How a Ukrainian refugee fled Kyiv with nothing and went on to storm Dragons' Den:  Yana Smaglo ran from Putin's attack in 2022 with two samples from her fashion line - now top investors are fighting for her

How a Ukrainian refugee fled Kyiv with nothing and went on to storm Dragons' Den:  Yana Smaglo ran from Putin's attack in 2022 with two samples from her fashion line - now top investors are fighting for her
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How a Ukrainian refugee fled Kyiv with nothing and went on to storm Dragons' Den:  Yana Smaglo ran from Putin's attack in 2022 with two samples from her fashion line - now top investors are fighting for her
Published: Jan, 24 2025 13:39

A gifted businesswoman with an impeccable eye, Yana Smaglo was thriving in 2022. The designer, originally from northeast Kharkiv in northeast Ukraine, was living in a nice apartment in Kyiv. Young and with everything going for her, the entrepreneur with a Masters degree in finance was expanding her empire, with her own beauty operation and an office in the city centre.

 ['It's hard to explain to yourself that, no, you don't have anything any more, you need to buy, you need to work hard,' says Yana Smaglo. 'It's hard emotionally']
Image Credit: Mail Online ['It's hard to explain to yourself that, no, you don't have anything any more, you need to buy, you need to work hard,' says Yana Smaglo. 'It's hard emotionally']

But suddenly, on a brisk February morning everything changed. Shortly after 5am, Yana awoke to the sound of explosions : Vladimir Putin's Russia had attacked. Ukraine was at war. Quickly, she called her friends to wake them. She grabbed a hat, stuffed documents, cash, a laptop into a bag and joined a friend to drive to the Polish border.

 [Yana has established her own fashion business in the UK, which has five brands in its portfolio, more than 120 wholesale partners and, Smaglo says, a £120,000 turnover]
Image Credit: Mail Online [Yana has established her own fashion business in the UK, which has five brands in its portfolio, more than 120 wholesale partners and, Smaglo says, a £120,000 turnover]

Leaving everything - including her business - behind, Yana drove through Poland and then Germany, until she was invited by friends to stay in Huddersfield, coming to the UK with an uncertain future. But three years later, after settling in Yorkshire, Yana has managed to reboot her business. Last night she secured a £80,000 investment in her clothing company Nenya after appearing on Dragons' Den.

 [Appearing on the BBC show, she pitched her plans to expand her Ukrainian clothing distribution 'Nenya']
Image Credit: Mail Online [Appearing on the BBC show, she pitched her plans to expand her Ukrainian clothing distribution 'Nenya']

The Dragons' Den judges were left speechless during Thursday's episode by a 'heart-wrenching' pitch from Ukrainian refugee Yana Smaglo (pictured. 'It was settled, nice, a comfortable life,' Yana, who is now 32, previously told MailOnline. 'I was very happy.'.

 [Despite worries that her English wouldn't be 'good' enough to understand the judges questions, Yana comprehensively won them over, with four offering her investments]
Image Credit: Mail Online [Despite worries that her English wouldn't be 'good' enough to understand the judges questions, Yana comprehensively won them over, with four offering her investments]

'When I left my apartment I thought that, probably, I would never see it again. I also lost the business.'. 'But at that moment, you're so shocked and scared, you think only about saving yourself. I understood that to save myself physically, I didn't need anything.'.

 [Ukrainian fashion designer Yana Smaglo was forced to leave everything behind when the war with Russia began, but has rebuilt her life in the UK after receiving a visa]
Image Credit: Mail Online [Ukrainian fashion designer Yana Smaglo was forced to leave everything behind when the war with Russia began, but has rebuilt her life in the UK after receiving a visa]

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