Four Russian female entrepreneurs in St Petersburg and Graz provide interesting insights into their personal and professional lives through qualitative interviews. The research question focuses on the background and circumstances surrounding the setting up of their businesses and their day-to-day lives in a competitive world traditionally perceived as male-dominated. The findings suggest that one's environment and upbringing can shape an identity with which one is either happy as an entrepreneur or not. Above all, positive feedback regarding autonomy, freedom and self-confidence can transform the pressures of career and family into a means of fulfilling two needs at once. The appendix contains the translated, unabridged interviews.