Abby R.
💸 Personal finance
Hi Twenty Mentees! I’m stoked to be able to get to know you and hopefully provide some help as you navigate ✨ whatever life is throwing at you ✨. I’ve had the privilege of having some excellent mentors in both my professional and personal life and am thrilled to be able to pay some of that forward within the Twenty Community!
More on my background / where I’m coming from:
If anything in my background resonates with you, I’d be thrilled to chat more and learn about how I can help you. Finding mentors that I jive with has been so important to my personal and professional journey, and it’d be an honor to be one of yours!
Courtnay B.
🔥 MBA
Hi! I am a native Texan but have lived in many parts of the USA, including Nashville, Atlanta, SF, and now Boston, but I’ll be in Seattle interning at Microsoft this summer in HR. After college I worked as a management consultant for 4 years at McKinsey & Company, where I worked in multiple industries and functions searching for my passion. I finally found it in my last two years at McKinsey by working on the Women in the Workplace report and working with our Chief People Officer on the firm’s important people priorities. After that, I decided to go to business school to decide if I wanted to pivot into the HR space rather than stay in consulting.
I’ve been mentoring others since college in various topics, and love sharing my knowledge and experiences to help others be their best!
Personally, I love to be active (hiking, Barry’s, Pilates), to cook, and to spend time with friends and family. Looking forward to meeting you!
Sophia S.
💻 Startups
Past experience mentoring and teaching others:
Some episodes about career from my podcast: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/17wmAOLcS2H48YbpbBayPM?si=dabe9964b2e84e22
Grant A.
💍 Getting married
I’m Grant - a proud Houstonian currently living in Boston while attending MIT Sloan. I went to UVA and studied Systems Engineering. I spent the first 4 years of my career at BCG, starting as a Summer Associate and finishing up as a Project Leader. Have done a ton of work in Digital, Oil & Gas and Social Impact. Outside of case work, I was also able to work in my “magic time” with the Houston Food Bank and EMERGE on special one-off consulting projects.
More importantly, I have the most amazing wife Sarah and the best “good boys” (dogs) in the world and could talk to you for hours about any one of them 🙂 We love going on long walks, trying new restaurants and breweries, and watching just a little too much reality TV.
Miriam S.
🩺 Healthcare
I'm an engineer turned business student continuing to explore which career path might be right for me at this moment in time. I'm a firm believer in pushing yourself to be independently capable while also respecting the value of healthy relationships and supportive communities.
Sara G.
I’m Sara - a UX research lead passionate about helping people cultivate fulfillment, joy and growth in their careers. My own career path has been a windy road, and that’s one of the reasons I love supporting others on their journeys. I started out my career as a Hiring Rotation Associate at Google. After about 6 months of realizing this role was the wrong fit for me, I made an internal transfer and became the first user researcher at Google Health. While I was at Google Health, I had the opportunity to work on some fascinating projects that included optimizing the user experience of an anxiety disorder self-assessment tool, making it easier for users to find affordable care on Google Search, building an AI-powered skin diagnostic tool, and internationalizing a diabetic retinopathy detection device. After about 4 years, my UX team had grown from a team of 3 to a team of ~70 and I was ready to make a change. I’ve always been inspired by democratizing access to world class education, and this led me to Coursera where I now lead a team of researchers who work on advancing access to education worldwide. My favorite part of my current role is getting to be a manager to an incredible team of people: I love coaching my team to achieve audacious goals, watching people grow, and building strong and sustaining relationships. In my free time, I spend my time doing things that bring me joy: soaking in the sun at the beach or in the park, boxing, hosting and cooking for friends, spending time with my partner Ziad and dog Ziggy, and traveling and experiencing different cultures. A perfect Saturday for me would be reading a great book on the beach, and then spending the evening relaxing on my porch with some friends, Ziad and Ziggy and a nice glass of wine :)
Why am I here?
My own twenties were rocky and exhilarating – it was a raw time full of some really incredible highs and some serious lows. Even though I had a dream job at Google Health pretty early in my career, I struggled with a lot of things many people do in their twenties: feeling insecure, managing anxiety and depression, uncertainty about my purpose, dealing with challenging work relationships, etc. I was incredibly lucky to have some generous people who were later in their careers give me support and guidance during this time. I love paying that energy forward - and I get tremendous fulfillment out of the relationships I build with my mentees. If I can be a part of your journey, please don’t hesitate to reach out 🙂
James E.
⚽️ Sports
I’m an Arizona native with roots from Mexico. I currently live in San Francisco and have been here for the last 5 years. Moved to the bay to work with startups and never seemed to leave.
I attended the University of Arizona where I ran track and field collegiately. After graduating, I had the opportunity to pursue running after college and competed for the Mexican National team. After falling short of making the Olympic team, I decided to hang up the spikes and moved to San Francisco.
Since I’ve been in the bay, I’ve worked for 3 companies, Rubrik, Databricks and now Lacework. I specialize in enterprise software sales, which has been equally rewarding as it’s been challenging. But my experience working for some of the fastest growing startups has been amazing.
