Multiple hats

What if feeling “not ready” is not a sign to stop, but a sign you are waiting for certainty that career reinvention never gives you?🔍 What You’ll Learn:If you are a STEM professional sitting on an idea, a side path, or a career move that does not fit the traditional box, this episode is for you.Shilpa Agarwal is a clinical operations professional who built a portfolio career across clinical research training, coaching, publishing, and entrepreneurship. Her story is a real look at what it means to build while still figuring it out.In this episode, you’ll learn how to:Stop waiting for your whole career path to make sense before taking the next stepSpot the “random” skills that may become the raw material for your next chapterListen for market signals and shape an offer people actually wantChallenge the story of “I have not made it yet” and start showing up anyway Press play if you are tired of waiting to feel ready and want a real example of what it looks like to build a STEM career change one brave, slightly messy step at a time.🧠 About the Guest:Shilpa Agarwal is the founder of Clin EQ Training and Chapter One Publishers. With around 20 years of experience in clinical research and pharmaceutical training, she now brings together science, emotional intelligence, leadership development, coaching, and publishing.Through Clin EQ Training, she supports clinical research professionals, biotechs, CROs, and individuals with leadership and GCP training that includes the human skills often missing from technical training. Through Chapter One Publishers, she helps aspiring authors turn their ideas into books.📌 Episode Highlights:00:00 Why this episode is for STEM professionals who feel they need the whole plan first 02:10 Shilpa introduces Clin EQ Training and Chapter One Publishers 03:30 Living two professional identities: clinical research and coaching 05:50 Redundancy as the trigger for building something new 06:45 Why clinical research needs more emotional intelligence 10:20 The long “brewing time” before the pieces made sense 12:00 Serve the people in front of you, not the imaginary perfect client 16:10 Listening to market signals before building an offer 17:00 Know, like, trust, try, buy, refer, repeat 18:10 “What have you achieved to talk about?” 20:50 Is “enough” a mindset or a milestone? 22:20 Who gets to write a book? 24:30 Why your story does not need to be completely unique to matter 31:40 Outsourcing, collaboration, and building as a solo founder 34:00 How volunteering and networking helped Shilpa get early traction 35:30 Why STEM professionals need visibility before they need a job 40:30 Why “my work will speak for itself” is a dangerous myth 42:00 Starting before you have all the resources 47:30 What if it does not work? 50:00 You do not need permission to try something new🔗 Resources Mentioned:Clin EQ Training Shilpa’s clinical research training company focused on leadership, GCP, and emotional intelligence.Chapter One Publishers Shilpa’s publishing business helping aspiring authors become published.ARCS Australia Mentioned in relation to Shilpa’s training collaboration and workshops.One Solution, There’s Always One Shilpa’s book, written from her coaching work and mindset models.🤔 Reflection Time:Where are you waiting to “feel ready” before taking a step you could actually test now?What parts of your career patchwork have you been keeping separate, even though they might belong together?What is one pain point people already ask you about that could become your next offer, article, project, or career move?

What if your MedTech solves a real problem, shows great data… and still never gets used?🔍 What You’ll Learn:Most STEM professionals focus on building something that works.But in MedTech, success is decided by something far less obvious, whether your product fits into a complex system of people, incentives, and decisions.In this episode, Angelique pulls together insights from six founders who are all solving very different problems, from oxygen delivery to diagnostics, implants, and digital health.What emerges is a clear pattern of what actually moves a product forward, and what quietly blocks it.By the end of this episode, you will:• Learn how the triangle of value shapes every MedTech decision, clinical outcome, convenience, and cost• Understand why different stakeholders want different things, and how that creates friction in adoption• Discover what it really takes to build the right team and tell a story that gets fundedThis is where you stop thinking like a scientist solving a problem, and start thinking like someone building something that will actually be used.Press play to see how six founders navigated the reality of MedTech, and what you can apply to your own path.🧠 About the Guest:In this solo episode, Angelique Greco distils lessons from conversations with six MedTech founders across devices, diagnostics, and digital health.Through their stories, she breaks down the patterns behind products that move forward, and those that stall, showing how success is shaped by the system, not just the science.📌 Episode Highlights:00:00 Why great MedTech can fail despite strong science02:00 The triangle of value explained: outcome, convenience, cost04:00 ShanShan Wang: one product, three conflicting definitions of value07:30 Dharmica Mistry: you are not building for the patient10:00 Anushi Rajapaksa: what changes when you build for the end user13:00 Ida Tin: creating a new category to be understood16:00 Ben Wright: when incentives block adoption21:00 Why the team is the real risk investors look at24:00 The myth of the scientist-CEO and what actually works26:00 Venture studios and alternative ways to build a company30:00 Maryam Parviz: building a team that complements you34:00 Why storytelling is not optional in MedTech39:00 Creating a market when none exists43:00 Final recap: triangle, team, and story🔗 Resources Mentioned:• Mimetic MedTech Foundry• Roam Technologies• BCAL Diagnostics• Misty• Clue• Xeloda• SDIP Innovations🎧 Quick fire chat episode:https://shows.acast.com/multiple-hats/episodes/69ad4b747036d73902764808🤔 Reflection Time:If your work succeeds technically, what could still stop it from being used?Who are the real decision-makers in your space, and what do they optimise for?Are you building something that works, or something that fits?

