Navigating Career Pivots: Amanda Ramirez on Soft Skills and Tech Industry Success
Manage episode 463431876 series 3579053
This week Ivy Slater, host of Her Success Story, chats with her guest, Amanda Ramirez. The two talk about the critical role of soft skills in tech, the challenges and rewards of starting her own consulting company while balancing motherhood, and how she now helps other seasoned executives launch their own successful ventures through her innovative consultancy and advisory firm, Garden Labs
In this episode, we discuss:
How Amanda found her niche in tech without a technical background
What strategies helped Amanda scale her business
Why Amanda believes in decision over indecision
How Amanda built her team and expanded services
Amanda's advice for other leaders
Amanda Schwartz Ramirez - Strategy and Operations Executive, Advisor, and Coach
Amanda Schwartz Ramirez is a strategy and operations executive, advisor, and coach with expertise in scaling high-performing tech companies. With over 15 years of experience spanning early-stage startups, hyper-growth companies, and Fortune 500 enterprises like PayPal, Amanda specializes in building and scaling businesses at the intersection of emerging tech and mainstream adoption.
As the founder and CEO of Garden Labs, Amanda leads a boutique advisory firm that guides venture-backed startups and executive leaders through critical growth phases. Through her Maven course and growing community, she empowers executives to make a successful transition into advisory and consulting roles.
Key Highlights
Maven Course and Community: Amanda teaches The On-Ramp to Full-Time Advising and Consulting for Busy Execs, a popular course that provides executives with the tools and strategies to transition confidently into advisory and consulting roles.
PayPal Tenure: Amanda led numerous strategic initiatives during her tenure, helping scale PayPal’s revenue from $4.5 billion to over $25 billion. She was instrumental in operationalizing PayPal's crypto business and expanding its payouts business into China. She still works with PayPal as an advisor today.
Dapper Labs: As VP of Business Operations and Strategy, Amanda supported Dapper Labs' rapid growth from 180 to 600 employees, drove three acquisitions, and redefined corporate structure and strategy.
Garden Labs: Since 2022, Amanda has advised CEOs on efficient growth, organization-building, and strategic clarity.
Expertise
Transition to Advisory and Consulting: Guiding executives through pivotal inflection points as they move into advisory roles, as featured in her Maven course.
Strategic Operations: Scaling for sustainable growth and implementing Minimum Viable Operating Practices
Business Incubation and Intrapreneurship: Innovating within a Fortune 500 to incubate new businesses
Leadership and Organizational Development: Building diverse, high-impact executive teams
Emerging Tech for Enterprises: Guiding organizations in stablecoins, crypto, zero-knowledge tech, and AI adoption
Content Considerations
Workshop
The Path to Consulting: Leveraging Executive Skills to Transition to Advisory Work, inspired by Amanda’s Maven course
Talks:
Advisory as a Growth Strategy: Exploring the Role of Advisors in Scaling Startups
Streamlining Success: Crafting Your Minimum Viable Operating Practice
Mastering Leadership: Leading in Hyper-Growth Environments
Operationalizing Innovation: Practical Approaches to Emerging Tech
Panel Topics:
From Hands-On to High-Level: Maximizing the Impact of Advisors in Startup Growth
Future of Payments: Stablecoins and Onchain Innovation
M&A Strategies: Effective Corporate Transitions
Building High-Performing, Diverse Teams
Website:
Social Media Links:
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