Episode #108: Slow-Traveling the Silk Road, Shamanic Rituals in Nepal, and Co-Founding Galactic Fed with Irina Papuc

Episode Summary

Irina Papuc takes us through her upbringing in Chicago, her experience living and traveling through Europe, and her decision to move to Taiwan for a year to teach English. She shares her lessons from her time in Taiwan including living with Buddhist nuns and learning the value of minimalism and simplicity. She then shares her experiences on her travels through Asia, including water-gun fights on Buddha’s birthday in Myanmar and the Holi Festival of Colors in Vrindavan, India. Next, she takes us on her motorcycle trip through Nepal, including her experience living with a Shaman in the mountains and learning Nepalese Shamanic rituals. Irina then shares her journey slow-traveling the Silk Road without a phone, and detaching from the outside world. She tells stories of staying in yurts and drinking hot horse milk in Kyrgyzstan, attending a Tajik wedding near the border with Afghanistan, sleeping on rooftops in Uzbekistan, and crossing the Caspian Sea on a commercial ship. She then shares her experience hitchhiking around Georgia, avoiding mines in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, traveling to the Syrian border in Turkey, touring the town of Hasankeyf before it gets submerged under water. She also reflects on the conclusion of her journey when she eventually made it back to Romania to re-connect with her roots and meet some of her family members for the first time. Next she talks about co-founding Galactic Fed, a multi-national digital marketing agency, and explains how she selected the right business partner. She explains why she founded it as a fully-remote company, how she differentiated her business and scaled it to nearly 100 staff in 3 years, and explains the biggest mistakes businesses are making today with their SEO. She gives tips on managing a fully distributed team and shares her personal productivity, nutrition and fitness routines. FULL SHOW NOTES AVAILABLE AT: www.TheMaverickShow.com

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What You'll Learn

Irina’s Tips for Solo-Female Travelers
How to Avoid the Biggest Mistakes Businesses are Currently Making with SEO
How to Select the Right Business Partner and Manage a Distributed Team

Links From the Episode

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#1 BOOK THAT IRINA RECOMMENDS

Free PR by Cameron Herold

TOP 3 FAVORITE TRAVEL DESTINATIONS

TOP 3 BUCKET DESTINATIONS

LOCATION WHERE THE INTERVIEW TOOK PLACE

SPORTS TEAMS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

COMPANY WHERE IRINA WORKED AND MET HER BUSINESS PARTNER

Toptal

VIDEO GAME MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

StarCraft

MOVIE MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Journey To The West

FESTIVALS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

OTHER PLACES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

CONTACT IRINA

Time Stamped Show Notes

[3:22] Irina’s upbringing in Chicago

Culturally diverse upbringing
Early interest in travel
Entrepreneurial tendencies

[7:51] Irina’s Travel Experiences in Europe

Living in Germany
Backpacking around Europe
Studying abroad in Sweden

[11:30] Irina’s Year Teaching English in Taiwan

Getting rejected from Korea and pivoting to move to Taiwan
Teaching Kindergarten and adults in Taiwan
Learning about fruits in Taiwan
Lessons from living with Buddhist nuns
Meditation and breathwork techniques
Learning the value of minimalism and simplicity

[22:13] Irina’s Experience in Southeast Asia

Impressions of Myanmar
Water-gun fights on Buddha’s birthday

[27:34] Irina’s Experience in India

Living in New Delhi
Holi Festival of Colors in Vrindavan

[35:22] Irina’s Experience in Nepal

Motorcycle trip from Delhi to Kathmandu
Her Serendipitous motorcycle accident in the mountains of Nepal
Nepalese hospitality from local villagers
Staying with a Shaman in the mountains of Nepal
Learning Nepalese Shamanic rituals

[43:07] Slow-Traveling the Silk Road in Central Asia

History of the Silk Road
Staying with semi-nomadic locals in Kyrgyzstan
Trying hot horse milk for the first time
Shopping at one of the world’s largest bazaars in Bishkek
Learning about Central Asian hospitality
Traveling to the border of Tajikistan and Afghanistan
Attending a Tajik wedding
Sleeping in the back of a station wagon
Minimalist Living with no phone for a year
Sleeping on rooftops in Uzbekistan under the moonlight
Driving through Kazakhstan to the Caspian Sea
Crossing the Caspian Sea on a Commercial Ship

[59:32] Irina’s Experience in the Caucuses

The Nagorno-Karabakh region
Driving through ancient towns in the Caucuses
Hitchhiking in Georgia
Traveling from Eastern to Western Turkey
Going to the Syrian border
Touring Hasankeyf before it gets submerged under water

[1:06:16] Visiting Romania and Re-Connecting with her Family

[1:08:24] Irina’s Reflections on her World Travels

What travel means to Irina
Thriving in fast changing environments
Taking calculated risks
Tips for solo female travelers

[1:14:02] Co-Founding Her Digital Marketing Agency, Galactic Fed

Tips on selecting the right business partner
Galactic Fed’s Service Offerings for SEO and Paid Media
Galactic Fed’s Point of Differentiation
Showcasing real results from real clients
The biggest mistakes companies are making right now with SEO
How Irinia scaled Galactic Fed to nearly 100 staff in under 3 years
Tips for managing a fully distributed team
The importance of caring deeply about the problem you’re working to solve

[1:27:35] Irina’s Personal Productivity Techniques

Her ideal travel schedule
Her week structure and day structure
Her morning routines, fitness and nutrition regimen

[1:30:56] The Lightning Round

#1 Book Recommendation
#1 Travel Hack Recommendation
#1 Person with whom Irina would most like to have dinner
#1 Piece of Advice Irina would give to her 18-year old self
Top 3 Favorite Travel Destinations
Top 3 Bucket List Destinations

[1:33:00] Contact Irina

About the Guest

Irina Papuc

Irina Papuc is the co-founder and Managing Partner at Galactic Fed, a multi-national, remote-first marketing agency that she built while traveling the world and scaled to nearly 100 staff people in under 3 years. Galactic Fed provides companies with a suite of services ranging from copywriting and paid media to SEO strategy and analytics. Irina’s clients range from Fortune 100 companies to startups and small businesses. Born in Romania, as a small child Irina immigrated to the U.S. with her grandparent. She then grew up primarily in Chicago and is now a full time digital nomad who has traveled to over 40 countries. She attended Universities in 3 different countries, has an undergraduate degree in Particle Physics and a Masters Degree in Cultural Anthropology.