Story & Lesson Highlights with Nadia Zueva

We recently had the chance to connect with Nadia Zueva and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Nadia, thank you for taking the time to reflect back on your journey with us. I think our readers are in for a real treat. There is so much we can all learn from each other and so thank you again for opening up with us. Let’s get into it: Who are you learning from right now?
Right now I’m learning a lot from my users and from shipping fast.
Every day I watch how real people interact with what we build, where they get confused, what excites them, and what they’re actually willing to pay for.
I’ve learned more from launching imperfect things and listening closely than from any book or course.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hi, I’m Nadia Zueva, founder and deep learning engineer.
I’m building Aesty, an AI-powered style app that helps people make sense of their wardrobe and turn inspiration into outfits that actually work in real life.

What makes it different is that we don’t focus on trends or shopping for more. We focus on helping people understand their personal style, use what they already own, and buy new pieces more intentionally when they need to.

My background is in engineering, so I’m very hands-on with the product — from the code to experimentation and growth. I’m currently building Aesty in public, shipping fast, and learning directly from users every day.

Okay, so here’s a deep one: What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
As a child, I believed I had to be “fully ready” before doing something – smart enough, experienced enough, confident enough.
I don’t believe that anymore. Most meaningful things I’ve built came from starting before I felt ready and learning in motion.

What did suffering teach you that success never could?
For a long time, things didn’t work out for me – not in the way or at the pace I expected. I kept trying, failing, adjusting, and trying again.

What suffering taught me is that progress is mostly about the number of iterations you’re willing to go through, and how well you learn from each one. Success can hide that. Struggle exposes it.

Much later, I came across a line by Haruki Murakami that stayed with me: pain is inevitable, suffering is optional. I didn’t understand it at first. Now I do. Pain is part of the process. Suffering only happens when you stop learning from it.

Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. Whose ideas do you rely on most that aren’t your own?
I rely most on the ideas of people who think in systems and feedback loops, especially builders who learn directly from reality.

This approach is also deeply shaped by my co-founder, Andrei Rychkov, who is very data-driven and rigorous in how he thinks about decisions. He constantly pushes us to validate assumptions with evidence, not intuition!

In practice, that means shipping early versions of products, watching how users actually behave, and adjusting based on real usage. Many of my decisions come not from theory or fixed frameworks, but from data, feedback, and fast iteration for sure!

Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. Are you tap dancing to work? Have you been that level of excited at any point in your career? If so, please tell us about those days. 
Not every day but yes, I’ve had moments like that!

The times I felt that kind of excitement were when I was building something new and slightly scary – when I didn’t yet know if it would work, but I could feel momentum.

I feel it most when users start reacting to something we just shipped, when an idea turns into a real product, or when a small experiment suddenly clicks. That mix of curiosity, uncertainty, and progress is what makes me excited to work.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.aesty.ai
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aestyapp
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nadia-zueva/
• Twitter: https://x.com/nestymee
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Aestyapp/shorts
• Other: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/aesty-ai-outfit-maker-try-on/id6502579395