In today’s discussion we’re only scratching the surface of the very present gender gaps women in STEM (and STEAM) careers face from their time in school to the workforce. Meet Najla Elmachtoub, a voice in the industry that serves as a catalyst for change. Najla is the Senior Engineering Manager at Etsy, a one-of-a-kind global online marketplace and community that supports independent makers and creators. Keep on listening to learn more about Najla’s career, her perspective on role models and mentorship, and much more!

Show Notes:

Najla Elmachtoub started her path in STEM in high school studying computer sciences. She is now the Senior Engineering Manager for Etsy (0:40.)

Especially when it comes to tech, Najla found interning at as many diverse programs as possible would provide her the best scope of the industry (2:40.)

To start off each day, Najla finds makes sure to take the time to exercise, meditate, and write before she kicks off her work day (5:30.)

“The fact that I am a woman plays a big part in how I am perceived and some of the opportunities that I was allowing myself to take and others were allowing me to take.”

— Najla Elmachtoub

Najla realizes that sometimes self-depreciation can be the only thing holding her back and that she has the ability to solve any problem (7:40.)

Having a role model especially in the STEM field is so important. Najla found her role model while at Etsy, the VP of Engineering, who really made her feel like she could rise to any challenge (9:05.)

“Being able to provide psychological safety and full transparancy as a leader are the most important aspects to provide people with the trust and space to be themselves and make them feel that they have the ability to do their best work.”

— Najla Elmachtoub

As a leader Najla discovered, it's not about the qualities that you have but rather, how you make others feel (13:00.)

When in the field of STEM it's important to have an advocate and a mentor. It is common to change your domain of expertise and is super important to adapt. Seek out someone who will bring growth opportunities and will fight for your space in a growing company (14:00.)

Outside of reading the New York Times, Najla likes to seek out opportunities to broaden her knowledge. She likes to ask her role models what they are reading to understand what inspires them (15:50.)

“If I am the smartest person in the room, I am in the wrong room.”

— Najla Elmachtoub

One day, Najla aspires to be the CTO or VP of Engineering for a small company but until then she loves managing her team and plans to take things day by day (17:40.)

Follow Najla on Twitter @najtube to stay connected and follow her journey!

Interested in talking with Najla about tech, product engineering, or leadership? You can check out her office hours here.

Thank you readers for tuning into the Brava Podcast. If you like the show please leave a review on iTunes!

What from our conversation inspired you today? What do you hope to hear next? Tweet or message us on Instagram @BravaPodcast to tell us what you want to hear, even if it’s your own story!

For today’s discussion, we’re going to take a step into the start-up space. Whether you have your eyes set on an entrepreneurial venture in retail, finance or technology I hope that our conversation will ignite a spark within your own career path.

Let me introduce to you a powerful serial entrepreneur. Today’s guest is Erica Amatori. She’s the Director of Marketing at Burrow and Co-Founder of TheBit at the impressive age of just 23. Tune in below!

SHOW NOTES:

Erica is the VP of Marketing at Burrow, an e-commerce start-up that is changing up the furniture space. Their value lies in that their furniture is extremely comfortable and adaptable. She’s also the co-founder of thebitdaily.com a source from crypto-education and a crypto-community (1:26).

On knowing when to invest her time or money on a start-up, Erica first needs to believe in not just idea, but also the team (2:50).

“To know whether a start-up is right for me I act like my own venture capitalist firm.”

Start-ups are a roller coaster. The highs are high, the lows are low. When you don’t think there is a market for your service or product, you have to be real with yourself and move on (5:12).

“It’s not a failure, it’s a learning.”

— Erica Amatori

Book recommendation by Erica: The Dip by Seth Godin ß Click here to check it out.

With an idea, is it better to be authentic or original? Erica says neither. She thinks you truly need is product market fit. A demand and audience for the product (7:15).

To Erica, “innovation” means to find opportunity gaps and fill them. Finding a broken process and fixing it (9:00).

Innovative ideas come from innovative people. Character traits such as curiosity allow you to question the current processes and finding new solves. Practice this by always asking questions (10:20).

“Behind every successful person there are a lot of unsuccessful years.”

— Erica Amatori

Want to get start in your start-up now? Erica advises to go out there and start doing market research and find if your product or service is valuable (13:20).

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