What if the thing holding your career back isn’t your skills, but the beliefs you keep repeating?🔍 What You’ll Learn:Most STEM professionals don’t lack capability. They lack translation.This short fire chat cuts straight through the common beliefs that keep people stuck in roles that don’t reflect what they’re actually capable of doing.Why “I’m just a scientist” is a dangerous story to keep telling yourselfWhat working smart actually looks like when time and money are on the lineHow to define what “good enough” is, so you stop waiting and start movingThis is the shift from technical expert to someone who can shape opportunities, not just respond to them.If you’re tired of waiting until you feel “ready,” play this episode and challenge the beliefs keeping you stuck.🧠 About the Guest:Ben Wright is a MedTech investor and operator who works with clinicians and scientists to build real companies, not just ideas.As co-founder of Mimetic MedTech Foundry, he helps translate research into viable businesses by bringing in the right skills, structure, and strategy early on.His perspective is grounded in reality, what actually works when money, time, and risk are involved.📌 Episode Highlights:00:00 The beliefs that quietly hold STEM professionals back01:30 What a venture studio actually does differently03:30 Why “I’m just a scientist” limits your career04:30 The two key skills scientists need outside the lab: storytelling and customer understanding05:50 What working smart actually means in startups06:40 Why “perfect” is the wrong goal in the real world07:40 How to define what’s good enough to move forward08:30 The real cost of starting something, time, relationships, and risk10:00 Why clarity on your path matters more than jumping into a startup🔗 Resources Mentioned:🎧 Full Interview with Ben Wright https://shows.acast.com/multiple-hats/episodes/69ce18e3057b5949959db955(Deep dive into MedTech, strategy, and why great technologies fail)Mimetic MedTech Foundry🤔 Reflection Time:What belief about your role or identity is quietly keeping you playing small?Where are you waiting for “perfect” when “good enough” would already move you forward?If you looked at your career like a system, what skill or gap would you fill next instead of pushing harder?

Why do some of the most brilliant medical technologies never reach patients, even when the science works?🔍 What You’ll Learn:If you’ve ever thought “build a great technology and the rest will follow,” this episode will challenge that fast. Because in healthcare, the system decides what survives, not just the science.This conversation breaks down what actually makes or kills a MedTech company, and what you need to understand if you want to move from technical expertise to real-world impact.Why clinical workflow, incentives, and reimbursement matter more than your innovationThe “value triangle” every MedTech product must satisfy to surviveHow to stop trying to be everything in a startup, and build the right team earlyThis is where a STEM career shifts from “doing the work” to understanding how the system works, and how to influence it.If you want to think like a strategist, not just a scientist, play this episode and start seeing where great ideas actually fail.🧠 About the Guest:Ben Wright is a MedTech investor, advisor, and co-founder of Mimetic MedTech Foundry.He started in biological sciences and hand transplant research, then moved into the business side after seeing firsthand that great technology alone doesn’t guarantee success.Today, he works at the intersection of science, clinical practice, and business, helping turn early-stage ideas into viable companies by building the right structure around them.📌 Episode Highlights:00:00 Why great medical technologies fail despite strong science03:00 From researcher to startup builder, the first reality check06:30 Why accelerators don’t prepare founders for real MedTech timelines10:00 Should scientific founders be CEOs?14:00 The “value triangle”: clinical outcome, convenience, cost18:00 The oral chemotherapy example, when incentives block better care21:00 Why human behavior and workflow kill adoption24:00 When better tech loses to incumbent business models28:00 True disruption, and why it’s harder than you think33:00 Why Australia struggles to fund MedTech innovation38:00 What a venture studio actually does differently46:00 A real MedTech failure story, and what it teaches about risk🔗 Resources Mentioned:🎧 Quick Fire Chat with Ben Wrighthttps://shows.acast.com/multiple-hats/episodes/69ad4b747036d73902764808Mimetic MedTech Foundry🤔 Reflection Time:Where are you focusing only on the “technology” in your work, and ignoring the system it needs to fit into?If you stepped back, what part of your work is actually about influence, not execution?What would change if you stopped trying to do everything yourself and built around your strengths instead?This episode is a reality check.Not to discourage you, but to show you where the real leverage is.

