The Adults' Table

I recently listened to Michelle Obama's Becoming (yes, I'm 8 years late it's embarrassing) and there's a chapter where she talks about her time at Princeton, why she stuck to her Black and Latino community instead of mingling, and the pressure that comes with assimilation.
I could really relate to that, and it finally put into words something I never quite knew how to describe.
On this episode, I read the parts that resonated with me and added my own thoughts on making friends in a different culture.

The episode challenges the belief that not knowing what you want means you’re wasting time, especially when comparing yourself to curated social media images and younger creators who seem to have it all figured out.
01:41 No One Has It Figured Out
03:15 The Myth of One Perfect Answer
04:31 More Than Your Job
06:15 Investing Time Not Wasting
07:12 How My Plan Completely Changed
12:09 Life Is About Questions
13:50 How You Actually Waste Time
14:19 Permission to Be Wrong

Is the meaning of life to be happy? What does happiness mean to you?

On this episode, I reflect on a recent post by Cristina Junqueira (Nubank’s co-founder) that really resonated with me and made me think.

Join me on this weekly bonus episode while I talk about one of the most important topics in my opinion: purpose, happiness, and serving life.

Cristina Junqueira’s socials
https://www.instagram.com/junqueira.cristina (PT)
https://www.instagram.com/crisjunqueira.intl (EN)

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Juliana Baranowski, Head of Platform at Brazilian VC firm Astella, shares how she unexpectedly moved from journalism and communications into venture capital.

The conversation emphasizes not waiting for validation
—especially for women—acting despite discomfort, being proactive and solution-oriented early in a career, and using a guiding vision of “the person I want to be” to step outside a comfort zone.

04:38 Discovering the ‘Connector’ Skill (and Why It Matters)
05:34 Juliana's Career Path: From PR Dreams to Joining a VC Fund
10:13 Impostor Syndrome in High-Performing Ecosystems
13:36 Claiming Your Seat: Self-Investment, Feedback, and Owning Your Story
16:28 Doing It Scared: Perfectionism, Anxiety, and Pushing Past Discomfort
19:01 Becoming Your Future Self: Values, Vision, and Long-Term Reflection
23:04 How to Know What You Want
26:47 Advice for Your 20s
32:45 How to Show Professionalism Early: Proactivity and Structured Solutions
34:35 What Makes Great Founders
41:08 How VCs Evaluate the ‘Why’: Deep Dives Beyond the Pitch

Find Juliana on LinkedIn
https://linkedin.com/in/julianabaranowski
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In this week’s bonus episode, I talked about my focus with this podcast since starting season 2, which is to interview more Latinos and more immigrants and share the things we know and think about, not just where we’re from. We belong at the table.