From a Woman to a Leader

Have you been told your role was cut "because of AI"? Or are you quietly wondering if you're next?In this episode, I talk with Stephanie Sylvestre, CEO and co-founder of Avatar Buddy, a company built on one idea: use AI to eliminate bottlenecks, not people. Stephanie doesn't buy the story that AI is wiping out mid-career jobs. She explains why so many layoffs blamed on AI are really about cost-cutting, how some companies rehire the same skilled people at 56 cents on the dollar, and why complex, nuanced roles are much harder to automate than the headlines suggest. Then she gets practical: how to use AI to win back your time, the skills that make you hard to replace, and why your next job will most likely come through a person, not an application.In this episode:- How women, the caretakers at work and at home, can use AI agents to take back hours every week- A real example: a strategy plan in eight hours instead of a three-to-six-week consulting project- Why "AI is like a 15-year-old" and what it still can't do- What's really behind layoffs blamed on AI, and the rehire-for-less pattern to watch for- Why mentoring, coaching and learning AI on your own terms keep you relevant- The friend garden: a networking reframe for people who hate networking- The meet-three-people rule, and the follow-up text that actually worksChapters:(00:00) Women, AI and work-life balance(02:11) A strategy in 8 hours, not 6 weeks(03:57) Eliminate bottlenecks, not people(06:45) AI is like a 15-year-old(07:16) AI is a cover for layoffs(09:03) Rehired at 56 cents on the dollar(10:23) Why the middle class is at stake(11:00) Mentor, coach and learn AI now(12:14) Still hiring, but networking wins(13:07) Build your friend garden(14:01) How to start: talk to people(15:35) Three deep connections in four days(18:14) Ask who they are, not what they do(20:56) Phone in the trunk, a job lead(21:56) The meet-three-people rule(22:45) Avatar Buddy: AI that helps people(24:16) A free 30-minute AI conversationAbout Stephanie Sylvestre:Stephanie Sylvestre is the CEO and co-founder of Avatar Buddy, a managed AI-as-a-service company that helps organizations deploy AI agents to eliminate bottlenecks, not people. A technologist, entrepreneur and former corporate leader based in Miami, she has spent her career helping organizations and individuals navigate major technology shifts, from using AI to give underrepresented youth access to digital mentors to preserving Black history through digital twins. She champions the skills that keep us human in the age of AI: resilience, creativity, resourcefulness, problem solving and critical thinking.Connect with Stephanie:Website: https://avatarbuddy.ai/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-a-sylvestre/Email: [email protected] (Stephanie offers listeners a free 30-minute conversation to explore AI. Mention you heard her on From a Woman to a Leader.)Connect with Limor:Website: https://limorbergman.comPodcast: https://limorbergman.com/podcast/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/limorbergman/Substack: https://limorbergman.substack.comis AI taking my job, AI layoffs, stay relevant in the age of AI, AI for women in tech, AI agents at work, future of work, networking for women, how to network when you hate networking, career resilience, women in tech podcast, women in leadership

What if daring doesn't mean becoming louder, tougher, or more like everyone else in the room? What if it starts with accepting exactly who you are?In this episode, recorded in person at the Google for Startups studio in Tel Aviv, I talk with Lee Cohen, co-founder and CEO of TextRe. Lee knew within three months of law school that she didn't want to be a lawyer, and still practiced for five years in real estate and infrastructure, often as the only woman in the room, while building her startup on the side. She shares what chasing her dream really cost her, why negotiation doesn't have to be a fight, how she's building a company with a new baby at home, and why it makes her angry that women still don't dare more.In this episode:- Why it's okay to know what you want and still take years to get there- What to do if no one is backing you financially, and why that's not an excuse- How to show strength without speaking louder, and go into negotiations looking for a win-win- Letting go of mom guilt and the myth that you have to be 100% at everything- Why daring means accepting who you are, not fitting someone else's model- How TextRe turns textile waste into recycled plasticChapters:(00:00) Teaser and intro(01:30) Live from Google for Startups Tel Aviv(02:50) From lawyer to startup founder(05:07) Asking her father for support(06:19) The only woman in the room(08:27) Strength isn't about being loud(09:07) Negotiation is a win-win, not a fight(10:35) What if no one is backing you?(13:07) Moving home to fund the dream(14:03) Building a startup with a new baby(17:46) Mom guilt and a different kind of mom(21:33) You don't need permission(22:27) A daily practice for guilt and anxiety(23:48) Why women need to dare more(25:13) Daring is accepting who you are(26:10) Apply even without every checkbox(28:05) TextRe: textile waste into plastic(31:35) Follow your dreamsAbout Lee Cohen:Lee is the co-founder and CEO of TextRe, a materials company that converts mixed synthetic textile waste into engineered recycled polymers for the plastics industry. Before founding TextRe she spent five years as a lawyer in real estate and infrastructure, building the company on the side until she could commit to it full time. She grew up in her father's textile factories, watching mountains of fabric go to the trash, and that memory became the spark for her company.Connect with Lee:Website: https://www.text-re.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lee-cohen-466b41106/Connect with Limor:Website: https://limorbergman.comPodcast: https://limorbergman.com/podcast/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/limorbergman/Substack: https://limorbergman.substack.comhow to chase your dream, career change from lawyer to entrepreneur, women founders, confidence for women at work, women in male-dominated industries, negotiation for women, mom guilt, working mom founder, women in tech podcast, women in leadership

