She's So Suite Podcast

Charlene Li dreamed of being a doctor. She became a serial disruptor instead. The New York Times bestselling author and Quantum Networks Group founder joins Kristi Faltorusso on She So Suite. Charlene traces her path from Harvard neurobiology to the early internet to founding Altimeter. She shares how she built an analyst firm that beat Gartner by giving research away free. She talks managing people, knowing when to stop, and disrupting with a smile.

Timestamps

0:00 - Preview & Introduction

0:50 - Meet Charlene Li

2:45 - Childhood dream: becoming a doctor like dad

3:25 - The pivot from medicine to social sciences at Harvard

6:10 - "Everyone in business is tall, white and male"

7:55 - Monitor Group, HBS, and betting on the internet

9:10 - A career in disruption and finding superpowers

11:30 - Why she stopped wanting to manage people

17:00 - Working at Forrester

20:13 - Researching and Experimenting

22:51 - AI's ability to shift powers

26:30 - Challenges in setting up the company

28:30 - A painful layoff and the shame around failure

30:56 - Lessons from selling the company

33:55 - Building Altimeter & The free-research disruption strategy

40:30 - Empowered women empower women

43:15 - Be honest with yourself

Join over 16,000 professionals who have signed up to hear real and relatable stories, expert advice from a c-level executive, and gain access to resources to help make them better CS professionals and leaders at https://www.kristifaltorusso.com/the-journey-cs-newsletter

Connect with the guest:

Charlene Li: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charleneli/

Connect with Kristi Faltorusso:

Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.kristifaltorusso.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠

LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristiserrano/⁠⁠⁠⁠

Follow the Podcast

YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvmKTIOWzy8e3kbzHr4f9VMr1oGfK5Qc_⁠⁠⁠⁠

Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/0Pf1SZMvfwvSJTA6WnpNjP⁠⁠⁠⁠

Apple Podcasts:⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shes-so-suite-podcast/id1730535499⁠⁠⁠⁠

To learn more about Wednesday Women check out their

Website: ⁠https://www.wednesdaywomen.org/⁠

LinkedIn page: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/wednesday-women/⁠

Connect with the Show Producer:

Manali: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manalibhat/

_____________________

About She's So Suite Podcast:

Embark on a journey with Kristi in each podcast episode as she engages in insightful conversations with accomplished women in the C-suite. Explore their unique stories, triumphs, challenges, dreams, and valuable advice that will inspire and empower you. Tune in for an enriching experience as Kristi delves into the depth of their professional journeys and brings you closer to the dynamic world of female leaders at the top.

Allison Bukowski wanted to be a children's book author at age five. Today she's the Chief Customer Officer at Point of Reference. And the through-line between those two things is storytelling.

In this episode, Allison walks KristI through a career built on writing, advocacy, and a fierce belief that customers deserve a seat at the table and not just a mention in the mission statement.

Reflecting on her career journey, Allison shares the real talk: the years she slowed her own climb by refusing to self-promote, deprioritising the the VP title she worked really hard after her second daughter was born, and the moment she finally realized that advocating for customers and advocating for herself were the same skill.

She also gets candid about women competing instead of collaborating, the guilt of being a traveling mom, and why imposter syndrome is actually a green light and not a stop sign.

Timestamps

0:00 - Preview & Introduction

0:30 - Meet Alison Bukowski, CCO at Point of Reference and a mom

2:52 - Childhood dream of becoming a children's book author

5:07 - Changing writing style in the light of AI writing

6:45 - First job out of school and career waves

9:12 - Alison's Mission to take customer advocacy from a single role to an organization-wide discipline

12:00 - Moving from execution to influencing strategy and speaking CFO language

13:50 - Lessons from the career journey

16:50 - The challenge of not being good at politics and learning to advocate

19:22 - How she started advocating for herself

22:55 - VP before 30 and Titles matter, but so does timing

27:57 - Being asked for mentorship and watching someone she mentored get promoted

29:00 - You can have it all, just not all at once

30:10 - Empowering women: Collaboration over competition

38:17 - How Alison balances work and life

40:26 - Phone boundaries and being present for the "last firsts"

43:15 - Imposter syndrome means you're ready

Connect with the guest:

Alison Bukowski: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alison-a-bukowski/

Connect with Kristi Faltorusso:

Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.kristifaltorusso.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠

LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristiserrano/⁠⁠⁠⁠

Follow the Podcast

YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvmKTIOWzy8e3kbzHr4f9VMr1oGfK5Qc_⁠⁠⁠⁠

Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/0Pf1SZMvfwvSJTA6WnpNjP⁠⁠⁠⁠

Apple Podcasts:⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shes-so-suite-podcast/id1730535499⁠⁠⁠⁠

To learn more about Wednesday Women check out their

Website: ⁠https://www.wednesdaywomen.org/⁠

LinkedIn page: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/wednesday-women/⁠

Connect with the Show Producer:

Manali: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manalibhat/

_____________________

About She's So Suite Podcast:

Embark on a journey with Kristi in each podcast episode as she engages in insightful conversations with accomplished women in the C-suite. Explore their unique stories, triumphs, challenges, dreams, and valuable advice that will inspire and empower you. Tune in for an enriching experience as Kristi delves into the depth of their professional journeys and brings you closer to the dynamic world of female leaders at the top.

Lisa Cole didn't plan to be a marketer. She started college as an accounting major, landed a sales job, and discovered a broken relationship between sales and marketing that would shape her entire 25-year career. Now Chief Marketing & AI Officer at 2X, Lisa shares what it really takes to transform marketing from a "make things look pretty" function into a company's primary growth engine.

In this episode, Lisa and I dig into her path from retail cell phone sales to the C-suite, including the mentor who named her successor, a CEO who told her to "find her swagger," and the moment her team accepted an award in front of 4,500 CMOs. She also gets candid about managing layoffs of former peers, finding work-life integration as a mom of three, and why every CMO needs to personally get their hands dirty with AI.

Timestamps

0:00 - Preview & introduction

1:15 - Meet Lisa Cole, her current role at 2X & an overview of 2X

4:45 - From 12-year-old aspiring accountant to marketing major

7:40 - First job as an account executive & discovering the sales/marketing divide

11:20 - What does sales really do? And why the future is bright for marketing

13:40 - Deciding to own the outcome & her first CMO role

15:02 - Biggest pivotal decisions: owning outcomes and driving disruptive change

16:20 - The CEO who said "find your swagger" & learning to say no

18:20 - Becoming a business leader, not just a functional leader

21:33 - Eliminating former peers & inheriting a broken operating model

25:20 - Advice for leaders navigating layoffs with empathy

28:38 - Bagging the Sirius Decision award

33:00 - Pulling other women through the door — mentorship as a commitment

33:55 - The "find your Sarah" story; writing The Limitless CMO

35:31 - Work-life integration & setting boundaries

39:20 - Don't outsource AI to your team — understand it yourself

Connect with the guest:

Lisa Cole: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisacole01/

Connect with Kristi Faltorusso:

Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.kristifaltorusso.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠

LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristiserrano/⁠⁠⁠⁠

Follow the Podcast

YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvmKTIOWzy8e3kbzHr4f9VMr1oGfK5Qc_⁠⁠⁠⁠

Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/0Pf1SZMvfwvSJTA6WnpNjP⁠⁠⁠⁠

Apple Podcasts:⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shes-so-suite-podcast/id1730535499⁠⁠⁠⁠

To learn more about Wednesday Women check out their

Website: ⁠https://www.wednesdaywomen.org/⁠

LinkedIn page: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/wednesday-women/⁠

Connect with the Show Producer:

Manali: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manalibhat/

_____________________

About She's So Suite Podcast:

Embark on a journey with Kristi in each podcast episode as she engages in insightful conversations with accomplished women in the C-suite. Explore their unique stories, triumphs, challenges, dreams, and valuable advice that will inspire and empower you. Tune in for an enriching experience as Kristi delves into the depth of their professional journeys and brings you closer to the dynamic world of female leaders at the top.

In this episode, I am joined by Sarah Edwards, Chief Product Strategy Officer at Kantata who shares how a psychology degree led to Oracle's graduate scheme, coding, consulting, living abroad twice, and ultimately landing in the C-suite. She opens up about navigating male-dominated boardrooms, the confidence gap holding women back, negotiating compensation, balancing motherhood with executive travel, and why AI is reshaping the entire industry.

