Sunday, July 23rd, 2023
What I learned this week | Be Around People Who Make You Sweat
Hey team, Happy Sunday.
We shipped our third episode of Loan Geniuses — a podcast where I interview members from the Huddle community to learn about their lives and careers. If you haven’t listened, it’s like a “Behind the Music” for creatives.
The fourth episode features Huddle investor and Snapchat designer Stephanie Engle. Steph is a designer, entrepreneur, photographer, competitive equestrian, and more. I learned a lot from talking to Steph about building a portfolio career, following your passion, and getting into rooms with people that make you uncomfortable (in a good way.) The whole episode, along with key snippets, are linked below.
Have a great weekend,
Mike
🔖 My feed this week
Lone Geniuses.
Episode 3: Be Around People Who Make You Sweat with Stephanie Engle
This episode's guest and Huddle investor, Stephanie Engle, is best known for her role as a product designer at Snapchat and as an angel investor in product-driven companies. Before Snapchat, where she works mainly on AR experiences, she worked at Airbnb, was the first product designer at Cruise Automotive, designed interfaces for self-driving cars, and started her career in Silicon Valley at Facebook, creating VR experiences.
Michael Saloio Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter
Stephanie Engle Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram
Huddle Website, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter
Listen to episode 3 on Spotify below. Catch it everywhere else here.
🎶 What I learned this week
Here are just a few quick takeaways from my chat with Steph.
1. "Be around people who make you sweat." I.e., surround yourself with people who make you just a little uncomfortable because they're so good at what they do that you're forced to step it up and play bigger.
2. "You're always closer than you think." We're typically only 1 or 2 people away from that dream job, the perfect investor, new hire, or person who'll make a key introduction and shift your life's trajectory. This one has been especially true for me. I met Ryan Leslie bc I attended an event I almost decided to bail on and sent a cold email afterward. Stephanie Golik found me on AngelList randomly back in 2015. The impact and number of other amazing people I've met through just these two people is ridiculous - Danny Quick, Nathan McCartney, Samir Rayani, Stephanie Engle... the list goes on and on. Naming just a few here, but you get the idea.
3. Having a "portfolio career" can boost creativity. Steph does *a lot* of different things - photography, Airbnb hosting, competitive horseback riding, investing, entrepreneurship... all in addition to being a designer at Snap Inc. We don't have to limit ourselves to picking a thing. In fact, outside endeavors can make us better and more creative in our primary careers.