Building Your STEM Safety Net: Cassie Leonard on Being the Only Woman Engineer at Boeing and Leaving Corporate to Coach and PublishThe episode of Multiple Hats, released for International Women’s Day 2024, revisits a recorded interview with aeronautical engineer Cassie Leonard, who spent 16 years at Boeing after entering a 35-man team as the only woman. Cassie describes her path from aerospace study at UCLA to persistence in applying to Boeing, early intimidation, and career growth through frequent internal “bounces” that stretched her technically and as a leader, supported by an organic network of mentors and advocates. She recounts a difficult double-stretch role during her mother’s stage-four brain cancer diagnosis and how her network helped her recover by finding a new position. Cassie explains leaving Boeing methodically to focus on developing early leaders and supporting STEM parents, self-publishing her book STEM Mum, starting Elm Coaching and Publishing, learning marketing, redefining success beyond paycheck, and aiming to amplify underrepresented voices in STEM.00:00 Only Woman at Boeing01:41 Meet Cassie Leonard03:29 Engineering Roots and Role Models04:38 What Aerospace Engineers Do06:30 Culture Shock in Engineering Classes08:14 Landing Boeing Through Persistence09:55 Finding Your Voice on the Team11:23 Career Growth in Two Dimensions14:44 Support Networks as Safety Nets17:38 When Life Forces a Reset21:07 Why She Left After 16 Years22:50 Motherhood in a Male Workplace27:13 Building a Methodical Exit Plan29:18 From Pro Bono Coaching to Business30:50 Yoga Detour and Finding a Niche32:54 Marketing Through Community and Boards34:11 Book Framework Origins35:00 Science Mindset Coaching37:12 Whole Life Career Stories37:54 Holistic Planning YOLO39:39 Writing Editing Timeline40:26 Self Publishing Elm Press42:32 Money Mindset Metrics46:36 Building Business Systems48:07 Pricing Coaching Services50:10 Marketing Website Authenticity54:31 Targeted Volunteering Myths56:53 Presenteeism Performance Debate01:01:39 Redefining Work Life Balance01:04:02 No Going Back01:04:23 Inspiration Book Song01:05:28 Final Takeaways Village

Beyond the Pipeline: Why Women Leave STEM, How to Spot Burnout, and Advocate for Real ChangeThis episode will put words on what many women in STEM feel but have not articulated. The podcast episode critiques performative International Women’s Day gestures and focuses on lived experiences behind why women leave STEM, featuring three co-authors of the collaborative book Beyond the Pipeline: Cassie Leonard, Associate Professor Jessica Borger, and Dr. Belinda Bartolo.The 3 authors represent 3 paths within the STEM sector, pivoting and staying to change the system from within. Host Angelique shares her own career pivots and ongoing struggles with high expectations and fatigue, while the guests describe identity shifts, loss of joy, and turning points that led them to stay and advocate within systems or pivot into new paths. They discuss systemic drivers of attrition—burnout, feeling undervalued/imposter syndrome, and bias—illustrating bias through examples tied to motherhood and career interruptions, as well as bias toward non-parents. The conversation covers boundaries, redefining success, portfolio careers, four types of burnout, and advocacy that is collective and non-performative, including allies’ roles and examples of media-driven national-level change during the pandemic.00:00 IWD Hype vs Reality01:16 Meet the Authors01:44 Host Story and Stakes03:22 Jess Finds Her Voice06:04 Filters and Advocacy07:30 Belinda Loses the Joy11:25 Cassie Pressured Out14:07 Boundaries and Glass Balls18:34 Portfolio Careers in STEM21:15 Why Women Leave STEM23:29 Bias Stories and Language29:03 Motherhood And Imposter Syndrome30:45 Fixing Parental Leave Systems32:34 Bias Against Childfree Workers34:21 Finding The Right Workplace Fit36:13 Career Visibility For Students37:20 Four Types Of Burnout42:01 Breaking The Busy Culture43:56 Advocacy Without Performative Gestures47:22 Allies Speaking Up Effectively50:16 Pandemic Anger To National Change52:38 How Media Advocacy Snowballed53:37 Final Takeaways

Beyond the Leaky Pipeline: Redefining Success and Keeping Women in STEM with Cassie LeonardThe episode of Multiple Hats, hosted by Angelique, addresses why women leave STEM,.Citing a global survey where 50% leave due to burnout and lack of support, 40% for greater fulfillment, and 30% because of bias in career advancement, the authors of beyond the pipeline argue that the real challenge is retention rather than recruitment. The host introduces a three-episode series on the “leaky pipeline” with authors of Beyond the Pipeline, a collaborative book carrying insights from 25 women in STEM worldwide and grounded in lived experience. Guest Cassie Leonard, an aerospace engineer who left a senior management role at Boeing, discusses her identity shift in decoupling self-worth from paycheck and title, her FIRE-based financial choices, and how the book rejects the outdated pipeline metaphor in favor of a Rubik’s-cube model of complex, non-linear careers, organizing chapters around values/thriving, drivers of attrition, and solutions, and building an ongoing community via LinkedIn and Slack.00:00 Why Women Leave STEM00:46 Beyond Cupcakes Real Support01:24 Series And Guest Preview03:25 Meet Cassie Leonard03:50 Why Write Beyond Pipeline05:15 Rethinking Leaky Pipeline06:54 Leaving Boeing Identity Shift09:05 Redefining Success And Money12:29 How 25 Authors Wrote Together16:56 From Pipeline To Rubiks Cube18:48 Community And Book Tour20:01 Biggest Attrition Factor Bias21:26 Ideal Worker Parent Paradox24:17 Closing Takeaways Next Episode

