Vania, you founded Zurich’s street food festival, run a Christmas and design market, co-own a café and you’ve also been a DJ and a copywriter, to name a few of your professions. How would you describe yourself?
It took me a while before I realised what I actually am, but today, I call myself a creative entrepreneur. I was a so-called ‘slash professional’ and worked as a DJ slash graphic designer slash writer slash... Someone actually had to tell me that what I was doing was really entrepreneurship in a creative way.
Vania Kukleta by Nico Schaerer
What does your work look like and what do you like best about being an entrepreneur?
For me being an entrepreneur is also being sort of an activist. I can use my own ideas, develop them, be active and try to make them work. That’s also why I wouldn’t want to work for someone else. It’s great to be able to do the things that truly suit me and develop events that I can recommend to my friends with all my heart. Being an entrepreneur also means taking certain financial risks and not always knowing what’s next. But this thrill makes the job fascinating and increases the satisfaction when something works. But honestly, a lot is office work that isn’t always that exciting.
So you still work alone?
I am very happy to have partners and even employees, so I can work in teams nowadays. It was a super time when I did it all by myself, but teamwork clearly has its advantages, too. For example, being able to discuss things with others. I work with a whole network of people that is different for each project.
Since 2015 you’ve organised the new Christmas market at Bellevue, which, with its designer products and food stalls from around the world, became an instant success. How does one become a Christmas market organiser?
10 years ago we started to organise small design markets that turned into bigger festivals such as markets in old industrial halls, but they were always a platform for local micro producers and designers. Then in 2014 the city began looking for operators of a new Christmas market and we decided to apply and to use our experience and our network of small creative producers and traders. On the one hand, the concept is to give small regional designers and producers a platform. For example, producers can rent the stall for just a short time, like one week, because for many micro companies it’s simply not possible to run a stall for 4 or 5 weeks. On the other hand, we try to create en event where people meet up and create that special year-end or Christmas spirit. Anyway, our concept was chosen and it works!
Your other equally successful venture is the annual Street Food Festival. How did you become the promoter of street food in Zurich?
Well, every event needs some food, so we always collaborated with caterers for our design markets and that’s how I became connected with the food scene. In 2014, the idea to create a street food festival like those in other foreign cities was born and we realised it in only 12 weeks. It became a huge success, so it was obvious that we should continue it. This sort of festival and street food as such was new to Switzerland, so it was difficult to find innovative vendors, but only one year later we had 580 applications.
Do you try to actively scout new trends early on as business opportunities?
No, not really. I’ve studied style and design and trend research was a subject there, but honestly, the street food festival was created more out of circumstance and with a certain spontaneity. And it’s actually a good example of how I work. I don’t plan things for many years to come and I don’t sit down to try to figure out what could be the next big thing. I usually have a certain idea, then start to work on it and develop it with partners.
Is Zurich a good place for a creative entrepreneur like you?
Yes. In Switzerland, Zurich is certainly the hottest place, but compared with other cities abroad it’s still a small city and too small for certain niche products. But, of course, Zurich has many advantages. The risks for entrepreneurs, for example, are manageable. Some may say there are too many regulations and that bureaucracy is limiting, but I always say that at least the limits and rules are clear and don’t change along the way. And of course, people do have money here. Swiss people love to travel and many are open minded, so they like to try new things. And the small size of the city makes it easier to generate a network and get to know the right people. So, all in all, I think Zurich has been a really good place for me and my ideas.
