🎧 In this episode, I sit down with the ever-curious and deeply accomplished Kirthika Padmanabhan—an operator, strategist, and climate-focused investor whose career journey spans continents, industries, and disciplines. We talk about what it means to embrace a nonlinear path, take bold leaps, and build a meaningful career rooted in impact. From hedge funds to YouTube, startups to climate tech, Kirthika’s story is a reminder that the best paths are often the ones we didn’t even know we could take.
🗣️ What We Talk About:
- What a rhizome (yeah, I had to look it up too :) has to do with your career
- Moving from engineering to finance, tech, and eventually climate
- How imposter syndrome shaped her early decisions—and how she worked through it
- The value of generalists in a world of specialists
- How women are disproportionately affected by climate change and essential to solving it
- The signals that tell you it's time to move on from a role
- Being comfortable in uncertainty and building from scratch
- Her new role investing in early-stage climate tech at Climate Capital
đź’ˇ Key Takeaways
- Your career doesn’t have to follow a straight line. Growth in any direction is still growth.
- Confidence often comes from others first—borrow it, then build your own.
- Everyone has a role in climate action. You don’t need to be a scientist (or a sustainability lead) to make an impact.
- Generalist skills are powerful. The ability to connect ideas is a superpower in complex, fast-evolving spaces.
- Learn to fail fast. Staying too long in misaligned roles can drain your energy and momentum.
🧠Memorable Quotes
“Sometimes the best paths are the ones you didn’t know you could take.”
“The future favors the bold. Build the bridge as you’re crossing it.”
🎯 Listen to This If You Are:
- Exploring a career pivot and feeling uncertain about it
- A generalist trying to find your place in a specialist-driven world
- A woman (or ally) curious about the intersection of gender equity and climate
- Someone trying to break into the climate space from a nontraditional background
- Building something new, from scratch, and looking for inspiration
đź”— Links You Might Want to Check Out:
Music by Lidérc.
#careeradvice #careerpivot #climatetech #investor #nonlinearcareer #operator #strategy
