Resilience, Leadership, and Redefining Success with Farnaz Azmoodeh, CTO of Linktree.

In this episode of She Leads, Carly sits down with Farnaz Azmoodeh, the Chief Technology Officer of Linktree. Farnaz shares her remarkable journey, from growing up in Iran to becoming a leader in the tech industry. Her story highlights resilience, adaptability, and the transformative power of diverse leadership.

Join us as Farnaz reflects on her childhood, her passion for engineering, and her transition from technical roles to executive leadership. She also shares valuable insights into building a supportive work culture, fostering effective collaboration, and navigating challenges with a positive, gamified mindset.

Whether you’re an aspiring leader, a tech enthusiast, or simply looking for inspiration, this episode is packed with wisdom, vulnerability, and practical advice.

Episode Highlights:

• 00:52 – Introduction
• 02:03 – Farnaz's Early Life and Childhood in Iran
• 05:44 – Academic Journey and Introduction to Coding
• 08:53 – University Experience and Gender Dynamics in Engineering
• 12:18 – Transition to the United States and Cultural Adaptation
• 15:29 – Entering the Tech Industry and Joining Google
• 17:24 – Career Growth and Leadership at Google and Snap
• 23:09 – Reflecting on Tough Times and Resilience
• 25:50 – The Concept of Wartime Leadership
• 26:35 – "Bull in a China Shop": A Unique Leadership Style
• 28:12 – Building Relationships with Kindness
• 29:18 – Transitioning from Engineer to CTO
• 31:09 – Joining Linktree: A New Adventure
• 37:18 – Navigating Challenges with a Gamified Mindset
• 39:03 – Addressing Gender Disparities in Tech
• 42:09 – Redefining Success and Embracing Struggle
• 45:50 – The Art of Loving and Caring

Key Takeaways:

• How resilience shaped Farnaz’s journey from Iran to the U.S.
• The importance of adaptability in career transitions.
• Building strong work cultures and effective executive relationships.
• Addressing gender disparities and fostering diverse leadership styles.
• The evolving definition of success and finding joy in challenges.

Tune in to hear Farnaz’s inspiring story and her advice for aspiring leaders navigating their own unique journeys.

🎙️ Listen now on Spotify | Apple Podcasts | She Leads website

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Past guests include Margaret Wishingrad, Kara Goldin, Brandi Chastain, Julie Foudy, Ann Miura Ko, Linda Avey, Sarah Leary, and many more.

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Ossa is the President of Aurora – a public company that provides self-driving technology for safe, accessible, and efficient transportation - with a market cap of ~ $9 billion dollars.

Prior to Aurora, Ossa spent over twenty years at innovative technology companies in high-growth industries, serving in both strategic and operational functions. Most recently, she served as president & COO of Istation, a leading education technology provider serving millions of students across the United States. Prior to Istation, Ossa served as senior vice president of strategy and analytics at the dominant dating company Match Group, known for such brands as match.com and Tinder. In addition, she spent almost a decade at global consulting firm Bain & Co, ultimately serving as a partner in the technology, media, and telecom practice. She began her career as an investment banking analyst at Goldman Sachs. 

Ossa also serves on the board of directors for Instructure, a public edtech company serving over 30 million users, and Hometown Ticketing, a digital ticketing company.

Ossa is a member of the Yale Alumni Association Board of Governors and has a bachelor’s in economics from Yale University, an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business, and a master’s in education from Stanford Graduate School of Education.  She holds both Swedish and American citizenship and is fluent in both Swedish and English. She is also married with two teenage daughters.

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Past guests include Margaret Wishingrad, Kara Goldin, Brandi Chastain, Julie Foudy, Ann Miura Ko, Linda Avey, Sarah Leary, Becky Sauerbrunn and many more.

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In Today's Episode with Ossa Fisher We Discuss:
1. Ossa's Upbringing and Passion for School
2. Early Professional Years at Goldman Sachs 
3. Choosing To Go To Stanford Business Schools + Masters In Education
4. Joining Consulting at Bain for 10+ years 
5. Decision-Making Formula: Will I Regret It in the Future?
6. Self-Advocacy at Bain
7. The Biological Clock Women Face
8. Lessons in Transitions from IC to Manager
9. Choosing to join Match Group 
10. Goal-Setting 
11. Transitions into C-Suite Executive + Navigating Restlessness
12. Joining Aurora and Leading A $10Bn Company 
13. Honing the Craft of Influence

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Maureen is the Co-Founder and CEO of Baobab Studios, a 10-time Emmy winning interactive animation company that blends cutting edge technology (AI, metaverse, mixed reality) with storytelling. 

