‘Passion kept me going’: How entrepreneur Stella Taleb regained success after losing everything

BRANDVOICE

From nightclubs and dental surgeries in Norway to fashion design and interior architecture in Australia, Stella Taleb has embraced opportunity to launch and run a wide range of enterprises throughout her life. Today, she leads a luxury fashion brand and a boutique interior architecture firm in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. However, it hasn’t always been a straightforward route to success. More than once, she lost everything, but determination and passion kept her going.

Stella Taleb has had – and lost – it all. 

Joining a Zoom call from her architect and design studio in Alexandria, she says her interest in design can partly be attributed to nature partly to nurture. 

“Growing up in Norway, my grandfather was a developer, and my two uncles were architects, so my passion for interior architecture and design was shaped quite early on,” she says. 

Taleb recalls spending hours as a curious six-year-old in her uncle’s office, fascinated by the architectural drawing kits, tilted desks, and architectural sketches and floor plans. 

Iranian born, Taleb also recounts a childhood visit to the private residence of Shams Pahlavi, the older sister of the last King of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, near Tehran – and says the extravagant and unusual interiors had a strong and lasting impact on her. 

“To some extent, I knew back then that I love design – it’s so expressive,” she says. “I’ve been very passionate about it for a long time.” 

However, her parents were strict and had set ideas about the kind of career she should strive for. Wanting to make them happy, she began to study for dentistry but soon found it wasn’t for her. 

“I’m a creative person and couldn’t express myself in this degree. I’m also the sort of person who won’t stick with something if I know it’s not right for me. So, I switched to an interior architecture degree,” she says. 

From dentistry to design

In the meantime, another side of her character was becoming well-developed – the savvy businesswoman who isn’t afraid to assume responsibility and take calculated risks. “My mother was an entrepreneur, so I have that in me,” she says. 

At 21, she was running a nightclub, and despite switching courses to interior architecture, she didn’t waste the knowledge and contacts she’d gained in dentistry – instead, she set up a dental surgery business. After completing her architecture degree in 2003, she brought her creative and entrepreneurial tendencies together with the establishment of her first design studio in Oslo, where she designed her first collection of luxury handbags. 

Then, after a relationship breakdown, she had to sell her businesses and found herself moving to Australia with only $5,000. 

She wasn’t about to give up on her goals. 

After working as a translator to save some capital, she set up her fashion brand, Stella Taleb. She manufactured her collection through factories in Thailand and Indonesia and opened a store in Double Bay. 

“It was picking up, but I wanted to make the brand bigger,” she says. “An opportunity came up for me to start my own factory in Iran, and taking my brand there would give me a broader customer-based – I’d have Europe and Australia.” 

She moved to Iran, using her own funds to launch a small factory to manufacture her designs, and she says the brand took off: “I started custom designing for celebrities, and my brand was being recognised.” 

However, with sanctions imposed on Iran in 2017, her life took a different turn.

“I couldn’t stay in the country anymore,” she says. “If I stayed in Iran, I couldn’t work with the rest of the world, and it wasn’t safe – I was scared. I had to close the factory – I lost all my money and years of my life.” 

Starting over

Back in Australia in 2018, with no capital, Taleb had to start again. 

“I had my collection, but I didn’t have any money to go into production,” she says. “So, I set up the interior architecture business Stella Taleb Design. Being service based, there were no production costs. We did contract work from 2018 until 2022 until we could set up the showroom. 

“When you lose in business, you learn from that and become stronger. It’s never wasted – there are always lessons learned. I think passion has kept me going through it all, and I just keep the faith, am positive, and do not give up.” 

In 2022, she was established enough to open her showroom. Stella Taleb Design has since grown to include soft furnishings and homewares and led to the creation of a separate design and build business called Portico & Co that builds and sells properties. 

Today, Taleb mainly works on large residential homes and provides her clients with an end-to-end project management service, from planning to key handover. She draws inspiration from the site itself – whether it’s a knockdown or rebuild, the greenery surrounding scenery, the street front – and, of course, her clients. 

“When you’re designing a home for a client, you really are designing to their tastes,” she says. “It’s very personal.” But her rich heritage gives her an edge: “I have a Norwegian mindset and deep cultural Persian roots. I’ve got that being born in the 70s, exposed and influenced by mid-century architectural style.” 

Enjoying the ride

Looking ahead, Taleb says she’s excited to work on larger development projects and return to her fashion design foundations by expanding her homewares line. And, later down the track, take her brand to Europe. 

“My five-year plan is to set up on the French Riviera and renovate and flip properties. But more than that, hopefully, I learn and grow and continue to enjoy this rollercoaster ride of life and entrepreneurship,” 

Taleb hopes other people reading this will take heart and be inspired by her journey. 

“My businesses have failed, but I’ve picked it up again. I’m proud of my mindset – for not giving up. It’s something many businesspeople and entrepreneurs have to go through. And I want other people to know they are not alone.” 

You can follow Stella Taleb’s journey via her Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/stellataleb/?hl=en 

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