From Broadway to AI: Kyra Atekwana on Pivoting with Purpose

1
00:00:00,800 --> 00:00:03,480
You know, it might be a
simplification, but I do really

2
00:00:03,520 --> 00:00:07,400
think that investing in yourself
and really investing in your

3
00:00:07,400 --> 00:00:12,840
passions and making sort of
micro pivots can be really

4
00:00:12,840 --> 00:00:16,960
helpful to get you from 1
industry, from one function to

5
00:00:16,960 --> 00:00:31,390
another.
Hello everyone, and welcome back

6
00:00:31,390 --> 00:00:35,350
to She is Bossy, the podcast
dedicated to helping you be a

7
00:00:35,350 --> 00:00:38,360
better boss.
I'm your host, Clara Perk, and

8
00:00:38,360 --> 00:00:42,360
today's guest is someone who
truly defies the idea of a

9
00:00:42,360 --> 00:00:46,840
linear career path.
I'm talking to Kyra Atiquana, AI

10
00:00:46,840 --> 00:00:50,840
consultant, startup strategist,
and Tony nominated Broadway

11
00:00:50,840 --> 00:00:53,240
producer.
Yes, you heard that right.

12
00:00:53,680 --> 00:00:56,560
In this episode, Kyra shares her
journey from studying

13
00:00:56,560 --> 00:00:59,800
anthropology and music at
Harvard to working in government

14
00:00:59,800 --> 00:01:02,920
in Dubai, building startups and
food tech, leading at

15
00:01:02,920 --> 00:01:08,360
HelloFresh, and now helping
companies implement AI at and

16
00:01:08,360 --> 00:01:11,760
along the way, she's Co produced
multiple Broadway shows,

17
00:01:11,760 --> 00:01:14,280
including two that were Tony
nominated.

18
00:01:14,880 --> 00:01:17,680
We talked about how to pivot
careers with purpose, how to

19
00:01:17,680 --> 00:01:21,240
influence without authority, and
how to use AI as a tool to

20
00:01:21,240 --> 00:01:23,200
actually make you a better
manager.

21
00:01:23,560 --> 00:01:26,760
The conversation is packed with
insights and if you're someone

22
00:01:26,760 --> 00:01:29,160
who's ever thought my career
doesn't look like everyone

23
00:01:29,160 --> 00:01:32,200
else's, you're going to feel
seen and inspired.

24
00:01:32,640 --> 00:01:34,960
So without further ado, let's
dive right in.

25
00:01:35,760 --> 00:01:38,040
All right, Hello, Kyra.
How are you?

26
00:01:38,160 --> 00:01:39,320
I'm.
Doing great.

27
00:01:39,320 --> 00:01:41,320
How are you?
I'm great.

28
00:01:41,320 --> 00:01:44,080
Thank you for joining me today
on She is Bossy.

29
00:01:44,080 --> 00:01:45,480
I'm excited to chat with you.
That's.

30
00:01:45,960 --> 00:01:49,080
My yeah.
I'd love to just get started if

31
00:01:49,080 --> 00:01:53,760
you could walk me and my
listeners through your career

32
00:01:53,760 --> 00:01:57,000
journey and talk about how you
ended up where you are today.

33
00:01:57,160 --> 00:02:02,000
Yeah, my career journey is, it's
a bit of a circuitous one, but I

34
00:02:02,040 --> 00:02:06,760
think what really is the through
line through my path is just

35
00:02:06,760 --> 00:02:12,240
that I've been very passion LED.
So I graduated from Harvard

36
00:02:12,240 --> 00:02:16,480
where I studied anthropology and
music and, and I actually moved

37
00:02:16,480 --> 00:02:19,800
to New York to be an actress.
That was my first job out of

38
00:02:19,800 --> 00:02:22,400
college.
I was absolutely obsessed with

39
00:02:22,400 --> 00:02:23,880
musical theater.
I was a writer.