Key takeaways:

→ You don't have to be the loudest in the room to lead

→ Take the leap even when you only check 50% of the boxes

→ Protect your "me time" — it's not selfish, it's survival

→ Flexibility attracts the best talent — full stop

→ AI is breaking the "grow headcount = grow revenue" model

Timestamps

0:00 - Preview & Introduction

0:43 - Meet Sarah Edwards, Chief Product Strategy Officer at Kantata

2:10 - How AI is changing her job daily

315 - The hardest part of AI innovation

4:20 - Career aspiration growing up

7:14 - Career switches, working abroad & pushing past the comfort zone

13:05 - Which roles she loved most (and least)

14:05 - Leading a global team of 20

15:09 - Why vertical beats horizontal in the AI era

16:40 - Navigating culture across orgs & countries

18:51 - The compensation gap for women in tech

21:52 - Retaining talent through remote work & flexibility

26:04 - Proudest career moments

30:29 - Breaking the "loudest in the room" stereotype

33:15 - Balancing C-suite demands & family

39:05 - The guilt every working mom feels

41:23 - Staying sharp: networking & research

44:00 - Have confidence & push yourself

Connect with the guest:

Sarah Edwards : https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahedwards3/

Connect with Kristi Faltorusso:

Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.kristifaltorusso.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠

LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristiserrano/⁠⁠⁠⁠

Follow the Podcast

YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvmKTIOWzy8e3kbzHr4f9VMr1oGfK5Qc_⁠⁠⁠⁠

Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/0Pf1SZMvfwvSJTA6WnpNjP⁠⁠⁠⁠

Apple Podcasts:⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shes-so-suite-podcast/id1730535499⁠⁠⁠⁠

To learn more about Wednesday Women check out their

Website: ⁠https://www.wednesdaywomen.org/⁠

LinkedIn page: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/wednesday-women/⁠

Connect with the Show Producer:

Manali: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manalibhat/

_____________________

About She's So Suite Podcast:

Embark on a journey with Kristi in each podcast episode as she engages in insightful conversations with accomplished women in the C-suite. Explore their unique stories, triumphs, challenges, dreams, and valuable advice that will inspire and empower you. Tune in for an enriching experience as Kristi delves into the depth of their professional journeys and brings you closer to the dynamic world of female leaders at the top.

She dreamed of shooting wildlife for National Geographic. Instead, she built a top-ranked influencer marketing agency from scratch. In this episode, Brianna Doe — founder and CEO of Verbatim — gets raw about burnout cycles, getting laid off, and the career coach call that changed everything. From filling notebooks as a kid to writing The Unapologetic Professional, Brianna breaks down how she stopped chasing someone else's version of success and started building her own. Plus: the Bumble photo that almost ended her love story before it started.

Timestamps

0:00 - Preview & Introduction

1:25 - Meet Brianna Doe, The Unapologetic Professional & Verbatim overview

5:50 - Childhood dream to become a Nat Geo photographer

8:03 - Film degree & friends' nonprofits

10:20 - Career journey

14:10 - Pivoting from freelancing to tech

16:00 - Influencer marketing explained

21:12 - LinkedIn content creation pivot

24:40 - Working with a career coach & launching Verbatim

29:00 - Layoff, burnout story & working with a co-founder

34:30 - Celebrating success

36:39 - The mentor manager, mom's role & the Bumble date story

39:36 - Empowering women

43:12 - Work-life balance philosophy

46:15 - Final takeaway: embrace pivots

Connect with the guest:

Brianna Doe: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianna-doe/

The Unapologetic Professional: https://www.briannadoe.com/the-unapologetic-professional

Connect with Kristi Faltorusso:

Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.kristifaltorusso.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠

LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristiserrano/⁠⁠⁠⁠

Follow the Podcast

YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvmKTIOWzy8e3kbzHr4f9VMr1oGfK5Qc_⁠⁠⁠⁠

Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/0Pf1SZMvfwvSJTA6WnpNjP⁠⁠⁠⁠

Apple Podcasts:⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shes-so-suite-podcast/id1730535499⁠⁠⁠⁠

To learn more about Wednesday Women check out their

Website: ⁠https://www.wednesdaywomen.org/⁠

LinkedIn page: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/wednesday-women/⁠

Connect with the Show Producer:

Manali: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manalibhat/

_____________________

About She's So Suite Podcast:

Embark on a journey with Kristi in each podcast episode as she engages in insightful conversations with accomplished women in the C-suite. Explore their unique stories, triumphs, challenges, dreams, and valuable advice that will inspire and empower you. Tune in for an enriching experience as Kristi delves into the depth of their professional journeys and brings you closer to the dynamic world of female leaders at the top.