Outside of work, I enjoy cooking and traveling. Love to try new recipes that inspire my creativity. The one thing I do focus on is having a work-life balance. Figuring out what I like to do outside of work has helped me become a more well rounded professional.
I’m very excited to become a mentor because I believe success is a culmination of the people you surround yourself with and if I can have can impact even just one person in a meaningful way, I’ll feel like I’ve done my job.
Will C.
🎤 Public speaking
Hey there! I’m a Raleigh, NC native who’s spent my career in the Talent space at multiple startups and scaleups. I graduated from William Peace University in Raleigh, but am a die-hard NC State sports fan (Go Pack!). I’m a new home-owner alongside my Fiancée and our cat, Poppy, and am getting married in September 2023!
I started my career in 2017 in the contract recruiting space. I learned the basics of corporate life, and also found that my passion was to work in-house for startups and build high-performing teams in the SaaS space. This led me to my first Startup role….
I joined Pendo in early 2020 (What a time!) and was responsible for growing our Product, Engineering, Design, and UX Research orgs alongside our Chief Product Officer and CEO. This is where I learned to navigate the politics that come with working in a high growth org, as well as how to partner with executive stakeholders on a regular basis. I was lucky enough to meet my first mentor (My direct manager at the time), and see firsthand the impact they can have on your career trajectory.
After Pendo I was recruited to join Twilio and lead a global team of recruiters focused on hiring Principal level product IC’s and product leadership. Here is where I learned what working at scale looked like. With over 10k employees, it take an entirely different skillset to navigate an organization of this size. Being able to influence decision makers, as well as ensuring your work has visibility across multiple levels is essential.
Early this year (2023), I joined OnFrontiers as our Head of Talent Acquisition. We’re a small org with around 30 employees around the globe, and this comes with an entirely new set of challenges and objectives. Organizing your day, setting clear productivity benchmarks, and holding yourself accountable is key.
I’m passionate about making sure everyone who’s in the early stages of their career has access to mentorship. In the age of remote work, this has become even more of a challenge day-to-day. I aim on building long lasting relationships with Mentees and providing transparent feedback on your topics of choice.
Ryan M.
As I've progressed in my career, I've realized how important it is (especially for those in disadvantaged situations) to have a mentor and how my trajectory has been altered, for the better, by having someone to provide insight, bounce ideas off of and teach me about what is possible.
I received my bachelors in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Florida back in 2014, and decided to take a role as a field service engineer with Siemens Energy. I didn’t know it at the time, but this role has become a fundamental building block in my personality and work ethic, how I attack problems and deal with adversity, how I manage teams and interact with people, but most importantly, how I value my time and energy. After 5 years of 91 hour weeks, I was recruited to join EY in their business consulting arm out of Atlanta, GA. This was a 180 career change for me - I went from wearing cowboy boots and jeans every day to sitting in conference rooms with executives, and the first few months weren’t the easiest for me. But as I learned at Siemens, we learn, adapt and overcome!
I then spent 2 years getting my MBA at Emory University in Atlanta GA. I spent the summer interning at Nike HQ in Oregon, and could not have asked for a better summer. While I loved working at Nike, it made me realize that consulting was the current career path for me. I came back to Emory for year two and successfully recruited back into consulting to join McKinsey & Company’s Atlanta office.
While nearly everyone I met told me to take the summer off between school and work, I ignored their advice and pursued a passion of mine - 3D printing. During my MBA program, I came into contact with the CEO of a 3D printing company out of Austin TX, and expressed interest in formally gaining experience in the 3D printing space. She allowed me to join her company for the summer, and I’ve loved every second of learning from her and her team. I’m sure I would’ve been happier on a beach in the Maldives or driving a motorcycle through Vietnam for the summer, but this is a close second!
Twenty excites me because I love the success of others and I really love helping others realize their full potential. One of the reasons I mentor is the hope that I can infect my mentees with the desire to continue the mentoring, and we get this long web of knowledge transfer, excitement and success as a result. I've also realized that things I take for granted (like understanding the importance of keeping and maintaining a network, or things like good professional habits) are not common knowledge to everyone and I should share that from my place of privilege with those who may need it.
Jamie K.
I started my first company at 18 and transferred to a new school to scale it to well over a six-figure business. I ultimately decided it wasn’t what I wanted to do and pivoted from retail/eCommerce to product management and am now at Atomic Venture Studio (the studio behind HIMS/Hers, Found, Openstore, Terminal.io, and many others). I’ve worked for myself, a Fortune 500 (Macy’s), a Fortune 1 (Walmart), joined an early stage startup that became a unicorn ($1.B Evaluation), and navigated what would be the best next move (joining a pre-product team as a founding team member, venture studio, or business school) before landing at Atomic! I’m obsessed with start-ups across all sectors and love to help people navigate their career journeys to meet their goals.
Eric K.
