My path to this project

Most recently, a business that disappointed our dreams

It is said that our most challenging experiences often define us. That always sounds nicer once you are out of the fray.

This year, I ended a five year CEO role in a young tech company. A role that forced me to look straight-on at my own actions as a leader, as well as at an industry that I found surprisingly outdated. Our mission was to serve customers with safety alarm smartwatches that enabled getting help if needed. I came in halfway through the company’s journey (not as a founder). It is now being closed.

The strength of my feelings around this experience has surprised me. We can design beautiful, modern products these days. Use tech in forward looking concepts. Focus on the people whose daily quality of life we are serving. My industry peers referred to them mostly as “connections.”

The demographic majority by the time we are older is and will be women. us girls, btw. If we have the good fortune to reach our old age, we will want better options to support us.

Starting (again) now

Through it all, I came to the conclusion that to influence actually having better options for the long-term, we need to start some conversations much earlier in life and not rely on an industry to do it for us. Recognize and value that we will still aim to be ourselves as humans at every age. Design for that. Why would we think or want differently? (Read more here in “The conversation I want to start.”)

I’ll shortly below move to other related background about how my path led to Substack. First, here, a call-out to working with our multi-generational team.

Our many open, transparent and sincere discussions resulted in continuously improving at each hurdle. We sat many times at the table together aiming for a common goal with genuine care about the mission. It lives with me as a vivid reminder about how the strength of a team — people who take responsibility seriously in a shared community culture — can find ways to surpass limits. Drive important new actions. Grow each other as individuals. Even if, in the shorter-term, you cannot manage to succeed.

Decades earlier, finding my way

I hold a degree in journalism, although do not write as my profession. Decades ago, I used the degree to pivot into business (even before I had finished my undergrad studies). The professor of my second-ever writing class took me aside and said “you are a good writer – I am looking for a research assistant.” He was the first person who actually articulated specifically what I was “good at.” Touched my soul just when I needed it, feeling at the time like “little girl lost” going against an expected career path. A year later, a master’s degree was in hand.

The skill I most enjoyed and developed that year was conducting interviews. The better the conversation, the more interesting the article. I used it in so many contexts later, from sales to marketing to teams. Services in my own business. Authentic open ended questions and caring about the answers.

A realization of where I was not

Then came the “literary nonfiction” course, an elective taken with experienced journalists from known publications. The idea of this genre is to write something factual and truly observed, yet allow the writer to use a narrative, story telling style and literary techniques such as developing characters.

We read our examples to each other aloud. Sometimes so full and beautiful that one heard only silence when the writer stopped speaking. My own clarity gained: I had at that time neither enough experience or maturity to bring to such human pieces. What would that take, I wondered.

For one thing, I thought I would need to be more brave.

Meanwhile, the pragmatist

My communication, professionally, has always aimed for a purpose with others. To stimulate thinking and ideas. Drive a goal that I find valuable. That’s also why I am writing here, which is important that you know transparently.

By now, I also bring some experience leading businesses, working with executives internationally, and across industries from medical devices to finance. These are just facts and figures of a career. You can find me on LinkedIN if interested. Here, we are going to bring experience together and see what we can do with it.

For me, personally, I will also test if I am closer to being ready for that literary nonfiction that I so admired when I was 20.

For some of us, our coolest selves are late blooming. 😊