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6 hours ago
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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.
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.
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.
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.'
'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.'
Now living in the UK, Yana has managed to set up an thriving business and given back to Ukraine at the same time.
Appearing on the BBC show, Yana pitched her plans to expand her Ukrainian clothing distribution 'Nenya' - meaning motherland - hoping to secure an investment of £80,000 for a 10 per cent equity share of the company.
After hearing the harrowing tale of how the young merchant built up her business from scratch, several of the Dragons were left speechless - with Deborah Meaden admitting the story had left her 'choked up'.
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.
Yana, who is currently living in Leeds, owns a distribution company that buys and sells authentic Ukrainian clothes for international wholesale - which she hopes to sell in luxury retailers such as Harrods and Harvey Nichols. The clothes have price points between £70 and £150.
'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'
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
Despite having 'no family left', Yana wants to whatever she can to 'help my country' by investing in quality Ukrainian products.
Explaining to the judges why she needed the investment, she explained her chances of securing a loan in the UK were slim to none.
Delivering her pitch, she said: 'Our mission is to help Ukrainian companies increase sales and support the economy by taxes and also create new work places for Ukrainian refugees in the UK.'
They currently have 98 wholesale partners across three continents with two departments stores in the UK and US.
Over the course of just one year, the entrepreneur managed to earn an impressive profit of £100,000.
'My goal is to build the biggest distribution company with the best Ukrainian products and services. Made in the Ukraine with love and bravery,' she said on the BBC show.
She explained: 'Currently I have five brands in my portfolio, most of them originally manufactured in the east [of Ukraine] but they moved their factories closer to the west because the east is too dangerous.'
She went on to tell the judges that she had initially wanted to sell in retail only and 'wholesale had come from nowhere' - though she had only found success after success when adding wholesale partners to her company.
Appearing on the BBC show, she pitched her plans to expand her Ukrainian clothing distribution 'Nenya'
'We now have 98 and we are adding new partners every month,' she explained.
Steven Bartlett was equally full of praise for the aspiring distributor, commenting on her 'incredible' profits - despite having started with just £5,000 of her own savings.
'I escaped so quick and just grabbed something that I had at home,' she told judges, telling them she had only managed to throw together a bag for her documents, laptop and £5,000 - which she went on to invest in the company.
When Steven asked where she saw herself in five years, Yana said she wanted to be the 'biggest distribution company' and 'not only stop on the fashion business' but bring the 'best' products from Ukraine to 'the rest of the world'.
'You're very driven aren't you,' Steven remarked in response.
'When you're losing everything - your work and your home and everything and you need to build your life again - this drives you a lot,' she said.
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
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
When asked by Touker Suleyman about where she would sell her clothes, Yana reassured him the the quality would be enough for the likes of Harrods and Harvey Nichols to stock them.
'Some added value is that it's produced in Ukraine - a lot of people want to support it,' she said.
Touker said he thought the business would need more money and would offer £20,000 for 10 per cent - if the other dragons agreed.
Meanwhile, the businesswoman got exactly the offer she was hoping for with both Deborah, Steven, and Sara agreeing to give her the money she wanted.
But Peter Jones wasn't convinced the company was 'unique' enough. He said he had to remain 'true to myself' and opted not to make an offer.
In the end, Yana opted to split the offer between Deborah and Steven - with each getting a 5 per cent share.
Speaking to Living North in 2023, Yana explained: 'The name Nenya is a Ukrainian word and the translation is motherland or grandma. For me it has a lot of meaning because I love Ukraine and I want to help them, but also I was raised by my grandma and she died one year ago so this word means a lot to me.'
'I also wanted to help other refugees in the UK like me to find a job and integrate here. I want us to be a part of the society and create a new life here and that includes paying taxes.
'Now we're here we are part of this economy and it's really important that while we get the benefits, we also get a job and give back.'
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