Karen Tay is a Singaporean transplant in San Francisco, USA, and a mom of two. She is the founder of Inherent, a platform dedicated to supporting women through career transitions and workplace challenges. In our intimate conversation, Karen shares her journey from being a senior public servant in the Singapore government to joining corporate America and becoming an entrepreneur. We discuss her viral Her World article entitled “Modern Motherhood: The Blessings of Not Having It All”, revisit some of her darkest times in her personal and professional life, and explore the lessons she's learned since then.

Join us as we reflect on her work supporting women through workplace adversity and uncover enduring wisdom about navigating difficult transitions, career breaks, and making impactful comebacks. Tune in!

Karen also opens up on:

🌟 Navigating the challenges of balancing career aspirations amidst limitations in moving to the US as a young family

🌟 Her personal journey through burnout during COVID

🌟 The importance of healing and nurturing personal relationships during times of strain

🌟 Lessons from providing first aid to women in workplace adversity through Inherent

🌟 How to navigate career breaks and make a comeback

Connect with Karen on:

👋Karen's linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karenzytay/

👋Inherent website: https://www.linkedin.com/company/inherentjourney/

Other resources mentioned:

📚White Paper with Princeton University on Supporting Women Leaders through Workplace First Aid: Pilot Findings - https://drive.google.com/file/d/11rbHF6CGh5_6jj7H7cMg7Kt2M0CvqUTd/view

📚Couples That Work by Jennifer Petriglieri

Chapters

01:09 Hello Karen

02:34 A Day in the Life of Karen

03:47 My Productivity Hack: Calendar Blocking

04:45 The Pottery Connection

06:49 From Optimising Life to Learning To Enjoy Limitations

13:03 Having The Freedom vs Giving Yourself The Freedom

18:17 Struggling with Burnout: A Personal Journey

19:10 Healing and Rebuilding Relationship with My Spouse

21:06 Inherent: Providing Workplace Adversity First Aid

31:12 Navigating Career Breaks and Making Comebacks

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Follow along! We’d love to hear any feedback, comments, or suggestions from you.

➡LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/make-it-work-asia-podcast/

➡Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/makeitwork.asia/

➡Email: makeitwork.asia@gmail.com

Amra Naidoo is an Australian mother of an 18-month-old, currently based in Bangkok, Thailand, after years of living and working in Singapore. She is also the co-founder and General Partner of Accelerating Asia, a leading early-stage venture capital fund in Southeast Asia. In our conversation today which is full of personal and professional inspiration, Amra shared openly about many areas including how, despite her priding herself being an avid fitness enthusiast (practicing Muay Thai, Brazilian Jujitsu, aerial arts, AND yoga sometimes 6 days a week), her pregnancy, recovery and a miscarriage later literally stopped her in her tracks and taught her some of life's toughest lessons. 🥋🤰🏽✨

In our conversation, Amra also opens up on:

🌟How Accelerating Asia’s 4 day work week and unlimited leave has impacted productivity

🌟Why she decided to move to Thailand from Singapore whilst pregnant and cultural differences observed

🌟Her unique philosophy in hiring nannies

🌟Her story of a difficult pregnancy, recovery and miscarriage later on

🌟The importance of consciously designing one's life and career.

Connect with Amra on:

👋Amra's linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amranaidoo/

👋Amra's instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amranaidoo/

👋Accelerating Asia website: https://www.acceleratingasia.com/

👋AA's instagram: https://www.instagram.com/accelerating_asia/

Chapters

0:00 Episode and Guest Introduction

01:06 Hello Amra

02:39 Daily Routine and Productivity Hacks

06:50 Why The Move to Thailand

13:09 My Company’s 4 Day Work Week & Unlimited Leave Policies

16:47 Becoming A Mom: What I Didn't Expect

25:08 Why I Hated Pregnancy... And Lessons Learnt

33:34 Final Thoughts: Not 1 but 2 Takeaways For Listeners

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Follow along! We’d love to hear any feedback, comments, or suggestions from you.

