What if the biggest career moves came from trusting your curiosity, not following a straight line?

Christiana Manzocco, Senior Director at Alberta Enterprise Corporation, shares how a life-changing loss, a solo trip, and a willingness to keep saying "yes" to what interested her shaped the investor and leader she is today.

From a demanding start in management consulting to helping grow Alberta’s venture capital ecosystem, Christiana opens up about the pivots that looked random from the outside but made perfect sense in hindsight.

We discuss:

• Why Christiana believes career growth starts with gravitating toward what genuinely interests you
• The framework she uses to make decisions when you will never have perfect information
• How venture capital really works behind the scenes, where trust, people, and incomplete information matter more than polished appearances
• Why Alberta’s tech ecosystem is unusually welcoming and how that has helped more women founders and investors get in the room
• The advice she gives women who feel out of place in high-stakes rooms - and why discomfort does not always mean you're in the wrong place

This conversation is about more than career strategy. It is about rebuilding after loss, learning to trust your own judgment, and defining success as more than titles or promotions. If you're navigating a pivot, questioning your next move, or trying to grow your confidence in rooms that still feel unfamiliar, this episode will leave you feeling both grounded and excited.

Photo credit: @luminariecreative