Stories of women letting go to get ahead
Why, when, and how to reinvent your career.
Lauren Strayhorn: How to Get Comfortable with the Startup Founder Identity
Lauren Strayhorn is the Founder and Editor in Chief of Notedd, a digital media company that helps women of color stay informed, connected, and authentically themselves. Lauren left a consulting career in a big four firm to become a Founder and entrepreneur. We talk about Lauren’s motivation to make that pivot and, as a self-proclaimed introvert, what it’s like stepping into the high-visibility role of Founder. Lauren also shares what Black women are missing in the media and Corporate America and how Notedd is building a coalition of players ready to change.
Sophia Matveeva: The Non-Techie Tech Founder
Sophia Matveeva is the CEO & founder of Tech for Non-Techies, an education company and consultancy helping corporates upskill their teams for digital transformation and teaching non-technical innovators how to bring their ideas to life. Sophia’s career has had twists and turns–from PR to private equity to entrepreneurship. We talk about finding the “connecting thread” across your career, why women so frequently ignore their greatest strengths, and what helps non-techies get into the Tech world.
Stacy Mayer: The pivot from actor to coach–and how more women can get promoted sooner
Stacy Mayer started her career as an actor. Today, she is a bestselling author and leads an executive coaching company that helps women reach promotions and leadership positions sooner in their career. Stacy and I talk about her jumps from acting, to hedge fund, to teaching yoga, to business owner to bestselling author. And the three pieces of advice she has for women in the corporate world who want to level up.
Mary Kay Ziniewicz: Leading a work revolution for mamas everywhere
“It’s time for a work revolution.” This is Mary Kay Zniewicz’s motto when it comes to women and work. Mary Kay started her career in media, law, and marketing but today she is the Founder of Bus Stop Mamas, a career reentry program for moms to pursue flexible work. Mary Kay and I talk about the importance of access to career knowledge, the bus stop experience that inspired her to launch Bus Stop Mamas, and what she wishes companies would do to keep women in the workforce. Read on for more about the revolution Mary Kay is leading!
Kristi Andrus: Why entrepreneurship is the best-kept secret for moms
Kristi Andrus left a successful career as a media executive at HBO, managing affiliate accounts during The Sopranos to Game of Thrones. She and her husband spent two years traveling and raising their kids. Then, Kristi launched a coaching business to help women feeling stuck in their careers figure out how to maximize their potential and purpose. We talk about Kristi’s pivots in and out of the workforce, why entrepreneurship is the best-kept secret for moms, and how women can work less but be more.
Lauren Tetenbaum: Why women are pivoting today
Lauren Tetenbaum is one of the millions of women who changed their career since the COVID-19 pandemic began. A licensed social worker and attorney, she pivoted away from her career in law to become a therapist supporting young women and working and new moms. Lauren and I talked about how she knew it was time to change and the excitement she felt after transitioning into a role that felt right. Lauren is personally and professionally on the pulse of what other working women are feeling lately, helpful coping mechanisms for working parents, and what employers should be doing to retain women in the workforce.
Jackie Morales: Pivoting at the height of your career
Jackie Morales was at the height of her career in the Insurance industry when she decided to leave her safe, predictable corporate role to enter the startup world. We talk about the advantage of pivoting later in your career, why her career story makes her proud, and the advice she has for other women navigating career shifts. Plus–how her childhood growing up on a farm influenced the way she sees gender.
Mari-Anne Chikerema Chiromo: Career pivots and entrepreneurship as a single mom
Mari-Anne Chikerema Chiromo has built a dynamic career spanning big law firms, big tech, big 4 consultancy and also entrepreneurship. Her career path is fluid, but her mission is steadfast: as a single mom, to build a legacy and future opportunity for her son. Mari-Anne and I talk about her identity as a single mom, immigrant, and woman of color and its impact on her career and decision to launch entrepreneurial side hustles. Plus why the corporate world can be exhausting for people who are visually different and what advice she has for those who feel fed up.
Kristen Johnson — How do you launch a company during a global pandemic?
Kristen Johnson grew up in a family of entrepreneurs and always dreamed of starting her own business. But she never took the leap—until she was forced to. A COVID layoff was the push she needed to reimagine her career trajectory. Two days later, she began working on her own marketing company. Since becoming an entrepreneur, she has gained more challenging work, impact, and time with her family. We talk about her layoff as a blessing, how to launch a business during the pandemic, and why her definition of success changed.
