After 15 years in tech, Mel Hoeppner thought she knew what success looked like.

Then chronic illness forced her to step away from the career she'd spent years building.

What followed wasn't just a career pivot—it was the beginning of The Healing Habit, a wellness brand born from her own healing journey.

In this episode of Second Act, Mel shares the deeply personal story behind her transition from tech executive to founder, and the practical lessons she learned while building a consumer brand from scratch.

From experimenting with ingredients in her own kitchen to finding manufacturers, validating demand, building an audience through storytelling, landing wholesale customers, and even using AI as a personal founder coach, Mel offers an honest look at what it really takes to build a business with purpose.

Whether you're launching a startup, navigating a career transition, or redefining success on your own terms, this conversation is packed with practical insights and a reminder that your next chapter doesn't have to look like your last.

• Recognizing when burnout is something more serious
• Making the difficult decision to leave a successful tech career
• The story behind building The Healing Habit from scratch
• Finding manufacturers and validating a consumer product idea
• Growing a brand through storytelling and social media
• Landing wholesale customers without a big budget
• Using AI as a founder's accountability coach
• Overcoming analysis paralysis and building in public
• Redefining success beyond job titles and income

The Healing Habit
https://thehealinghabit.com/

Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/thehealinghabit.co/

LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mel-hoeppner-76930624

00:00 From Tech Executive to Health Crisis
03:32 The Diagnosis That Changed Everything
07:41 Choosing Health Over Career
09:57 Learning to Slow Down
12:09 Finding Clarity Through Stillness
13:18 The Book That Changed Everything (Anti-Cancer)
14:49 From Kitchen Experiment to Business Idea
16:35 Building a Consumer Brand from Scratch
19:48 Validating Demand Through Storytelling
22:22 Why Social Proof Matters
23:05 Cold Outreach & Landing the First Customers
24:36 Life as a Solopreneur
26:00 The Tech Stack Behind a One-Person Business
26:51 Using AI as a Founder Coach
29:15 Overcoming Analysis Paralysis
31:18 Redefining Success
32:27 Milestones, Community & Support
37:44 More About The Healing Habit

What does it actually look like to build a life beyond your job title?

In this episode of Second Act: Lives Beyond the Job Title, Gayathri Geetha speaks with Alexandra Levich, a tech product leader who has led major platforms at Google, Meta, and Tinder, while also building a real estate investment path and serving as an elected trustee for the Mountain View Los Altos School District.

Alex shares how her identity expanded beyond work, why motherhood made her a better leader, how she thinks about real estate investing through a product management lens, and what it takes to balance tech leadership, investing, public service, family, and personal growth.

This conversation is for anyone who has a strong career but is wondering: What else could my life include?

We talk about:
• Building a portfolio life without walking away from your career
• Why second acts do not have to mean starting over
• How real estate investing works at a practical level
• What tech teaches, and does not teach, about investing
• Running for school board and entering public service
• Managing multiple commitments through systems, teams, and support
• How to start exploring your next path in the next 30 days

The biggest takeaway: you do not have to burn everything down to build something new. You can create parallel paths, expand your identity, and design a life that is wider than one title.

Chapters:
00:00 The real challenge of a portfolio life
00:48 Meet Alexandra Levich (Alex)
01:47 Identity expansion beyond the job title
04:25 Real estate investing as a second path
06:37 What tech doesn’t teach you about investing
07:50 How to evaluate a real estate deal
10:27 Product thinking and real estate
13:14 Getting started as a new real estate investor
14:16 Why Alex ran for school board
19:26 What school board work actually looks like
21:30 Managing multiple commitments
23:29 Systems, teams, and support
24:30 What a portfolio life actually gives you
26:01 Alex’s five-year plan
27:02 Advice for exploring your next path
28:32 Closing thoughts
28:49 Outro

Tags: #Career • #Wealth • #Purpose

Music Credits:

• Track 1 ID: YDW7UIT055Q5FPQB
• Track 2 ID: 3VDCV70HXRPMR6FI
• Source: Royalty-free media library provided by Riverside.fm
• License: Content used in accordance with platform end-user terms for creators. [1, 2]

For nearly two decades, Bosky Mukherjee played the career game the way many high achievers are taught to: work hard, climb the ladder, and never leave without a backup plan.

She rose to the C-suite, became a company president, and built a reputation as the person who could always push through. But behind the success, her body was telling a very different story.

In this episode of Second Act, Bosky shares the moment she realized staying had become riskier than leaving, how a heartbreaking question from her young son changed everything, and why she finally walked away from corporate life with no next job lined up.

