Shelley Zalis is the definition of a trailblazer. As the founder of OTX, a pioneer in the online market research space, and a founder of The Female Quotient, Shelley has consistently led with innovation and courage. In our conversation, Shelley walks us through her career milestones and the "heartbeat moments" that guided the most important decisions in her career.

While most people conform to the status quo or find ways to work around traditional norms, Shelley's character and life experiences blended in ways that gave her the courage and wisdom to follow her instincts, question the norms and eventually successfully strike out on her own. Shelley shares the story of her first jobs in the market research space, her biggest milestones and we talk about the two mentors who were the biggest influences in Shelley's career.

Shelley tells us the story of how a visit to the CES Conference with a group of friends gave her the idea that evolved into Shelley's current role as founder of The Female Quotient. There are people in this world who are forces of energy that inspire you to act boldly and follow your heart. Shelley is one of those people.

Follow us @meantforit

If you have ideas for guests please send a note to [email protected]

If you want to hear more conversations about ways to improve our workplaces download these episodes:

Making Motherhood work with Caitlyn Collins

Brigid Schulte, Writer, Director Better Life Lab

You can reach us at contact@meantforit.com

For guest ideas: [email protected]

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and share it with a friend. On your iPhone select episode, click "details," click on the 3 dots to the right of play, and text or email it to a friend.

To write a review on your iphone, after selecting the podcast, scroll down till you see "Write a Review" and tap.