The Story Behind My Career Story
How meaning inspires me at work
In networking conversations, I’m often asked: what are you looking for? It’s a simple question, and also one that is not so simple to answer. Because even though I have a clear operating principle - that I want to work on businesses or products where I connect to the mission - it doesn’t give the other person a clear algorithm to follow. Unlike easily observable traits like “a passion for FinTech”, what interests me is very personal to my interpretation. This is the story behind my career story.
In my younger years, live events were a part of my identity. I grew up playing classical piano and spent countless Saturdays performing in recitals and competitions. Despite my classical upbringing, I harbored a secret desire to be a rock star. I loved every moment of Almost Famous and I can still vividly recall going to my first “real” concert. I was at a friend’s house when we made a spontaneous decision to go see the Red Hot Chili Peppers concert at the Cow Palace...that night. We didn’t have tickets, so we gathered up some cash and, with the infinite confidence of teenagers, drove over there in Blue Lightning, the ironic name for my decidedly unspeedy Colt Vista station wagon. Once there, we looked for scalpers in the parking lot, were lucky to work out a deal, and happily enjoyed the show. About a decade later, those scalpers became my customers when I joined StubHub. My work - first in Corporate Development and Strategy and then in Product Management - helped people like me find tickets on a whim, buyers whose friends flaked on them recoup the money for their tickets, and enterprising sellers build businesses and livelihoods.
In the years since that first concert, I’ve been to everything from Coachella to the World Series. I’m a season ticketholder for Stanford Football and can’t wait to be back in the stadium this fall season. I still love live events, but I also discovered a burning mission around gender equity.
I’d always had a passion for encouraging women in tech. When I worked at Microsoft, I volunteered as part of a local committee of the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) to host the Award for Aspirations in Computing given to recognize and encourage high school women to pursue their passion. I bought into the message that STEM had a pipeline problem.
But as I got more experience in the working world, I realized that it’s not just a pipeline problem. There’s also a motherhood penalty. According to research published in the American Economic Review and the National Bureau of Economic Research in 2017, college-educated women make about 90% as much as men at age 25 and about 55% as much at age 45. A 2018 study by the Institute of Women’s Policy Research found that an employment gap of just one-year leads to a 39% decrease in annual earnings. Joining Care.com was an opportunity to address a root cause of the gender gap. My work helped women on both sides of the marketplace - enabling women on the family side to stay in the workforce and creating jobs for caregivers (of which the majority are women).
In my latest chapter as a consultant, speaker, and advisor, I’ve been fortunate to have opportunities to dive back into my passions for live events and gender equity. I also continue to be intrigued by a broad swath of topics: How can AI help improve decision making in health and fitness? How can sustainability be a limiting constraint to drive innovation? How can technology help close the gap not only on gender but also in diversity and representation issues? I have a passion for learning and teaching, and optimism that technology can be applied for the greater good.
As trite as it sounds to be looking for “businesses or products where I connect to the mission”, you too can find meaning in your work by recognizing your passions and searching for the projects that will fuel those passions. I know that my litmus test isn’t always straightforward to read, but know that when I do take a project on, it is something that resonates with my core, that holds meaning for me, and that will inspire me to do my best work.
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