CYLS 136: Limitless: A CTO’s Truth in Defining Herself in Her Industry & Life with Melissa Wahnish

Create Your Life Series

English - September 21, 2018 16:00 - 44 minutes - 103 MB - ★★★★★ - 116 ratings
Health & Fitness Education How To business entrepreneur entrepreneurship marketing finance leadership health success interview fitness Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed

Previous Episode: CYLS 135: Identity, Masculinity, and Fatherhood: An Entrepreneur Creates Community Change with Jason Rosario

Next Episode: CYLS 137: Redefining Self-Image: A CEO’s Path From Wall Street to Idiomatic-Clothing Manufacturer with Andrea Madho

About our Guest:

Melissa Wahnish is a professional comedic actress turned hacker/developer. Using her self-taught programming skills, she founded Ruby Thursdays, a free weekly online show that gives junior rail developers tutorials, tips, and tricks to help them grow. Melissa organizes the Dev Dialogue meet-up which is the longest running Ruby Meetup in New York City. Along with her husband, Todd Wahnish, Melissa is the Co-Founder of Gigtilt.com, a service that simplifies and automates online payments. When she’s not leading development through innovation, Melissa enjoys sci-fi and knitting.

Episode Summary

Melissa Wahnish went from comedian/actress to Founder/developer. This leap may seem unexpected, but Melissa is a rockstar! Finding time to run several companies with her husband, Todd, participate in Meetups, and raise a family, Melissa gives advice on all matter of issues that women may encounter at work. From overcoming the feeling of imposter syndrome to using her acting skills in her CEO role, her advice is crucial to anyone starting out in a new career and those looking to advance in the workforce.

Insight from this episode:

Secrets to crafting your skills outside of your business. How to use networking to hone in on what works best for you. Melissa shares two critical experiences that helped her improve as a developer when she was just starting out. Strategies for standing out from your peers at work. Strategies for getting your first job, as a junior developer. Secrets to overcoming the biggest personal challenges you may face in your career. Melissa gives advice to young women looking to make waves as engineers, CTOs, and founders of companies. How to silence the naysayers.

Quotes from the show:

“It’s always about bringing people joy.” - Melissa Wahnish on entrepreneurial work, Episode 136

“You do the best you can at the things you can control.” - Melissa Wahnish, Episode 136

“It’s definitely about being that thought leader. So it’s about getting your name out there and being a part of the community.” - Melissa Wahnish on using Meetup as a resource, Episode 136

“Do the customer development, even when you’re building for yourself, so that you can serve others.” - Kevin Y. Brown, Episode 136

“That’s been the biggest thing, is really to own what you can do and what you’ve done. Just to own it as opposed to thinking you can’t do it.” - Melissa Wahnish, Episode 136

Resources Mentioned:

Startup Leadership Program General Assembly courses Meetup Dev Dialogue Meetup Trello Ruby Thursday Gigtilt Aarting

Favorite Book:

The Lord of the Rings Series by J.R.R. Tolkien

Favorite Quote:

“It’s never boring.”

3 keys to Create Your Best Life:

Own your accomplishments. Speak your mind. Choose something that makes you happy and joyful.

Stay Connected:

Create Your Life Series:

https://www.facebook.com/cylseries/

https://www.instagram.com/cylseries/