The Curious Middle

Hannah Davis has a dream job as the Program Director for the Techstars Sustainability Accelerator, a three-way partnership between Techstars, The Nature Conservancy, and mission-aligned investors.

The startups accepted into the Techstars program are able to access the mentorship and expertise from the Nature Conversancy, alongside the Techstars network of over 7,000 mentors and 2,500 portfolio companies.

In our conversation, Hannah shares the day-to-day responsibilities in her role, how Techstars operates and how Hannah got on the path of community-building roles. If you are interested in similar career roles, Hannah shares advice on how to dive in and get involved. We also discuss the tradeoffs with dream jobs, the value of vulnerability when resolving conflicts and why Hannah is optimistic about the future of our world.

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Adventure and people lover, Laura Fravel had a dream job producing television broadcasts and digital content for National Geographic, and later, after moving West, as an independent producer for outlets such as Discovery Channel, The New York Time and Amazon. In our conversation, we discuss Laura’s second shift from storytelling for media and brands, to helping solopreneurs, entrepreneurs and thought-leaders tell their story. While Laura loved the first half of her career, personal circumstances and new priorities led her on a different (more fulfilling) path. Reflecting on her career, Laura commented, “I think at different points in our life we might be meant to do different things for different people.” 

We discuss the turning point that led Laura to becoming a brand strategist and the story of how Laura created her business. We also cover Laura’s favorite business resources, a few lessons Laura has learned while building her own brand and Laura’s advice for outsourcing housework and technical support.

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Dr. Eliza Nemser is an earth scientist working on climate solutions at the intersection of science, policy, and politics. In our conversation we discuss how Eliza fell in love with earth science and the path that led her to becoming a co-founder of Climate Changemakers. If you are curious about what it is like to be a geoscientist or how to start an organization focused on community organizing, this episode is for you.

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If you have had issues receiving or giving performance feedback (who hasn't?), this conversation is for you. Therese Huston's role as a Cognitive Scientist at Seattle University involves finding ways to help professionals do their best work. Therese's third book, Let's Talk, focuses on how to deliver feedback and create conversations that lead to growth and stronger relationships.

Although you have probably read about this topic before, 'Let's Talk' is different because Therese's unique style of writing and communicating her findings is truly easy to understand, remember, and apply. 'Let's Talk' could be an excellent handbook for every manager interested in delivering feedback in ways that create psychological safety, propose constructive solutions, and instill a collaborative framework. In our conversation we discuss different feedback styles, how to listen and set good intentions, how to set up two-way conversations, tips for creating psychological safety, best practices for frequency of feedback, and surprising research about the praise to criticism ratio.

This conversation is filled with actionable tips and advice for managers, parents or anyone who wants to get better at sharing feedback. We also recommend our podcast conversation with Therese Huston from 2016 on her book How Women Decide: What's True, What's Not, and What Strategies Spark the Best Choices. In podcast episode 21, we discussed high-pressure decision making, the gender myth, and tactical advice that may help you when you're stuck trying to make your own decisions.

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Kelley Higney, Founder & CEO of Bug Bite Thing, is an unstoppable force also known as a "mom on a mission." When a relocation to South Florida, led to constant mosquito bites for Kelley and her daughter, Kelley started searching for solutions. After many failed attempts to help her daughter with the bites, Kelley discovered a little-known tool that uses suction to help remove insect saliva/venom from under the skin. Kelley was amazed to find that the product worked and quickly realized it was an opportunity for a business. Kelley secured the exclusive distribution rights for the product in the U.S. and started her company, Bug Bite Thing. Then, Kelley made a bold and strategic decision to sell her house and move into a rental so she could afford to start her business. In the early days, Kelley started by selling her product at bake sales, school events, online and through Amazon. Eventually, word of mouth created buzz around the product and Kelley was featured on the local news. As sales expanded and Kelley's marketing skills evolved, one of Bug Bite Thing's social media posts caught the attention of a producer of the hit show 'Shark Tank.' This led to a successful appearance on the show and Kelley and her mother, Ellen McAlister, partnered with inventor and entrepreneur Lori Greiner. Then, things really took off. Kelley leaped into a new level of sales and took on the challenges of quick growth. In our conversation, we discuss Kelley's path from discovering the product now known as Bug Bite Thing, to early sales and how Kelley is managing her business today. If you are interested in entrepreneurial stories, you will love this episode and Kelley's advice for people who want to pursue their own entrepreneurial dream.

