Why I Left Tech to Help Small Product Brands Do Marketing
- Yulia Khlebnikova
- Aug 20, 2025
- 2 min read
Simplest insights sometimes take the longest to arrive.
For 10 years, I ignored the obvious: I needed to work in a field that actually lit me up. But my inner masochist clung to the old story—power through during the week to earn money, then recharge with a hobby on weekends.
“Turn your hobby into a business,” they say. Sure, but let’s be real—statistically, that’s just the fastest way to kill a hobby.
I've lost count of how many times people told me, “Yulia, open a bakery!” You go ahead and open one 😅—I like my sleep, and 5 AM starts would break me, even though cooking is one of the biggest joys of my life.
So I wandered. First, there were four years in procurement of lighting equipment.
In 2014, after my master's in Berlin I needed to find an internship and it was offered to me at a tech firm in Dusseldorf.
I “faceplanted into tech” as I like to put it.
Multiple roles in marketing and growth followed, all focused on digital products. I gained amazing colleagues and friends, deep expertise, and ran big projects. But none of those products were tangible. At some point, that started to wear me down. You pour so much of your life into work, and the only feedback is on your screen: some numbers went up, others down.
Last year, the pieces started falling into place. If I wasn’t opening a café or a bakery, maybe I could help the people who already had?
There are so many small businesses making beautiful products—many of them can’t afford a full marketing team.
And me? With 10 years of startup life, where “everyone does everything” isn’t just a punchline, I’m basically a digital marketing octopus 🐙.
I’ve done it all: marketing, SEO, ads, analytics, web optimisation, research, strategy—you name it. I’m a one-person marketing department.
And then one day you get a chance to develop a beautiful brand... You might've seen Bread Bureau's work for Carambole Chocolate? In just one year it got a total visual rebrand, social media storytelling, SEO optimization, workflow automation, and a much smoother online experience.
In February, at the Amsterdam chocolate festival, Carambole’s stand was packed. It sold out by the morning of day two! And I remember those boxes—I was the one lugging them in. There were a lot.
Watching customers admire the intricate bonbon designs, chuckle at the witty product names I came up with, gently run their fingers over the elegant gold-and-black packaging Rita and I obsessed over together… I realised:
This. This is what I was meant to do.
Working with a physical product lights me up. Because I see the impact. I hear the feedback. Is it related to food, too? Double awesome!
So if you're a brand with an awesome product and no time to tell the world about it—let's talk. I want you to keep creating magic because that's what you do best and it makes you happy. And I’ll make sure the right people see it, want it, and remember it.
Sounds interesting?...
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