Mai Ton — If You Can’t Find It, Build It
Mai Ton built a successful career as the go-to HR leader for growth startups. But when her daughter started questioning why she was always the only woman and woman of color in the room, she committed to working with diverse leaders and work cultures. If you can’t find it, build it. Today Mai is the Chief People Officer at Kickstarter and still coaches leaders as part of her own consulting business. She also wrote the book Come Into My Office: Stories from an HR Leader in Silicon Valley. It’s her mission to level the playing field for her daughter and other children entering the workforce over the next decade.
Ellen Rice Chever — Becoming a DEI&A game changer
Ellen Rice Chever pivoted her career as a healthcare consultant to become a D&EIA leader and podcast host. I talk with Ellen about the importance of aligning your career with your lived experiences, how being “the only” in the room motivated her career pivot, and why working moms have it so hard today. Ellen also shares her top advice for women and underrepresented groups trying to build their best possible career.
Lori Mihalich-Levin: A risk-averse lawyer becomes an entrepreneur
Lori Mihalich-Levin, a self-professed risk-averse lawyer, built a successful, traditional legal career as a big law attorney and policy analyst. Then she had two kids within two years and experienced firsthand the challenges of returning to work after having children. Her life as an entrepreneur began. She dove into building Mindful Return, an employer program for parents returning to work, while flexing her legal career along the way. Lori and I talk about balancing a company, day job, and family—as well as what employers are finally getting right when it comes to supporting parents, and what still needs to change.
Megan Elizabeth Gray — Leaving big law
Megan Elizabeth Gray worked for one of the largest law firms in the world. She was intensely driven to become a Partner, the major law firm promotion that signals you’ve made it. But along the way her ambition changed—and Megan left her firm. We discuss how ambition evolves throughout your career, the resources Megan relied on to get clarity, and how you reconcile the values of a working immigrant family with the choice to change one’s path in life.
Laura Kiernan — The journey to working with billionaire founders
Laura Kiernan is an accomplished investor relations executive leading IR and managing public offerings for household brand names like Revlon, Playtex, Harry Winston, WWE (yes, the wrestling one) and Ubiquiti. Today Laura is the founder of her own consulting company, runs the podcast Raising Billions, and is an upcoming author. She also just founded Raising Millions, The Financial Literacy Course for Founders. Laura and I talk about her career transitions, how money factors into a career pivot, and her experience working for multiple billionaire founders.
Claire Krawsczyn – How to move from side gig to full-time business owner
While building a successful corporate PR career, Claire Krawsczyn also started building a side hustle writing blogs and content marketing. When her side hustle started generating as much revenue as her job, she had a decision to make. Claire and I talk about what it’s like for an anti-risk-taker to build a business, why women struggle to see their full potential, and the one piece of advice she carries with her years later.
Leela Srinivasan — The winding path to CMO
Leela Srinivasan took a meandering path to her role as Chief Marketing Officer at fintech decacorn Checkout.com—pivoting from receptionist at a newswire service, to salesperson, to banker and consultant, and finally to marketing. We talk about the benefits of a nonlinear career path and how knowing your authentic self will point you in the right direction.
Nicole Sahin — The many pivots toward CEO
Nicole Sahin has pivoted from anthropologist to yoga instructor to Founder and CEO of a billion-dollar company. I talk with Nicole about the value of following your intuition, how women can muster the courage to jump to something new, and her one regret in her career.
Cary Lin — The building blocks toward CEO
Cary Lin is the founder and CEO of Common Heir. She pivoted from finance and consulting to working with the beauty industry’s biggest female leaders – and finally, taking her place in line as founder and CEO. We talk about the pressure on female founders, biases in venture capital funding, and the power of seeing role models who look like you.
Dr. Melynda Barnes — From surgeon to the C-Suite
Dr. Melynda Barnes left a coveted career in plastic surgery to take a chance on a health tech startup. Today Melynda is the Chief Medical Officer at Ro, a “unicorn” startup valued at $5B – but that success wasn’t always certain. Melynda and I talk about the concern from friends and family, the pressure of being a role model for black female surgeons, and despite all that, why Melynda knew she had to pivot.
Allison Whalen — From Wall Street to parental leave expert and CEO
Allison Whalen left coveted roles on Wall Street to move into the startup tech world and eventually become a CEO and Founder. We talk about the difficulty of pivoting away from a job you love and how becoming a mom made Allison a better leader.