The Edge of Work

Aki Ito is a reporter and columnist with Insider. Aki writes and covers issues that are topical and timely around workplace and careers, and has written about a number of workplace trends that have picked up in the modern media around topics including the great resignation and quiet quitting.During our conversation, Aki spoke about some of her thoughts on the workplace, and we delved in depth into evaluating the topic of “our relationship with work” as well as what is changing, and what is new about today’s state of the workplace.  LinksWeb: https://www.businessinsider.com/author/aki-ito LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/itoaki/

Raffi Salama is the Co-Founder of PassionFruit, a talent marketplace that connects fast-growing companies with independent talent and freelance workers. While talent and freelance marketplaces are not new, their acceptance and usage is growing, and PassionFruit takes a unique approach as many of their independent workers are younger professionals. In addition to matching freelance talent to opportunities, PassionFruit also provides a community and wrap-around services to their freelancers to ensure they have the skills, support, and guidance they need to thrive as independent professionals. During our conversation, we spoke about the reasons for building a talent marketplace, the evolution of the workplace from the working world of the Victorian era to the modern day workplace, and the opportunities that exist for employers and independent workers through the use of independent and freelance talent. We also spoke about some of the biggest challenges companies face with hiring more freelance talent, and what PassionFruit is focused on to scale their ambitions and business.Website: https://www.usepassionfruit.com/

Anita Hossain is the Co-Founder and CEO of The Grand, a group coaching platform.During our conversation, Anita spoke about the observations she made as an Executive Coach working with Founders and how that inspired her and her team to start The Grand. As a coach herself, Anita has seen the power of coaching and how it can help employees unlock their full potential in the workplace, and she shared how The Grand is helping employees navigate these challenges through coaching and a group community. We also spoke about the challenges with transitions in the workplace, small and large, how it is hard to separate an individual’s work and life, and how she sees The Grand evolving and growing as they help to provide people more chances to improve their skills to do their best work.LinksAnita’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/ahossain24The Grand Website: https://www.thegrand.world/You Might Enjoy This Episode If:You’re struggling with a challenge in the workplace, and think working with someone outside of your workplace (like a coach) could be a helpful endeavorYou are a people manager who wants to know how you can unlock the potential of your employees 

Nolan Church is the Founder and CEO of Continuum, a marketplace that connects world-class executives with venture-backed companies for fractional and full-time opportunities.After leadership roles at companies including Doordash and Carta, Nolan founded Continuum to bring fractional opportunities to executives, and to help high-growth tech startups find the expertise and talent they need to solve specific challenges for their business. During our conversation, we spoke about:Nolan’s career, and what he learned from leading people functions and Doordash and CartaThe insights that led to starting a managed marketplace The 3 fundamental elements of Continuums business Why executives struggle with finding fractional and part-time workHow Continuum is thinking about expanding into new markets and opportunitiesThe future of work, and what fractional employment means for professionalsLinksNolan’s TwitterContinuum’s WebsitePallet Scott Belsky: The Rise of Polygamous Careers

Venture Capital Firms are all about investing in what’s new and next in innovation and technology. But while a deep understanding of technology is important, just as important is a keen eye for talent. Whitnie Narcisse is an Operating Partner at First Round Capital, and oversees their talent, operations and ecosystem programs. With the help of her team, First Round has invested in a number of talent and community programs ranging from helping re-train and reskill professionals into sales and recruiter roles, growing the next set of angel investors that can help First Round scout the next talented set of founders and entrepreneurs, and expert matching programs to help their founders solve specific problems and gain expert guidance from the most talented operators in the First Round Network.Listen in to Learn About:How First Round Capital thinks about talent, and how it helps it’s founders with their talent prioritiesFirst Round’s Marquee Talent programs including Fast Track, Angel Track, and “Sprints” programHow it’s training and sourcing new talent through upskilling programs How First Round uses an Ecosystem approach to create serendipity and opportunity through experts, people, and relationshipsYou Might Like This Episode IfYou’re curious about new ways of identifying or attracting talentYou work in or are interested in venture capitalYou want to find ways to tap into experts and talent outside of your companyGuest Linkshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/whitnie/ https://twitter.com/WhitnieLowhttps://fasttrack.firstround.com/  

