PR Head Catherine Tarasova Talks Family, Money, and Life Philosophy 🔥

A rescheduled meeting with a mayor, a rushed fix, a hostile headline, and she was fired. She thought her career was over. Six months later, the mayor was fired too. 😮

At Affiliate World Asia Bangkok 2025, I sat down with Catherine Tarasova, PR head at Adsterra, for a personal fireside chat, not about ads but about her life. 🎙️

We talked about money, wisdom, her parents, and the failure that taught her two lessons she still uses. 💛

📊 In this episode, we unpacked:

• 🎪 Affiliate World Bangkok 2025
• 💰 Money as a tool
• 🧠 Regrets, wisdom and unrealized talents
• 📰 The PR failure that got her fired
• 👨‍👩‍👧 Her parents and her role model
• 🌍 $10 million and personal storytelling

🎥 Watch the full episode:

🎪 Affiliate World Bangkok 2025

Catherine called this year’s event “super intense”. Her team was exhausted but happy: they met existing clients and many new ones, and Asian markets are very important for Adsterra. 🌏

For more from the Adsterra team, read my interview with Aina Sivtceva and my conversation with Daria. 🔗

💰 Money Is Just a Tool

Can money buy happiness? “I don’t think that money can buy happiness,” but it can help. To her, money is “just a tool… an energy. The question is how you deal with this energy.” ⚡

She shared a phrase she likes: the universe has no other hands but ours, so the good things in this world must be done by us. She has seen money spoil people, “but it all depends on how you deal with it.” 🤲

If she won $10 million, her daily routine wouldn’t change much. She’d travel more to get to know other cultures, invest in something that gives stable long-term income, and fund charity projects, maybe cross-cultural ones. 🌍

🧠 Regrets, Wisdom and Unrealized Talents

Her biggest regret, she says philosophically, is that she wasn’t born wise, like anyone. Wisdom takes time, and “you can actually lose a lot of things and even people you love” before you gain it. 🦉

Her biggest fear is not realizing her talents. Everyone has some, and the challenge is knowing which ones and realizing them fully. With only 24 hours a day and life moving fast, she believes in using time intensely and wisely. ⏳

That’s also why she’s trying to become more of a morning person: the older you get, the more you understand how fast life goes. 🌅

📰 The PR Failure That Got Her Fired

As a young PR specialist, Catherine worked for a government-backed youth community and promoted its meetings with the mayor. When the mayor rescheduled one, she rushed to delete the press releases. 🏛️

A media outlet then acted like the “yellow press” and published that “someone called Katherine Tarasova” said the mayor didn’t want to meet the youth community. Her office was flooded with calls from the mayor’s PR team, “and of course I was fired.” 📞

She cried and thought her professional and personal life were over. Half a year later, the mayor was fired too, and her career continued. She took two lessons from it:

• ✍️ Always be very careful with wording, no matter what
• 🔭 See every situation in a wider perspective: what feels like a disaster can be nothing in the long term

For another story of setbacks turned into lessons, read Annie Ma on overcoming loss and regrets. 🔗

👨‍👩‍👧 Her Parents and Her Role Model

Her favorite childhood memories come after her parents divorced when she was little. Her father, a businessman with several stores, became a weekend parent and took her along on business drives, which felt like “a grand adventure.” 🚗

Her three most influential people:

• 👩 Her mom, who taught her to see the beauty and deeper meaning of the world
• 👨 Her dad, who taught her to “stand straight no matter what” and showed resilience and positivity despite a hard life
• ✝️ Jesus Christ, a model of how to understand and love people

Asked who she’d bring back, she also chose Jesus Christ, as one of the most influential figures in history, to ask what he thinks of today’s world and its challenges. 💭

🎙️ Why Personal Stories Matter

Catherine pointed to a trend: podcasts and interviews are becoming more personal. Brands can explain how cool their products are, “but we have to remember that behind every product is a person.” 👤

Adsterra is developing its own podcast around this trend. She wasn’t sure about Affiliate World Dubai 2026 but said maybe Budapest. 🎧

For another Bangkok conversation, read my interview with Matthew Woodward. 🔗

📝 Key Takeaways From the Catherine Tarasova Interview

• 💰 Money is a tool; what matters is how you use it
• 🦉 Wisdom takes time and often comes through loss
• ✍️ In PR, choose your words very carefully
• 🔭 View disasters in a wider perspective
• ⏳ Use your 24 hours wisely to realize your talents
• 👤 Behind every product is a person, so tell personal stories

❓ FAQs About Catherine Tarasova

Who is Catherine Tarasova?

Catherine Tarasova is the PR head at Adsterra. I interviewed her at Affiliate World Asia Bangkok 2025.

What was Catherine Tarasova’s biggest failure?

As a young PR specialist, a rushed fix to press releases about a rescheduled mayor meeting led to a hostile headline quoting her, and she was fired.

Does Catherine think money can buy happiness?

No. She sees money as a tool or energy and believes what matters is how you use it.

What would Catherine do with $10 million?

Travel more to know other cultures, invest for stable long-term income, and support charity projects, possibly cross-cultural ones.

🎙️ More Inside A Hustler’s Brain Interviews You’ll Love

• Jay Yap’s Guide to SEO Success and Wealth Building 🔥
• Interview of Ron Vining from ClickZ Live Bangkok 2015
• Rohan Chaubey on AI Growth Hacking & Life Lessons (Money Making Strategies) 💰
• Affiliate Marketer Ian Fernando Interview at Affiliate World Asia

What’s the biggest lesson a failure taught you? Share this with someone who needs a wider perspective today. 💬

🔔 Subscribe & Follow Jitendra Vaswani Everywhere

🎧 Subscribe to Inside A Hustler’s Brain on YouTube and Follow Jitendra Vaswani on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, everywhere. 🙌