The BreakLine Arena

Join us in the BreakLine Arena for a conversation with Allen Narcisse, Chief Operating Officer at Workrise.He shares his background and childhood that made him adept in learning and adapting quickly, his evolution towards de-compartmentalizing home and work life, and his evolution into a leader who sets up teams so that they have the frameworks to get to an answer that harkens back always to mission and purpose. “How do you solve problems in a winning way? How do you do it with heart? How do you stay balanced to make sure your mission is coming through in how you work?”Please like, rate, subscribe, or review our show if you've liked what you've heard! We'd love to hear your thoughts. If you're interested in joining our community, please visit www.breakline.org.

Join us in the BreakLine Arena for a conversation with Whitney Curry, CMO at Pacaso.She shares tips on how to take initiative to drive opportunities for yourself, how to find and maintain mentors, and how she balances family and work-life demands. In an authentic display of humility and grit, Whitney shares her story from starting off as Zillow's very first intern to earning the Director, Brand Management title during an 11-year journey there. She also sheds light on her transition to CMO at Pacaso, a pivot she felt confident in pursuing because of her firm belief in asking for help."When I was looking at this role at Pacaso, I didn't know if I could do it. I had to sit with the opportunity and wonder if I wanted to go for it... and I'm proud of myself for saying yes. I recognized that what I needed was help. I needed to build a team so that our skills were complementary. And it has been so rewarding to see what a dynamic and diverse set of people can accomplish."Please like, rate, subscribe, or review our show if you've liked what you've heard! We'd love to hear your thoughts. If you're interested in joining our community, please visit www.breakline.org.

Join us in the BreakLine Arena for a conversation with Mike Micucci, COO of Automation Anywhere.He shares insights from a 30-year career of driving innovations in the tech industry, including how he balances his professional life with physical wellness, the value businesses derive from having conversations with their customers, and the importance of a team sharing the same values. "Be a storyteller. Work on your story: build it, make it interesting, try it out on different people, and iterate on it. Go to sleep thinking about it and wake up the next day and try it out again. There's a story behind why you started your company or built your idea. Tell the world your story."Please like, rate, subscribe, or review our show if you've liked what you've heard! We'd love to hear your thoughts. If you're interested in joining our community, please visit www.breakline.org.

Join us in the BreakLine Arena for a conversation with Alisha Thomas, the Global Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging Community Manager at Medallia. Alisha shares her path to becoming a DEI leader, the journey of finding spaces where your identity is accepted, and the importance of finding joy and impact in your work."We are opening doors and creating spaces for underrepresented groups and people who too many times have been put in a box, but are magic and deserve to shine."Please like, rate, subscribe, or review our show if you like what you've heard! We'd love to hear your thoughts. If you're interested in joining our community, please visit www.breakline.org.

Join us in the BreakLine Arena for a conversation with Adam Markowitz, co-founder and CEO of next-gen security compliance automation company Drata.To him, trust is one of the most powerful tools that an entrepreneur can have in their toolkit. Drata is on a mission to help businesses earn and keep the trust of their users, customers, partners, and prospects. Adam unpacks this belief for us and shares insights into Drata’s company culture, which he views as a core competitive advantage. We dive into the values that inform his commitment to people, culture, and feedback, and examine his relationship with failure and competition. Adam shares some valuable advice for entrepreneurs as they navigate sales, hiring, and fundraising. We also touch on resilience as a key attribute for startups, speed as the ultimate currency, and what fatherhood has taught Adam about being a better leader.Please like, rate, subscribe, or review our show if you like what you’ve heard! We’d love to hear your thoughts. If you’re interested in joining our community, please visit www.breakline.org.

Join us in the BreakLine Arena for a conversation with Keenan Wyrobek, Founder, CTO and Product Architect of Zipline.Keenan shares his process of discovering the need for a more accessible supply chain for healthcare supplies in Africa, Zipline's role as the physical infrastructure for transformative and preventative healthcare, and empowering the teams who enable individuals to have total ownership of their outcomes.“When you build a culture where there's trust, and people learn how to handle responsibility, they can embrace their creativities to solve problems. It's just incredibly powerful.”If you like what you’ve heard, please like, rate, subscribe, or review our show! We’d love to hear your thoughts. If you’re interested in joining our community, please visit www.breakline.org.

Join us in the BreakLine Arena for a conversation with Stephany Kirkpatrick, CEO and Founder of Orum.Stephanie shares her family's immigrant roots, her incredible career path, and her genuine passion for opening the aperture to financial access for all. She also presents the driving mission behind Orum, and how she and her team have built a company where folks from diverse backgrounds and perspectives are all invited to the table.“Our vision is to power a better financial system where everyone has the freedom to build to their potential. By giving people the confidence to instantly access their own money, we can bring financial opportunity to all. Bridging that financial gap helps us build a better, more ambitious future for America.”If you like what you’ve heard, please like, rate, subscribe, or review our show! We’d love to hear your thoughts. If you’re interested in joining our community, please visit www.breakline.org.

Join us in the BreakLine Arena for a conversation with Mike DeCesare, CEO and President of Exabeam, a category-defining cybersecurity company.Mike shared epic stories, including his first sales calls with Larry Ellison and Steve Jobs, the importance of pursuing a mission you believe in, the trends he expects to see in cyber over the next 3-5 years, and the things he pursues for fun (he gives a killer cooking tip toward the end). Regarding the importance of diversity, Mike says: “I have to practice what I preach. I truly believe that a diverse environment is a better environment."If you like what you’ve heard, please like, rate, subscribe, or review our show! We’d love to hear your thoughts. If you’re interested in joining our community, please visit www.breakline.org.

Join us in the BreakLine Arena to celebrate Black History Month with BreakLine alum, Dedric Landrum.Dedric recently joined Gusto as a Senior Manager Business Technology & Product Owner. He shares a powerful story coming from humble beginnings to this seat of influence at one of the fastest growing tech companies in the world. Following Dedric’s advice, we will continue to share stories from our Apex community all year because “our heritages, including the black community’s, is worth celebrating year round.” BreakLine Education would like to honor the contributions, visions, and leadership of our entire Black community (alumni, partners, and BreakLine team).So pop your airpods in, and join us in the BreakLine Arena for a little motivation and inspiration. Happy Black History Month to all!

Join us in the BreakLine Arena for a conversation with Othman Laraki, CEO and Co-Founder of Color.Othman and his team are building Color to support durable and equitable public health across entire populations. Color’s technology and clinical services are the backbone of large-scale population health programs for over 200 institutions worldwide, with data and services spanning hereditary cancers, heart disease, infectious disease testing (including COVID-19), and community-based vaccination programs. Previously, Othman served as a VP of Product Management at Twitter and was an early Product Management pioneer at Google. He shared his stunning career in the tech industry, how diversity is the key to disrupting an industry for the better, and how his personal experience growing up in Morocco, emigrating to the US, and helping to build top tech companies led him to found Color.If you like what you hear, please like, rate, or review our show! We'd love to hear your thoughts. If you're interested in joining our community, please visit www.breakline.org.