Today’s Guest is John Koelliker.  John is the Founder and CEO of Leland, an expert marketplaces that matches ambitious professionals with coaching, classes, and community needed to reach their educational goals. After working at two tech companies as a Product Manager managing marketplace type products, John decided to apply his learnings and start Leland, a marketplace that helps young professionals who are looking for expert guidance + advice in the education and career find the exact expert they need to unlock the next step in their education and career journey.Topics covered include:John’s professional background, and why he’s interested in marketplacesWhat Leland is, the problem it solves, and how it helps young professionals and students achieve career goalsHow the marketplace works, and the process for matching students and expertsHow young professionals access career guidance and information, and how that factors into Leland’s productYou Might Enjoy This Episode IfYou’re a Career Educator or Admissions Counselor and want to know how young professionals find career adviceYou are a young professional or student, and you want to find specific guidance/advice and want to know what your options look likeYou’re building a marketplace or talent platform, and want to understand how these dynamics workLinksLeland Website: https://www.joinleland.com/John's LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-koelliker/

Ben Siegel is a Co-Founder at Scholars, a technology platform that helps employers manage their communication, employer brand and retention of new hires. In the quest to attract and retain top early in career talent, companies that want to hire top talent must go beyond posting roles and hiring top talent, and also focus on ensuring that new hires have the resources and information they need from the moment they meet the company to when they show up on the first day. During our conversation, Ben shared how Scholars is helping companies improve their communication and engagement with prospective candidates through their platform. He also spoke about the importance of fostering community, belonging and engagement between candidates and employers, and some of the ways top companies are evolving their approach to hiring Gen Z talent by focusing on improving their employer brand, and using technology and analytics to nurture candidates and new hires.Links:https://www.linkedin.com/in/bensiegel1/ https://hirescholars.com/You Might Enjoy This Episode If:- You work in University Career Services - You are a University Recruiter or Campus Recruiter looking to better engage with university candidates- You are in charge of hiring and recruiting diverse early career talent

Sophie Smallwood is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Roleshare, a job sharing platform that connects individuals looking for fractional roles with companies looking to hire diverse talent. With Roleshare, employees can co-apply to full-time roles, and work flexible schedules and employers can get access to high quality talent. After working for tech companies like eBay and Facebook, Sophie Co-Founded Roleshare as a way to enable professionals who want to part-time pair up for full-time jobs. Much of the inspiration for Roleshare came from some of Sophie’s lived experience when she and her husband Dave, her Co-CEO and Co-Founder, were expecting their own first child, as well as her desire to create more opportunities for people who want to balance careers and life.During our conversation, we spoke about Sophie’s inspiration for starting Roleshare, how Roleshare works on both sides of the platform, the ups and downs of starting a company, and encouraging both investors and prospective customers about the potential of their platform. We also spoke about some of the early pilots that Roleshare has run, the types of individuals who sign up for the platform, and what LinksRoleshare: www.roleshare.comSophie Smallwood: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiegonin/ You Might Enjoy This Episode If:You’re curious about new ways to work outside of full-time employmentYou’re an investor or founder in the future of work spaceYou’re looking to hire diverse talent in new waysWant to get updates on new podcast episodes? Sign up Here: https://theedgeofwork.substack.com/

Corey Kossack is the Founder and CEO of Aspireship, a learning and talent platform for the SaaS industry. Through cohort-based learning and industry-focused guidance coaching, Corey and his team help high potential sales and customer success candidates build the skills and capabilities needed to transition into in-demand jobs in sales and customer success. In this conversation.Corey spoke about how he and his team are helping professionals upskill and find new careers in sales and customer success, as well as what it takes to build a curriculum and set of services to help employees get to career outcomes. He also spoke about some of the challenges in terms of getting employers to think differently about their hiring practices, and the opportunities he sees ahead for Aspireship.Links- Aspireship: www.aspireship.com- Corey's Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/coreykossack/ Who Might Enjoy This Episode?Learning and Development ProfessionalsTalent Acquisition and Hiring Managers who want to diversify their talent pipelineWorkforce Development ProfessionalsProfessionals interested in a career transition into  tech sales or customer successWant to be kept in the loop of new episodes? Make sure to sign up for our new podcast alerts → https://theedgeofwork.substack.com/

Dave Fano is the CEO and Founder of Teal, a company that provides thousands of employees tools, skills and recommendations to accelerate job searches and help people grow their careers. During his time as Chief Growth Officer at WeWork, Dave became aware of the lack of tools and infrastructure to support career professionals and started Teal to help solve that challenge.During our conversation, we spoke to Dave about why he decided to found Teal, how it helps job and career explorers, and his own observations about how employees view jobs and careers as a result of his work. We also covered some of the changes and trends in today’s workplace, the changing view on careers, and what Teal hopes to accomplish in the future by serving professionals.LinksTealDave Fano’s LinkedInDave Fano’s TwitterYou Might Enjoy This Episode If You:Are a job seeker or someone thinking about a career transitionAre a career educator, coach, or advising someone who is in a job or career transitionAre a Talent Acquisition or Hiring Professional and want to learn more about how employees are searching for jobs and companiesSubscribe to get new episodes: https://theedgeofwork.substack.com/