40
00:02:23,880 --> 00:02:27,520
I had been a music director in
college, performed in a lot of

41
00:02:27,520 --> 00:02:31,280
shows and really wanted to
perform and see if I could make

42
00:02:31,280 --> 00:02:35,080
it on Broadway.
So moved to the big city after I

43
00:02:35,080 --> 00:02:38,840
graduated and just jumped
straight into auditioning, which

44
00:02:38,840 --> 00:02:42,440
was super fun.
You know, getting up at 4:00 in

45
00:02:42,440 --> 00:02:46,520
the morning so I could make it
to the front of the line line of

46
00:02:46,520 --> 00:02:49,120
the auditions.
And what not, That's dedication.

47
00:02:49,160 --> 00:02:53,400
It absolutely is and it was a it
was an interesting journey.

48
00:02:53,400 --> 00:02:58,080
I did that for about a year and
a couple of months and my day

49
00:02:58,080 --> 00:03:01,920
job to actually make money
because as a non FDA base, you

50
00:03:01,920 --> 00:03:06,520
know, are very low paid.
I was working as an educational

51
00:03:06,520 --> 00:03:11,080
consultant at a company called A
List Education that help

52
00:03:11,080 --> 00:03:15,600
students with SAT and ACT prep
and college advising in general.

53
00:03:16,040 --> 00:03:20,920
And about a year into my time in
New York, this company that I

54
00:03:20,920 --> 00:03:23,920
had worked for opened an office
in Dubai.

55
00:03:23,920 --> 00:03:26,240
And they were like, you know,
you're a great instructor, you

56
00:03:26,240 --> 00:03:30,760
have a great background, you
know, would you want to move to

57
00:03:30,760 --> 00:03:33,080
Dubai for at the time, it was
four months.

58
00:03:34,960 --> 00:03:36,760
I like the air quotes around the
four.

59
00:03:37,760 --> 00:03:41,560
Months to to help us start this
Middle East office.

60
00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:45,480
And I had sort of been, I've
been pretty frustrated with

61
00:03:45,560 --> 00:03:51,280
auditioning.
And, you know, I always say that

62
00:03:52,600 --> 00:03:55,880
3 Hamilton, the world was very
different for people of color

63
00:03:55,880 --> 00:03:59,080
working on Broadway.
Like, to be perfectly honest, it

64
00:03:59,080 --> 00:04:03,000
was a lot of shows that were all
black cast for your typically

65
00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:06,800
black role in a show.
And I'm a classically trained

66
00:04:06,800 --> 00:04:08,160
singer.
And so they're just a lot of

67
00:04:08,160 --> 00:04:09,520
things that just weren't really
fitting.

68
00:04:09,520 --> 00:04:13,000
And I thought, you know what,
I'm going to clear my head.

69
00:04:13,560 --> 00:04:16,040
I'll do a full academic year
because why only go for four

70
00:04:16,040 --> 00:04:18,399
months?
I'm going to do this everything

71
00:04:18,399 --> 00:04:23,000
and just sort of see before
going back to New York, an

72
00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:26,120
actor.
And so I moved to Dubai sight

73
00:04:26,120 --> 00:04:31,840
unseen, knew nothing about the
Middle East at all and helped

74
00:04:31,840 --> 00:04:34,480
them launch their Middle East
operations.

75
00:04:34,480 --> 00:04:38,320
And was it was very intuition
LED just sort of knowing what

76
00:04:38,320 --> 00:04:40,440
was, what did we do in the New
York office?

77
00:04:40,440 --> 00:04:41,560
Let's see if that works in
Dubai.

78
00:04:41,560 --> 00:04:44,360
OK, that didn't work.
Let's experiment and see

79
00:04:44,960 --> 00:04:47,600
differently.
And just sort of loved this,

80
00:04:47,800 --> 00:04:52,840
this experimentation that I was
doing and seeing the results of

81
00:04:52,840 --> 00:04:54,400
that in terms of the growth we
had.

