving aspiring women founders and, founders more broadly, evolving from “community” to “network”—because as she says, a community might mean connection, but a network delivers structured, tangible value.
She also navigated the painful but necessary step of continuing without her original co-founder. The result? A stronger sense of her own why, and a platform better positioned to support thousands of future founders.
Lessons from the Entrepreneurial Journey
Anais’s story is full of wisdom for anyone building something new—or even thinking about it. Here are some takeaways I loved from our conversation:
✅ Your story is always preparing you. From reading under Peruvian skies to international skies, each step made Anais who she needed to be.
✅ Challenges are inevitable. Preparation helps, but “no amount of preparation is sufficient.” The real work is figuring it out when things go wrong.
✅ Build networks early. Anais’s career advanced because of communities—from her MBA cohort to entrepreneurial groups to global networks that helped her shortcut learning curves.
✅ Be decisive and clear. Her leadership is marked by decisiveness and empathy—ensuring people know what’s expected while caring about the whole person.
✅ Ask for help—and be specific. Anais is candid that she didn’t ask for help enough at first. Now she knows: people want to help, but you need to be clear about what you need. As an investor in her business I see this one very close, as she is directive and practical in her requests for help.
The Heart of Anais: Joy, Balance & Big Dreams
What makes Anais remarkable isn’t just her strategic clarity—it’s how she infuses her days with simple joys. Her perfect day starts with coffee, a walk, barre or Pilates, and ends with cooking dinner and calling her mom. Somewhere in between, she’ll coach entrepreneurs who share their dreams—and beam when someone shares a testimonial. She admits balance is elusive, and probably is more in line with my preferred term “flow”. Wisely, she surrounds herself with accountability partners so she protects the space she needs to recharge.
Join the Conversation
Anais’s journey is a reminder that entrepreneurship is less about having all the answers and more about having the resilience to keep finding them—paired with a strong why.
What did you take away from this episode? Are you ready to choose your hard and start building something of your own?
Share your thoughts in the comments—I’d love to hear your story.
Anais’s List
- Book: The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz
- Quote: “Choose your hard.”
- Word of the Year: Joy
Get to Know Anais
🔗 Explore Amela
🔗 Follow Anais on LinkedIn