Inès Kassubeck: “The first person you have to convince is yourself”
- 6 days ago
- 6 min read
As part of our campaign celebrating Frauenalia’s 10th anniversary, “10 Women, 10 Voices,” we are sharing the story of Inès Kassubeck. Originally from France, Inès came to Germany with the desire to live abroad, discover a new culture and create new professional opportunities for herself. Her path led her from communication and marketing to entrepreneurship. Today, through her project, she promotes representation, tolerance and the appreciation of curly hair.
A childhood dream: living abroad
Inès’s story with Germany began in 2009, when she took part in a student exchange at a German secondary school. A few years later, in 2012, she returned to Potsdam as an Erasmus student while completing her bachelor’s degree in France.
In 2015, she made an important decision: she moved permanently to Berlin. She was drawn to the opportunity to live in another country, learn a new language, discover a different culture and build professional opportunities between France and Germany.
“I had always wanted to live abroad and meet new people in order to open myself up to the world,” Inès recalls. Adapting was not always easy, but she was also happy to be fulfilling one of her biggest childhood dreams.
Finding her way in a new country
Inès’s first years in Germany were marked by important learning experiences. The culture, the language, personal relationships and bureaucracy were among the challenges she had to face.
“There is a separation between the country where you were born and your new home. It takes time to find your place, even after several years,” she explains.
However, Inès did not remain isolated. From the moment she arrived, she began building a network in different spaces: at university, in the workplace, in Franco-German organisations, at the French Embassy, in networking groups and in professional associations.
Her network helped her meet people, discover new opportunities and better understand the German professional environment. It also allowed her to build connections between different countries and cultures — something that remains an important part of the way she works today.
From communication and marketing to entrepreneurship
Inès studied German with a focus on communication as part of her degree in Foreign Languages, Literature and Civilisations at Paris XII University. She later completed a master’s degree in Foreign Language Linguistics, specialising in German as a Foreign Language, at the University of Potsdam.
After working on several film and cultural projects, she moved into marketing. In 2018, while completing her master’s degree, her mother decided to establish her own business and invited Inès to join her in the adventure.
This marked the beginning of a new professional chapter: Inès became a partner in the family’s first company and worked remotely between Germany and different countries in the fashion sector, including Italy and Portugal.
This experience allowed her to gain new skills, take on responsibility and experience first-hand what it means to build a project of your own. It also taught her to question decisions, seek new perspectives and surround herself with people who could enrich her entrepreneurial journey.
Sanganni: a response to a real need
Sanganni was created during the pandemic, following a conversation with a university friend whom Inès had met in Germany.
Both women have curly hair and had struggled for a long time to find suitable and healthy products for their hair type. From this shared experience came the idea of creating a project that would inform people with curly hair and support them in choosing the right products.
Sanganni was born from a personal need, but also from a broader social concern: helping people understand their hair better and make more conscious decisions about the products they use on their bodies.
“What makes my work special is being able to inform people, so that they have at least a basic understanding of their hair and of what they apply to their bodies,” Inès explains.
Her project is about more than products or advice. It also expresses a broader vision of representation and inclusion. For Inès, everyone has a place in society and deserves to be visible and represented, without being judged or excluded.
Identity is also expressed through hair
One of Sanganni’s central values is tolerance towards differences. In this case, those differences are expressed through curly hair, but the message goes far beyond hair.
Inès has met people who have told her that they literally “hate” a part of their body. These are powerful words, often shaped by comments, prejudice and external expectations.
That is why her work also has an emotional dimension. Seeing people express their identity with confidence and move through the world more self-assuredly is one of her greatest sources of motivation.
“You don’t realise how much a word or a gesture can affect another person,” she says.
Today, Sanganni continues to grow. Inès works with a salon in Berlin, has renewed her brand’s visual identity and has hired a social media manager. For her, each of these steps represents positive progress and confirms that her project is continuing to develop.
Doubt is also part of the journey
Inès’s path has not been free of doubt. During the pandemic, after deciding to leave her mother’s company, she applied for full-time jobs for the first time.
For two and a half years, she worked as an employee in two different companies. Over time, however, she began to feel underchallenged and missed having new challenges and fresh motivation in her professional life.
She realised that she wanted to build something of her own again. Step by step, she began developing her entrepreneurial project in Germany. At the end of 2025 and the beginning of 2026, she gradually reduced her hours as an employee, eventually moving to an 80% position. Still, she felt that she needed to take one more step.
This moment marked the beginning of a new chapter: choosing to pursue her own path more decisively.
“What we often call failures or obstacles are actually life experiences and opportunities to learn and get back up stronger,” she says.
An invitation to step outside your usual circle
At Frauenalia, Inès found a space for exchange, learning and support. She also had the opportunity to expand her network and take part in workshops that supported her professional and entrepreneurial development.
The programme came at an important moment. Inès felt blocked and was no longer sure where to focus her priorities in order to move her project forward.
“It came at exactly the right time,” she says. The experience confirmed that she was on the right path and did not need to question everything she had already achieved.
An invitation to step outside your usual circle
To women who are just starting their journey in Germany, Inès recommends not remaining only within their familiar surroundings.
“Come for yourselves. Meet people outside your own circle in order to create new professional and personal opportunities.”
In her view, Germany offers many possibilities, including those that may initially seem small or temporary. An experience today can open a door tomorrow, somewhere else and in an unexpected way.
Her own story shows that professional paths are not always linear. They can lead through different countries, industries and projects. They can include pauses, changes of direction and moments of uncertainty. What matters is to keep learning, build networks and remain open to new possibilities.
The first person you have to convince is yourself
Inès knows that pursuing an idea requires creativity, resilience and self-belief. She also knows how important it is to surround yourself with other people. But one belief guides her in particular:
“The first person you have to convince is yourself.”
For her, this does not simply mean believing in an idea in the abstract. It means embodying the values you want to communicate every day. With Sanganni, these values are tolerance, openness, representation and wellbeing.
Inès studied languages and cultures. She sees tolerance and openness towards others as universal values that she will continue to stand for wherever she lives.
Her story reminds us that our experiences, differences and personal histories are not obstacles we have to hide. They can become resources, sources of knowledge and the foundation for creating new paths.
The story of Inès Kassubeck is part of “10 Women, 10 Voices,” Frauenalia’s 10th anniversary campaign: ten women, ten stories and many different ways of building a life and career in Germany.
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