Hey hey! I’m Katie, the founder & ceo of twenty! Up to this point, I’ve been building twenty behind the scenes, but I got FOMO… so now I’m here to join the party 🙂 Can’t wait to meet many of you in person - I’ve heard so much about you!!

To give a more “formal” introduction…

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• I’m a hybrid product x design x startup leader trained at Stanford, IDEO, & Harvard Business School. I've spent my career launching new products, programs, & ventures in education.
• I also serve as a global advocate for women's rights x education. Over the years, I've worked & lived at a K-12 boarding school in India, helped scale a menstrual healthcare organization in Uganda, and co-founded my own nonprofit, Girl Possible. We first launched on Kickstarter and spent 14 weeks roadtripping across the US in an RV, teaching design thinking & leadership workshops for girls across 32 states.
• My work has been featured in Fast Company, Lean In, Ms. Magazine, SXSW Edu, and Edtech Insiders. I've also taught at Stanford's d.school and Harvard's Graduate School of Education and joined top startup / VC programs like On Deck Founders, Galvanizer, & Reach Roadrunners.

  But here’s my real talk, just for twenty:

• I think navigating your twenties is hard, complicated, emotional, transformational, intense… all of the things. I think we receive ZERO training on how to make the most of this “defining decade” and that colleges / schools are designed to just pump us out like machines with fancy degrees on paper but no actual sense of where we belong in the real world and how to define success on our own terms, outside of a report card.
• I’ve been through my fair share of ups & downs, trying to figure out what I really want and how to get there. I’ve been a marketer, a designer, a business development operator, a founder (non-profit and for-profit), a full-time “gap year” volunteer & globe-trotter, a “design program manager,” a consultant, etc. I studied engineering and product design, then got my MBA. I feel like a real “jill of all trades”—mediocre at a LOT of things but expert at none. At first, this gave me a ton of anxiety, but now I think it’s my superpower.
• At first, I also felt pressure to set a 5-10 year career plan & stick to it. Now, I refuse to lock myself into anything of the sort. We are constantly pivoting, evolving, & growing in unexpected, beautiful ways, and for me, embracing that journey (rather than the “destination”) is one of the greatest joys of life.
• I’m obsessed with asking both myself and others, “what would you regret NOT doing?” and live my life by that principle. I’m a fiery creator, product-builder, and people-connector. Nothing energizes me more than meeting new people (like you!) and asking them the real deal, big life questions - what do you really want to do, and how can you get there?

  With all this in mind, I can’t wait to meet you. Thank you for being here 🫶

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• Business school - should I apply? is it really worth it? what schools / programs are out there and right for me? how should I approach essays / interviews?
• Design thinking & product - what’s the best way to prototype / test my idea to see if it’s worth pursuing? how do I get more creative at work? how do I scale my product to more people? what design tools should I be using at work? how do I run a user feedback interview or create a good survey to gather input? how do I run an effective design thinking workshop?
• Startup life - should I join a startup? how do I find the right gig? what startup stage, role, industry, etc. is right for me? what kind of salary should I expect? what about equity? what questions should I ask the startup team to suss out if it’s legit and mitigate risk?
• Founder life - how do I incorporate my company? how / who do I hire? how should I approach VCs and when? what about pitch competitions? how do I balance work / life demands as a founder?
• Public speaking & storytelling - let’s workshop your deck, presentation, cover letter, or portfolio website!

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• Big life questions - what is my purpose? what are my superpowers? how do I maximize my impact in the world? what is really going to bring me joy, and how do I get there? what matters most to me in this particular stage of my life / career?
• Women at work - how do I navigate a male-dominated workplace or industry? how can I boost my confidence at work? (you can also vent to me)
• Relationships - am I forging the right relationships right now? who are “my people” and how do I find them? are my personal relationships pushing me forward or holding me back?

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• Positive & energetic
• Creative
• Actively listening
• Honest, upfront, & real with you
• Eager to help you shoot for the stars, dream big, and bring your ideas to life