Finding passion in career vs life has been a recurring theme in our interviews at MoneyBites.

Silvia had successfully sold multiple companies. But the realities of payout and the grind coming to a halt had her reflecting on her next steps. She felt a pull to still prove something to herself.

For years, she’d built tech companies alongside her husband and brother. But this time, she wanted to step out on her own—and into something completely different: fashion.

It wasn’t just a career pivot. It was a lifelong dream, shadowed by questions many of us quietly ask: Can I really do this on my own? Do I have what it takes? Is it too late?

Join us as we dive into Silvia’s journey of reflection and reinvention—through career, money, and what it means to start over mid career.

01:22 Starting over from tech to fashion 03:36 : First startup04:19 Why you? Why now?  07:47 Passion vs Job 09:28 Money memory 11:02 Coming up with startup ideas 12:53 Working with husband & brother 14:58 Imposer syndrome 17:12 Any regrets? 20:51 40 is young! 22:30 Money and self worth 25:43 What’s your superpower?

Maria wrote her dream job into existence—and it came true.

She envisioned the exact role, the scope, the team culture, even how she’d receive the offer—on a beach in Costa Rica. Then NVIDIA called with an offer, and yes, the role was as she imagined.

But Maria’s journey wasn’t all manifestation and sunshine. Her mindset shift was sparked by a painful experience—watching her beloved uncle suffer from egregious medical racism. A doctor looked at him and said, “Why put in the effort? He’s going to die anyway.”

Maria had always believed that success would be her escape—that if she worked hard, she could rise above systemic barriers. But her uncle had made it. He lived the American Dream. And yet, that didn’t protect him. That moment changed everything.

It made Maria realize: life is short, and it’s too costly to play it safe. You can’t spend your life in roles that drain you or stay silent out of fear. So she found her voice—and then helped others find theirs. She launched the 3percentclub, a platform empowering underrepresented talent to break into and thrive in STEM.

In this episode of MoneyBites, hear how Maria is defining and manifesting her own version of success—and the pivotal experiences that influenced her mindset shift.

Maria's 3 Percent Club Women make up 25% of the tech workforce, while Black women only account for 3%. That’s why the 3 Percent Club empowers underrepresented talent with accessible education, mentorship, and career development resources. https://3percentclub.org/donate

00:48 What is a Generative AI Analyst?04:26 AI Ethic08:16 My mom sacrificed for my education11:12 Career change13:14 My uncle faced inhumane medical racism21:39 Value vs Money22:56 Paying forward26:08 Manifesting dream role

Hyun’s career has been anything but typical. She helped launch Airbnb in Korea—building everything from the ground up like a scrappy startup, but with the backing of a global brand. It was one of her biggest career highs—but what came before and after was just as compelling.Did you know international students often pay more for student loans? Hyun did—and it shaped the career decisions she had to make after graduation.After years of grinding, she hit burnout. So she took an adult gap year—intentionally doing nothing in a culture obsessed with achievement. Well… except for learning K-pop dance, just for fun.Join us as we dive into Hyun’s honest and inspiring journey—through money, identity, burnout, and what it means to rewrite success on your own terms.MoneyBites is brought to you by WINii—an app and community for women and allies in tech, helping make wealth-building real. Our mission? To help a million women become millionaires+. Join the beta at www.wewinii.com.01:07 Program operation manager03:26 Student loans for international students07:30 Pay off student loan09:32 Early Days at Airbnb14:02 Burn out - Gap year23:12 Negotiating compensation28:41 Having kids changed my perspective35:27 Bonus talk : how to find a perfect match!

They say you don’t quit jobs—you quit managers. I’ve had a toxic boss whose explosive anger left me shaking on the commute home. Sadly, Helen faced a similar situation. But unlike me, she found her voice—and a smart, strategic way out.

In this episode, Helen shares how she stood up to a workplace bully and rewrote her own story. We also dive into her incredible career pivot from translator to instructional designer, what she loves about her work, and why she made the move from the UK to the US.

Tune in to hear Helen’s inspiring career and money journey.

MoneyBites is brought to you by WINii—an app and community for women and allies in tech, helping make wealth-building real. Our mission? To help a million women become millionaires+. Join the beta at www.wewinii.com.

00:52 What makes a good instructional designer?

03:12 Skillsets for instructional designer

06:03 Speaking multiple languages

09:56 Toxic boss

15:45 Emotional Abuse at Workplace

23:15 Promoting yourself

23:32 #IAMREMARKABLE

27:18 Finding your own voice: calling out BS

Did you know up to 70% of mental health conditions may be misdiagnosed? Rui is on a mission to change that with her mental health AI startup. But her path to entrepreneurship is anything but typical.

Rui worked in AI before large language models went mainstream. As her corporate career accelerated, the pandemic hit—prompting deep reflection on work, identity, and mental health. It also brought back memories of being an international student in the U.S., where language and cultural barriers often led to misdiagnoses.

Those reflections, combined with the rise of AI, inspired her to take a leap of faith—leaving stability behind to build something that makes mental healthcare more accessible. Join us for an inspiring conversation about Rui’s career, startup journey, and money story.

00:48 My mental health startup05:30 70% misdiagnosed in mental health 08:44 Biggest challenges in building a startup11:16 Working at IBM13:40 Starting career in AI17:00 Balancing career and life26:17 Starting my own company30:40 Where I want to take my AI startup

What do crisis managers really do? I thought they were pessimists, always expecting the worst.