➡LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/make-it-work-asia-podcast/

➡Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/makeitwork.asia/
➡Email: makeitwork.asia@gmail.com

#MakeItWorkPodcast #Resilience #MotherhoodJourney #EntrepreneurLife #PregnancyJourney #ProfessionalGrowth #GlobalCareers #Inspiration #WomenInBusiness #CareerDevelopment #VentureCapital #StartUp

Carolina Yeo is a Singaporean mom of two living in Germany, and founder of &ahead, a talent platform that has enabled more than 4,000 professionals who have taken career breaks to relaunch their careers. Our episode covers a wide range - Carolina reflects on her early corporate life in talent management that brought her all around the world before becoming a young mom in a country where she could barely speak the language- whilst working on her startup. Drawing from her experience of working with thousands of career relaunchers in Singapore and Germany, Carolina also shares about how the two countries' societal contexts impact career and family choices, and why she thinks fathers need more support as caregivers.

In our conversation, Carolina also opens up on:

🌟Her global journey from Singapore to Germany

🌟Simultaneously managing the zero-to-one phase of baby and startup

🌟Finding community and family overseas

🌟Empowering career transitioners through the &ahead platform

🌟How policies in Germany and Singapore affect career and parenting choices

🌟Her Takeaway Lesson: The importance of cheerleaders in your journey

Connect with Carolina/ &ahead on:

👋Website: https://andahead.com/

👋LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolinayeo/

#MakeItWorkPodcast #WorkingMoms #CareerTransition #Inspiration #FamilyFirst #Entrepreneur

Chapters

00:00 Episode and Guest Introduction

01:02 Hello Carolina

01:13 Carolina's Global Journey: From Singapore to Germany

02:31 The Birth of an Entrepreneur: Starting a Business Abroad

09:34 Navigating Career and Motherhood: A Personal Tale

11:56 Building a support network overseas

19:47 Germany and Singapore: structural differences impacting parents

24:31 The Need: More Progressive Parental Leave Policies

27:30 Advice for Returning to Work: Overcoming Fear and Finding Support

30:48 The Importance of Cheerleaders in Your Journey

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Follow along! We’d love to hear any feedback, comments, or suggestions from you.

➡LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/make-it-work-asia-podcast/

➡Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/makeitwork.asia/

➡Email: makeitwork.asia@gmail.com

Rachel Tan, an e-commerce whiz based in Malaysia, has made waves in leadership positions at the likes of Shopee, L’Oreal, Nuffnang and Oxwhite, the Malaysian retail company famous for selling 2,500 white shirts in just three hours. She's also the founder of In Real Life, a digital publishing platform, which was sold in 2020. But that's not all. Rachel's story takes a unique turn after welcoming three children into her life. She realized the potential to merge her love for nurturing kids with her marketing prowess, leading to the birth of The Nurts, an innovative venture that offers books, toys, and games designed to foster precious parent-child bonds. For those intrigued by the concept of fractional work, Rachel also shares her journey of securing a two day a week marketing leadership role at Oxwhite, whilst growing The Nurts, her own business inspired by her kids.

Rachel is also extending a special offer to listeners of Make it Work for products purchased on The Nurts' online store. Valid until 30 June 2024, use the code, MAKEITWORK10 for a 10% discount with a minimum spend of RM 120 (~ USD25)!

In our conversation, we chat about:

🌟Juggling Mum-preneurship and 3 kids

🌟Fractional Work: How Rachel Found a 2-day-a-week Marketing Leadership Role

🌟Combining Work and Play: Starting The Nurts

🌟The 3 Most Important Relationships

🌟The Importance of Knowing Thyself

🌟How to Overcome Self-doubt

Connect with Rachel on:

👋The Nurts https://www.thenurts.com/

👋LinkedIn ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/racheltan88/

👋Email: rachel@thenurts.com

#MakeItWorkPodcast #WorkingMoms #CareerJourney #Inspiration #FamilyFirst #FractionalLeadership #TheNurts