In this episode, I sit down with Dena Lewis to discuss career pivots, entrepreneurship, resilience, and the personal story behind Running Mate, an on-demand app that matches runners with verified companions for safer runs. Dena discusses her early interest in hotel management, a 20-year career in medical device sales, three earlier businesses, the trauma that pushed her to rethink runner safety, and the challenges of building a mission-driven tech startup.

Timestamps

0:00 - Preview & Introduction

0:42 - Meet Dena Lewis & Running Mate Overview

3:10 - Runners' Safety Matters

10:35 - What Defines a Runner

12:45 - From Cornell Dreams to Med Device

16:30 - Handling Rejection

21:25 - Finding Purpose & Leaning Into Strengths

26:24 - Building Her First 3 Companies

34:00 - The Story Behind Running Mate

43:27 - Startup Challenges

48:31 - Living With Purpose

Connect with the guest:

Dena Lewis: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dena-lewis-a9546a24/

Running Mate: https://www.getrunningmate.com/

Connect with Kristi Faltorusso:

Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.kristifaltorusso.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠

LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristiserrano/⁠⁠⁠⁠

Follow the Podcast

YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvmKTIOWzy8e3kbzHr4f9VMr1oGfK5Qc_⁠⁠⁠⁠

Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/0Pf1SZMvfwvSJTA6WnpNjP⁠⁠⁠⁠

Apple Podcasts:⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shes-so-suite-podcast/id1730535499⁠⁠⁠⁠

To learn more about Wednesday Women check out their

Website: ⁠https://www.wednesdaywomen.org/⁠

LinkedIn page: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/wednesday-women/⁠

Connect with the Show Producer:

Manali: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manalibhat/

_____________________

About She's So Suite Podcast:

Embark on a journey with Kristi in each podcast episode as she engages in insightful conversations with accomplished women in the C-suite. Explore their unique stories, triumphs, challenges, dreams, and valuable advice that will inspire and empower you. Tune in for an enriching experience as Kristi delves into the depth of their professional journeys and brings you closer to the dynamic world of female leaders at the top.

Kristi Faltorusso sits down with Natalie Wolf, CCO at People.ai, to explore her journey from consulting to the C-suite and the leadership lessons she had to unlearn along the way.

Natalie shares how growing up in a competitive consulting environment shaped her early leadership style, and why she later realized that being “tough” wasn’t enough. She dives into the importance of empathy, adapting leadership to individuals, and redefining success beyond traditional career paths.

This episode is a candid reflection on growth, resilience, and becoming the kind of leader your team actually needs—not just the one you were taught to be.

Timestamps

0:00 - Preview & Introduction

1:10 - Meet Natalie Wolf

2:30 - Fitness Journey & Side Hustle

5:25 - Career Aspirations vs Reality

10:45 - Career Pivots & Key Moments

15:35 - Transition from Consulting to Tech

18:20 - Leading as a Woman in Male-Dominated Environments

28:10 - Career Reflection & Proud Moments

31:24 - How Difficult Leaders Shape You & Your Career Success

34:10 - Empowering Women

37:00 - Work-Life Harmony

41:00 - You Don’t Need Permission to Lead

Connect with the guest

Natalie Wolf: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nmwolf/

Connect with Kristi Faltorusso

Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.kristifaltorusso.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠

LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristiserrano/⁠⁠⁠⁠

Follow the Podcast

YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvmKTIOWzy8e3kbzHr4f9VMr1oGfK5Qc_⁠⁠⁠⁠

Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/0Pf1SZMvfwvSJTA6WnpNjP⁠⁠⁠⁠

Apple Podcasts:⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shes-so-suite-podcast/id1730535499⁠⁠⁠⁠

To learn more about Wednesday Women check out their

Website: ⁠https://www.wednesdaywomen.org/⁠

LinkedIn page: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/wednesday-women/⁠

Connect with the Show Producer:

Manali: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manalibhat/

_____________________

About She's So Suite Podcast:

Embark on a journey with Kristi in each podcast episode as she engages in insightful conversations with accomplished women in the C-suite. Explore their unique stories, triumphs, challenges, dreams, and valuable advice that will inspire and empower you. Tune in for an enriching experience as Kristi delves into the depth of their professional journeys and brings you closer to the dynamic world of female leaders at the top.