Baobab Studios was named Fast Company’s 2018 Most innovative company and the industry leader in merging gaming and Hollywood after winning 4 interactive Emmys. 

With Baobab, Maureen has created projects that have attracted incredible talent - including Oprah. John Legend, Kate Winslet and Ali Wong. 

Before founding Baobab, Maureen earned her bachelor’s degree from Stanford University in a self-designed major that combined arts, computer science, and psychology. After Stanford, she held senior product and UI roles at ebay and also helped birth the social casual games revolution as Zynga’s VP of Games, overseeing the original Farmville franchise.

She also interned at Pixar while completing her master’s degree at Harvard Business School.

Maureen’s work has earned her recognition as one of Ad Age’s Most Creative People of the Year, Gold House’s Top 100 Influential Asians, and Variety’s Executive to Watch and Top Digital Creative lists.

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Past guests include Margaret Wishingrad, Kara Goldin, Brandi Chastain, Julie Foudy, Ann Miura Ko, Linda Avey, Sarah Leary, Becky Sauerbrunn and many more.

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In Today's Episode with Maureen Fan We Discuss:
1. Maureen's Upbringing and Values Instilled 
2. Early Adversity in Assimilation with Asian Identity
3. Conflict between Passion and Job Security 
4. Attending Stanford University: Creating Her Own Major 
5. The Power of Champions and Mentorship
6. How To Ask for a Mentor
7. The Value of Business School: Is It Worth It?
8. Doing the Dirty Work in Hollywood
9. Transition into Tech at Ebay and Zynga 
10. Founding Baobab Studies 
11. Building Self-Esteem + Confidence as a Founder 

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Lara leads all things marketing, partnerships, business development and communications at Linktree, a platform that allows creators to build personalized landing pages with multiple links to all of their content.

Before joining Linktree, Lara spent a decade at Twitter (now known as X), where she served as Global VP of Partners & Marketing. In her early days at Twitter, she was the Head of Entertainment and Lifestyle Partnerships, where she shaped and redefined Twitter’s narrative for talent and entertainment partners.

One of her standout achievements in this role was spearheading the iconic activation of Ellen DeGeneres’ selfie at the 2014 Oscars.

She earned her bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Rochester and began her career as Editorial Director at US Weekly, back when it was owned by Wenner Media.

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Past guests include Margaret Wishingrad, Kara Goldin, Brandi Chastain, Julie Foudy, Ann Miura Ko, Linda Avey, Sarah Leary, Becky Sauerbrunn and many more.

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In Today's Episode with Lara Cohen We Discuss:
1. Lara's Upbringing
2. Career + College Aspirations in Political Journalism
3. Early Career at US Weekly - Entertainment Journalism
4. Entertainment Media Pre-Social Media
5. Journalism Culture: Deadlines, Constant Grinding, Hustle.
6. Transition from Conventional Journalism into Tech at Twitter
7. The Genesis of the Iconic Ellen Degeneres Selfie at the Oscars
8. The Value of Being the Non-Technical One in the Room
9. The Power of Storytelling in Marketing
10. The Rise and Implications of the Creator Economy
11. Twitter Under Elon's Takeover
11. Linktree's Campaign for Voter Registration is LIVE! To find out more information, check out the Linktree blog and this USA Today article

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Renee is the Founder & CEO of Amazi Foods, a mindful tropical-fruit food company that works directly with small businesses and farmers groups in Uganda to make these delicious snacks that are bringing some much-needed excitement into the dried fruit category. 

Amazi originated largely from Renee’s college trip to Uganda where she completed her thesis research. She noticed that there were many delicious local organic fruits - something that wasn’t prevalent in the states. However, the local markets had very limited access outside Uganda. The supply chains were broken. Now, Renee is dedicated to building a better supply chain and supporting economic development in Uganda. 

Fast forward a few more years, Amazi has sourced from over 300 farmers in Uganda with more than half being women, and is in top retailers like Amazon, Wegmans and soon to be Whole Foods Market. 

