The Curious Middle

Lindsey Williams was meant for a career in healthcare and urology.  You might think this is an odd choice but when you listen to this episode, you will understand why as a co-founder of FemTech start-up MyUTI, Lindsey is perfectly in her zone. Lindsey's sense of humor, (that of a 14 year old boy), intellect, work ethic and southern charm led her to a successful career working in start-ups focused on urology and cancer. 

MyUTI is an online service that allows people to quickly and easily test at home if they have a urinary tract infection and within 24 hours know the best antibiotic to take. Antibiotic resistance is a common problem that results in recurrent, often painful, and sometimes very serious urinary tract infections. When you have a UTI, you want immediate relief. If you have had one, then you are probably nodding your head or taking a deep breath as you recall the unpleasant memory.

According to UCSF, around 40 percent of women will have a UTI at some time in their lives. UTI's are the second most conmon infection in the US. A UTI occurs when bacteria enter the bladder, usually through the urethra (urine tube), and begin to multiply.

In our conversation, Lindsey shares how she met her co-founder and launched MyUTI. If you are interested in the healthcare sector, FemTech and early stage start-ups, you will love this story about how Lindsey found the path she was meant to live. And, if you or someone close to you gets a recurring UTI, give MyUTI a try!

MyUTI

MyUTI Founder Story

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We are certain that Kathy Caprino's authenticity about finding a career that feels right will resonate with your personal story and we guarantee you will be soothed by her advice and caring voice. Kathy is an internationally-recognized career, executive and leadership coach, trainer, writer, and speaker dedicated to supporting the advancement and success of women in business. In her role as a Senior Forbes contributor and host of the Finding Brave podcast, Kathy helps listeners explore ways to be brave. Most importantly, Kathy is deeply committed to heaping women find their calling.

In our conversation, Kathy shares why her previous experience as a corporate executive left her feeling empty and how she pivoted first to becoming a marriage and family therapist and then how she found her calling in career coaching and writing. We discuss Kathy's path in detail and the ways Kathy has found meaning in helping women thrive.

If you enjoy this episode, then you have to check out Kathy's book, The Most Powerful You: 7 Bravery-Boosting Paths To Career Bliss, where Kathy explores the 7 damaging power gaps that negatively affect 98% of professional women and 90% of men today. Kathy's book teaches you how to overcome these gaps to reach your highest potential.

Kathy's website

Kathy on LinkedIn

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This is a rebroadcast episode with Dona Sarkar, Director of Technology for Accessibility at Microsoft. This was the first episode for this podcast and  one of my favorites. This conversation with Dona is as relevant today as it was in 2015. I hope it encourages you to believe that having a portfolio career such as technologist, fashion designer and author is actually possible.

At the time we recorded this episode, Dona was an Engineering Lead for Microsoft’s HoloLens I talked to Dona about her career in technology and how following your interests on the side can enhance your career.

Growing up in Detroit, Dona didn’t have a lot of money or resources, so she made up her own stories and characters. Dona talked about how growing up with a need to constantly use her own creativity to entertain herself is now an asset. Dona says “when you don’t have very much, consider it your superpower”. Dona also explained how a lack of resources can help you understand the billions of undeserved people in the market today. “We keep going after the same 2 billion people over and over again in tech, but why, lets go after 5 billion.”

Dona's Blog 

Topics discussed:

• Tips for getting started in technology
• Coding is just building things for people and how not to be scared when trying to learn technical skills
• If you don’t succeed at something, Dona suggests “do it again!”
• Resources to learn new skills (skillfeed, udemy, youtube, Lynda, codeacademy)
• Dona’s time management secret
• Dona talks about her book on eating disorders in minority women
• How growing up with less can be your superpower
• Dona’s philosophy on staying away from non believers and negativity

If you want to expand the possibility of the type of work you can do beyond your day job, then you must listen to this episode and learn about refugee advocate Dr. Michelle Dimasi. Michelle has worked on economic empowerment of women, unaccompanied asylum seeker minors and human rights for over a decade while living in Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and on Christmas Island, off the coast of Australia. In this podcast , Michelle shares how her work found her. Listen to hear about the clues the universe kept sending Michelle until they were too numerous and obvious to miss. We discuss how to follow the clues you receive and do work or volunteering that brings you joy and purpose. Michelle shares why she is pulled to helping refugees and how this is the work she will do her entire life. We also discuss a few simple ways you can get involved in your own community.

Learn more about Michelle

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Kristien Carbone's idea for Brilliantly Warm came from a deeply personal experience of having a preventative mastectomy. After the surgery, Kristen was surprised that she was always cold due to the implants. When Kristen realized she wasn't alone, and 75% of women face the coldness issue, she looked for a solution. Hand warmers didn't solve the problem, and there was nothing on the market that came close. As a true entrepreneur, Kristen became determined to solve the problem. Kristen shares how she found the courage and community that allowed her to build the product for Brilliantly Warm, a small heating device that could be placed into a bra. We discuss how Kristen found investors to grow her business, the challenges along the way and how Kristen is building Brilliantly step by step. The market size for Brilliantly Warm has expanded since Kristen realized it could be used by breastfeeding moms and for menstrual cramps or simply to stay warm.

We discuss how Kristen's art history background and work experience helped her as a start-up founder and how Kristen's upbringing gave her the risk tolerance to boldly pursue her business idea despite the risks. Kristen has just enough crazy in her to follow her dream. Kristen has an art history background without technical experience and is a busy divorced mom with two teenage children. This conversation may inspire you to go after the business dream that is on your mind. If you see Brilliantly Warm at your local Target one day, we hope you will remember this conversation with a smile.

