How do you manage a high-stakes, full-time career in digital sales while simultaneously completing a 500-page thriller? It sounds like two different lives, but for Mila Botscharow, Senior Agency Sales Manager in the German market, the secret is a core principle shared by both: the strategic application of structure and audience focus.
In the latest episode of Voices of Ad Tech: Powered by Women@Teads, hosted by Alejandra Herrera (Corporate Projects & Inclusion) and Laura Bartz (Supply Partner Management), we sat down with Mila to explore this powerful synergy between corporate strategy and creative authorship. Mila shares how the discipline required to close a complex business deal was channeled directly into crafting a gripping narrative for her debut thriller, “Das Rote Zimmer”. Read on for a sneak peek into the episode and discover how Mila leveraged her Teads skills to achieve her creative dream.
The Genesis: From Strategy Session to Story Plot
Mila, who studied German literature, always dreamed of writing but needed the structure to start. The catalyst was a digital writing course with master thriller author Sebastian Fitzek three years ago, where she learned the power of the simple question: “What if?”
The idea for Das Rote Zimmer was born, fittingly, on the train from Cologne to Hamburg, heading to a Teads agency meeting. She wondered: What if I left my laptop open and unattended in an empty carriage and then found a message on it?
That single strategic query launched a 15-month journey that resulted in a complete, 500-page manuscript. Her protagonist, Anne, even mirrors Mila’s world: she’s a sales director whose journey also starts on that same train route.
Two Worlds, One Mission: Audience & Discipline
Mila revealed that her sales experience didn’t just provide an interesting setting for her book; it provided the tools for writing it. According to Mila, both professions demand the same focus on the target audience:
“A good salesperson knows their customers or agencies, recognizes their problems and goals. And they package all of this into a good story… Just like in a good book! Keep it short and keep it simple!”
Confidence and Clarity: The Creative Payback
The creative project, in turn, directly refined her professional edge:
“Writing my book has taken me to a whole new level as a salesperson. I am bolder, more direct, and an even better listener.”
How Teads Enabled the Dream
Mila specifically highlighted the Teads environment as crucial, crediting the company’s operational approach for her ability to succeed at both:
“I am part of a great agency sales team at Teads. We work in a structured, focused, and independent manner – that’s what I’ve learned here. And it is exactly this way of working that forms the basis for realising a challenging project alongside an exciting and eventful main job.”
Mila also noted that being surrounded by strong, successful female leadership at Teads deeply influenced the successful, powerful female protagonist she chose to create in her book.
Mila’s “Voice Round”
The episode closed with the rapid-fire “Voice Round,” capturing Mila’s core beliefs on empowerment:
- Who is a woman – famous or not – who inspires you the most, and why?
- “My mum is my biggest fan and my biggest critic. And she has always told me the best stories.”
- What does “confidence” mean to you in one word?
- Following your own path, regardless of what others say.
- If you could break one stereotype about women forever, which would it be?
- The stereotype that women are weak. We are incredibly strong on so many levels.
- What’s one thing the world needs to hear more about from women?
- Empathy.
Structure, Synergy, and Open Doors
Mila Botscharow’s journey proves that your career and your passions don’t just coexist; they empower one another. Her success highlights the synergy between strategy, structure, and creative courage- qualities that define the best professionals at Teads.
This episode is an honest look at how one Teads leader has embraced innovation in every aspect of her life. Success isn’t abstract; it’s built through the small, daily choices to apply discipline, trust your vision, and tell a compelling story.
If you’re curious about joining a team that values both professional rigor and personal innovation, and is rethinking what leadership and creativity look like in ad tech, discover our open roles at teads.com/teads-careers.
Listen to the full episode of Voices of Ad Tech [Here] on Spotify!