Freelancers often leave corporate to feel free, only to find that financial anxiety keeps them stuck in the same patterns that made them feel trapped in their prior jobs. Neha Vadrevu, an applied anthropologist, actress, dancer, tech founder, and former researcher at Capital One's Innovation Lab, knows this tension firsthand. In the podcast’s first-ever live in-person episode, Neha explores the emotional and cultural stories that shape our relationship with money, from generational financial trauma to the shame that keeps freelancers from charging what they deserve. She shares how she's used AI as a pricing sounding board (and why you shouldn't accept its first answer), why going back to corporate isn't a failure, and how to be imaginative and responsible at the same time when designing a career that actually lets you breathe.

Key Topics:

• What financial trauma is and how it silently drives freelancers' pricing and career decisions
• Using AI as a negotiation partner to find your true market rate before talking to clients
• The freelance-to-corporate toggle: why going back is a design choice, not a defeat
• Scaling beyond trading time for money through brand-building, advisory work, and passive income
• Finding community as a freelancer through co-working, volunteering, and intentional connection
• "Be imaginative and responsible at once" — how to pursue bold career moves with safety nets in place

Connect with Neha:

• LinkedIn
• Instagram
  

Connect with Joy:

• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Website