by Leslie | 03.31.21

hi! i’m leslie, ceo/founder of hanni. in 2010 i was working my dream job in beauty and living in the best city in the world. but instead of enjoying it, i felt isolated, anxious and generally unhappy. after almost 10 years of not sleeping and suffering from what seemed like constant “mystery” ailments, i decided to make a change. i gave my notice at work, got out of my lease and booked a one-way ticket to buenos aires, argentina. my only goal was learning spanish well enough to be considered fluent (and potentially finding a hunky argentine fling). what I got was way more than i bargained for.

my 6 month, turned 10 year, “trip” to buenos aires was filled with adventure and excitement. meeting new people, soaking in the culture and fitting in as many new experiences as I could. in buenos aires i found my place in the world, my home, my family, my people. i started enjoying the little things. simple pleasures like a coffee with friends, lunch using real silverware (and not at my computer), getting to know my neighbors and feeling like part of a community, ended up having a profound impact on my quality of life and overall happiness. i learned i was willing to give-up first world comforts (amazon deliveries and single-digit inflation rates to name a few) in exchange for waking up happy most mornings.

it took me traveling to the other side of the world to finally start realizing what being happy means to me. now that I’m back in the U.S in the super fast-paced startup world, i’m trying to incorporate my no pressure philosophy into my daily life. sometimes it’s a struggle, but for that i lean into my friends and support system and that’s what this community is all about - creating a space where we can come together and help each other take some pressure off. i’m so excited for this new chapter - let’s do this together!

hey! we’re hanni.