Welcome to another episode of Career Memos! I am thrilled to welcome Allison Messner, the Co-Founder and CEO of Yardzen, an online landscape design platform. Allison’s career journey has taken her from PR to a budding tech startup, where she witnessed their growth from 10 to 200 employees.

In partnership with her husband Adam, Allison’s mission at Yardzen is to make landscape design beautiful and affordable for the everyday homeowner. She shares the wild way she came up with the idea, and what it was like to build her startup from the ground up. Hint: it was a lot of bootstrapping at first! Her advice and wisdom about raising capital and working with VCs is absolute gold, and there are so many takeaways in this conversation. Enjoy!

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Yardzen

Careers at Yardzen

TechCrunch Disrupt

OpenDNS

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I am thrilled about today’s guest who has built an impressive career in the healthcare industry by taking risks and believing in herself. Jess Horwitz is the VP of Clinical Operations & Virtual Care of Tia, a hip, new, venture-backed company that is transforming and modernizing women’s health.

Jess takes us all the way back to the very beginning of her non-linear path to healthcare, starting with a role at a nonprofit and later working for the American Academy of Pediatrics, before going back to school to become a nurse practitioner. All along the way, her passion for public health, scaling clinical teams and helping people live healthier lives was front and center. I’m so excited to share Jess’s wisdom today. Enjoy!

Tia

Careers at Tia

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In today’s episode, we’re exploring what a career in sustainability is actually like. Saskia van Gendt is the Head of Sustainability at Rothy’s, a fast-growing, eco-friendly brand that produces comfortable footwear and handbags made from recycled materials.

Prior to that, Saskia held roles at method in product innovation and navigated government work at the Environmental Protection Agency with a focus on ocean plastics and packaging. Her career has been a natural extension of her passion and there are many different avenues to explore. 

I’m fascinated by everything shared in this conversation, and if you’ve ever had a curiosity about working in sustainability, this is the conversation for you.

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Rothy’s

Rothy’s Quest for Better (Video)

Careers at Rothy’s

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Fatima Yusuf has had an inspiring career journey that took her from New York, back to Canada to lead Ecosystem Partnerships at Shopify. Having had the entrepreneurial itch herself, Fatima tells all about how she was a customer of Shopify first, running her own ecommerce business, and how a chance networking event in New York ultimately led to the niche role she has today.

This is the perfect conversation to tune into if you’ve ever thought about moving to a new city and are deeply curious about the magic of taking a risk, even when it seems terrifying.

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Shopify

Careers at Shopify

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Julia Waneka has had an extensive career in communications, PR, and marketing. And today, she’s the Head of Communications at Faire, an online wholesale marketplace for entrepreneurs, independent retailers and brands, with over 170,000 customers! Faire sells everything from handmade candles to amazing up and coming apparel brands and home goods.

In this conversation, Julia shares her secrets about everything from agency life, to taking risks, being curious, and becoming a mom while holding a leadership role in a fast-growing start-up. Sit back, relax, and enjoy!

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Faire

Careers at Faire

Faire’s Podcast, Brick & Order

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Natalie Sportelli was bitten by the writing bug at a young age, working her way from an Associate Content Producer role at Forbes to becoming the Head of Content at a hot new company called Thingtesting. If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to have a role in content, this is the episode for you.

Natalie walks us through her content-related roles at Forbes, VC firm Lerer Hippeau, and Thingtesting, while sharing her best advice around leveraging your network to find new roles and how to get that promotion or raise at your current company.

Thingtesting

Careers at Thingtesting

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As the co-founder and CCO of Modern Fertility, Carly Leahy has had an incredible career journey that will inspire you if you’re interested in the intersection of entrepreneurship and being a creative in business.

Carly reveals what her partnership is like with her co-founder Afton - from how they met over an epic email intro, and the key ingredients to a successful partnership, plus she dives into the inner workings of her company, now a team of 30 full-time employees.

There are so many gems and takeaways from this conversation that are sure to spark new ideas, especially if you’re thinking about launching your own company.

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Modern Fertility

Careers at Modern Fertility

Y Combinator

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Today I’m chatting with Rashi Birla, the VP of Brand and Creative at Prose, an innovative hair  and wellness brand where you can customize and create your own hair care formula. If you’re familiar with Prose, you know how truly awesome their branding is, so it’s such an honor to bring Rashi onto the show.

Before Prose, Rashi was a talented designer who dabbled in prop styling and floral design before deciding to run her own small business for a couple of years. One of her first clients was Payal Kadakia, now the founder and chairman of ClassPass!

I love how Rashi shares a behind the scenes look at what it means to be in a creative role in the fast-paced tech industry. Enjoy!

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Prose

Careers at Prose

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I have such a fun episode today with Cerelle Centeno, who works for astrology app Co-Star, a fascinating tech company that strives to create real human connections. You can use Co-Star to connect better with your colleagues and even yourself, and the data is both human and AI-driven. 

Cerelle walks us through her career journey, spilling her best insights on the many variations of product roles, and the invaluable career advice she’s received along the way. I have no doubt you’ll be inspired after listening to this conversation. Visit www.costarastrology.com to get your FREE astrological chart.

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Co-Star

Careers at Co-Star

Episode 16: Unlocking Your Career Path Using Personality Tests with Molly Owens, CEO and Founder of Truity

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Today I’m doing something a little bit different. I’m inviting you behind the scenes of my own career journey!

While I’ve accomplished a lot over the past 13+ years and have had the opportunity to work in senior level roles at Apple and Postmates, I’ve also fumbled through job searches, interviews, and negotiations and had my fair share of twists and turns along the way. So in this episode, I’m having a fun, casual conversation - sharing memos from my career, the mistakes I’ve made, and why I created The Job Seeker Lab withSarina.

Did you enjoy today’s episode? Leave us a rating and review!

Learn more about Sarina here: https://withsarina.com/about

The Job Seeker Lab withSarina - Enrollment Is Now Open!

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