She Leads with Carly

Dr. Yuthika Girme took one undergrad course on interpersonal relations, which completely altered the trajectory of her career and led her down the path of researching relationship science. In this episode, Dr. Yuthika unpacks the science behind close relationships and singlehood. She also covers the impact of online dating, how social scripts impact relationships, and how to build a balanced relationship with yourself before—and during—a romantic one.

References:

- Dr. Yuthika Girme: https://www.sfu.ca/psychology/about/people/current-faculty/ygirme.html
- SECURE Research Lab: https://secureresearchlab.com
- SECURE Research Lab on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/securelab.sfu/
- Simon Fraser University: https://www.sfu.ca
- University of Auckland: https://www.auckland.ac.nz

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction
01:15 From clinical psych to relationship science
03:48 What relationship science actually explores
05:50 Predictors of lasting relationships
08:50 How communication changes depending on relationship type
10:15 Does dating change as you get older?
11:55 The biggest misconception in dating
13:18 How social media distorts our perception of relationships
14:48 What singlehood science examines
16:33 Validating singlehood without devaluing partnership
20:09 The toll of singlehood
22:42 How different generations approach marriage
23:59 Does the biological clock impact dating?
25:48 How online dating impacts connection 
33:46 The science behind partner selection
36:32 Balance between self and relationships
42:55 Dating scripts and gendered norms

Inbal Shani dropped her PhD for a job offer she never expected to recieve, and it set off a career spanning Amazon, AWS, Microsoft, GitHub, and now Twilio, where she serves as CPO and Head of R&D. In this episode, Inbal explains how curiosity is really a leadership trait, why introverts can be the most connected leaders in the room, and how the future of product management is being rewritten.
References:
AWS https://aws.amazon.com/
Github: https://github.com/
Inbal Shani: https://www.linkedin.com/in/inbalshani/
Microsoft: https://www.microsoft.com/
Technion: https://www.technion.ac.il/en/
Tel Aviv University: https://english.tau.ac.il/
Twilio: https://www.twilio.com/
Uber: https://www.uber.com/
Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
01:47 Inbal's childhood: introversion and learning to build
06:00 Being one of six women in aerospace engineering
07:06 Fostering a strong belief in yourself
09:36 Why Inbal dropped out of her PhD
13:27 Learning to lead others as an introvert
15:24 Why curiosity is a core leadership trait
16:45 Two books that shaped Inbal's career
18:27 What determines a great team member
22:40 Empathy is a prerequistie to success
26:36 How Inbal made her career choices
28:31 Advice to younger women navigating their career
31:14 Inbal's journey to CPO at Twilio
34:04 The future of product management
39:42 Could the app era be over already?

In today’s episode, Carly sits down with Scarlett Leung, Chief Brand Officer and Co-founder of Pretty Tasty, a collagen tea company. Scarlett shares her unconventional path from accountant, to turnaround CEO, to CPG founder, and how growing up around intense family entrepreneurship shaped her views on work. This conversation covers Scarlett’s experiences navigating parental expectations, making big career pivots without a rigid 5-year plan, and the stripped-back, unglamorous reality that is founding a consumer brand.
References:
AllSaints: https://www.allsaints.com/
Carolina Herrera: https://www.carolinaherrera.com/
Deepak Chopra: https://www.deepakchopra.com/
Deloitte: https://www.deloitte.com/global/en.html
Estée Lauder: https://www.esteelauder.com/
FreshDirect: https://www.freshdirect.com/
Gucci Group / Kering: https://www.kering.com/
Honest Tea: https://www.honesttea.com/
L’Oréal: https://www.loreal.com/en/
Lancôme: https://www.lancome-usa.com/
LVMH: https://www.lvmh.com/
MIT: https://www.mit.edu/
Philip Morris International: https://www.pmi.com/
Pretty Tasty: https://www.prettytasty.com/
PwC: https://www.pwc.com/
Sugarbreak: https://www.sugarbreak.com/
Target: https://www.target.com/
Uniqlo: https://www.uniqlo.com/
University of Waterloo: https://uwaterloo.ca/
Virgin Group: https://www.virgin.com/
Waterloo Sparkling Water: https://www.drinkwaterloo.com/
Timestamps:
(01:17) Growing up with an entrepreneurial family
(06:59) The decision to study accounting
(09:47) Should you choose a risky career path?
(13:39) Unpacking Scarlett’s unique career journey
(18:12) Lessons learned from a travel-heavy role
(22:51) Why you need to advocate for yourself
(23:39) Why Scarlett went to MIT business school
(26:11) Scarlett’s superpower in business
(31:10) Pretty Tasty’s culture manifesto
(32:55) The journey to founding Pretty Tasty
(36:16) Developing the collagen product
(38:44) The one thing most CPG founders miss
(40:05) Advice for someone starting a company
(42:15) Scarlett’s scariest founder moment
(44:41) How to navigate a quarter-life crisis

