Getting to Work

AI and Ambition with Krystel Leal

In this episode of Getting to Work, I talk with Krystel Leal, an AI deployment lead in Silicon Valley and startup founder, about her non-linear path from studying journalism in Paris to advising founders and helping companies implement AI. She reflects on culture shock moving from Europe to Bay Area startups, the importance of people and communication throughout her career, reframing “wrong” decisions as iterations, optimism about AI’s future, and advice on staying curious. 00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro00:57 What Do You Do02:41 Fractional Life and Workday04:40 Execution Over Strategy07:23 Prototyping and Feedback Loops09:58 Scary Career Bets11:57 The People Thread15:05 Early Tech Curiosity17:55 Journalism vs Money Reality19:28 College Frustration and Skills22:58 Finishing Degree and Moving24:54 Freelance Nomad Chapter25:32 Remote Work to Silicon Valley26:19 Catching the Startup Bug28:23 Build Culture vs Portugal31:15 Buzzwords to Basics32:33 Culture Shock at Work36:54 Work Life Integration38:34 Quitting to Build and Reframing42:58 AI Era Perspective Shift46:03 Optimism and Agency with AI47:35 Advice Curiosity and Balance51:54 Closing Thanks Follow the podcast on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gettingtoworkpodcast/

AI, Wellness, and Authentic Connection with Jatin Alla

In this episode, I talk with Jatin, a founder exploring how AI can support wellness through emotional regulation, connection, and personal transformation. Jatin shares why he’s focused on high performers and loneliness, his path from an early interest in observing human behavior to studying cognitive science and AI, and how college and COVID shaped his understanding of isolation and the need for social regulation. Chapters: 00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro 01:12 AI Wellness Vision 02:41 Who Its For Loneliness 03:39 Experimenting and Self-Care 04:27 Explaining the Work 05:15 Childhood Goals and Early Jobs 06:48 Reading Sports and Curiosity 07:47 Origins of Emotional Insight 09:43 Researcher Not Founder 11:26 Choosing a Major 14:03 Passion Versus Money 17:13 College Lessons and Loneliness 23:25 COVID and Remote Research 25:43 Landing Google Research 29:16 HCI Versus AI Culture Shock 31:03 Proving Your Role 33:27 Clout Versus Impact 34:15 Quitting And PhD Detour 35:52 Creator Energy And Vision 38:23 Why Authenticity Matters 40:51 AI Wellness And Privacy 43:58 Researcher To Founder Shift 45:29 Coaching Methods In Practice 48:16 Limits of AI Therapy 55:26 Designing Healthy Guardrails 56:41 Self-Care for Builders 59:50 Advice And Closing

Nursing and Following Curiosity with Becca

In this episode, I talk with Becca, my friend and endocrinology nurse. Becca shares her unconventional path into nursing, what it felt like to go all in on something and wonder if she'd just blown it, and why following your curiosity might matter more than having it all figured out. Chapters: 00:00 Welcome and guest intro 00:58 What outpatient endocrinology is 02:24 Hormone balancing myths 03:21 A day in the clinic 04:35 Dream day with patients 06:00 Childhood dreams to nursing spark 07:34 First jobs and early work 08:15 College major detours 09:10 Money, privilege, and education 12:31 Pivoting into nursing school 14:32 Self-doubt and failing chemistry 17:26 First nursing job in recession 20:54 Career steps to Stanford 25:04 Missing Community Care 25:49 Why Nursing Matters 26:37 Coworkers And Learning 28:11 When Patients Lash Out 30:12 Empathy In A Broken Healthcare System 31:38 Telehealth And AI Surprise 33:42 Trust Science And Vaccines 35:25 Handling AI Pushback 37:35 Future Of Endocrinology 39:23 Lifestyle And Incremental Change 41:50 Research Funding And Curiosity 42:56 Health Advice Without Perfection 46:00 The Pit Medical Accuracy 48:16 Advice To Younger Self If you enjoyed this episode, give us a rating and review or tell your friends!

I started a podcast!

Welcome to Getting to Work! In this first episode, I'm telling you my own career story and sharing my hopes for the Getting to Work community. If you've ever felt behind, lost, or like you're the only one still figuring it out, I made this for you. I'm interested in exploring the journey: the pivots, the doubts, the moments I almost gave up on figuring it out, and the slow realization that nobody actually has it figured out. They're just further along in their own messy version of the same process.