Renee earned her Bachelors degree in Economics and the College of Social Studies from Wesleyan University. A fun fact: on the side, Renee has also been a fitness guru for most of her life  – working as a lead strength trainer and yoga teacher. 

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Past guests include Margaret Wishingrad, Kara Goldin, Brandi Chastain, Julie Foudy, Ann Miura Ko, Linda Avey, Sarah Leary, Becky Sauerbrunn and many more.

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In Today's Episode with Renee Dunn We Discuss:
1. Renee's Upbringing + Family Values 
2. Study Abroad Experience at Uganda 
3. Forming a Thesis Around Local Entrepreneurship
4. Challenges and Gaps in the Local Ugandan Food Markets
5. Navigating the Quarter-Life Crisis at 25yo
6. Transition from Yoga to Founder
7. Knowing Nothing About the Food Industry to Being a CPG Founder
8. Amazi Foods Founding Story
9. The Challenges and Lessons of Founding as a Solo Founder
10. Life and Entrepreneurship is an Infinity Sign

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*TW: Discussion Around Eating Disorders* 

Ali is the Co-Founder and CEO of Oat Haus, the first-ever spreadable granola. Think the texture of nut butter, but the warm, familiar taste of granola.

She founded Oat Haus back in 2018 as it was part of her recovery journey from disordered eating.  She searched high and low for a nut-free spread that resonated with her, but couldn't find one. She came up with the idea to create one out of oats, and Granola Butter was born! 

Now, Oat Haus is sold at over 5000 retailers across the country, including Whole Foods Market, Publix, Amazon, and Target.  

All of this earned her a much deserved 2024 EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award. 

Prior to Oat Haus, she thought she would be a doctor. She studied pre-med at the University of California Berkeley, earning a bachelors degree in nutritional sciences. While she ultimately decided not to become a doctor, she did continue in digital health for a few years, working in marketing at Doximity - the largest medical network. 

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Past guests include Margaret Wishingrad, Kara Goldin, Brandi Chastain, Julie Foudy, Ann Miura Ko, Linda Avey, Sarah Leary, Becky Sauerbrunn and many more.

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In Today's Episode with Ali Bonar We Discuss:
1. Early Childhood Passions + A Love for Food 
2. Forgoing A Medical Career at Berkeley
3. Choosing a Career Path + Trusting Your Inner Voice 
4. Struggling with Eating Disorders + Journey to Recovery
5. Founding Story of Oat Haus 
6. Choosing a Co-Founder
7. The Power of Delusion and Grit in Entrepreneurship
8. Early Mistakes: Pressed Juice Story 
9. Branding + Naming Lessons
10. Power of Content Creation + Building Community 
11. Empathy and Intuition are Superpowers 

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Camilla is the Chief Operating Officer of Brex, a financial technology company that provides a range of financial services tailored to startups and other businesses. Camilla started at Brex as the Head and VP of Finance before transitioning into the operations side as the SVP of Global Operations before becoming the COO. 

Prior to Brex, Camilla worked at Kraft Heinz,  one of the largest food and beverage companies in the world - starting as a Finance Analyst to becoming the Director of Finance in just under 3 years and she also worked in private equity and portfolio management in Brazil. 

Camilla earned her Bachelors degree in Aeronautics and Mechanical Engineering from Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica - ITA, one of the most respected and top universities based in Brazil specializing in aerospace science and engineering. She was one of only 6 women in her graduating class of 120 people. 

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Past guests include Margaret Wishingrad, Kara Goldin, Brandi Chastain, Julie Foudy, Ann Miura Ko, Linda Avey, Sarah Leary, Becky Sauerbrunn and many more.

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In Today's Episode with Camilla Matias We Discuss:
1. Growing Up in Brazil + Studying Mechanical Engineering in a Male-Dominated, Military University
2. Embracing Challenges Throughout Life 
3. Optimizing for Financial Independence in Early Career
4. Navigating Early Career: Focus on Learning + People + Cold-Emailing 
5.  Transitioning from Finance to Management at Kraft Heinz
6. Self-Advocacy in Career Growth - Rising Up the Ladder in 3 years
7. Standing Out To Your Advantage
8. The Value of Plan A, Plan B, Plan C in Operations 
9. Operations at Brex
10. Find Your Superpower and Invest In It

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Lauren is is the Founder and CEO of Love and Chew Brands, a company that manufactures and distributes tasty protein cookies that are clean-label and guilt-free - with a mission to be the leader in the plant-based dessert category and to inspire ppl to enjoy healthier and more sustainable treats. 

