How I Got Here

Andrew Gazdecki had one goal as he was preparing to graduate college: to not have a job. Instead of a “job,” Andrew wanted to be an entrepreneur and grow something that he himself built. At this stage in his career, Andrew was primarily motivated by money – he viewed entrepreneurship as a pathway to a life that he didn’t have growing up and one that he wanted to provide to his family. After almost failing out of college, Andrew ultimately succeeded. His first company was acquired and he suddenly had the power to buy whatever he wanted. In that moment, Andrew had a realization:  he had no wants. In working towards his goal of making money, Andrew fell in love with the process itself. In his own words, he loves playing startup. In this conversation, hear how Andrew got to the place many dream of – selling a company and not having financial wants – and then figured out what to do next.

A common career trope we hear constantly is to pick something, anything really, and focus entirely on it from the earliest age possible. Work 10,000 hours and you'll achieve success, or something of the like. Range, a book by David Epstein, pushes back on this advice. David argues that having a diverse set of experiences actually makes us better in the modern working world. In fact, it's important to explore and sample, because if you stick with something you don't like, you'll end up not only unhappy, but failing to achieve your full potential. Our guest today is an amazing case study of this winding and exploratory approach. Natalie McCullough, currently the President and Chief Commercial Officer at Guild Education, didn't start her career off in business. In fact, her first job out of college was as a geologist, doing environmental assessments on groundwater contamination. In this episode, Natalie shares her career journey from geologist, to bike guide, to management consultant, to finally where she is today: an executive business leader at a mission driven company, helping frontline employees get more education affordably.

Hey There, We hope that you’ve had a great start to the new year! 

We wanted to share a quick update that we’ve been hard at work interviewing new guests for our upcoming season launching in March.

We’re excited to bring you a diverse set of career stories and advice. In this season, you’ll hear from a geologist turned into a mission-driven business leader, a college student with a 2.0 GPA who became a successful serial entrepreneur, an engineer on a mission to build the first natural, disposable diaper, and more.

To stay up to date, sign up for our newsletter: https://howigothere.substack.com/

This episode is a bit of an experiment. Instead of featuring a guest's story, hosts Lara Mitra and Eric Eliasson will take some time to reflect on what they've learned since launching How I Got Here. You’ll hear what Lara and Eric plan to do differently in their careers as a result of 25 inspiring conversations and get a behind the scenes look of what they're thinking about as they continue to grow How I Got Here in 2021. Whether you've listened to one episode or all of them, we think this episode will get you thinking about your own professional journey and how you can make some changes for the better too. 

Lorraine Vargas Townsend is a survivor. She survived growing up in a town where she didn’t always feel welcome as a Latina and a lesbian. She survived cancer – twice – including during her first year in college. These experiences fueled an activism in Lorraine—a desire to stand up for the underdog – which she’s made the singlehanded focus of her career. As an HR professional at Dell, A Cloud Guru, where she is the Chief People Guru today, and more, Lorraine has made it her life mission to fix as many companies as she can to ensure that everyone -- no matter their race, gender, or sexual orientation – is treated with dignity and respect in the workplace.

Kat Cole is the President and COO at Focus Brands, which owns well-known brands like Auntie Anne's, Moe's, Jamba, and Cinnabon. Kat started her career at the age of 15 so that she could provide for her family. One day during her shift at a clothing store in the local mall, she was recruited to be a Hostess at Hooters. Little did she know that she'd spend over a decade moving up the ranks at Hooters. By age 26, she was a Vice President at Hooters. At 31, she took a new job to be President of Cinnabon, and helped turn around a mall-based brand in the heart of a recession. As you might imagine, this journey did not come without its challenges. Kat's career story offers great insight into what it takes to be a successful business leader: tenacity, a willingness to say yes, and a lot of empathy.

Growing up, Brittania Boey moved countries every three years. This shaped her professional approach: throughout her career, B demonstrated a strong ability to adapt to new cultures and situations. Unsurprisingly, then, B's career has been varied: she started by adjusting to the boys' club culture in investment banking, then moved on to a totally new culture at Disney where people valued art and media, only to later move into the start up world which was massively different than the corporate environments she was used to. Ultimately, B's story offers a great lesson for us all as we go through our careers: the ability to read the room and be humble enough to adapt based on the circumstances can be a powerful tool to finding success.

Melynda Barnes had four professional ambitions as a young child: to be an Olympic gymnast, President of the United States, an author of children’s books, and a doctor. For various reasons, she ultimately chose the pursue the fourth and became a surgeon, focusing on head, neck, and reconstructive surgery. But one day, after completing 10+ years of grueling medical training and without an alternative role lined up, Melynda quit her job as a full time physician. She embarked on a new path of entrepreneurship and innovation because in her gut and in her soul, she knew that this was what she was supposed to be doing. Melynda’s story is one of grit, perseverance, and a strong sense of belief in herself, even when those around her thought she was crazy.

Meredith Whipple Callahan, executive coach and partner at Evolution, seriously considered going into a convent after high school. She found herself drawn to spiritual practice and questions. She even contemplated becoming a minister. Instead, after graduating from college, Meredith went into consulting to work for Bain & Company where she thrived. But as she got more experienced, she realized that the content of the work didn’t resonate with her anymore, leading her back to questions she has always asked herself: what do I want? What should I do to get what I want? What am I learning? What am I missing? What's next? In fact, during this conversation, Meredith is answering some of those same questions. We meet here in a place of transition that was thrust upon her by the pandemic. 

Tod Plotkin, CEO and founder of Emmy award winning Green Buzz Agency shares his career story, starting during his early years selling baseball cards. His interest in business and striking it out on his own started at such a young age. In high school, Tod discovered his passion for video production. It was these two passions that eventually led to him founding his own video production agency many years later. Although it may sound like a straight line, Tod's path has had a bunch of twists and turns to get him to where he is today. You'll hear how Tod struggled through his first entry level jobs and even found that his dream job, working for the Washington Wizards, wasn't all it was cut out to be. After years of staying in this job, one bad Friday at work led him to make the jump and see how he could make it on his own.