82
00:04:54,400 --> 00:04:56,920
Three months after I joined, we
had so much business that we

83
00:04:56,920 --> 00:04:58,000
needed.
I needed to hire a second

84
00:04:58,080 --> 00:05:01,640
person.
It's all just based on like

85
00:05:02,320 --> 00:05:04,840
random ideas I had for how we
could grow.

86
00:05:05,240 --> 00:05:09,000
And by the end of that first
year, I thought, first of all, I

87
00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:11,240
love this whole business thing.
I didn't know what a startup

88
00:05:11,240 --> 00:05:14,640
was, but I felt like I was
really thriving and I found

89
00:05:14,640 --> 00:05:18,280
myself with this new passion.
And I, you know what, I didn't

90
00:05:18,280 --> 00:05:21,040
really love auditioning.
New York was great, but I think

91
00:05:21,040 --> 00:05:23,000
that there's something really
good for me here.

92
00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:26,560
So decided to stay on another
year.

93
00:05:27,000 --> 00:05:31,160
We hired four more people and we
just grew the business all

94
00:05:31,160 --> 00:05:35,880
across the UAE and Kuwait.
And by the end of my second

95
00:05:35,960 --> 00:05:38,440
year, I was sort of like, you
know, this has been great, but

96
00:05:38,680 --> 00:05:40,840
for some reason I thought I
should be using my degree.

97
00:05:40,840 --> 00:05:43,680
I studied in health.
Why am I not doing that?

98
00:05:44,040 --> 00:05:48,480
And also, you know, wanted to be
in something a little bit more

99
00:05:48,480 --> 00:05:51,920
impact oriented than just
helping a bunch of rich people

100
00:05:51,920 --> 00:05:55,240
get into college.
So I transitioned into working

101
00:05:55,240 --> 00:05:57,880
for the government of Dubai at
an organization called Women's

102
00:05:58,160 --> 00:06:01,760
Dubai Women Establishment that
champions women's economic and

103
00:06:01,760 --> 00:06:04,600
political empowerment and is
there as a research and strategy

104
00:06:04,600 --> 00:06:06,760
officer.
So doing a lot of research

105
00:06:06,760 --> 00:06:11,080
around Emirati women in the UAE
to understand, you know, how can

106
00:06:11,080 --> 00:06:16,160
we better support them to be
engaged in the in the working in

107
00:06:16,160 --> 00:06:19,120
the workforce of the UAE.
And so that was a really

108
00:06:19,120 --> 00:06:21,440
interesting experience because I
speak, you know, Arabic and to

109
00:06:21,440 --> 00:06:25,440
this day don't speak any Arabic
and was the only non Arabic

110
00:06:25,440 --> 00:06:32,320
speaker in my office.
So it was such a it was a deep

111
00:06:32,320 --> 00:06:35,080
dive into Emirati culture and
understanding.

112
00:06:35,080 --> 00:06:38,680
And, you know, it was really
interesting.

113
00:06:39,200 --> 00:06:43,200
I remember very early on in my
career being told, in my, my

114
00:06:43,200 --> 00:06:45,880
time, they're being told like
you're way too direct, like you

115
00:06:45,880 --> 00:06:48,960
need to soften your toe, like
some of the things that as women

116
00:06:48,960 --> 00:06:51,840
were like told you should be
more of this.

117
00:06:51,840 --> 00:06:54,680
And so I really had to, it was
an interesting moment of

118
00:06:54,680 --> 00:07:00,320
cultural relativity, which did
bring my into perspective of,

119
00:07:00,360 --> 00:07:02,280
you know, when you're working in
a different culture, sometimes

120
00:07:02,280 --> 00:07:03,440
you have to do things
differently.

121
00:07:04,520 --> 00:07:07,080
And so I knew I wanted to go to
Business School.