We talk about burnout, identity, women in leadership, the glass ceiling, sponsors vs. mentors, commercial fluency, and how Bosky built her second act as the founder of PM Dojo and She Trail Blazes.

This conversation is for anyone who has ever wondered:

What if the life I worked so hard to build is no longer the life I’m meant to live?

• The health scare that forced Bosky to stop and reassess her life
• Why high-achieving women often become “workhorses”
• The difference between work ethic and unhealthy proving
• Why women hit the glass ceiling
• Why mentors are not enough — and why sponsors matter
• What commercial fluency means for senior leaders
• How Bosky built a business without waiting for the perfect idea
• Why paid pilots matter more than praise
• How to start building optionality before you need it

If this episode resonates with you, subscribe to Second Act for more conversations about identity, reinvention, ambition, and life beyond the job title.

00:00 Can I leave?

00:38 Meet Bosky Mukherjee: From C-Suite to Second Act

01:09 When Staying Became Riskier Than Leaving

04:16 The Turning Point: Health and Family

04:41 The Workhorse Identity and the Cost of Proving Yourself

09:57 Bosky’s Mission to Help Women Break the Glass Ceiling

12:26 Why Women Hit the Glass Ceiling

16:15 Mindset, Strategy, and Letting the Right Balls Drop

18:36 Why Work Harder Stops Working: Sponsors, Influence, and Commercial Fluency

26:27 After the Health Scare: Choosing the Next Move

29:44 Building a Real Business: Paid Pilots, Storytelling, and Scrappiness

44:03 Advice for Anyone Considering Their Second Act

50:45 Future Aspirations and Personal Growth

Bosky Mukherjee is a founder, product executive, advisor, and coach helping women leaders and founders build influence, revenue, and optionality in a changing world of work.

She is the founder of PM Dojo and She Trailblazes, where she leads programs like Leadership Edge for senior women leaders and Founders Edge for women building revenue-generating businesses. Her work blends commercial fluency, storytelling, product strategy, and lived experience as a former C-suite leader, working mom, and immigrant.

Through her work, Bosky helps women break the glass ceiling — whether that means rising into bigger leadership roles or building a business of their own.

Links:
She Trailblazes:https://www.shetrailblazes.com/
LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/bosky/

Tags: Second Act podcast, women in leadership, career reinvention, C-suite burnout, women founders, leaving corporate, commercial fluency, Bosky Mukherjee

What if you didn’t have to quit your job to build a deeply creative life?

In this episode of Second Act: Life Beyond the Job Title, I sit down with Cielo De La Paz — UX leader at YouTube, photographer, filmmaker, educator, and creator — to talk about what it really means to build a creative second act while keeping a full-time career.

Cielo shares the story behind her photo being featured in Apple’s Shot on iPhone campaign, what happened when she tried to take photography full-time, and why she eventually realized that not every passion needs to become a business. We also talk about imposter syndrome, building a YouTube channel, teaching what you know, using AI tools as a creator, and why your job can sometimes be the “angel investor” for your art.

This conversation is for anyone with a creative dream, a side project, or a quiet part of themselves they are ready to take more seriously.

00:00 Cold Open: Photography as Art vs. Business
01:12 Meet Cielo: UX Leader, Photographer, Creator
01:45 The Red Umbrella Photo That Went Global
04:15 Becoming a Creator and Facing the Camera
05:38 Imposter Syndrome and Sharing Your Work
07:28 What Happened When She Tried Photography Full-Time
10:48 Building a Course Business — Then Walking Away
14:06 Your Job Can Be the Angel Investor for Your Art
15:19 How to Create While Working Full-Time
18:03 AI Tools and the Future of Creation
22:00 Finding Community Through Art
24:12 Long-Term Goals and Aspirations in Art
26:17 A Bridge, Not a Leap
28:32 Is YouTube Too Saturated?
29:52 Why Being Multi-Hyphenate Is an Advantage

Tags: Second Act, creative career, career reinvention, side hustle, creator economy, YouTube creator, photography, AI tools, creative life, multi-hyphenate, personal brand, imposter syndrome, UX leader, women in tech, career and creativity, passion project, creative entrepreneurship, art and work, building in public, life beyond the job title, Cielo De La Paz

In this episode of Second Act, Zach Hawtof shares his journey from Salesforce to building Tightknit — and the deliberate decisions that led him there.

Instead of jumping straight into a startup, Zach chose to first move to a smaller company to get closer to customers, product, and the realities of building. What followed was a journey that was far less polished — and far more real — than most startup stories you hear.

We talk about what it actually takes to start from scratch: the messiness, the uncertainty, the early chaos, and the moments that make it all worth it.

