No Straight Path

Today we are continuing our celebration of Black folks by centering Black love. Our host, Ashley Menzies Babatunde, defines Black love as sharing a journey of love, support, and comfort with someone else who understands how to move through spaces, institutions, and a society that wasn't built for you. With this in mind, she welcomes her husband, Segun Babatunde, onto the podcast.  Tuning in, you’l...

In today’s very special ‘Month of Love’ episode of No Straight Path, you’ll hear from best friends, husband and wife, and dynamic duo behind Two Fourteen Photography, Virath and Krizelle Pum. What they started 12 years ago out of Virath’s childhood hobby has grown into a wildly successful business, replete with a team of photographers and videographers serving couples all over the world. While the...

To kick off Black History Month, we are speaking with a professional storyteller, thought leader, self-proclaimed freedom fighter, and leading Black voice in the tech community, Alexandria Butler (otherwise known as Lexi B). Considered one of Silicon Valley’s most candid and outspoken commentators, Lexi’s beliefs about how to build more equitable workplaces stem from her own experiences of working...

During today’s episode, we welcome our first visiting actor to the show! Christopher Rivas is quickly becoming one of the most sought-after multi-hyphenates - an actor, author, podcaster, and storyteller to watch. His goal is to create art that facilitates spaces of belonging, and he is deeply motivated by his own experience of finding connection through art.  Chris believes that we are all creati...

Jessica Salinas did not have a blueprint. Growing up as a child of undocumented immigrants, experiencing childhood trauma, and being plunged into a new culture where she didn’t speak the language are just a few of the experiences that have made her who she is today. Her journey has also inspired her work to provide others with the support she didn’t know she needed when she was growing up. She is...

Many of us are in a place of reflection and planning as we embark upon the new year. Staying in line with this theme, today you’ll hear some practical (and tactical) advice for upscaling your life and business from an established creator and entrepreneur who is passionate about helping others succeed. Scott D. Clary is the CEO of OnMi Patch, a transdermal vitamin patch company, the host of the Suc...

There are so many societal markers of success that it can be challenging to figure out what your definition of success is. When I was asked by the host of another podcast to unpack the word ‘success', I realized that my version of success is living a fulfilling life while doing impactful work. As we enter the new year, today I unpack my definition of success, what it means to me, and how I reached...

The festive season and looming end-of-year deadlines can often feel like a mad dash to wrap up everything we hoped to achieve. Instead of rushing this week’s episode, I decided to honor my version of success in a healthy, sustainable manner by taking a break and spending the holiday with my family. So, even though we’re off this week, I wanted to take a moment to share my appreciation with all of...

When we pay attention to the life that we want to lean into and how to create it, we realize that it’s all a bit of a delicate dance. No one knows that better than today’s guest, strategic advisor, dancer, and leader, Raha Francis. She shares many pearls of wisdom with us during part two of our conversation, including a deeper look at what it means to embrace a love-based mindset over fear and how...

Raha Francis is a writer and strategic advisor for entrepreneurs who has navigated several career pivots by paying attention to what makes her come alive. In her thoughtful newsletter, she writes about self-compassion, tapping into your inner child, and achieving a life well-lived by engaging in work and activities that help you come alive. Her career has encompassed working in intellectual and pr...

They say love rules the world. Today’s episode is dedicated to our host’s grandmother, who’s birthday is on December 10. This episode honors Grandma Eula’s legacy, who was truly a woman ahead of her time. She questioned societal norms. She traveled. She went to church and marched in the streets for LGBTQ rights. She was disheartened by societal inequality, and she founded an organization to fight...

Today on No Straight Path, we are joined by startup entrepreneur, Harvard Law lecturer, and metaverse mogul Memme Onwudiwe. Like many of the esteemed guests on this show, you can certainly call Memme a multi-hyphenate! He serves as Executive Vice President of Legal and Business Intelligence at Evisort, a legal tech AI company that he helped build via the Harvard Innovation Lab while in law school....

