Jesse Draper

Seth Goldstein

Elisabeth Oberndorfer

Andra Keay

Linda Kozlowski

Frans von der Dunk

Brendan Eich

Joy Chen

Steve Aitken

“Everything I do makes a big impact on the company.”, that’s what Steve Aitken enjoys about his role as Project Manager at Jaybird, an active lifestyle brand making Bluetooth headphones and wearable devices. The other side of the coin when working in a small company is “not having a huge variety of expertise”, Steve explains. “I need to be an expert at whatever we are doing.”

Alessandro Cante

“The coolest thing about my job is that I can ride an incredibly steep learning curve. Not only because I see a lot of different topics but also because you are constantly challenged by a lot of different people”, tells Alessandro Cante about his job as a Consultant at Detecon Inc. His advice to his 14-year-old self: “Try to figure out what you are really good at” and “try to become the best at doing it.”

Michelle Li

“As a Customer Care Program Manager my job is to make the customer’s life really easy”, explains Michelle Li her job at Jawbone, a consumer electronics company that produces Bluetooth headsets, speakers and fitness trackers. Her advice: “Wherever you can help other people, I think, you should do it. Paying it forward is really important in your own career and in others’ careers.”

Marcello Schermer

“We work with telecom companies mostly around the world and help them bridge the gap between them and the startup world”, tells Marcello Schermer about his job as a consultant with Detecon in San Francisco. The good and bad about his job? “I worked on 4 continents this year, which is really amazing” but “you never really know where you gonna be 2 weeks from now, 2 months from now, 4 months from now.”

Ame Elliott

“Figuring out ways to ask for help that feel authentic to yourself is a great tool for success in life”, Ame Elliott would tell her 14-year-old self. “The key thing that you need is empathy and the ability to uncover unmet needs and then communicate that to a different audience”, she reveals about her job as Design Researcher at Ideo.

Cindy Alvarez

Maroane Abdallaoui

Sean Patrick Butler

William Grundfest

Julie Lorch

David Charron

Charlotte Han

Renaud Visage

Kyle "Beef" Bautista

Thomas "Sodapoppin" Morris

Andrey "Reynad" Yanyuk

Casey McNeil

Sue "Smix" Lee

Victoria "Dinglederper"

Nick "BreakyCPK" Caras

Dirk Ahlborn

Gil Penchina

Lesley Rusca

Brendan Paul

Easton LaChappelle

Bobak Ferdowsi

Steli Efti

Erica Greve

“One of the things we say to the 27 million people trapped in slavery is ‘We are coming for you’.” tells Erica Greve, Founder and CEO of Unlikely Heroes, a nonprofit organization, that rescues kids out of sex slavery. Her powerful advice to her 14-year-old self: “Just live in the moment and allow yourself to be there because if you’re always pushing towards the next moment, you won’t enjoy the actual time you have.”