Approaching Difficult Conversations, Changing Systems, and Finding Light in the Darkness with Tibisay Hernandez, Founder of A Curious Space

#19: Today we sit down with Sean Atkinson, Small Business Advisor and Owner of Majority Media. In our conversation, Sean shares his early life experiences at Atlantic Records, and what he learned about entrepreneurship from some of the world’s biggest pop stars. We discuss how he became an active observer of people, and someone willing to own processes end-to-end, both of which paved the way for his agency career. Sean also describes what he and other marginalized groups learned from operating at ‘the back of the room,’ and what ultimately drove him to create rooms of his own. If you’re interested in entrepreneurship, but reject the ‘one-size-fits all’ approach to business, you’re not going to want to miss this episode.   To get in touch with the show clickHERETo connect with Sean clickHERETo follow the show clickHEREFor Detailed Show Notes Visit:marginalpodcast.comMusic By:SiddharthaProduced By:CalPal

#18: Today we sit down with Kate Minogue, AI Advisor and Fractional Chief Product Officer. We chat about her early obsession with customer psychology and how this paved the way for her career in data. We discuss her Marketing Science positions at Meta, and how working with certain client profiles brought her very close to product. We learn how Kate dove into fractional product roles thereafter, and what led her to finally start claiming the title of 'AI expert' and inviting other, more diverse voices to do the same. She also shares what she’d like to learn most from her male allies in startup world, and the importance of modeling ‘good enough’ for underrepresented builders. If you’re interested in the intersection of tech, humans, and society at large, this is definitely the episode for you.  To get in touch with the show click HERE Connect with Kate via her website HERE or her LinkedIn HERE To follow the show click HERE For Detailed Show Notes Visit: marginalpodcast.com Music By: Siddhartha Produced By: CalPal

#17: Today we sit down with Ryan Welti, yoga teacher, retreat host and founder of RetreatVi. We chat about her journey in management consulting and her experience with corporate burnout - both of which led her to seek out more wellness practices in her life. Ryan shares how she laid the foundations for entrepreneurship early in her corporate career - doing things like prioritizing a paycheck, treating every contact as a potential investor, and building a personal brand outside of work. If you’re interested in authentic entrepreneurship, personal wellness, and making your career work for you (not the other way around), definitely give this episode a listen. To get in touch with the show click HERE To follow Ryan on social click HERE To learn more about RetreatVi click HERE To follow the show click HERE For Detailed Show Notes Visit: marginalpodcast.com Music By: Siddhartha Produced By: CalPal

#16: Today we sit down with Leoni Parkinson, Performance Marketing Strategist and Breathwork Coach. In our episode, we dive into Leoni’s non-linear career path which includes jobs in eCommerce, Marketing Tech, and early childhood ed in Shanghai. We discuss Leoni feeling disconnected from herself which led her to move countries on more than one occasion - that is, until the pandemic, when she also discovered breathwork. Leoni shares the lessons learned when starting her own breathwork coaching company and performance marketing company, and how she decided to pause business ownership and start operating from a place of abundance. If you’re looking for conversation around self discovery, career transitions, and entrepreneurship on your terms, you won’t want to miss this episode.  To get in touch with the show click HERE To get in touch with Leoni click HERE Tune in to Leoni's new Podcast HERE To learn more about Hunch Ads click HERE To follow the show click HERE For Detailed Show Notes Visit: marginalpodcast.com Music By: Siddhartha Produced By: CalPal

#15: Today we sit down with Mina Kim, Co-Founder of Measured, a tool that empowers non-tech product managers to track user behavior without engineers’ help. In our episode, Mina talks about moving to the states from South Korea and the cultural differences she noticed beginning in high school. She shares how these experiences taught her autonomy and the ability to problem-solve as the most fluent English speaker in her family. Mina also explains how her early startup experiences drove her to entrepreneurship - and how she found inspiration in the things she wasn’t good at as a non-technical founder. If you’re looking for conversation about designing for inclusion, and converting your ‘weakness’ into your superpower, this is the episode for you! To get in touch with the show click HERE To get in touch with Mina click HERE To learn more about Measured click HERE To follow the show click HERE For Detailed Show Notes Visit: marginalpodcast.com Music By: Siddhartha Produced By: CalPal

