Sometimes growth isn’t about becoming someone new, but about choosing what you carry forward.

I never imagined I would change my surname.

For most of my life, my name was simply Elsya Fhani. It carried my roots, my upbringing, and the version of myself who built her career step by step, often far from home. It was the name I used when I started my journey in Software Quality Assurance, navigated new countries, learned English through real work, and proved myself in unfamiliar environments.

Changing a surname wasn’t something I planned or even thought about deeply. It happened naturally, at a point in my life where growth no longer felt like something I was doing alone.

When I married my husband last year, I chose to take his surname and become Elsya Fhani Goullet, or simply Elsya Goullet. It wasn’t about tradition. It was about alignment. About partnership. About acknowledging a new chapter where personal growth and professional growth are deeply connected.

Around the same time, I started my first company.

The name EFG came from my full name: Elsya Fhani Goullet. Fhani, my maiden name, became my middle name, and it felt important to keep it there. EFG represents continuity. Who I was, who I am becoming, and the bridge between those two identities.

Interestingly, this year marks one year of marriage and one year of my company. Both grew side by side. Both required commitment, learning, patience, and trust. Neither came fully formed. And neither would work without effort and intention.

My husband introduced me to the world of business in a way no book or course ever could. Through real conversations, real decisions, and real consequences. I’m still learning. Every day. But learning alongside someone who believes in building things properly, with clarity and discipline, has shaped how I think about business.

Taking his surname felt like a reflection of that shared journey.

Professionally, I still carry everything that made me who I am. Over a decade in Software Quality Assurance taught me structure, critical thinking, and the importance of building systems that work. Entrepreneurship has taught me how to apply those same principles to people, operations, and growth.

My name now reflects that evolution.

Elsya Fhani Goullet is not a replacement of who I was. It’s an expansion. A name that holds my past, my partnership, and my direction forward.

This blog exists for the same reason. To document growth. To share lessons learned through experience. And to show that evolution doesn’t mean losing yourself, it means building on what already exists.

Sometimes, a name change is not about leaving something behind.
It’s about choosing what you carry forward.

Cheers!- EG