Carly sits down with Swati Vauthrin, co-founder of Recess, a new parenting app built by two former Instagram leaders. Swati shares how growing up in New Jersey with early access to computers led her to computer science, how she navigated being one of the few women in engineering, and what she learned building and leading teams at Disney, ESPN, BuzzFeed, and Instagram. She opens up about career pivots, motherhood in intense tech environments, and the decision to leave big tech to build Recess.
References:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com
BuzzFeed: https://www.buzzfeed.com
ESPN: https://www.espn.com
George Washington University: https://www.gwu.edu
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com
Recess: https://therecess.app/
Swati Vauthrin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/swativauthrin/
The Cobalt Group: https://cobaltgroup.com
The Walt Disney Company: https://www.thewaltdisneycompany.com
Timestamps:
(01:40) Swati’s childhood introduction to computers
(04:25) Developing a natural sense of curiosity
(06:19) Being a woman in a STEM field
(09:25) Working for the Cobalt Group
(12:57) The shift from building product to leadership
(15:32) Advice for job switching in your late twenties
(17:45) How to build a strong company culture
(20:57) The reality of being a working mother
(24:02) Swati’s journey to starting Recess
(30:03) Surviving the “un-sexy” startup moments
(32:55) Being the only female founder in the room
(35:25) How Recess was pitched
(37:56) What every young woman needs to hear

Michelle Zatlyn is the Co-founder and President of Cloudflare, a global internet infrastructure that keeps the world safe and secure online operating 20% of the global web with over 4,000 employees.
Born and raised in Saskatchewan, Canada, Michelle began her career studying chemistry, aiming to become a doctor. But a pivotal turning point during a hospital internship set her on a new path - one that eventually led to Silicon Valley.
In this episode, Michelle shares the formative experiences that shaped her, the unexpected pivots in her career, and dives into the tough decisions she’s had to make. She also unpacks the gritty realities of early-stage startup life, the challenges of scaling, and what it really takes to lead a high-growth tech company.
For a deeper dive into the episode, check out Carly's Substack: https://carlymalatskey.substack.com/
Referenced:
Cloudflare: https://www.cloudflare.com
Harvard Business School (HBS): https://www.hbs.edu/
Lee Holloway (Cloudflare co-founder): https://www.linkedin.com/in/lee-holloway-159152/
Matthew Prince (Cloudflare co-founder & CEO): https://www.linkedin.com/in/mprince/
Project Honey Pot: https://www.projecthoneypot.org/
Toshiba: https://www.toshiba.com/tai/
WIRED Article about Lee Holloway: https://www.wired.com/story/lee-holloway-devastating-decline-brilliant-young-coder/
Timestamps:
(1:46) Growing up in Saskatchewan
(6:04) The decision not to pursue medicine
(9:51) Falling into business and technology
(13:39) The first taste of entrepreneurship
(16:27) Finding community and clarity at HBS
(17:28) The “essay line” that guided her
(19:28) Turning down LinkedIn to start Cloudflare
(25:05) How to improve your decision-making
(29:15) Choosing a meaningful mission
(32:18) Being the non-technical founder
(34:33) Early team challenges
(38:24) The grind from 1 to 100M
(41:32) Getting product-market fit
(44:23) The slow burn of success
(47:49) Being a founder impacts personal life
(51:52) Raising up the next-gen tech leaders
(54:12) The power of small teams and shared purpose