There is so much stigma around failure in our society. Today’s guest is on a mission to change how we think about it. Paola Soares is the host and creator of the Top 50 Apple Podcast in entrepreneurship, But First, She Failed. She is here today to share her inspiring story of navigating job loss, finding clarity, and working towards the life of her dreams. She is a former journalist whose favorite...

A high school teacher by profession, Darius White is also a creative problem-solver, first-generation Stanford graduate, “what if” asker, and consultant on issues of equity and inclusion for our classrooms and professional workspaces. As a writing advisor, Darius has a gift for helping others tell their stories. He also serves as a board member for the San Francisco Education Fund, which supports...

I like to use my birthday month as a time for gathering, celebration, and reflection, and this year I wrote a blog post about some of my reflections over the past 33 years of life. Today on the podcast, I want to share some of these insights with you because I believe they will help you navigate your no-straight-path journeys. As I discuss these five tips, I give examples of how they have played o...

Does the definition of success change as you grow older and experience more? Well, here to discuss just that and how she became mentally tough, is Ros Gold-Onwude. If you haven’t already, don’t forget to tune into part one of this conversation where we discussed how Ros’ family life shaped who she is today, her time as a basketball player, the lessons she learned, and what led her to sports broadc...

You can develop mental toughness by working on life skills and pushing through hardships! This week is Ashley’s birthday week and in this episode, we are celebrating friendship, progression, and our journey! Joining us today is the accomplished ESPN sports broadcaster, Ros Gold-Onwude, to tell us how she stepped into her gift. Ros is also a basketball player, mentor for young women, advocate for m...

Sales may often be associated with highly outgoing and extroverted personality types, but today's guest has a slightly different story to tell. Growing up shy and introverted, Jason Bay, probably never envisioned himself starting a career and company based on cold outreach and customer conversations, and in this episode, we hear from him about how he accidentally fell into the sales field, and ada...

Welcome to part two of our conversation with wellness speaker and strategist, Kristin Turner! Don’t forget to listen to part one, where we learned about Kristin’s career, her fellowship at Harvard, and her thoughtful definition of success. Tuning in today, you’ll find out how Kristin made decisions in her career that aligned with who she is, how her sabbatical led her to where she is now, and why...

Welcome back to No Straight Path. We are very excited to be joined by speaker and strategist, Kristin Turner. Kristin is a self-proclaimed ‘recovering lawyer’ whose focus is now on advocating for wellness and social justice. She is also the deputy director of Women Vote! and has a passion for creating more equitable systems in society. Listening in, you’ll hear all about Kristin’s childhood, her u...

In this solo episode, I do a deep dive into how to bounce back from a setback. At some point in our no-straight-path journeys, we all face setbacks and I believe that by sharing our stories and the lessons learned we can help others struggle less and soften the blows. Given the fact that many big companies have recently announced staff reductions and lots of people are facing job losses, in this e...

In line with this podcast’s theme of navigating no-straight-path journeys, today we are joined by lateral thinker, Dawn Dickson! Dawn is a serial entrepreneur and inventor with over 20 years of experience in technology and business development. She has run six successful companies, including Flat Out of Heels and PopCom, and is a pioneer in crowdfunding as the first woman to raise over $1 million....

This week, on No Straight Path, we are joined by the Head of Community Development at Ironclad, Alex Su (otherwise known as the LegalTechBro on TikTok), who has been taking the legal content creation world by storm! As a former attorney who now works at the cutting edge of legal technologies, Alex uses humor to make some pretty serious points about what it’s like to practice law and highlights som...

Emily Thompson’s entrepreneurial journey began at the age of 18 when she bought her first business, a tanning salon. From the moment she stepped into the role of a business owner, she knew that was where she was meant to be, and since then she has built businesses ranging from online jewelry stores to website design agencies. Today, she runs Being Boss and Almanac Supply Co., both of which feed he...

How can we achieve more humanity in the workplace? If this is something that you are passionate about, you have come to the right place! In this episode, we bring you an enlightening conversation with Dr. Sanja Licina and Maddie Grant on achieving a human-centered workplace. Dr. Sanja Licina is an organizational psychologist and the president of QuestionPro Workforce. She has dedicated her entire...