Marily Nika (she/her)

Marily Nika (she/her) is an AI Product Manager at Google. She is based in Mountain view and focuses in Speech ML for the Google Assistant. She also works for Harvard Business School’s Analytics Program as a part-time Teaching Fellow. Prior to that, Marily completed a Ph.D in Computing Science at Imperial College London, interned at Facebook. and founded an EdTech startup.

Marily is passionate about empowering the Women in Tech community and she received 2018’s Woman in tech of the Year Award (by everywoman) and 2015’s Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) Influence Award for her efforts in building impactful communities — three to date, impacting over 10k people over the world.

1. How did you get into tech?

I got into tech when I was really young. It must have been ~20–25 years ago when I first discovered my brother’s BASIC programming book and started experimenting with our — then — Intel 486 computer. A few accidental missing core system files and booting errors later, I realized that I loved puzzles and loved coming up with creative ways to solve problems. I immediately knew that the career I wanted to pursue would be revolved around technology, and eventually AI.

2. Who’s one person in your life you looked up to when you were younger?

My mother. She had a natural skill for math, and despite growing up in a time of great unrest, she managed to pursue her dream to major in Maths, when Maths degrees only had less than 1% women, in a class of over 150 students.

3. Where’s your hometown?

Athens, Greece.

4. What’s a time you faced a struggle?

In my early 20s, I found myself majoring in a field that I liked a lot, but it wasn’t in line with my career goals. By that point, I felt that it was too late to pursue a career in tech, and while I was trying to convince myself to let go of that dream, it turned out that I really couldn’t. You really can’t (and shouldn’t!) let go of dreams!

When I realized that, I decided to start over. I was prepared to complete my then BSc degree as quickly as possible, and spend another three to four years on a CS major. Thankfully, my mentor stepped in and told me that not all MSc degrees required a BSc in the same field, and I was thrilled! That’s when I found and immediately applied to an excellent MSc in Computing Science program, which I ended up pursuing the year after. Not only is it not ‘bad’ to switch fields, but it’s very common and also celebrated in tech. (I wrote an article for the Telegraph on this topic: “Is Computer Science for you?”)

5. What’s a time you did something you were immensely proud of?

I am really proud of completing a Ph.D. in Computing Science. I chose a multidisciplinary topic that involved Epidemiology, Social Networks, Computer Science and Analytics, and that I was extremely passionate about. I was very motivated by Sheryl Sandberg’s quote: “Women need to shift from thinking ‘I’m not ready to do that’ to thinking ‘I want to do that — and I’ll learn by doing it.’” People can achieve so much if they have a bit of confidence, and I would lie if I said that there weren’t challenging moments throughout my Ph.D research. However, I kept on going. I kept studying and trying new methodologies out until I got the results that I was after.

6. What’s something that’s been on your mind a lot lately?

How to raise a baby while working full-time. I am grateful for the ‘Moms in tech’ Facebook group, which is a community of thousands of women that share ideas and advice on all sorts of topics around tech and being a mom.

7. Favorite food?

Aromatic crispy duck with hoisin sauce and pancakes. It was my go-to food when living in London.

8. Favorite book?

Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg.

9. If you could try another job for a day, what would it be?

Architect.

10. If you could give your 18-year-old self a piece of advice, what would it be?

I grew up with immense ambition. I believed that when I worked really hard, opportunity would come my way. I hoped that my efforts would be automatically recognized and that they would tell a story on their own — something like a happy ending to a movie.

Janelle Wang (she/her)

10 Questions with Janelle Wang (she/her), Co-Founder & CEO at ACTON

Edited by Clarissa Bukhan.

Janelle Wang is an Industrial Designer turned entrepreneur with over 10 years of Strategic Product Development, New Category Creation & Design Thinking for Fortune 500s to Start Ups, bringing breakthrough innovation and sustainability.

Janelle was selected as one of “19 Influential Women In Mobility” in 2019, she was awarded Female CEO of the Year in 2016, and has been featured in WSJ, FastCompany, CNN, VOGUE, BBC, and more. She holds over 30 utility patents in innovation and design.

1. When did you know that you wanted to work in tech?

I decided I wanted to be in the tech industry when I was a kid. My father is a physicist, so I got motors, battery packs, and soldering tool kits as gifts/toys from my father at a young age. I hand made a portable personal electric fan at age 6 and have enjoyed making and creating things with some type of tech in them ever since.

2. Who is a role model that you look up to?

I looked up to Marie Curie. She changed the world not once but twice. She founded the new science of radioactivity — even the word was invented by her — and her discoveries launched effective cures for cancer.

3. Where is your hometown?

I was born in Northern China and spent the other half my life in Los Angeles. Now, I live in the San Francisco Bay Area.