#14: Today we sit down with Sweta Govani, Founder of Founder-Led Marketing Club, a program that helps underestimated founders get their first 100 Happy Paying Customers on their terms. In today’s episode, Sweta talks about immigrating to the US from Mumbai, and how this helped her see issues of wealth disparity with brand new eyes. She also discusses her early tech startup career - driven by a healthy dose of perfectionism - and how this illuminated the issues of different company funding models (not the least of which being Venture Capital). We learn how this led Sweta to work with tech and tech-enabled founders like herself, helping them to customer-fund their business and drive sustainable, life-changing wealth. This episode is such a gift for all of the underestimated, but more-than capable, founders out there seeking alternatives to the ‘growth at all costs’ model.  To get in touch with the show click HERE To get in touch with Sweta click HERE (and mention ‘Marginal’ in your connection request) To learn more about Founder-Led Marketing Club / Happy Paying Customers click HERE For Sweta’s free resource on how to validate your idea with real customers, click HERE To follow the show click HERE For Detailed Show Notes Visit: marginalpodcast.com Music By: Siddhartha Produced By: CalPal

#13: Today we sit down with Tibisay (Tibi) Hernandez, Founder of A Curious Space, a company specializing in DEI, training, and consultation services. Heading into the holiday season, Tibi shares practical guidance on approaching conversations with those who hold different views from our own - even when those views challenge our identity. She also speaks to her experience as a first-generation Dominican American who moved from the Bronx to Upstate NY to pursue her education, and everything else, with ‘excellence.’ Throughout her journey, we learn how Tibi constantly challenged the systems around her, ultimately culminating in the creation of her own leadership and learning solutions company in 2020. If you’re looking for inspiration on building a business, and building a crucial conversation, this is the episode for you.  To get in touch with the show click HERE To get in touch with Tibisay click HERE To follow the show click HERE For Detailed Show Notes Visit: marginalpodcast.com Music By: Siddhartha Produced By: CalPal

#12: Today we sit down with Catherine Connelly who cofounded myYearbook at 15 and grew it to become The Meet Group, a NASDAQ-listed dating and livestreaming company. Catherine talks about launching her startup in high school and the challenges of entering the public sector at such a young age. She speaks to the many evolutions of myYearbook leading up to a $500 million sale in 2020, and how ‘people’ always remained core to her company’s success. We also cover themes from her new book including how kindness has a way of ‘coming back around’ and how accessibility for one group doesn’t mean sacrifice for another. If you’re interested in designing a life you actually want, give this episode a listen and be sure pick up Designing Success: Lessons from 20 Years as a Female Tech Entrepreneur. To get in touch with the show click HERE To get in touch with Catherine click HERE To follow the show click HERE For Detailed Show Notes Visit: marginalpodcast.com Music By: Siddhartha Produced By: CalPal

#11: Today we sit down with Giovanna Ventola who founded Rhize, a free online community focused on the emotional well-being and professional development of our workforce. Giovanna shares how she was laid off three times in three years, and how she took to TikTok where audiences instantly connected with her candid expression and experiences of job loss. We discuss how her large social following gave way to Rhize, and the feelings of insecurity she still faces shifting from unemployed to self-employed. Giovanna also speaks to the impact of job loss on mental health, the importance of community, and how she’s continually found herself building bridges throughout work and life. Whether you’re currently on the job hunt, or in a season of transition, you’re not going to want to miss this episode.  To get in touch with the show click HERE To follow Giovanna click HERE & to learn more about Rhize click HERE To follow the show click HERE For Detailed Show Notes Visit: marginalpodcast.com Music By: Siddhartha Produced By: CalPal

#10: Today we sit down with Diana Kocheva who founded London Tech Community, a vibrant space for Ukrainian tech professionals to find their footing abroad. Diana shares how she fled Ukraine under Russian invasion, leaving behind her successful art tech startup for a new life in 2022. After landing a new job within one week, Diana explains how she was sought out by countless displaced job seekers, and how this culminated in the creation of the UK’s largest tech community. She also discusses why diversity builds better products, the superpowers of female leaders, and how passion is a differentiator in today’s job climate characterized by AI. If you’re looking for meaningful conversations on innovation, creativity, and human connection, this is the episode for you. To get in touch with the show click HERE To get in touch with Diana Kocheva click HERE To follow the show click HERE For Detailed Show Notes Visit: marginalpodcast.com Music By: Siddhartha Produced By: RevScience