In this episode of She's So Suite, host Kristi Faltorusso sits down with Stevie Case, Chief Revenue Officer at Vanta, to explore one of the most unconventional journeys to the C-suite.

Stevie shares her remarkable story—from aspiring politician, to professional esports gamer, to video game designer, and ultimately becoming a top enterprise salesperson and then becoming a CRO leading a 500+ person revenue organization.

The conversation dives into the power of leaning into discomfort, proving doubters wrong, building high-performing teams, and leading with vulnerability. Stevie also opens up about navigating career challenges, raising a daughter as a single mother while building her career, and the leadership lessons that helped her scale Vanta during hypergrowth.

If you're interested in career pivots, sales leadership, building elite teams, or breaking traditional career molds, this episode delivers powerful lessons and inspiration.

Timestamps

0:00 - Preview

1:08 - Meet Stevie Case & Vanta's Overview

2:25 - Scaling a Hypergrowth Company

4:30 - The Secret to Execution in Startups

6:40 - Childhood Dream: Becoming U.S. President

8:15 - Becoming a Professional Gamer & an Early Internet Celebrity

10:28 - Transitioning from Gaming to Game Development

11:25 - The Unexpected Career Pivot into Sales

15:00 - Parents' Reaction to Stevie's Gaming Career

18:30 - Leaning into Discomfort

21:30 - Joining Twilio and Proving the Critics Wrong

23:07 - The Mentor Who Changed Her Career

28:30 - Raising a Daughter as a Single Mom While Building a Career

30:25 - Betting on Yourself

35:25 - Building the Team at Vanta

38:15 - Hiring Secrets for High-Performing Teams

41:03 - Final Leadership Advice

Connect with the guest:

Stevie Case: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steviecase/

Connect with Kristi Faltorusso:

Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.kristifaltorusso.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠

LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristiserrano/⁠⁠⁠⁠

Follow the Podcast

YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvmKTIOWzy8e3kbzHr4f9VMr1oGfK5Qc_⁠⁠⁠⁠

Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/0Pf1SZMvfwvSJTA6WnpNjP⁠⁠⁠⁠

Apple Podcasts:⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shes-so-suite-podcast/id1730535499⁠⁠⁠⁠

To learn more about Wednesday Women check out their

Website: ⁠https://www.wednesdaywomen.org/⁠

LinkedIn page: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/wednesday-women/⁠

Connect with the Show Producer:

Manali: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manalibhat/

_____________________

About She's So Suite Podcast:

Embark on a journey with Kristi in each podcast episode as she engages in insightful conversations with accomplished women in the C-suite. Explore their unique stories, triumphs, challenges, dreams, and valuable advice that will inspire and empower you. Tune in for an enriching experience as Kristi delves into the depth of their professional journeys and brings you closer to the dynamic world of female leaders at the top.

In this episode of the She’s So Suite Podcast, Kristi Faltorusso sits down with Shannon Plumb, CEO of Purl Advisors, to discuss resilience, reinvention, leadership, and empowering women in revenue.

Kristi shares her unconventional journey from dancing professionally at BalletMet to breaking into enterprise sales, navigating the SaaS boom in Boulder, Colorado, and ultimately stepping into the C-suite. She opens up about losing her identity after a career-ending ballet injury, navigating tech as a woman without role models, leading through mergers and acquisitions, getting laid off unexpectedly, taking the leap to launch her own advisory firm, and building and mentoring women in revenue.

This conversation is honest, empowering, and packed with leadership insight for ambitious women, founders, and revenue leaders.

