Olivia Stamp spent years in recruitment, startups, and venture capital before a growing sense of misalignment led her to leave tech and move into the social sector. In this episode, we talk about what that transition actually looked and felt like — from the initial reckoning with the polycrisis, to the uncertainty of relocating and starting over as a freelancer, to finding her footing on the other side.

What we cover:

- Olivia's career path from recruitment, startups, and VC into purpose-driven work
- The polycrisis as a catalyst for rethinking what meaningful work looks like
- The unfiltered reality of navigating uncertainty, moving cities, and starting to freelance
- How community and nature helped her through the messiest parts of the transition
- What Olivia's life and work look like now, on the other side of change
- Why she's hopeful (and why you might be too)

Books, podcasts and newsletters mentioned in our conversation:

Rachel Donald - Planet Critical podcast https://www.planetcritical.com/
David Graber - Bullshit Jobs https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34466958-bullshit-jobs
Rutger Bregman - Moral Ambition https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/231128182-moral-ambition?ref=nav_sb_ss_2_14 
John Alexander - Citizens, why the key to fixing everything is all of us https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60651047-citizens 
Olivia’s Substack 1 - Unravelling Together https://oliviastamp.substack.com/
Olivia’s Substack 2 - Learning to Love Where We Live https://www.learningtolovewherewelive.com/

Whom to follow on LinkedIn:

Jon Alexander - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jon-alexander-11b66345/
Cormac Russell - https://www.linkedin.com/in/cormacrussell/
Imandeep Kaur - https://www.linkedin.com/in/immykaur/

Connect with Olivia on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oliviastamp/
—
Connect with Andra on:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andra-nuta/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andranutacoach/
Website: https://andranuta.com/

If you have feedback or suggestions for guests I should talk to, I’d love to know.

—
Music and editing by Emanuele Marchi

In this first episode of Workaround, I speak to my friend Fátima González-Torres about her transition from working in startups to joining Volt in the European Parliament as Communications Director.

We dive into what motivated her to make the change and how she made the decision to move from Berlin to Brussels for this job.

Where to follow Fátima and the Volt MEPs:

Fátima González-Torres - https://www.instagram.com/fatilugonzalevic

Kai Tegethoff - https://www.instagram.com/kaitegethoff

Anna Strolenberg - https://www.instagram.com/annastrolenberg

Nela Riehl - https://www.instagram.com/nela.riehl

Damian Boeselager - https://www.instagram.com/damian.boeselager

Reinier Van Lanschot - https://www.instagram.com/reiniervanlanschot

Volt Europa - https://www.instagram.com/volteuropa

—

If you have feedback or suggestions for guests I should talk to, I’d love to know.

You can email me at [email protected], or DM me on  LinkedIn or Instagram.

Music and editing by Emanuele Marchi