@burkenstocks, Laura Burkhauser, CEO of @descript, reflects on the pivotal decision she made to follow her passion. True self-belief isn't about knowing with 100% certainty that everything will work out. It's about being okay with the possibility of failure and choosing to invest in your own growth anyway! ✨ 🎧 Join the conversation with host, @EricaLockheimer and co-host, Elizabeth Wendorf-Bloesser on @YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

September has been packed with so many special moments!! We recorded five new episodes for the pod with amazing women. We can’t wait for you all to listen to their episode. It was so much fun having all of you in the studio, thank you for being vulnerable with us and sharing your story. 🫶 🎙️ Jenny Nguyen, Founder and CEO of The Sports Bra 🎙️ Roopa Annadatha, Founder of Nomie 🎙️ Lillian Samuel, President and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bay Area 🎙️ Shimrit Ben-Yair, VP of Google Photos, Google One and AI Subscriptions 🎙️ Shelley Paxton 😎, Former CMO of Harley-Davidson Motor Company now Chief Soul Officer Can you guess what song we were vibing to in the studio at the end of the video with Lillian? 🕘👀

It was awesome to sit down with the @HumanizeHerNow team and talk @descript , career transitions, and how if I had to do it all again I’d try to be a surgeon (though I doubt I’d make it through O-chem.) thanks to the team for a great convo and for making me look more photogenic than I’ve ever before appeared. Please follow me with cameras for the rest of my life!!

It's time to kill AI slop. 💥 ​Most AI tools are generating digital trash, but Descript is taking a stand against it. I love that they're actively keeping low-effort not their marketplace and focusing purely on tools that enable quality content. They are focused on creating quality content and the tools that are enabling it. @burkenstocks, CEO of @descript, explains what "AI slop" is for her and makes it clear that Descript has zero interest in serving that market. 💡 What do you think about this topic? Please let us know in the comments.

🎙️ NEW EPISODE ALERT 🎙️ We are so excited for this week's episode because we’re joined by @burkenstocks Laura Burkhauser, CEO of @descript, and let me tell you… we’re super fans!! We use Descript for editing all of our @HumanizeHerNow content. What you will learn: 🤖 The Origin of 'Underlord': The story behind naming Descript's AI assistant and a look at some of its most powerful new feature 🎨 The AI vs. Craft Philosophy: Why the focus is on elevating authentic media rather than generating low-effort "AI slop" 📈 Non-Linear Career Trajectory: Navigating massive career pivots, taking calculated risks, and rising from an IC to CEO 🎗️ Overcoming Adversity: Finding strength, healing, and perspective while balancing a bone cancer diagnosis, motherhood and work Join the conversation wherever you get your podcasts

🎙️ NEW EPISODE ALERT 🎙️ In this episode of the @HumanizeHerNow Podcast, we sit down with @burkenstocks Laura Burkhauser, CEO of @descript!! Key Highlights: 💥 The Origin of 'Underlord': How writing launch videos as a product manager led to naming Descript's AI assistant, along with a look at features like Smooth Jump Cuts, Agent Memory, and media-wide search. 💥 The AI vs. Craft Philosophy: Why Descript focuses on high-effort, authentic recorded media rather than low-cost, automated "AI slop" or content arbitrage. 💥 Non-Linear Career Trajectory: How Laura pivoted from studying German literature and teaching strategy to discovering product management, taking risk-taking pay cuts, and stepping back into IC work before ascending to CEO. 💥 Overcoming Adversity: Laura’s story of being diagnosed with bone cancer with a one-year-old at home, balancing treatment with work, and finding inspiration in physical and personal recovery. "Sometimes I think there's an incorrect equalization between slop and using AI to create something. Everyone here who is a person of high taste and craft probably knows that the only path to high taste and high craft is making a lot of stuff that is really bad." - Laura Burkhauser Special Shoutouts in this Episode: Preeta Nayak Jenn Grasso Dr. Rosanna Wustrack Molly Booth Laura’s Aunt & Mother ❣️

With that sports ad that’s been going around 👀 you've likely seen female athletes responding by proudly showing what a real woman in sports looks like. It's a powerful movement and it perfectly aligns with this specific moment in our latest episode. For decades, female athletes have faced immense pressure to fit an unrealistic aesthetic, whether that means being oversexualized in marketing or literally starving themselves to fit a specific bikini standard. Torrey opens up about the shifting narrative that needs to happen around body image. She’s embraced posting her own body with a new purpose. 💘 🎧 Join the conversation on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts

I learned how the Olympic point system actually works and honestly I felt a bit naive. And of course and not surprised, it can be gamified and just like anything in this world you need to pay to literally play and doesn't always matter if you are the best! Thank you Torrey Van Winden for letting us ask all the real curious questions and walking us through it. Some additional fact for you all: To get into high-tier tournaments (Elite 16 or Challengers) where the biggest points are awarded, teams often have to self-fund flights, lodging, registration, and coaching to fly around the globe playing lower-tier Futures tournaments. If you don't have deep pockets or heavy sponsorship, you can't afford to chase the points needed to even qualify for the events that matter. Meaning AGAIN the "best" team on paper doesn't always get the shot. Now, let's win , we’re rooting for you Torrey!!