Learn about Brilliantly Warm

Follow Brilliantly Warm on Instagram

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If you have ever struggled with negotiations, this episode with Mori Taheripour a globally recognized negotiation expert is for you. Mori is an award-winning faculty member at the Wharton School and the author of Bring Yourself: How to Harness the Power of Connection to Negotiate Fearlessly. 

In our conversation, Mori shares the decisions and career choices that led to her path and we discuss ways to improve your negotiation skills. 

Topics Discussed:

-Everything is negotiable

-Negotiation is a skill you can learn. The more you practice, the better you get

-Knowing your worth is critical in improving your negotiation skills

-Belief in abundance and comfort with risk will help you become a better negotiator

Mori’s clients includes Fortune 100 companies, major sports leagues, and government agencies including Goldman Sachs Foundation, Google, the National Basketball Players Association, Wells Fargo, and the White House Fellows Program.  

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Diane Kahn is a teacher and co-founder of Humans of San Quentin, an organization seeking to break down the walls and stereotypes of prison life and to humanize the lives behind bars. Diane was teaching inside San Quentin to help prisoners receive their high school diplomas when the idea for Humans of San Quentin was born. In our conversation, Diane shares the story of starting the organization and why she is so passionate about sharing the stories of people in prison. When you visit the Humans of San Quentin site, you will find moving stories, art and poetry from prisoners around across the US and other countries. Listen to our conversation to hear how the people Diane has met in San Quentin and around the world have transformed her, and they ways they can transform you.

Visit the Humans of San Quentin Website

Connect with Diane

Follow Diane Instagram @humansofsanquentin, on Facebook: Humans of San Quentin page, on Reddit @humansofsanquentin, on TikTok @humansofsanquentin, on LinkedIn @DianeKahn

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Janelle Kellman, Esq. is the Mayor of Sausalito, CA. In our conversation, we discuss Janelle's path from private practice as an environmental attorney in San Francisco to launching a successful e-commerce company and launching the Center for Sea Rise Solutions in 2021 to support the localization of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. Janelle's passion for teamwork was ignited and nurtured by a lifetime of sports including playing two Division I sports at Yale. Janelle says, "Sports taught me hard work, collaboration and team work".

Janelle grew up in a small coal mining town in Pennsylvania. When Janelle's mom developed asthma, Janelle became passionate about the environment and about working to find the balance between how we live in the natural environment. Janelle credits her father's volunteering and involvement with community organizations as an early inspiration. The Jewish philosophy of Tikkum Olam (Repair of the world) has also guided Janelle's motivation for environmental work and public service.

Listen in to hear why Janelle recommends people have a yes mindset, why removing expectations is the key to happiness and why the Japanese concept of ikigai is the recipe for success.

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If you enjoy this episode, please, please, pretty please share it with a friend.

We will do a dozen cartwheels (wherever we are) if you leave us a review on iTunes.

Until next time,

Polina and Amber

Are you curious about the process of writing a speech for the President of the United States? During 2017 - 2019, Sarah Hurwitz was a White House speechwriter starting out as a senior speechwriter for President Barack Obama and then serving as head speechwriter for First Lady Michelle Obama. In our conversation, she shares what it was like to write speeches for the Obamas and the career path that led her to speechwriting. We also discuss how a decision to take a beginner's class on Judaism led Sarah down a transformational journey.

Sarah grew up culturally Jewish and didn't fully understand or connect to her religion until the fateful Intro to Judaism class changed everything. Sarah's book, Here All Along reveals what inspired her to continue learning about Jewish wisdom ranging from holidays, rituals, and prayer to Jewish conceptions of God, death, and social justice. If you are a cultural Jew or just interested in learning about Judaism, we think you will appreciate the wisdom in Sarah's book. We also discuss Sara's latest part time job as a hospital chaplain and the meaning it has brought to her life.

Topics Discussed: (06:11) The amount of time you have for each speech totally depends on the occasion (08:48) You worked on President Obama's college commencement speech in 2009 (13:57) How taking a course in Judaism at a DC community center changed yourn life (17:17) How long did it take you to write? (22:30) Your book discusses gossip and how it can affect people's lives (29:11) Becoming a well trained chaplain (34:35) How do you go about getting your book published? (35:52) One of the Jewish spiritual practices is spontaneous personal prayer (38:42) What do your parents and the rest of your family feel about this newfound devotion (41:19) Early stories of Israelites that were flawed (45:51) Do you think going down this path has improved your life

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If you want to learn more about how venture capital investing can change your life and the world, this episode is for you. Trish Costello is the founder and CEO of Portfolia, the leading venture investing platform designed for women. Prior to Portfolia, Trish was a pioneer in creating programs to educate and prepare people for venture capital investing in the Kaufman Fellows Program. She led the Kaufman Fellows program for 10 years as the CEO of Venture Education. Trish was also Founding President of CVE Capital Corp, the holding company of a $1.7 billion Fund of Funds.

In our conversation, Trish shares the arc of her career and the milestones and decisions that led her to starting Portfolia. We discuss Trish's motivations, how she invests and the reasons why Trish believes Portfolia will change investing. We guarantee you will be blown away by how much Trish has done throughout her career and her goals to make the world a better place. Trish's goal is is over 100,000 women (and their colleagues and friends) investing in Portfolia Funds in five years, and we have no doubt, she will make this vision a reality.

Learn about Porfolia here

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