Why job descriptions are narrow by design, and how to read between the lines to shape a bigger role.This is my takeaway episode from my interview with Catherine O’Mahony, the founder of OnQ Recruitment (Recruitment in Life Sciences).If you are delivering well but still feel boxed in, is the problem really you, or the way roles are designed? Either way there are ways to expand!🔍 What You’ll Learn:This Quick Win episode is for STEM professionals who are no longer struggling with competence, but with scope. You know how to do the job. You meet the criteria. Yet the work feels too narrow, and the frustration keeps growing.In this episode, you will learn:Why job descriptions are written narrowly, and why that does not automatically mean the role will stay narrowHow ownership, vision, and visibility change what is possible inside a roleWhen to shape breadth where you are, when to change environments, and when entrepreneurship becomes the right answerAction:Press play if you want a practical way to stop fighting job descriptions and start using them as an entry point instead of a ceiling.🧠 About the Guest:Catherine O’Mahony is the CEO and founder of OnQ Recruitment. With over 25 years hiring across the life sciences, Catherine brings a hiring-side view on why roles are designed the way they are, where flexibility really exists, and how careers actually move forward in real organisations.This Quick Win episode is drawn from the full-length Multiple Hats conversation with Catherine, where we go deeper into beyond-the-box careers, hiring risk, salary transparency, advocates, and entrepreneurship.📌 Episode Highlights:00:00 When competence is no longer the problem01:30 Why job descriptions optimise for delivery, not vision03:00 Ownership, why your career is not your line manager’s job05:30 Vision and visibility, seeing opportunities and being seen08:30 Advocates vs mentors, who actually opens doors11:30 Reading between the lines of narrow job descriptions14:00 De-risking yourself, depth first, breadth second17:00 Where breadth is structurally possible, small vs big companies21:30 Portfolio careers and not asking one job to meet every need24:00 When entrepreneurship becomes the answer29:00 The real signal behind feeling boxed in🔗 Resources Mentioned:Full interview episode with Catherine O’Mahony on Multiple HatsOnQ Recruitment Salary Survey – https://www.onqrecruitment.com.au🤔 Reflection Time:Where do you currently feel boxed in, and what capability of yours is going unused?Are you waiting for permission to grow, or actively shaping visibility and advocates?If this role cannot stretch further, is the next move redesigning it, changing environment, or building something of your own?

A rapid-fire reality check on why STEM professionals stay stuck, and how to move anywayWhat if the real thing holding your STEM career back is not your skills, but the story you keep telling yourself?🔍 What You’ll Learn:This short Fire Chat is for STEM professionals who know they have more range than their current role allows, but keep hitting the same mental brakes. In a fast, no-fluff format, we tackle the beliefs that quietly stall momentum.You will learn:Why “I’m just a scientist” is one of the most limiting stories STEM professionals repeat, and what actually transfers across roles and industriesHow to tell when perfection matters, and when it is just procrastination in disguiseWhy waiting until you have more time, money, or certainty is still a decision, and often the riskiest oneAction:Press play if you want a sharp reset on how to stop overthinking and start moving with what you already have.🧠 About the Guest:Catherine O’Mahony is the CEO and founder of OnQ Recruitment. With 25 years of experience hiring across the life sciences, Catherine has seen firsthand why capable STEM professionals underestimate their value, and what actually helps people break out of narrow career lanes.📌 Episode Highlights:00:00 The self-limiting beliefs STEM professionals carry01:10 Why science skills transfer further than you think02:40 Analytical thinking, process discipline, and communication as hidden strengths03:30 Working smart vs working hard, and when to stop doing everything yourself04:40 Done vs perfect, how to judge what “good enough” really means05:30 Will your work speak for itself, or do you need to advocate?06:40 The first step, de-risking action and why inaction is still a choice🔗 Resources Mentioned:OnQ Recruitment – https://www.onqrecruitment.com.auFull interview episode with Catherine O’Mahony on Multiple Hats🤔 Reflection Time:Which excuse do you default to most often, time, money, skill, or certainty?Where are you aiming for perfect when acceptable would be enough to move forward?If not acting is still a decision, what is that decision costing you right now?