Mila Smart Semeshkina was born in Krasnodar region, Russia. Excelling academically, Mila finished high school with a gold medal at 15, two years ahead of her peers. She pursued American Philology at Kuban State University before furthering her studies in marketing, PR, and media communications at Lomonosov Moscow State University and the Erickson International Academy in the USA and Canada. The diplomas Mila received were all awarded with honors, a testament to her lifelong commitment to excellence in everything she undertakes.
Mila began her career in marketing and PR, while also conducting scientific research in media economics. She collaborated with prominent international brands, including BMW, Mercedes, Schwarzkopf, and MTV, and took her first steps into entrepreneurship. Mila completed her dissertation during her graduate studies but decided not to defend it, finding the traditional academic environment excessively conservative and restrictive. Her experiences across various brands and countries revealed that while a university education could broaden your horizons, give you the status of an educated individual, and expand personal networks, it fell short in providing a profession. She observed that the market and the world undergo significant changes and introduce new trends monthly, while university curricula and textbooks remain unchanged for decades. This led Mila to develop her learning methodology to enable faster learning and higher educational outcomes. She named this approach Fast Education.
Mila initiated one of her most significant projects — Lectera.com, a platform for rapid learning founded on the Fast Education teaching method. She assembled an international team of professionals, overseeing and coordinating all processes related to product development, brand promotion, educational content creation, and the operational activities of Lectera offices in various countries (including the USA, UAE, Germany, and others).
Lectera was successfully launched in 2020 in five languages: English, German, Russian, Spanish, and Hindi. Experts immediately hailed the platform as a future "black unicorn" with bright prospects. By 2024, the platform had attracted over 3.5 million users, many from Asia, Africa, and Latin America, where access to other forms of high-quality education is still limited.
In 2020, the year the Lectera platform was launched, Mila Smart Semeshkina also published her first book, "Learn or Leave the Market", which quickly became a bestseller in several countries.
In 2021, she became an official Forbes Council of Entrepreneurs member.
In 2023, she founded the Women's Empowerment Council and became its president. In March 2023, the Council held its inaugural event, the WE Convention - the largest women's forum in the world. The WE Convention served as a platform for legendary leaders and icons of female success, such as Maye Musk, Natalia Vodianova, Her Highness Sayyida Basma Al-Said, Dr. Suaad Al-Shamsi, Ayumi Moore Aoki, among others, to share their transformational life stories, inspiring and emp owering an audience of more than 1,200 participants.
In March 2023, at the WE Convention, Mila presented her second book, "Your Million Dollar Career," a guide to career advancement.
The second WE Convention is scheduled for Dubai in April 2024, and Mila is planning another spectacular event for women leaders from around the globe.
As the founder and president of the Women’s Empowerment Council, Mila Smart Semeshkina is committed to supporting and expanding women’s rights and opportunities at every career stage and in every field. Her efforts are directed toward creating and growing an influential community that unites successful women and provides opportunities for networking, collaboration, and professional development.
Mila believes that by providing people with opportunities to fully realize their potential, we can create a brighter future for all.
