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