Hey, I’m Vessy

Vessy Tasheva She/They

Founder & CEO of Vessy.com - an impact consultancy specialising in Trust, Culture, and DEIB.

I’m originally Bulgarian and live in Ireland.

We work with clients across Europe, North America, Brazil, and India, such as Soundcloud, Reward Gateway, Typeform and more! Most of our clients are fast growing tech companies in FinTech, gaming, cybersecurity and eCommerce, with the majority being 2-4 years pre-IPO. Typically we work together during their hypergrowth and restructuring, as well as before and after IPOs, mergers & acquisitions.

Recognitions 5 years in a row:

2023 — featured in Top Emerging Diversity & Inclusion Companies in Europe in 2023 by Manage HR Magazine
2022 — featured in Top 30 Diversity & Inclusion Leaders You Must Follow in 2022, by LeadersHum
2021 — Vessy.com was featured in Top 10 of Emerging Diversity & Inclusion Companies in Europe by Manage HR Magazine.
2021 — listed in Top 50 D&I Influencers globally by Onalytica
2020 — named as one of the UK’s most influential D&I leaders in 2020, by Hive Learning
2019 — named as one of 2019’s most influential D&I Leaders globally, by Hive Learning.

I’m also an angel investor in digital health (Wild.ai) & mental health (Sentur.health), as well as Advisory Board Member of Deystvie (bringing change to the lives of LGBTI people in Bulgaria) and Diversity & Inclusion Board Member of Positive Luxury (shaping a sustainable future for luxury).

In November 2022 we launched a video course on Inclusive Leadership on SocialTalent, learning platform, where the course ranked as #2 in the Most Watched courses with NPS 87.

In the last 11 years, prior to becoming a founder, I have worked as Chief Strategy Officer of a talent tech startup, as well as in various roles across product, marketing, and culture in companies between 4 and 800 employees.

Often people ask why at Vessy.com we value beautiful, functional design. I grew up watching my father, Atanas Tashev, creating socio-culturally provocative paintings 🎨 that stand out with their bold colours and distinct shapes. The signature magenta blue of our logo is influenced by the importance of blue (and it’s dozens of nuances!) in my father’s early work.

I have authored:

2024 The Impact of Trust Report featuring 10 top tech companies in North America & Europe including Automattic, Plan A, Hubject, Reward Gateway, Progress, and more

How Diversity and Inclusion Leaders Can Drive Measurable Results, a whitepaper on OKRs in Diversity & Inclusion

2020 Diversity in the Workplace Report featuring 10 companies from 10 industries, such as NHS, Spotify, Blinkist and others

2019 Diversity in the Workplace Report featuring 10 companies from 10 countries, such as India, Mexico, South Africa, Bulgaria, Germany, Ireland, UK, the US, etc

Meet our Team

Recognised by the industry and featured in Top 10 Emerging Diversity & Inclusion Companies in Europe in 2021

Passionate, dedicated counselling psychologist working in her private practice, Abiola is a social justice and rights advocate; dedicated to understanding and engaging with the complex and nuanced challenges we all face as humans both as a psychologist and an activist. Particularly interested in how injustice can affect the mental well-being of individuals and communities deprived of their rights. She attended UCD and completed her doctorate at Trinity College Dublin. She co-founded “Racism on the Couch”, a platform used as a resource for mental health practitioners to address racism more effectively in the therapeutic space. Abiola has facilitated numerous processes and workshops and addressed the United Nations Committee on the Eradication of Racial Discrimination in Geneva in 2019 when Ireland was being examined. Abiola's lifelong journey is making mental health information more accessible while combating inequalities injustice, and exclusion.

Dr. Abiola Muhammed Ogunfowora • She/Her

DEIB Researcher | Anti-Racism | Mental Health

With a background in sociology and international NGO management, Kameliya is well-versed in the areas of good governance, organisational integrity and effectiveness, culture change and diversity and inclusion. In the past, Kameliya has worked on elevating the governance capacity of numerous high performing non-profits through in-depth research, benchmarking analysis, policy evaluation, consultations and the development of action plans, helping those organisations improve their efficiency and effectiveness through transparent and accountable practices. In addition, Kameliya has extensive experience in strategic outreach, NGO compliance, investigative research, report writing, financial controlling and grant proposal writing. In her free time, Kameliya is a mountain climber and a tree-hugger, activist at heart, driven to cross swords with the unjust. With roots in both Berlin and Sofia, she is fluent in English, German, and Bulgarian.

