Immigrating from Ukraine nearly three decades ago, Alla V. Koudriavtseva remembers arriving in the U.S. with only a suitcase. Today, she is a U.S. citizen and the owner of three businesses: the award-winning Golden Sunset Limousine; Alla VK International Design Company, an interior decorating firm; and The Alfa Male Drink, which produces Alfimov Noble Vodka. Ms. Koudriavtseva says she considers being successful as an entrepreneur as well as in residential real estate property management have been her greatest career achievements despite some challenges, which included overcoming obstacles to securing a license for her limousine company because of competition and being discriminated against as a woman and an immigrant who spoke with an accent.
Highlighting Ms. Koudriavtseva’s most visible business, which receives glowing reviews for providing first-class customer service, Golden Sunset Limousine’s luxury rentals provide a wide variety of offerings for nearly every occasion and budget, customized with the customer in mind to help create the best possible passenger experience. Some of the packages designed to attract business are advertised for a romantic dinner, San Diego visit tour, birthday party specials, Sin City tours, girls’ nights out, wedding parties, exclusive airport pickup/drop off, prom night party rides, the Temecula Wine Tour, bachelor/bachelorette parties, business meetings, executive corporate events, and holiday packages. The company’s limousines are equipped with a television, multimedia players, a complimentary full bar, and an internal phone to communicate with the driver.
Ms. Koudriavtseva believes her success is the result of hard work, the ability to adapt to almost any situation, having a diverse background, and having lots of different professional and personal interests and involvements. Self-described as never being satisfied with the status quo, she thrives on trying new things and learning in order to “better” herself. As a result, she has become a scholar in various disciplines, completing coursework toward a Doctor of Philosophy in psychology after already earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a Bachelor of Nursing from the University of Nevada Las Vegas. Ms. Koudriavtseva additionally holds a degree in fashion design and modeling.
Since 2017, Ms. Koudriavtseva has been a member of the American Psychological Association, which has invited her to present her research on pathological personality traits at a conference in Washington, D.C., in the summer of 2023. Her goal in this area is to integrate applied statistics to assist with diagnosing patients with mental health challenges.
Before moving to the U.S., while in her 20s, Ms. Koudriavtseva attended medical school in Ukraine, which was then still part of Russia, where she struggled to make a living and felt unsafe. She was always drawn to the arts, however, and decided to leave home, studying fashion design when she first settled in the U.S., in Seattle, Washington, in search of a better and more prosperous life. She also had family who moved to New York years earlier, which encouraged her to make the transition.
In five to 10 years, in addition to expecting to have earned her Doctor of Philosophy in psychology, she wants to invest in apartment complexes with partners. Her husband’s family in Florida, she says, owns a construction company, and she is working with them to buy, rebuild and resell properties and homes that were destroyed by hurricanes. Lastly, Ms. Koudriavtseva is in the finishing stages of developing an alcoholic beverage through her company, The Alfa Male Drink, a dream she has sought to fulfill for more than 15 years. She is the proud mother of a son, Alexander Yuwantoro, whom she wants to help continue to succeed after he recently earned a master’s degree in business analytics and landed a lucrative job.