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Get yourself a Bug Bite Thing

Brigid Schulte is the Director, of the Better Life Lab, ”working to change policy, practice and culture so that all people can make real choices about how to combine their work, life and caregiving responsibilities - and have time for joy.”

Previously, Brigid worked as a Staff Reporter for the Washington Post for 16 years where she was part of the team that won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize. Brigid is also the author of Overwhelmed: Work, Love & Play when No One has the Time.

In our conversation we discuss Brigid’s career path, affordable childcare options and paid family leave that can help families that are drowning from the costs of and demands of managing full time jobs and raising children.

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This is the story of two friends with a vision for a  business and an ability to get things done. Inspired by entrepreneurship and motivated to empower women and girls, Edwina Govindsamy and Ariel Gough started Bailly, an eco and health conscious fragrance line. With backgrounds in marketing and healthy ambition, Edwina and Ariel dove in and started figuring things out. In our conversation, Ariel generously shares the roadmap of how Baily progressed from idea to reality. We discuss what Ariel learned about sourcing ingredients, packaging, sales growth, managing finances and other strategies for growing and managing Bailly. 

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Learn more about Bailly

 

In her new book, Edge of the Map, Johanna Garton tells the story of Christine Boskoff, the first American woman to summit six of the world’s fourteen 8,000-meter-plus peaks, and one of the only woman expedition leaders on Mt. Everest.

In our conversation, Johanna shares the personal story that led her to writing about Christine's extraordinary life and the ways Christine’s story transformed Johanna.

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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.

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Erica Liu Williams is the founder of Gr8nola, a "delicious, low sugar superfood granola." A two-time Olympic time-trial swimmer who's married to a former-NFL football player named "Tank" Williams, Erica first created gr8nola as a crunchy snack during their annual food cleanse. Erica shares how she started her business as a "cottage food operator," baking trays and trays of gr8nola in her kitchen and selling at a local farmer's market. As sales grew, there was a lot that she needed to learn in order to grow her business. "Once I started doing my second farmer's market and selling online, I needed other certifications and of course, an official nutrition label. It took me tons and tons of phone calls and networking with other food entrepreneurs to figure it all out. There's no step-by-step guide."

In our conversation, Erica shares the story of growing gr8nola, pivoting during Covid, and expanding her sales channels. Erica offers advice on how to start your own business, from the earliest stages of kitchen production and hiring to figuring out how to scale and build brand awareness. We also discuss Erica's early influences and the decisions that led her to a career she loves. Plus, we find our what led Halle Berry to share her love of gr8nola on her IG page!

Episode co-hosts: Willow Older and Polina Selyutin

Follow us or reach out for interview ideas to @iwhjpodcast

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.

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Jenn Donahue is a Navy veteran,  civil engineer, teacher and business founder. Jenn has been in charge of 1400 Navy personnel and 3 battalions, managed high profile projects as an operations engineer. Jenn has taken her education to the highest levels including a bachelors in ocean engineering, a masters and PHD in civil engineering from UC Berkeley.

In our conversation, we discuss the early origins of Jenn’s passion for building and the decisions  she made that led her to becoming an engineer and joining the navy. We talk about some of Jenn’s projects, places where Jenn has worked while serving in the navy and Jenn’s advice for others who have a deep love for building and engineering.

You will be blown away by Jenn’s accomplishments and her desire to offer mentoring to those who dream of similar career paths.

If you enjoyed this episode, please 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.

Episode co-hosts: Amber Greene and Polina Selyutin

Learn more about Jenn

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