In the Season 2 open of WIBcast, I talk to Nicaela Chinnaswamy about her path to Deputy Director for the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses campaign. With education and capital provided by the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses team, entrepreneurs are supported to create jobs and economic opportunity. With this support, 67% of businesses in the program see revenue growth after 6 months of completion.

During undergrad, Nicaela studied biology and had an early focus in STEM. Dedicated to community service she was involved in BC’s Paper to Plastics program. The program brings in young women and immerses them in a lab setting where they quite literally break paper down and turn it into plastic. In that experience, Nicalea found she enjoyed the mentorship aspect and creative side of the project in her volunteer work and then saw that trend extend into her general experiences in a lab setting. She’s fast past and quick thinking and everyone around her noticed that - she was asked to become an operations coordinator for a non profit and then asked to be become a senate race campaign manager 2 years after graduation. Now, with another nonprofit - Initiative for a Competitive Inner City - Nicalea helps small business owners grow through education, access to capital and service support. In her role, Nicaela approves which companies get to participate in the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Campaign and forms relationships with entrepreneurs.

We talk about the freedom and stress of her non traditional career path - personality tests - what it means and doesn’t mean to be the loudest voice in the room - and how she learned to advise small businesses to grow while on the job.

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