MEET THE MEMBERS: Virtuala

At Innovation Dock we have almost 100 different companies, and Virtuala is one of them. Eva Kanic-Pieterse is the founder and owner and deliver virtual services in HR and career advice. She is HR for hire for companies that need HR support as well as career advisor for people who need help with their career path.

So - let’s get to know Eva a bit better! We’ve put together some questions for her, so first; who is Eva?

📸 : Siv Sivertsen

My name is Eva Kanic-Pieterse and I am 42 years old. I come from Stavanger, I grew up at Eiganes. My father is from former Yugoslavia so I speak Serbian/Croatian as well. I am married and have two boys, and we live at Hundvåg. I went to Steinerskolen in Stavanger and it made me learn how to see things in different perspectives.

Q: What does your background look like?

I have a Bachelor of Management as well as I am a certified Career Coach. I love to learn and I am always taking courses online to develop myself. I have been working with HR and recruitment for 10 years, mostly in the oil & gas industry here in Stavanger. I have also worked at a recruitment agency. I am curious as a person and love to get to know people and learn why they took the choices they did. I have also worked 5 years in tourism and one of these years was as an expat in Florida, USA. I worked in Walt Disney World representing Norway for the tourists there.

From Evas book

Q: What is the focus of your business right now, we would love to hear more about what you are working on.

My focus now is to build my business and get projects where I am able to help people with my expertise in HR, career advisory and recruitment. I work both towards people who want career advice as well as companies who need HR support. I am HR for hire as they say.

Q: What are some of the short term/long term plans for your business?

Short term is to get the word out there, that my company exists. To get my message out what I can help with. Long term plan is to be the "go to" career advisor in Stavanger region. Since I deliver virtual services, I can have customers all over the country and world. These days we use video calls and can therefore easily connect to customers in other cities.

Q: How, and when did your entrepreneurial journey start out?

I lost my corporate HR job in an oil & gas company the summer last year because of Covid-19. I had already started thinking about starting for myself and my website was nearly finished. So I just turned around and adjusted myself to the new situation. I rented a desk at Innovation Dock and never looked back at the corporate job. I think I needed this push to start for myself.

From one of Evas workshops at Innovation Dock

Q: What makes you passionate about your work?

I love to get to know people and help them with my HR knowledge. I like to teach and have workshops and webinars for my customers. To see them get an "aha-moment" is very rewarding. Sharing knowledge is important to me.

Q: What do you believe are some qualities of a great coworking space, and why did you become a member of Innovation Dock?

I am a social person and like to have a vibrant environment around me. I like to speak to people, hear what their business is about and so on. Also I really like the meeting rooms here at Innovation Dock. There is something for every occasion.

Q: What did you learn from your experience as an entrepreneur? Any “ups & downs” and “lessons learned” you would like to share?

I started my business 10 months ago and I have just ran with it. I have learnt as long as I go. My services fit very well now that Covid-19 did some changes in our society. People lost their jobs and need to get some guidence. Also companies are afraid to recruit fulltime positions in HR, so they rather hire me for the hours they need me.

I have also learnt how important it is to have a network. I have been contacted from people I used to work with earlier and also people I have gotten to know through Professional Womens Network. I started the non profit organisation Professional Womens Network here in Stavanger 3 years ago and have built a huge personal network during this time. I would like to share to others that they should not be afraid to contact people and use the network they have. Very often you get a "yes"!