Timestamps

0:00 - Preview & Introduction

1:11 - Meet Shannon Plumb

2:30 - Being A Paasionate Dancer

4:45 - Losing Identity & Rebuilding from Scratch

6:48 - Choosing College & Studying Interior Design

8:50 - Breaking into Sales

10:30 - The Power of Real Sales Training

13:35 - Moving to Boulder & Discovering SaaS

16:20 - Why SaaS Changed Everything

18:30 - The Challenge of Leading as a Woman in Revenue

20:33 - Navigating Authenticity in Male-Dominated Spaces

25:45 - Coaching Women Differently in Sales

29:00 - Leading Through an Acquisition & Keeping 100% of Her Team

32:10 - Getting Laid Off & The Emotional Impact

35:20 - Launching Purl Advisors

36:31 - Women in Sales & Techstars Mentorship

40:20 - The Myth of Work-Life Balance

43:00 - Don’t Wait to Be Empowered

Connect with the guest:

Shannon Plumb: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannonplumb/

Connect with Kristi Faltorusso:

Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.kristifaltorusso.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠

LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristiserrano/⁠⁠⁠⁠

Follow the Podcast

YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvmKTIOWzy8e3kbzHr4f9VMr1oGfK5Qc_⁠⁠⁠⁠

Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/0Pf1SZMvfwvSJTA6WnpNjP⁠⁠⁠⁠

Apple Podcasts:⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shes-so-suite-podcast/id1730535499⁠⁠⁠⁠

To learn more about Wednesday Women check out their

Website: ⁠https://www.wednesdaywomen.org/⁠

LinkedIn page: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/wednesday-women/⁠

Connect with the Show Producer:

Manali: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manalibhat/

_____________________

About She's So Suite Podcast:

Embark on a journey with Kristi in each podcast episode as she engages in insightful conversations with accomplished women in the C-suite. Explore their unique stories, triumphs, challenges, dreams, and valuable advice that will inspire and empower you. Tune in for an enriching experience as Kristi delves into the depths of their professional journeys and brings you closer to the dynamic world of female leaders at the top.

In this inspiring episode, I, Kristi Faltorusso, sit down with the remarkable Kathleen Rouse, founder and principal of CultivateCX. Kathleen opens up about the pivotal moments, hard-won lessons, and bold decisions that shaped her career—from her childhood dreams of becoming an international spy to her reality leading teams across continents and founding her own impactful business.

Together, Kristi and Kathleen dive deep into the exciting and challenging world of entrepreneurship, discussing everything from business failures and resilience to the unique challenges of balancing life in the “sandwich generation,” supporting both her daughter and aging parent.

Tune in to hear how Kathleen Rouse continues to create space for herself and other women to rise, and why she believes compassion and courage will define the leaders of the future.

Timestamps

0:00 - Preview

0:40 - Meet Kathleen Rouse

2:45 - Early career aspirations and personal backstory

5:15 - Early business failure and the lessons learned

6:42 - Critical shift during the 2020 pandemic at FinancialForce (now Certinia)

8:02 - Personal life changes influencing career moves

9:15 - Rise of solopreneurs and content creators

16:00 - How losing a first business built resilience and focus

17:15 - Balancing pragmatism with ambition

18:30 - Navigating work and family pressures

20:04 - Caring for children, aging parents & self-care

25:00 - Go-to karaoke songs

27:30 - Stopping to reflect & celebrate

31:11 - Launching grassroots movements within organizations

32:11. - Building empowered teams & achieving significant business outcomes

33:42 - Recent accomplishments at CultivateCX

37:15 - Empowering other women

41:10 - Relocating to Paris and expanding business to Europe

43:55 - Closing remarks

Connect with the guest:

Kathleen Rouse: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathleenrouse/

Connect with Kristi Faltorusso:

Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.kristifaltorusso.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠

LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristiserrano/⁠⁠⁠⁠

Follow the Podcast

YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvmKTIOWzy8e3kbzHr4f9VMr1oGfK5Qc_⁠⁠⁠⁠

Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/0Pf1SZMvfwvSJTA6WnpNjP⁠⁠⁠⁠

Apple Podcasts:⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shes-so-suite-podcast/id1730535499⁠⁠⁠⁠

To learn more about Wednesday Women check out their

Website: ⁠https://www.wednesdaywomen.org/⁠

LinkedIn page: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/wednesday-women/⁠

Connect with the Show Producer:

Manali: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manalibhat/

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About She's So Suite Podcast:

Embark on a journey with Kristi in each podcast episode as she engages in insightful conversations with accomplished women in the C-suite. Explore their unique stories, triumphs, challenges, dreams, and valuable advice that will inspire and empower you. Tune in for an enriching experience as Kristi delves into the depth of their professional journeys and brings you closer to the dynamic world of female leaders at the top.