If you’ve ever thought about leaving a “safe” path to build something of your own, this conversation will give you a grounded, honest look at what that really means.

• Zach’s journey from Salesforce to building Tightknit
• Why he deliberately moved to a smaller company before starting
• The reality of startup life: why it’s always messy
• Why you don’t need to be a genius to build a company
• The importance of talking to customers early and often
• Why handshakes beat scale in the early days
• The case for starting with services before building a product
• Early struggles: side hustles, financial trade-offs, and uncertainty
• The first customer moment — before anything was ready
• Why founders should chase problems, not ideas

00:00 - Introduction: Choosing building over the safe path
00:32 - From developer to PM to founder
01:02 - What Tightknit does
01:37 - Early days at Salesforce
02:41 - Discovering Slack and community building
04:14 - The idea behind Tightknit
05:13 - Finding the right co-founder
06:39 - Why it gets harder to leave big companies
09:47 - Making the move toward entrepreneurship
09:55 - The first startup idea that didn’t work
11:53 - First customer chaos (before onboarding existed)
12:46 - Why handshakes beat scale early
14:07 - Service-first validation
15:17 - Surviving financially in the early days
17:48 - The moments that made it worth it
20:03 - The reality of startup life
22:30 - When everything breaks
23:52 - Managing time as a founder
25:22 - Building community beyond the product
26:41 - Rethinking traditional planning frameworks
28:37 - How AI changed the game
30:48 - Features customers actually value
32:18 - Why Slack is the center of work
33:50 - Advice: Chase problems, not ideas
35:52 - Zach’s vision for Tightknit

Tightknit — https://tightknit.ai

Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/zhawtof/

Embracing Nonlinear Journeys: From Tech Leadership to Inner Transformation with Anubha Kothari

In this episode, Anubha shares her inspiring journey from Silicon Valley tech roles to guiding women through inner transformation. Discover how embracing the nonlinear path, trusting your instincts, and celebrating small wins can lead to a fulfilling second act. Whether you're contemplating a career pivot or seeking greater alignment with your true self, this conversation offers practical insights and heartfelt stories to motivate your next chapter.

Key Topics

• Anubha's diverse career journey across Amazon, Meta, eBay, and her transition to inner transformation coaching
• How her early experiences and passion for depth influenced her multiple life chapters
• The concept of "radiance" and reclaiming one's innate vitality and authenticity
• Navigating nonlinear career pivots: experimentation over leaps, trusting intuition, and embracing uncertainty
• Practical strategies for financial planning and maintaining motivation during transition phases
• The power of celebrating wins through tools like a Win Book to reinforce momentum
• The realities of being a transformational coach: emotional energy, ongoing learning, and client intimacy
• Designing cohort programs for women to explore leadership, sovereignty, and self-led living
• Advice for listeners feeling called to explore their own authentic paths amidst rapid change

Timestamps

00:00 - Introduction: From tech leadership to inner transformation

02:00 - Anubha's multifaceted journey across tech and healing modalities

04:17 - What is radiance? Reclaiming your innate vitality

05:07 - Supporting women as a transformational coach

06:39 - Embracing a nonlinear, experimental approach to career pivots

08:23 - Signals and intuition guiding meaningful change

10:16 - Financial readiness and creative solutions during transition

12:21 - Maintaining motivation and celebrating small wins with a Win Book

14:55 - Behind the scenes: What it takes to be a leadership transformation coach

16:26 - How clients discover Anubha and her marketing insights

17:48 - Surprising aspects of coaching: Emotional intensity and growth

19:03 - Redefining success: Inner alignment over external metrics

20:16 - Planning for cohort programs and her future offerings

22:29 - Impacting women through programs like Bloom and Bone & Bloom

23:06 - Parting advice: Embrace your calling and expand into your true self

Resources & Links

• Anubha Kothari - Website

Radiantly Human Substack https://anubha.substack.com

After years as a product leader in tech, Fabrice found himself at an unexpected crossroads: a layoff.

Instead of searching for another tech role, he took a risk he’d quietly dreamed about for years — starting a food business centered around traditional French butter cookies.

In this episode, we unpack:

• How he evaluated financial and emotional risk before making the leap
• The surprising economics of running a food business
• Why his first product wasn’t his final product
• The power of marketing and storytelling in building demand
• How AI tools now power everything from operations to content
• What it really means to “fail fast” outside of tech

This is a story about identity, reinvention, and courage — about choosing passion without abandoning discipline.

If you’re navigating your own second act, this conversation will resonate deeply.

Keywords: entrepreneurship, food startup, product launch, AI in business, marketing strategy, startup journey, business pivot, personal growth