122
00:07:07,080 --> 00:07:11,600
And so sort of rode that out for
a couple of years and then went

123
00:07:11,600 --> 00:07:16,960
to Booth where I studied
entrepreneurship, strategic

124
00:07:16,960 --> 00:07:19,560
management and OPS management
because I really wanted to start

125
00:07:19,560 --> 00:07:22,400
my own business.
And so I did, I launched my

126
00:07:22,440 --> 00:07:26,520
startup Resourceful, which was
AB2B Marketplace to help food

127
00:07:26,520 --> 00:07:30,200
businesses resell their surplus
inventory like packaging and

128
00:07:30,200 --> 00:07:34,400
ingredients and ended up
sunsetting after about 8 months

129
00:07:34,400 --> 00:07:36,920
of full time work just because
of product market fit.

130
00:07:37,000 --> 00:07:41,240
So from there I transitioned
into, I was head of customer

131
00:07:41,240 --> 00:07:45,480
success at a super early stage,
B to B ingredient marketplace.

132
00:07:45,480 --> 00:07:47,760
They ended up sunsetting as
well.

133
00:07:47,800 --> 00:07:53,120
So I went for a bigger food tech
company and worked at HelloFresh

134
00:07:53,280 --> 00:07:57,880
and it was a lot of fun.
Realized I actually like don't

135
00:07:57,880 --> 00:08:03,640
work at a big company and
stumbled upon upon section where

136
00:08:03,640 --> 00:08:06,720
I work now.
I was just wondering if they had

137
00:08:06,720 --> 00:08:11,040
any open roles and they had one
on their education team.

138
00:08:11,240 --> 00:08:15,040
I had started using AIA lot at
work and was just so enthralled

139
00:08:15,040 --> 00:08:17,800
by it.
And what section does is at the

140
00:08:17,800 --> 00:08:20,280
time especially we're really
focused on AI education.

141
00:08:20,280 --> 00:08:25,200
So ended up getting that role
there and starting on basically

142
00:08:25,200 --> 00:08:28,640
upskilling knowledge workers on
how to use AI.

143
00:08:30,400 --> 00:08:36,880
And also during all of this
moving back to New York City, I

144
00:08:36,880 --> 00:08:41,520
was also simultaneously getting
back in touch with or I had

145
00:08:41,559 --> 00:08:44,440
stayed in touch with, but
getting more involved in

146
00:08:44,440 --> 00:08:47,160
theater.
And I had a friend who was a

147
00:08:47,160 --> 00:08:49,520
Broadway producer and he's like,
you know, you've got an MBA, you

148
00:08:49,520 --> 00:08:52,600
have this creative background
that producing makes sense for

149
00:08:52,600 --> 00:08:54,080
you.
You should really think about

150
00:08:54,080 --> 00:08:57,560
it.
And so I'm like simultaneously

151
00:08:58,680 --> 00:09:03,560
getting into AI and also working
on this Broadway producing thing

152
00:09:03,560 --> 00:09:05,600
and trying to get more
interested in that which we can

153
00:09:05,600 --> 00:09:09,440
go into a little bit later.
But yeah, so I work full time in

154
00:09:09,480 --> 00:09:13,400
AI part time as a Broadway
producer.

155
00:09:14,080 --> 00:09:16,800
And yeah, it's been, it's been a
blast so far.

156
00:09:16,800 --> 00:09:19,160
So yeah.
That's great.

157
00:09:19,160 --> 00:09:20,960
Yeah.
I love your journey has taken so

158
00:09:20,960 --> 00:09:25,600
many different twists and turns.
But I it's always interesting to

159
00:09:25,600 --> 00:09:28,480
see how, you know, one thing
leads to another and there's

160
00:09:28,480 --> 00:09:32,280
times where you try something,
it doesn't work, but maybe it's,

161
00:09:32,400 --> 00:09:36,520
you know, because you don't like
it versus because you know that,

162
00:09:37,280 --> 00:09:38,760
you know that experience didn't
work out.

163
00:09:38,760 --> 00:09:41,760
So it's always interesting to
see how how all of that, how

164
00:09:41,840 --> 00:09:44,400
that happens.
I'd love to hear more about when

165
00:09:44,400 --> 00:09:46,920
you were working with the
government of Dubai and you said

166
00:09:46,920 --> 00:09:49,080
you were working with a lot with
Emirati women.