You’ve tried ChatGPT a few times. Maybe you asked it a question, got a decent answer, and then went back to doing things the way you always have. Meanwhile it feels like everyone around you has figured out AI, and you’re quietly wondering whether you’re already behind, or whether this just isn’t for you.In this episode I talk with Marnie Wills, a former PE teacher who built and exited her own businesses and now helps founders and teams make AI actually useful. She shares how she went from outsourcing anything technical to selling her first franchise with the help of an AI copywriting tool, two days before giving birth to her second baby. And she makes the case that using AI well is a mindset and a habit, not a technical skill.In this episode:Why treating ChatGPT like a glorified Google keeps you stuckWhere to start when there are too many tools (hint: the one already in your inbox)The AI personal assistant Marnie tells everyone to set up firstHow to keep up with AI without drowning in TikTok tutorialsThe difference between chatting with AI, automation, and an agent that actually does the work for youChapters:(00:00) Teaser and intro(01:30) From PE teacher to AI strategist(02:45) How COVID forced a crash course online(03:55) Selling a franchise with Jasper AI(04:36) Do you need to be technical for AI?(06:24) Where to start when you feel overwhelmed(08:14) Amplified intelligence, not artificial(08:55) The BlackBerry lesson about change(10:55) Why the keyboard is on its way out(11:23) Set up your AI personal assistant(14:12) Claude Code and chasing the hype(15:30) How to keep up with AI(17:20) Don’t learn AI from TikTok(19:20) My agent that tracks coaching hours(20:50) Copy use cases, not tools(21:56) Chat vs automation vs agent(23:27) Where to find MarnieAbout Marnie Wills:Marnie is the founder of Business With AI Strategist in London. A former PE teacher and international touch rugby athlete, she built and exited several businesses, including SportyMinis, before AI changed the way she works. Today she helps founders and teams move from random AI experiments to a few simple systems that give them time and headspace back.Connect with Marnie:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marnie-wills-entrepreneur/ (send her a DM and she’ll share the workshop package that fits you best)Newsletter: The AI Strategy Vault, on LinkedIn and by emailConnect with Limor:Website: https://limorbergman.comPodcast: https://limorbergman.com/podcast/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/limorbergman/Substack: https://limorbergman.substack.comhow to start using AI at work, AI for beginners, AI for non-technical professionals, how to use ChatGPT better, AI personal assistant, AI agents vs chatbots, keeping up with AI, women in tech podcast, women in leadership

