About building business with purpose with Theodora Popa
Her role model, also her greatest source of inspiration, is her father. From him, Theodora learned about discipline in business, about long-term vision and commitment to building something meaningful and sustainable.
Nowadays, Theodora Popa is building her own way as a tech entrepreneur (she is the cofounder of Nurrai, a wellness app), as well as leading the family business (TRANSAVIA) from her role as Executive Vice-President.
Building for the long term
“My goal has always been to honor the foundation that was built before me, while contributing to a more scalable, modern, and future-oriented organization. For me, growth is not about speed, but about building with intention. It is about creating structures that endure, investing with discipline, and making decisions that will still make sense ten or twenty years from now. Leadership means growing responsibly today so the business can remain strong and relevant for the next generation”, Theodora tells us.
She mentioned the fact that as she stepped into a leadership role at TRANSAVIA – the leader of the local poultry market and one of the most important family-owned businesses with 100% Romanian capital – she envisioned its transformation as a continuous evolution rather than a radical change. That’s why she came with an approach to strengthening governance, professionalizing systems, investing in innovation, and reinforcing our long-term strategic direction.
“Leading within a large, complex organization teaches you how to manage risk, build systems, understand financial structures, and align teams around clear objectives, all of which are essential when launching a new venture”, says Theodora.
Tradition and novelty
She is using the experience she got into operational discipline and strategic thinking to also start her own business, an app called Nurrai, a mindfulness and emotional well-being app designed to support people in managing stress, anxiety, sleep challenges, and self-reflection through psychology-informed, structured guidance.
And although starting a tech-enabled business feels different than a brick-and-mortar company in food, bringing a layer of agility common to innovation driven tech startups, the principles remain the same: clarity of vision and disciplined execution.
“In that sense, yes, everything I’ve learned at TRANSAVIA gives me confidence and structure. It doesn’t necessarily make entrepreneurship “easier,” because building something new always comes with uncertainty, but it makes me more prepared, more strategic, and more resilient in navigating it”, Theodora explains.
And in this resilience, discipline and in the results lie the keys to the success of women owned businesses and one of the most common myths that Theodora Popa would like to debunk: that it is a matter of contextualization.
“In the long run, markets are pragmatic. They reward those who can build, sustain, and scale value. And nothing dismantles stereotypes more effectively than sustained competence proven over time. Therefore, the most powerful response to bias is not confrontation, but performance: results and consistency”.
In her opinion, the real shift in entrepreneurship happens when we stop framing industries as belonging to one gender and start measuring leadership by impact and outcomes.
“What encourages me most about the Romanian ecosystem is not one individual story, but the growing density of capable female founders who are building with discipline, long-term vision, and operational rigor. It would not be fair to the thousands of women across Romania who are building companies quietly, consistently, and with remarkable resilience to single out just one. Many of them are scaling businesses outside the spotlight, in industries that are not always visible or celebrated, yet essential to the economy. I believe that in 2026, what will stand out is this collective strength: women who are launching startups and those building sustainable businesses that endure”, Theodora adds.
Practical examples for the formative years
As a second generation entrepreneur in the family, Theodora is among the fortunate business-people in our country: she had the example of her father to fall in love with building and scaling companies. But how could we make sure that we will have more women founders in Romania?
According to her, an action with immediate impact in increasing the number of female entrepreneurs in our country would be introducing practical business and financial education in schools, starting early on.
„When young girls understand how companies are built, how money works, and how value is created, entrepreneurship becomes accessible rather than intimidating. Exposure to real business thinking at a formative age builds confidence, ambition, and the belief that building something of their own is a realistic path”.
Her advice for young girls dreaming about a career in entrepreneurship is straightforward: dream boldly and without apology, but anchor those dreams in real competence and discipline.
„Also, choose a path where she creates value, because leadership isn’t inherited, but it’s earned through courage, discipline, and long-term commitment. And most importantly, to pursue something she genuinely enjoys, because you can succeed in almost any field if you strive to become excellent at it and stay passionate enough about what you do, to keep going when things become difficult”.