In this episode of 5to9, I had a chat with Farah Sheikh-Ogoe, a brand manager at META, co-founder of NOTES International, a community of Black and brown people who love natural wine, vibey tunes, global travel and the intersection of all 3, and a lover of all things food, fashion, community and connection.

Farrah’s had quite a non-linear career. She started off as a content manager in the agency world at Ogilvy, then went to the non-profit at Do Something for a few years then back to the agency world as a producer at Big Spaceship. She then spent a few years at Squarespace on their brand team and had a stint at JP Morgan, Peloton and Vivino, an online wine market place. Along the way, she freelanced and had multiple side projects such as Feed & Foster, a peer mentorship dinner for women of color and Notes International.

With each step, Farrah has deliberately chosen to pursue work that fuels her creativity and aligns with her values, always being intentional on what it is that she needs and wants next and building a career that is uniquely hers.

We talked about the power of taking a non-linear path, the lessons she’s learned from shifting industries, balancing a full-time role with passion projects, how they impact each other, and redefining what success looks like beyond a 9-to-5.

Here is Farah Sheikh-Ogoe for 5to9.