Chapters

0:00 Make It Work Introduction

00:02 Episode and Guest Intro

01:32 Hello Rachel

01:46 Rachel's Journey: From Marketing to Motherhood and Entrepreneurship

03:58 Childcare Arrangements - A Different Experience with Each Child

05:53 Starting a Business Amidst Family Life

07:35 Rachel's Career Shifts and Embracing Flexibility

10:51 How I got a 2-day-a-week Marketing Leadership position

16:56 Advice for Pursuing Flexible, Fractional Roles

18:40 Balancing Entrepreneurship and Parenthood - Know Thyself

21:19 Inspiration from Parenting: The Birth of The Nurts

23:49 The Role of Supportive Partners in Entrepreneurial Journeys

27:42 Reflections and Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

30:43 Connecting with Rachel Tan

Rajani Patel and Anu Shenoy are the co-founders of FemTech Startup Veira Life. Presently based in Singapore, they have diverse backgrounds - Rajani was an engineer turned stay home mom and later pursued a career path in early childhood education whilst Anu is a former management consultant. What they share in common is that they both took career breaks to care for their children and later found their second calling to start Veira Life, an online platform which provides personalised coaching for mothers from pregnancy through to their post-natal journey, early childhood parenting and transitioning back to work. Or in their own words, creating the support system they wish they’d had. Join us as we chat about how they are filling a gap for women and empowering spouses along the journey too.

Today, Veira Life is extending a very special offer to listeners of Make it Work. Use the code MIWFREE to get access to all their virtual prenatal classes FREE when you register on their website.

In our conversation, we also discuss:

🌟How they navigated multiple career changes

🌟Veira Life: Anu and Rajani’s venture to change the way support is given to mothers

🌟The biggest lesson learnt after interviewing hundreds of mothers across geographies and age groups

🌟What keeps them motivated as first time entrepreneurs in their 40s and 50s

Connect with Rajani and Anu on:

👋Veira Life’s website https://veiralife.com/

👋Rajani’s LinkedIn ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajani-patel-4141876/

👋Anu’s LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/anupamashenoy/

#MakeItWorkPodcast #WorkingMoms #CareerJourney #Inspiration #FamilyFirst #Veiralife #CareerTransitions

Chapters

0:00 Make It Work Intro

00:12 Episode and Guest Introduction

01:36 Hello Anu and Rajani

04:44 Challenges Faced as Working Mothers

06:32 Rajani: Figuring Out A New Career After 8 Years As SAHM

10:05 Anu: New Motherhood Taught Me A Tough Lesson: To Be Kinder To Myself

15:21 Veira Life: Providing The Support For Mothers We Wish We Had

17:21 Why Support Spouses?

19:30 What Keeps Us Going as Entrepreneurs Despite Our Life Stage

27:49 The One Thing to Takeaway From This

29:56 Outro

Nila Bhattacharyya is currently based in Bangalore India with her husband and 3 year old. Prior to embracing motherhood, Nila's career spanned diverse roles; from serving as an oil rig engineer in Brazil to working as a global-traveling management consultant based in the United States.

However, following the arrival of her first child, Nila made a pivotal decision to return to India, leaving consulting and starting a new career in product management for a healthtech company headquartered in the United States. Join us to hear how and why Nila made these significant shifts to balance family needs whilst staying true to her career ‘north star’.

In today’s honest and practical conversation, Nila also shares about:

🌟The structured framework guiding her career transitions

🌟Candid observations of parenting in the US vs India

🌟How she expanded the proverbial village to her workplace, breaking taboos by integrating pregnancy openly into professional life early on

🌟How embedding frameworks such as “Jobs To Be Done” and “Operational Key Results” help her prioritize her parenting goals

Connect with Nila on:

👋Email: nilanjana.bhattacharyya@gmail.com

👋LinkedIn: https://in.linkedin.com/in/nilanjana-b-3b36651a

#MakeItWorkPodcast #WorkingMoms #CareerJourney #Inspiration #FamilyFirst #UStoIndia #CareerTransitions

Chapters

00:00 Make It Work Introduction

00:11 Episode and Guest Introduction

03:07 Motherhood: An Internal Shift In Perspective Toward Work

05:58 It Takes A Village.. Which Includes Your Workplace

09:03 Getting Help And Figuring My Priorities

09:57 Exploring Career Options - Why I Pivoted Into Product After Motherhood

15:55 Making A Geographical Shift For Family - A Move Beset With Doubt

18:19 Parenting in US vs India/Asia: Some Big Differences Observed

22:28 My Spouse Is My Biggest Cheerleader

26:54 Looking Back, What Would I Do Differently?