You are good at your job. People tell you so. And somewhere along the way you stopped being excited about it, but the perks are good and asking for more feels like rocking the boat, so you stay.Monica Roca-Quesada was four years into a corporate accounting role when she was told she was supposed to stay in it for ten to fifteen. She wanted more, she said so loudly, and the answer was that someone had to retire first. In this episode she talks about what she did next, and what she would tell a woman who is sitting in that same seat today.If you've ever been good at your job and still wanted more, this conversation is for you.What we get into:- How to notice what you actually enjoy in your work, by paying attention to what you reach for first in your day- The difference between "can I do this job?" and "do I enjoy it?", and why so many of us stop at the first question- What happened when she shouted it from the rooftops that she wanted more- The question to bring to your manager: "If I meet this criteria, then what?"- Why having imposter syndrome usually means you are better at this than you think- Why we don't apply for the roles that feel too big, and what "fail fast" looks like in practice- How to tell when you have stayed too long in a place where you don't fitAbout Monica:Monica Roca-Quesada is the founder and CEO of Agile Planners. She is a Fractional CFO and Financial Operations Strategist who helps growth-focused entrepreneurs turn financial chaos into clarity. With over 30 years of experience in finance and technology, she builds smart financial systems that deliver real-time insights, improve cash flow, and support scalable operations.Connect with Monica:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrocaquesada/Website: https://agileplanners.com/Book a free Right-Fit Call: https://www.agileplanners.com/right-fitExplore the 16 Drivers in Your Business: https://www.agileplanners.com/partsConnect with Limor:Website: https://limorbergman.comPodcast: https://limorbergman.com/podcast/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/limorbergman/Substack: https://limorbergman.substack.comChapters:(00:00) Cold open and intro(01:18) Starting out in corporate accounting(01:51) A rule bender, not a rule breaker(04:11) Why she left to start her own firm(05:00) The part-time plan that didn't work(07:16) Finding your thing inside corporate(08:14) You can do the job. Do you enjoy it?(09:08) Told to wait 10 to 15 years(10:11) Shouting it from the rooftops(12:26) How to tell if you can grow there(13:53) Imposter syndrome means you care(15:04) Doing the thing that scares you(16:22) Nobody can read your mind(17:01) Applying for jobs that feel too big(17:58) If you're going to fail, fail fast(19:09) Staying too long where you don't fit(19:43) Where to find MonicaSearched for: how to know if you have outgrown your job, how to ask for more at work, how to ask your manager for growth, feeling stuck in a job you are good at, when to leave a job, signs you have stayed too long in a job, imposter syndrome for women at work, applying for a job that feels too big, women in tech career growth

You already know the layoff wasn't about you. So why have you replayed the conversation forty times, looking for the thing you did wrong?Marjie Hadad has spent decades helping leaders communicate through crises, and her advice starts somewhere most people skip. Give yourself fifteen minutes to feel absolutely terrible about it. Set the timer. Feel all of it. Then take a breath, brush yourself off, and look at the donut instead of the hole.In this episode, we get into what that actually looks like when it's your job, your client, or feedback that landed badly.What you'll take away:Why fifteen minutes of feeling awful is not weakness; it's the step that lets you moveWhat your kids and your colleagues learn from watching how you handle bad newsHow to tell the difference between the message and the way someone delivered itMarjie's imaginary filtering earplugs, and why she has used them for decadesWhy going silent is sometimes the strongest thing you can do in a roomI also share something I have not talked about much: the day I joined a Zoom call with my manager, saw HR already sitting there, and knew. My first thought was not about me. It was about how to make it easier on him. Marjie has a name for that, and it surprised me.Chapters:(00:00) Welcome and why layoffs hurt(02:38) Eye on the donut, not the hole(04:02) The card from Aunt Nancy(05:40) Take 15 minutes, then move(06:32) Everyone is watching how you cope(08:09) Why we take it personally(09:50) Freak out, freeze, or chill(11:29) Saying it out loud: it sucks(12:16) My layoff: HR was already there(13:48) Marjie's kids and "job schmob"(15:07) "Everything IS personal"(16:27) Feedback is a gift(18:15) Imaginary filtering earplugs(19:56) When you don't handle it well(21:55) You can't argue with a wall(23:52) The Confident Kid Playbook(24:55) Eye on the donutAbout Marjie:Marjie Hadad is a crisis and leadership communications expert who has spent decades in media and PR. She is a former TV news reporter and anchor, an award-winning TV producer, and the founder of Marjie Hadad Communications. Her new book is The Confident Kid Playbook.Connect with Marjie:Website: https://www.marjiehadad.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marjiehadad-crisis-leadership-keynote-speaker-consultant/Book: https://www.amazon.com/Confident-Kid-Playbook-Successful-Competitive/dp/B0GZKZS586/Connect with Limor:Website: https://limorbergman.comPodcast: https://limorbergman.com/podcast/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/limorbergman/Substack: https://limorbergman.substack.comRecorded at the Google for Startups studio in Tel Aviv. Thank you to Google for Startups for hosting us.Searches this episode answers: what to do after being laid off, how to not take a layoff personally, how to handle criticism at work without falling apart, how to stay calm during a crisis at work, what to say when you get let go, how to stop replaying a difficult conversation.