The internet allowed me to become an independent entrepreneur, because it quickly removed gatekeepers, reshaped opportunity, and changed how careers, success, and independence are built.
Why the Internet Changed Who Gets to Succeed
Not so long ago, success followed a very narrow path.
When I was just starting my career and exploring different directions as a very young woman, you needed permission.
From institutions, organisations, gatekeepers. From the right people, in the right places, at the right time.
Talent and hard work alone weren’t enough. If you didn’t have access, you simply didn’t move forward.
Before the internet, success depended largely on permission from institutions rather than on what individuals could independently build and share.
And by being my naturally opinionated, direct self, you can probably see why following a rigid top-down script was never my cup of tea.
I wanted independence, and I wanted it on my own terms.
When I graduated in economics, I was already a well known personality Switzerland, Italy, and other parts of Europe.
I explored different professional paths: investment banking, studied acting in the USA and even landed a minor role in a Hollywood production, tv hosted business shows in Europe. I worked across countries, languages, and industries.. while still trying to figure out my path.
In all this. one thing remained constant: progress was fragmented, geographically and linguistically, and decisions were almost always filtered through producers, agencies, managers, or people in positions of power. Everything moved country by country and approval by approval.
And that system, however established, never felt built for ambitious people who wanted full autonomy rather than permission.
I wouldn’t compromise, ever. So the ceiling always felt fixed and unbreakable.
I knew what I didn’t want, but I didn’t yet know how to build something fully on my own terms. At one point, I found myself back on my mom’s couch, reflecting, recalibrating, trying to imagine a career that was truly only mine. And then, something shifted.
Not because a door finally opened, but because the structure itself was changing rapidly.
The rise of social media and digital platforms removed many traditional gatekeepers and allowed individuals to build visibility and careers independently.
What looked like sheer luck from the outside was really timing meeting opportunity.
For the first time, it became possible to build something directly, with little to no investment, without asking permission, without geography deciding the outcome, and without compromising my outspoken, opinionated, “bossy” personality.
That’s when everything changed — and how I started my first digital business, a web magazine called Chic Overdose. A first of various.. that led me here.
The internet fundamentally changed who gets to succeed by removing traditional gatekeepers and giving individuals direct access to opportunity.
That change didn’t happen overnight, and it didn’t happen evenly, but it changed the rules permanently.
Today, you can test ideas publicly and learn while doing. With hard work and repetition, you can build visibility and be heard without needing approval from anyone in a position of power.. just you and the people choosing to read you.
The value of your work no longer disappears when you change jobs, cities, or even countries.
In 2026, social media is often framed as the root of all evil.. and yes, it has real drawbacks that deserve to be addressed, improved, and corrected.
But digital platforms made it possible for me, and for millions of others, to build careers, businesses, and audiences independently, without traditional hierarchies. For that, I will forever be deeply grateful.
Understanding how digital platforms reshaped success is essential for anyone building a modern career or business today.
The question is no longer, “Who will let me try?”
It’s, “What am I willing to build, repeatedly, in public?”
Take the opportunity.
written by Xenia Tchoumi | entrepreneur, author, digital strategist.