Wine and Dine Me · 2026-05-21 · 33 min
In this episode of The Wine and Dine Me Podcast , Reagan sits down with Anja Winikka , founder and CEO of Freeda , a private membership network for leaders in the global events industry. Anja has seen the wedding and event industry from nearly every angle. She spent more than a decade at The Knot , helped shape modern wedding media, co-founded Maroo , and now leads Freeda, where creative founders gather in curated peer groups for honest conversations, trusted relationships, and the kind of support that rarely happens in public. This conversation looks at the difference between visibility and true influence, why follower count is no longer the strongest signal of credibility, and why discerning clients are paying closer attention to trust, referrals, and the rooms people are actually in. Reagan and Anja also talk about the loneliness that can come with building a successful creative business, the pressure to appear booked and thriving, and what longevity really requires behind the scenes: emotional intelligence, operational maturity, financial clarity, boundaries, and relationships that can sustain you through different seasons of business and life.
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