Love + Chew products are on the shelves of over 2,000 stores including Sprouts, Costco, Whole Foods Market, and Amazon, reaching millions of consumers across the US.

Before founding Love+Chew, Lauren worked in the sustainable energy technology space – in an energy storage startup called Stem and at Tesla, in business development, operations and sales roles. 

Lauren earned her Bachelors degree in Sociology, International Studies and Mandarin from the University of California San Diego. 

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Past guests include Margaret Wishingrad, Kara Goldin, Brandi Chastain, Julie Foudy, Ann Miura Ko, Linda Avey, Sarah Leary, Becky Sauerbrunn and many more.

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Show Notes: 
1. Intro of She Leads + Lauren Chew 
2. Lauren's early influences + growing up 
3. Navigating the Corporate World and Discovering Passion for Sustainability
4. Transition from Side-Hustle to Full-Time Business
5. Bootsrapping
6. Running a Consumer-Packaged Goods Co Do's and Don't's
7. The Process of Rebranding
8. Balancing Work and Family Life
9. Challenges of Entrepreneurship
10. Overcoming Self-doubt as a Solo Female Founder

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Elena is the Chief Financial Officer of Toast, the cloud-based, end-to-end technology platform purpose-built for the entire restaurant community - a public company now valued close to $15Bn. 

With more than 30 years of experience in leading large global organizations, Elena’s expertise ranges from scaling and building SaaS businesses into multi-billion organizations and building and leading large-scale operational teams. 

Before joining Toast, Elena has held senior roles in finance working as the VP of Finance at Charles Schwab, SVP of Finance and Strategy at Salesforce and the Chief Financial Officer at Zendesk, where she helped scale the company to over $1 billion in annual revenue.

Beyond operating, Elena is an investor and sits on the board of PagerDuty. She is also the chair of the Berkeley Haas School Board, serving as the first woman to serve in this role; Berkeley is also where she earned her Bachelors degree in Accounting. 

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Past guests include Margaret Wishingrad, Kara Goldin, Brandi Chastain, Julie Foudy, Ann Miura Ko, Linda Avey, Sarah Leary, Becky Sauerbrunn and many more.

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Show Notes: 
1. Intro of Elena Gomez + She Leads
2. Elena's Upbringing 
3. The Value of Education and Work Ethic
4. The Influence of Elena's Grandfather in Accounting
5. Early Career at Charles Schwab + Navigating Imposter Syndrome
6. Transition to Salesforce
7. Authenticity and Self-Advocacy in the Workplace
8. Becoming CFO + Building Trust in Relationships
9. Top 3 Skills in a CFO: Storytelling, Communication, Customer Obsession
10. Advocating for Diversity and Inclusion
11. 'Work-Life Balance' as a Mother and CFO

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Jessica is the CEO and Founder of Ours, a virtual couples therapy and premarital counseling platform with a mission to make couples therapy more accessible, destigmatized and designed for young, modern couples. 

Beyond Ours, Jessica also founded Access Distributed to help students at non-target recruiting schools land internships in finance and she also founded BLAZE Skincare, a personalized skincare brand. 

However, Jessica’s career started in finance. She received her Bachelors in accounting and finance from Georgetown University, and then started her professional career as an investment banker at Morgan Stanley and The Carlyle Group before receiving her MBA from Stanford Graduate School of business. 

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Past guests include Margaret Wishingrad, Kara Goldin, Brandi Chastain, Julie Foudy, Ann Miura Ko, Linda Avey, Sarah Leary, Becky Sauerbrunn and many more.

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1. Welcome to She Leads 
2. Growing Up & Jessica's Upbringing
3. Odd Jobs
4. Choosing a Major in Finance and Business + Lessons Learned
5. Power of Mentorship and Selecting the Right Ones
6. Going to Business School and Having No Regrets
7. Starting Access Distributed
8. Founding Ours 
9. Breaking Down the Stigma of Couples Therapy 
10. Choosing a Cofounder: Kindness + Communication + Trust
11. Lessons in Fundraising: Fake Excitement