ExecuTalks

Leigh was born & raised in Bellevue, WA, and both of her parents worked in public education as teachers. She grew up feeling different than other kids because they displayed much more wealth than she saw at home and that proved to be a driving force to advance her career.  There is one thing that Leigh expressed in her childhood that she has never changed: A disinterest in conforming to the social norms of dress codes.

Leigh attended the University of Washington, got her degree in Psychology, and ended up working for the Seattle Mariners as the Director of Public Affairs. There, she would be given the task of handling Senator Maria Cantwell's tickets. Several years after an initial meeting with the Senator, Leigh received a call asking if she was interested in helping campaign. Consistent with her strong tenet of being opportunistic and always saying "yes," she went on to help the senator win.

She then went on to serve a variety of other roles including Chief Marketing Officer for Avvo: a marketplace that connects lawyers with clients, and discusses a key failure during the interview.

Leigh currently serves as the CEO of Whitepages, a data company that helps you uncover information about people such as background checks. Whitepages is trusted by over 35 million users!

John was raised in the suburbs of Detroit, MI and grew up with six other siblings. He had a sustained curiosity for the technology around electronics, which was heavily influenced by his father. At just 13-years-old he began trying out different ways of making money including writing a book, landscaping, and deejaying. 

At just 21-years-old, John started a business that helps businesses build websites. He managed to acquire a $6M contract from Ford Motor Company and also acquire other notable customers such as General Motors. He was awarded the Michigan Young Entrepreneur of the Year by the Michigan Governor: John Engler. 

After several business ventures, John started Zipwhip in 2007: A Seattle-based cloud texting provider that helps businesses communicate with their customers via text messaging.  Since Zipwhip’s birth, John has raised over $90M, currently has over 300 employees, and the company is experiencing outstanding growth.

Ambika ("Bika") was born & raised in Bellevue, WA and was a part of the first class to graduate from the International Community School. There, she would get elected as the ASB president and get her first "start-up" experience.

Bika grew up with an innate desire to continuously engage in conversations so she's been known as "the chatterbox" throughout her life.

After graduating college, she went on to work for Microsoft for almost 3 years before realizing that she wasn't feeling truly fulfilled, even though she loved and enjoyed her job. She had serious ambitions to work for a small start-up, so she started doing what she does best! She chatted with others about her thoughts and feelings, which led her to her first start-up experience: TravelPost.

Despite failing after just one year at her first start-up, Bika's ambition continued to grow and her heart would eventually lead her to birth Armoire: A clothing rental company that is disrupting the retail market with over $5 million in funding at the time of this episode.