Kameliya Tomova • She/Her •

Transparency & Accountability Strategist

I have started my career in the Fintech industry as part of a very agile Talent Acquisition team, then I did a deep dive into the employee experience area working as a Human Resources Business Partner and last but not least, I have been part of a global Diversity & Inclusion team. I have had the opportunity to be part of one of Google's initiatives to empower and support historically excluded communities, especifically trans* women in São Paulo. As a result of that, you can watch the film Google produced that tells a little bit of my story as a transgender woman working in the Tech Industry in Brazil and how initiatives like Google’s can change lives like it did with mine. I am driven by connecting with people from different backgrounds with different life experiences and I hope we can build a much more just and equitable place for everyone. — I have started my career in the Fintech industry as part of a very agile Talent Acquisition team, then I did a deep dive into the employee experience area working as a Human Resources Business Partner and last but not least, I have been part of a global Diversity & Inclusion team. I have had the opportunity to be part of one of Google's initiatives to empower and support historically excluded communities, especifically trans* women in São Paulo. As a result of that, you can watch the film Google produced that tells a little bit of my story as a transgender woman working in the Tech Industry in Brazil and how initiatives like Google’s can change lives like it did with mine. I am driven by connecting with people from different backgrounds with different life experiences and I hope we can build a much more just and equitable place for everyone.

Victoria Napolitano • She/Her

DEIB Strategist

Wellbeing | Trans | LGBTQIAP+

ice-President for Wellbeing at DCU Students’ Union, and former VP for Welfare & Equality at DCU Students’ Union.  During my BSc (Hons) in Psychology, I worked as a student advocate chairing Dublin City University’s LGBTQ+ Student Society. During that role, I discovered my passion for EDI work having been involved in the draft of DCU’s Student Gender Identity Policy, the rollout of DCU’s first Rainbow Week celebrating LGBTQ+ diversity, and raising over €8K for local LGBTQ+ charities.  I led as Editor-In-Chief for Vessy.com’s Diversity in the Workplace Report 2019, and 2020. As VP for Welfare & Equality on DCU SU, I worked with students directly on casework regarding mental, physical, and sexual health, as well as finance, accommodation, and equality. I created DCU’s Accessibility Policy for Societies alongside the Students with Disabilities Advisory Group, which I also founded. — Vice-President for Wellbeing at DCU Students’ Union, and former VP for Welfare & Equality at DCU Students’ Union. During my BSc (Hons) in Psychology, I worked as a student advocate chairing Dublin City University’s LGBTQ+ Student Society. During that role, I discovered my passion for EDI work having been involved in the draft of DCU’s Student Gender Identity Policy, the rollout of DCU’s first Rainbow Week celebrating LGBTQ+ diversity, and raising over €8K for local LGBTQ+ charities. I led as Editor-In-Chief for Vessy.com’s Diversity in the Workplace Report 2019, and 2020. As VP for Welfare & Equality on DCU SU, I worked with students directly on casework regarding mental, physical, and sexual health, as well as finance, accommodation, and equality. I created DCU’s Accessibility Policy for Societies alongside the Students with Disabilities Advisory Group, which I also founded.

Dean O'Reilly • He/Him

People Analyst Lead

Why we do what we do at Vessy.com?

We find fulfilment in helping people remove the internal and external barriers they face so they can live happier and healthier lives.

“Happiness is fulfilment, it's when what you think, say, and do are in harmony and tied to a purpose.”

What sets us apart?

We’re deeply invested in Employee Experience

We focus on understanding your Business & engaging your senior executives. Vessy has been:

Leading: acted as C-level executive for 2 years (CMO, CSO); led and coached a remote team of 5
Engaging leaders: reported for 5 years directly to C-level executives in organizations of size ranging between 4 and 800 employees
Project Management & Collaboration: partnered with dozens of internal & external stakeholders across a wide array of businesses, functions, and geographies
Communication: led communications for 10 years; acted in roles covering strategy, product, marketing, biz dev, culture, operations