Howdy y’all! Eric here - currently in my last semester of an MBA/M.Ed dual degree program at Stanford. My 20s were a hop-around kind of decade personally and professionally - created a little visual representation of that below:
About as un-linear a career path as you can find, but it’s been a fun ride. Along the way, I learned a lot about what a “good job” looks like for me, as well as what I want in my life outside of work. Does it mean I have it all figured out? Quite the contrary, but I’ve learned to embrace being a little bit lost and a lot of curious all the time. After Stanford, that will likely mean working in the social sector (probably in education) and living back in Austin (where I was prior to school).
I’ve had countless conversations with strangers during my 20s - with people who had no obligation to help me out or to give me their perspective, but who did so anyway (often after I reached out cold). I mentor today to pay it forward, holding a sprinkle of hope that I might be that randomly helpful person to someone in your shoes.
I’m about as positive and as energetic a person as you’ll find (fun fact: without having ever sipped coffee!), and you can expect more of the same from me as a mentor. In those moments where life gets real, we’ll find a silver lining or a path forward, and if I don’t have the answers you need, I’ll give it my all to find you someone who does.
Excited to hear from you - let’s get crankin’!
Ankush T.
I'm Ankush, and I am currently pursuing my MBA at London Business School. As an engineer turned consultant turned start-up & venture capital enthusiast - I've straddled various roles and would be happy to chat about any of them.
I'm an ambitious individual using my curiosity and passion to drive my decisions and carve my path in life. Obviously, along the way, I've faltered and learned from my experiences - would love to share and hopefully help you out in the process!
Janae B.
- Served as Peer Advising Fellow in college (mentor to college freshmen)- Served as official student recruiter on behalf of Harvard College Admissions- Harvard College Alumnae Interviewer- Currently a ICF certified professional coach; 100+ coaching hours (1:1 client sessions)- Born and raised in Miami, FL- I’m constantly on the move!- I teach beginner dance classes on the side
Lucy S.
Hi, I’m Lucy! I’m so happy to be here. Let me give you a little glimpse of who I am and what my twenties were like 😊
I love quotes so I’ll first start out with one by Elizabeth Gilbert to set the tone ;)
“Do whatever brings you to life, then. Follow your own fascinations, obsessions, and compulsions. Trust them. Create whatever causes a revolution in your heart”.
How I Discovered Twenty & My Passion to Mentor: About a month ago, I confided in a friend about my desire to make a more significant impact in the lives of individuals navigating this unique phase of life, beyond my work as a therapist. I was struggling to pinpoint the ‘how’ I was going to do this, but my friend encouraged me to let it go and that opportunities sometimes show up when they are meant to show up.
A month later, I saw an old teacher of mine on LinkedIn commenting on one of Twenty’s posts that Katie, the CEO of the company, had written. I began to read about why she was creating Twenty, and I deeply resonated with all of the points she made around this “defining decade”. Something inside me knew I needed to be a part of what she was creating.
And here I am!
I am such a strong believer of having mentors in your 20s. When we have mentors, we can truly “see to believe” what’s possible for us when we have direct access to people who possess what we desire or have gone through something challenging and made it to the other side.
I’m so looking forward to meeting all of you and helping you on your path forward!
Roberto B.
I LOVE mentoring and teaching, and have done so since my early undergrad years! Besides being a teaching assistant for multiple classes during undergrad and grad school, I had an undergrad scholarship called TEPP (which translates to Tutoring, Teaching, and Research of PUC) where I mentored multiple students. During my MBA, I was an Arbuckle Leadership Fellow, a program in which I took coaching classes and coached 3 students during their first year at the MBA. I'm excited to be a mentor at Twenty so I can help people while doing what I love the most - coaching you through the different problems in life and sharing my experience with you!
I’m a founder with work experience across early-stage (Shef), growth-stage (Instawork), pre-IPO (DiDi) and big tech (Google) companies. I specialize in operations and product management of marketplace startups, always bringing a strong emphasis on data storytelling and analytics to every decision I make with a team. My background includes Data Science, Operations and PM positions, besides a BSc and MSc in Electrical Engineering, and an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Kat F.
I’m a mom and marketing professional, with over a decade of experience building brands and culture at large organizations and high-growth startups. My career started with the question, “What now?” English degree in hand, with email writing as my superpower, I entered a mentee program at Franklin Templeton to find my place in the corporate ecosystem.
Career and life moves since:
👉🏼 Moved from SF to Portland
👉🏼 Got a job at adidas in Digital Innovation
👉🏼 Met my now-wife, quit my job, and moved to Los Angeles
👉🏼 Joined an electric scooter startup in Series A and ended up in NYC for the IPO bell-ringing ceremony four years later
👉🏼 Became a mom at the height of the pandemic (July 2020)
👉🏼 Joined a seed startup as the first marketing hire
👉🏼 Partnered with LinkedIn as an LGBTQ+ Creator
👉🏼 Joined a Series A startup in DEI tech to build & grow their marketing department
👉🏼 Started a professional newsletter for people leaders (The Break Room)