29:51 How I Embed Jobs To Be Done and OKRs In Parenting

31:54 Key Takeaways: New Ways to Define and Grow Your Village

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Follow along! We’d love to hear any feedback, comments, or suggestions from you.

PS. We are always looking for great stories to be featured!

➡LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/make-it-work-asia-podcast/

➡Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/makeitwork.asia/
➡Email: makeitwork.asia@gmail.com

Sharon Fan, a Canadian-Taiwanese, had lived and worked in Asia, North America, Europe before taking charge as the Managing Director of the Taiwan office of a fast growing regional health tech startup. Leading a growing team, she dedicated herself to 15-hour workdays until a significant change reshaped her priorities: motherhood.

Opting for a transformative career pivot, Sharon chose to return to her former company, embracing a downshift, including a 50% pay cut, to transition into an individual contributor role. How and why did she do it? And what are her thoughts on it, since making the shift 2 years ago?

In our eye-opening conversation today, Sharon also shares about:

🌟Her challenges as a first time mom (“the minutiae of it all”)

🌟Why she embraces the concept of a career downshift and her unique perspective on it

🌟How she balances traveling for work and leisure for up to 30% of a year with her spouse and toddler

🌟Interesting aspects of the work culture in Taiwan that affect family life

Connect with Sharon on:

👋LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharonfan/

#MakeItWorkPodcast #WorkingMoms #CareerDownshift #Inspiration #FamilyFirst #

Chapters

00:00 Make It Work Introduction

00:11 Episode & Guest Introduction

02:01 Day In A Life

03:56 Why Motherhood Was So Tough For Me

06:49 Why Taking A 50% paycut Was Worth it

11:17 Why I Love The Term "Career downshift"

16:02 Work-life Integration In Taiwan

20:21 Working With My Spouse

25:53 Outro

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Follow along! We’d love to hear any feedback, comments, or suggestions from you.

PS. We are always looking for great stories to be featured!

➡LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/make-it-work-asia-podcast/

➡Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/makeitwork.asia/
➡Email: makeitwork.asia@gmail.com

Claire Harbour is a mother of four, an avid traveller with an equally interesting career path. She has worked as a strategy consultant, a retail director and a headhunter. Now as a coach, she is on a mission to help women cope with change and find their very own ‘a-ha’ moments in life. Claire recently completed The 100 Women project, where she coached 100 young women in 100 days What has she learnt along her journey?

We chat about:

🌟Ashley Connell’s story: empowering women to fulfil unmet needs for small businesses

🌟Building a priorities list to dump, delegate or delay

🌟Practical exercise: Plan your ideal ordinary day

🌟What she has learnt from coaching 100 women in 100 days and creating ‘The Safe’, a sharing community for women

🌟Figuring out your values so you can be honest about what you want and live with purpose

Connect with Claire on:

👋Claire’s website ⁠www.claireharbour.com⁠

👋The Safe ⁠https://the-safe.mailchimpsites.com/⁠

👋LinkedIn ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/clairemjharbour/⁠

#MakeItWorkPodcast #WorkingMoms #CareerJourney #Inspiration #FamilyFirst #Coaching #DisruptYourCareer

Chapters

00:00 Make It Work Introduction

00:10 Episode Intro

01:00 Ashley Connell: Training SAHMs for business owners

03:06 Build a priorities list: dump, delegate or delay

07:45 Embrace your new identity as a mother, grief the loss of your old identity

08:33 Practical exercise: Plan your ideal ordinary day

10:29 The 100 Women in 100 Days Project

15:22 The Safe: A community for young women to reflect and explore

16:29 Key takeaways

Special credits to Kash Baden in helping with the production of this episode!

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Follow along! We’d love to hear any feedback, comments, or suggestions from you.

PS. We are always looking for great stories to be featured!

➡LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/make-it-work-asia-podcast/

➡Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/makeitwork.asia/
➡Email: makeitwork.asia@gmail.com