4. What is a struggle that you’ve faced and how did you handle it?

Years ago, when I had just come back to work from maternity leave, I had to travel to Germany for 2 weeks. As a young, first-time mom, leaving my couple-months-old baby behind for the sake of trying to achieve a goal for work left me feeling very confused and frustrated. It made me wonder whether work / life balance really existed or not. After that experience, I reached the conclusion that there isn’t such a sharp line between these two; you will always have to have a dashed line in between. I learned how to find my own personal balance and to enjoy the process.

5. What is something that you are immensely proud of?

I traveled to Africa by myself when I was in my early twenties. This is something I’m proud of because it gave me a chance to experience new cultures, meet totally new people, and explore a brand new continent. That trip changed how I look at and feel about the world. As a result, I have no fear. I’m optimistic and I believe everything is the best arrangement.

6. What’s something that’s been on your mind a lot lately?

I’ve been thinking seriously about how to solve traffic congestion issues and how make our cities better places to live.

7. Favorite food?

My mom’s dumplings.

8. Favorite book?

7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey.

9. If you could try another job for a day, what would it be?

I’m still designer at heart, so I would like to draw/design/research as a designer for a day.

10. If you could give your 18-year-old self a piece of advice, what would it be?

Enjoy the process.

Kristian Kabuay (he/him)

Kristian is an artist/entrepreneur specializing in an endangered writing system from the Philippines. As a leading authority for the propagation and instruction of a prePhilippine script, he launched his own edutainment business specializing in custom art, books, events, and apparel. Kristian has spoken around the world at museums, schools, and businesses. He is currently working on his 5th book, a documentary, and an education startup.

“I’m proud of the platform that I’ve created around this endangered writing system of the Philippines. What started out as a curiosity, a hobby, and then a side gig, eventually turned into something bigger than myself. Because of it, I’ve been able to travel, meet awesome people, learn, help others, and prove that our culture can also be economically beneficial. One challenge I had in this journey was getting over my dislike for speaking in front of people. Growing up, I was quiet and would instead let others take the lead in everything. To achieve my goal of propagating the script, I had to talk to the public at festivals and schools. I had to learn through trial and error what messages resonated with people and just get over myself. Overcoming this barrier ultimately led to me speaking at a TEDx event earlier this year.”

Jessica Valenzuela (she/her)

Jessica is an entrepreneur and the founder of the angel-backed startup GoGoGuest. She was born and raised in the Philippines and is a first generation naturalized American citizen. She has lived in Chicago, New York City and San Francisco. Prior to pursuing a career in entrepreneurship, Jessica held leadership roles in product marketing and digital marketing at Kaplan Inc., Young & Rubicam, Tribal DDB and Ogilvy. She also led and delivered projects at Square and Logitech. Jessica is a natural adventurer who loves discovering and exploring cities and nature. She brings Mister Beckham, her jack russell along with her whenever possible.

“Let’s be honest, women entrepreneurs focused on building and growing a technology product is a land mine of challenges regardless of your heritage. Fundraising at any stage is more difficult for women but the real difficulty comes when it is time to raise your first institutional round — from venture capital. Venture capital and their LPs are mostly from of the 1% richest households in America that own 40% of the country’s wealth. There is a natural tendency among these circles to invest in people who are like them, specifically from their university alma mater or company alumni. In venture capital world, it is called the “flywheel effect.” There is clearly a smaller pool of opportunity for Filipino-American women in the technology space. This means, a smaller flywheel effect, if any. I hope to be an active participant in changing this ratio.”

Geronimo Carlo Ramos III (he/him)

Geronimo is a designer and social entrepreneur with a passion for building products, programs, and experiences that create more equitable communities. He is founder of Rooted Table (YC SS18) which creates economic opportunity for immigrants and disadvantaged communities through the sharing of home cooked meal experiences. Originally from Los Angeles, he has lived and worked on projects in Kenya, Panama, Spain, and Washington, D.C.

“At the beginning of 2017, I began the job hunt. I set out to apply to X companies and practice Y whiteboard design challenges per week. I was excited because my portfolio was impressing hiring managers and landing me interviews at both early-stage startups and large tech companies. I thought I was killing it, landing all these interviews. And then month 3 rolled by, and all I had collected was a pile of rejections and no offers. I was losing steam. Even more frightening, I was running out of money to pay for rent. I had been out of a full-time job for nearly a year. After sharing my fears with a loving group of friends, they reminded me that it wasn’t because I’m not a good designer or that I lack the skills; it just wasn’t a good fit. Month 6 rolled by, and it was my final stretch. After applying to 215+ companies, having 70+ interviews, 10+ design challenges, 7+ onsite white board design challenges, and 3+ companies exploiting my design skills, I FINALLY LANDED A FULL-TIME JOB THAT FIT. I joined a rocket ship marketplace startup that aligned with the marketplace startup I wanted to build.”