As Torrey perfectly points out, no one builds something great without taking a massive leap of faith. It’s scary to lose your safety net and put it all on the line but leaning into that fear is exactly how you reach the next level. Whether you are launching a company, pivoting careers, or fighting for a lifelong dream, you got this!! 👏 Her story shows what it means to be resilient and truly believe in yourself. You seriously don’t wanna miss her journey, she’s just getting started! Join the conversation on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts

I'm a big believer that you can either be part of the problem or part of the solution. ✨ And here's to Torrey Van Winden taking her resentment for the lack of leadership and support for professional female athletes in her sport of pro beach volleyball and turning it into purpose. She is definitely speaking my love language! I'm excited to see what she's going to do. She is so lit up that I know it's going to happen! And this is her first step in bringing more awareness to all of us. Follow and support her to see how this all unravels! Go Torrey, Go!

Love how you turned resentment into purpose Torrey Van Winden. This is what it's all about when you realize something is broken, not fair, you get angry and then decide to do something about it.

What’s the hardest setback you’ve ever had to bounce back from? Torrey opens up about her devastating injury. Instead of letting this stop what she wanted to do, it became the ultimate catalyst for her mission to build her credibility, reach the Olympics and eventually change the broken system for future female athletes. 💪 Join the conversation on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts

Is the pro league failing the college system? Torrey Van Winden, Pro Beach Volleyball Player, breaks down the harsh financial reality facing female athletes after college and explains the role of Title IX in sports. 💡JFYI: What is "Parity"? In this context, parity means true equality. She explains that Title IX aims to achieve parity by ensuring universities have the exact same amount of @NCAA female athletes as male athletes. While NCAA beach volleyball programs were created to help balance these numbers and offer incredible amenities, the domestic professional league offers almost zero financial backing. Her goal is very much straightforward and she has all the dedication in the world to make it happen!! 👏 Join the conversation on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts

Here's to betting on yourself! 💯 Torrey Van Winden just left her corporate job at GameChanger to go all in for the LA2028 Olympics! We learned so much in this episode of the HumanizeHer podcast about what it takes to play the game. She's betting her entire savings and even living like a nomad just to give herself one more shot. What I love about this story is that Torrey reached out to us after hearing our episode with Leela Srinivasan Srinivasan, where we discussed the pay gap in women's sports—and how some athletes are winning championships yet still struggling to pay the bills. She wants to change that. This is her first step toward not only becoming an Olympic champion, but also shedding light on how to fix the system. We learned so much and are rooting for you in the Olympic games, Torrey! 🏆 Key Highlights: 💥 College-to-Pro Financial Drop-Off: Discussion on how NCAA beach volleyball programs offer extensive support, whereas domestic professional leagues offer minimal financial security or medical safety nets—even as costs for elite training climb. 💥 Overcoming Career-Threatening Injuries: Torrey recounts suffering a severe knee injury (ACL, meniscus, femur, and tibia fracture) in her pro debut and a subsequent re-injury, detailing the mental and physical recovery process that shifted her perspective from resentment to purpose. 💥 Transitioning to Tech and Back: How an opportunity at GameChanger led to a role as a Product Marketing Manager, equipping her with corporate and sports-tech insights on athlete monetization and brand-building. 💥 The LA2028 Olympic Comeback: Torrey outlines the mechanics of the international beach volleyball point system, her decision to bet on herself financially, and her strategy for climbing the ladder from Futures to Elite 16 events with her partner, Lindsey Sparks. 💥 Redefining the Female Athlete Narrative: A candid look at body image in media, rejecting narrow stereotypes about what an elite beach volleyball player looks like, and using social media authentically to advocate for women's sports. “It's hard to even describe... the energy within me had fully shifted from fear-based to: how much are you going to complain about it before you do something about it? And that really hit me hard.” — Torrey Van Winden

I ♥️ how @ginab is helping us all move away from the parasocial life, where you just follow a creator and there is no real connection. The platform she built with @MightyNetworks is doing just that. Building real connection has also been a primary goal of mine by creating a community podcast and bringing people together with deeper connection online to IRL. To this point, I was recently talking to a potential guest for the @HumanizeHerNow podcast, and she loved our community focus. She shared that after being on other podcasts, she'd feel a great connection during the interview, but then it would just fade away, leaving an empty feeling post-recording. I truly feel we can do better. Smaller clusters of people are where it's at, along with consistency in building that connection. We are just too conditioned on the false connection of a feed and blindly consuming data. It is called doomscrolling for a reason.☠️