Living Life Intensely: How Livia found meaning through a business turnaround, motherhood and loss
Join Leaning My Way Substack: https://substack.com/@leaningmywayAttend Jaclyn Udell’s Matrescence digital workshop: https://lu.ma/zwhtzj8kShow Notes:Livia Paggi is a political risk consultant, business partner, and mother of three who has always lived life by her own rules. In this episode, she shares her remarkable career journey from helping global investors navigate geopolitical crises to turning around a bankrupt company with colleagues after her second daughter was born. When professional triumph collided with devastating personal loss—losing her third baby just one day before the due date—Livia's perspective on success and meaning was changed forever. She candidly discusses what her therapist called "post-traumatic growth," how loss gave her a laser focus on what truly matters, and why she believes the corporate world's messaging to working mothers can be harmful. We explore the financial realities of making it work with 2 career-focused parents, the crucial role of community and ritual that modern mothers lack, and how motherhood and loss gave her the confidence to go after what she wants. Livia's honesty and refusal to accept the status quo will challenge how you think about integrating career, family, and purpose.Timestamps:04:35 – Growing up as an only child but always wanting a big family of 3-4 kids 05:40 – Early career path from development work to political risk consulting for stability and roots 11:10 – First daughter coinciding with promotion: motherhood as confidence booster, not obstacle 18:00 – Second daughter and taking over a bankrupt company as business partners 21:03 – Thriving in chaos and working during maternity leave on "things that move the needle" 23:37 – Financial honesty: spending entire salary on childcare and needing a supportive partner 27:23 – Losing third baby one day before due date and the complete life reset 33:02 – Post-traumatic growth and finding laser focus on what truly matters 40:18 – Transition to public sector work driven by desire to give back to community 44:35 – Quick fire round: resilience lessons, community-based childcare, and advice to pre-kids self
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Beautiful Things Come at Their Own Inconsiderate Timing: Shachar's journey of resilience through career and fertility uncertainty
Shachar Peled shares her journey from reporter to working mother, and how she's learned to find meaning when life doesn't go according to plan. A former journalist for CNN and other international outlets, Shachar opens up about her three-year fertility struggle, transitioning from the unpredictable world of reporting to Google, and facing two unexpected layoffs in recent years.She's refreshingly honest about the challenges of motherhood, job searching as an ambitious woman, and how she's learned to embrace uncertainty while rebuilding her career and completing a master's degree at Oxford.Show Time Stamps:4:20 – Balancing demands of journalism with prospect of becoming a mother8:45 – Three years of fertility struggles while building a journalism career 15:20 – Managing pregnancy and motherhood as a reporter22:10 – Why she transitioned from journalism to Google 27:45 – Getting pregnant one week after starting her new job35:50 – Two rounds of layoffs and the impact on her identity 45:15 – The reality of being a "soccer mom" when you're not a soccer mom 52:20 – Finding hope through education and new projects
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Growing Career and Family: Camilla on going from startup manager to public company executive while navigating IVF and raising 3 kids
Camilla Kater has been promoted seven times at Deliveroo—including twice while on maternity leave. In this episode, she shares her 10-year journey from Head of UK Operations at the “start-up” to public company executive while navigating IVF and raising three kids. Camilla opens up about keeping her fertility treatment secret while working at a high-growth startup, the practical challenges of daily medical appointments, and why she actually worked harder during IVF. We discuss her maternity leave transitions, the surprise of getting pregnant naturally with her second child just before returning to work, and the systems she's built to balance executive leadership with motherhood. From managing the identity switch between decisive leader and nurturing mother to creating forcing mechanisms like a 6 PM nursery pickup, Camilla's story proves you don't have to choose between ambition and family—but you do need clear boundaries and some grace along the way.Timestamps03:17 – Why Camilla joined Deliveroo as a "year in industry" after her MBA at McKinsey 07:12 – What kept her at Deliveroo for 10 years: operational challenges and amazing colleagues 12:49 – Deciding to start a family during Deliveroo's hypergrowth phase 14:32 – Going through IVF while keeping it secret from everyone at work 18:23 – Why she worked harder during fertility treatment instead of leaning out 29:19 – Loving her first maternity leave and the quick transition back to work 32:14 – Getting promoted twice on maternity leave and taking on new roles 37:51 – The awkward conversation about her second pregnancy right before returning to work 43:14 – How she and her entrepreneur husband divide responsibilities at home 46:43 – Creating forcing mechanisms like the 6 PM nursery pickup to set boundaries 49:15 – Preparing to return after Deliveroo's likely acquisition by DoorDash 52:29 – Quick fire round: lessons from kids, workplace policies, and favorite apps
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From BBC Reporter to Social Entrepreneur: How Genia Followed Her Curiosity to Build an Award-Winning Business as a Mother of Two
Genia Mineeva has crafted an unconventional career path guided purely by passion and purpose. From growing up in post-Soviet Russia to building a decades-long career at the BBC, then running communications for a major NGO, and finally creating Been — a social enterprise turning waste materials into luxury products — Genia's story is one of following your gut even when the path isn't obvious.In this episode, we explore how Genia navigated three major career transitions while raising two daughters in London without family support. She opens up about the realities of building a business while juggling demanding jobs, how she and her husband created space for each other's entrepreneurial journeys, and the creative solutions they found to make it all work financially.We also dive into the evolution from parenting toddlers to teenagers, including the modern challenges of managing tech-savvy 13-year-olds who can outsmart parental controls. What's refreshing about Genia's perspective is how she balances hopeful idealism with honest reflections on the trade-offs she's made and how they've shifted over time.Key Topics:Making career pivots as a working motherBuilding a social enterprise from curiosity about textile wasteManaging demanding careers without family support in LondonCreative solutions for childcare and school holidaysThe financial realities of both partners being entrepreneursParenting teenagers in the digital ageCreating work-life balance as a small business owner
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Can Women Really Have Kids and a Big Career? Karina’s Journey from COO to Mom Entrepreneur in Her Late 30s
For years, Karina Valencia was certain kids would derail her ambitious career. Growing up in a traditional Mexican household, she rebelled by dedicating herself to climbing the corporate ladder, working in the office of the CEO for companies like Citigroup and Palantir. But after her first marriage ended, she met her now-husband in her late 30s, and everything changed. After a challenging fertility journey that forced her to choose between her high-stress COO role and having a baby, Karina made the difficult decision to resign—and got pregnant one week later. When returning to work brought challenging discrimination, she decided to build her own company instead, creating Lonvia, a longevity consultancy staffed almost entirely by mothers.Timestamps03:10 – Why Karina's traditional Mexican upbringing made her reject motherhood09:50 – Building a global career at Citigroup and living in nine countries 15:00 – Going through divorce while climbing the corporate ladder at Palantir 19:45 – Meeting her husband and slowly changing her mind about having kids 24:45 – Multiple miscarriages and realizing work stress was affecting her fertility 31:10 – Quitting her COO role and getting pregnant one week later 36:15 – The identity shift from workaholic to new mother 42:55 – Facing discrimination and salary cuts when job hunting as a mother 47:50 – Starting Longvia, a company run almost entirely by mothers
Netherlands