But Marnie showed me they’re actually optimists—people who believe they can still make a difference.

In this episode of MoneyBites, Marnie shares why she left government after the Capitol attack and opens up about her personal cancer scare, at a time when women under 50 face the highest rise in cancer diagnoses.

She explains how her crisis management mindset guides her work, investing, and health, and why she’s stayed hopeful through it all.

Join us for an inspiring journey through her career and money story.

00:38 What’s crisis management?02:03 How do you expect crisis?03:14 Are crisis managers pessimistic?04:39 Applying crisis management to personal life07:23 How did you start your career?10:53 January 6, United States Capitol Attack15:30 Net worth growth even in difficult situations19:34 How I research the stock market21: 18 Joining Meta22: 14 Beating Cancer28:51 What is COBRA?32:00 Protect yourself against medical surprises#podcast #womenintech #crisis #crisismanagement #career #investing

Neta has one of the coolest jobs I know. She leads workplace innovation—having scaled Meta’s internal hackathons globally, and now serving as Director of Innovation at Okta. But her path wasn’t always smooth.Despite a decade of success as a hardware engineer at Broadcom, returning to the workforce after maternity leave brought crushing interview experiences that led her to pivot industries entirely.In this episode of MoneyBites, Neta shares how she reinvented herself, built her dream career, and redefined success on her own terms. We talk career, money, and resilience—and how she turned setbacks into innovation.00:41 What is innovation?02:15 Day in the life of Director of innovation04:12 How to drive meaningful innovation at work07:22 Is innovation at risk?12:55 The importance of mangers15:57 Balancing career and motherhood 18:19 Brutal reality of coming back to work after maternity leave21:58 Interview advice after career gap28:35 Working at Meta31:29 Lessons learned in boundary setting35:09 Career advice for reaching director level

What would it take to walk away from a high-paying role as Head of Engineering at a top tech company? For Nancy, it came down to one question: Can I see myself in the company leadership’s shoes 10 years from now—and feel excited about it?The answer was no. She didn’t envy their path, and that realization gave her the clarity to break the golden handcuffs and launch her own startup. In this episode, Nancy shares how she built Hachi AI, an AI platform that offers advice from different personalities.We talk about how to validate AI products, navigate early-stage pivots, and why she believes startups are better positioned than big tech to push the boundaries of consumer-facing AI.Thinking about your next big career move in hashtag#AI? This conversation is for you.01:17 AI should have a personality03:19 Experience at Google04:49 ‪@Neurosama‬ 07:36 Technical innovations start with B2C not B2B11: 02 Test your idea in person15:05 Cultivate your network19:31 How I decided to jump careers26:28 Does your 10 year vision excite you?29:11 Financial stability before the big leap

In this episode, Shoma gets real about what it’s like when your career hits pause and how it taught her a big lesson: _you are not your job_.

We chat about the power of building an identity beyond the 9-to-5, why multiple income streams are a must, and how the tech job hunt isn’t as simple as “just get a referral” anymore.

Come hear about Shoma's career, money, and life journey on WINii's MoneyBites!

00:31 Nath Jewelry

02:32 Working in Tech

04:26 Tips for Getting into Tech

05:18 Cutthroat Experience in Retail

07:14 Getting Laid Off

10:15 Starting a Brand While Working in Big Tech

15:28 Ultimate Goal for Nath Jewelry

Kati’s career journey went from leading a wild salmon research study to driving sustainability initiatives at major tech companies likeGoogle,Meta, andAdobe.

What I find most inspiring about Kati isn’t just her commitment to building a purpose-driven career—it’s her willingness to continuously reassess what success and wellbeing truly mean. During COVID, she was white-knuckling her job, convinced she needed it to survive. Then came the layoff. And instead of spiraling, she started asking: What if my career isn’t my identity? What does success even mean? And more importantly—how do I want to live?

As someone who’s been interrogating the meaning of work for a while now, Kati’s concept of a _passion portfolio_ hit me hard.She was laid off at one of the lowest points in her life—but the experience became her turning point.

That forced reset became the gift she didn’t know she needed—a chance to reassess, rebalance, and build a life where she could actually thrive.I loved this conversation. Join me as we dive into Kati’s journey with money, career, and a refreshing take on what it really means to “make it.” Let’s dive in.

01:55 What does corporate sustainability mean?

04:52 Google’s sustainability initiative

08:41 Golden handcuffs VS Betting on yourself

13:36 Getting laid off

18:50 Mental shift after burnout

25:29 Getting a financial advisor is the same as getting a personal trainer

We've heard some fascinating origin stories, but never a clarinet repair business owner turned software engineer. Melanie loved her work, but like many small businesses, one down side was the brutal hours. Every hour she spent at her repair bench was directly tied to her income. Time off? Practically impossible. That is, until life forced her to pivot. Through a series of unforeseen events, Melanie transformed her career into that of a full-stack software engineer—and she couldn’t be happier! One of her biggest surprises? Discovering the magic of PTO. Join us as Melanie shares her money and career journey. You'll hear her take on why AI won’t replace developers, the value of soft skills in senior leadership, and how she captured luck to unlock new opportunities. 02:28 Healthcare tech has low bar? 04:15 I didn't make it as a classical musician 09:49 How my clarinet repair business helped me become a developer 11:34 Stress from running your own business 14:03 Family tragedy 17:17 Pivoting into tech 22:33 Recommend bootcamp to become a software engineer? 26:35 AI as a productivity tool for developers 28:33 What would you do differently?