167
00:09:50,440 --> 00:09:54,880
What were some things that you,
you know, noticed or learned

168
00:09:54,880 --> 00:09:58,640
while you were there or, you
know, different ways that we

169
00:09:58,640 --> 00:10:00,520
think about kind of empowering
women?

170
00:10:00,760 --> 00:10:03,040
Would just love to hear a bit
more about that and any lessons

171
00:10:03,040 --> 00:10:06,000
that you learned that you know
would be helpful for people to

172
00:10:06,000 --> 00:10:08,720
hear.
Yeah, I thought it was, you

173
00:10:08,720 --> 00:10:12,640
know, they were focused on
women's economic and political

174
00:10:12,640 --> 00:10:15,800
empowerment.
And some people might think that

175
00:10:15,800 --> 00:10:18,600
what that meant is they were
trying to ensure, trying to get

176
00:10:18,600 --> 00:10:21,720
as many women into the workforce
as possible, trying to have them

177
00:10:21,720 --> 00:10:25,080
climb that corporate ladder or
that, you know, political ladder

178
00:10:25,080 --> 00:10:28,040
or whatever it might be.
And that was definitely part of

179
00:10:28,040 --> 00:10:30,040
it.
But they actually had more of an

180
00:10:30,040 --> 00:10:35,840
A holistic approach of we want
to support women who do want to

181
00:10:35,840 --> 00:10:38,920
participate in the economy and
also who don't want to

182
00:10:38,920 --> 00:10:40,960
participate in the economy
necessarily.

183
00:10:40,960 --> 00:10:44,000
And so one of the first research
reports that I worked on when I

184
00:10:44,000 --> 00:10:51,680
was there was called, it was it
was about the women's decisions

185
00:10:51,680 --> 00:10:55,240
about whether or not to work and
understanding, OK, women isn't

186
00:10:55,400 --> 00:10:56,920
working.
Why is that?

187
00:10:57,120 --> 00:11:00,120
We need to understand that and
support that as well.

188
00:11:00,120 --> 00:11:05,480
And so I thought it was really
interesting that they wanted to

189
00:11:05,600 --> 00:11:08,920
to take to look at both sides of
that.

190
00:11:09,240 --> 00:11:13,760
And so I worked on a lot of
projects around supporting women

191
00:11:13,760 --> 00:11:15,920
through maternity leave
policies.

192
00:11:15,920 --> 00:11:19,360
And so I did a benchmarking
project looking across the globe

193
00:11:19,360 --> 00:11:23,400
at what is maternity leave look
like and in different cultural

194
00:11:23,400 --> 00:11:26,280
contexts.
And through that, learned that

195
00:11:26,280 --> 00:11:30,360
the US is actually one of the
worst, one of the worst places

196
00:11:30,360 --> 00:11:34,800
to have a maternity leave
because there there isn't like a

197
00:11:34,800 --> 00:11:37,880
national mandate for it, unlike
right places.

198
00:11:38,240 --> 00:11:40,440
And so it was really interesting
to sort of learning all of the

199
00:11:40,440 --> 00:11:44,080
different ways that you can
support women to engage or not.

200
00:11:45,560 --> 00:11:49,600
And I think that to the that
earlier anecdote about, you

201
00:11:49,600 --> 00:11:51,880
know, being told I was too
direct and, and having to sort

202
00:11:51,880 --> 00:11:55,440
of soften my tone.
It also made me think a lot

203
00:11:55,440 --> 00:11:58,400
about, I don't know if soft
power is necessarily the right

204
00:11:58,400 --> 00:12:01,520
term, but really thinking about
like, what are the ways that you

205
00:12:01,520 --> 00:12:05,800
can influence people that are
culturally sensitive and

206
00:12:05,800 --> 00:12:10,040
culturally appropriate?
And so it's not that they don't

207
00:12:10,040 --> 00:12:12,280
want you to get things done,
it's just that, you know, you

208
00:12:12,280 --> 00:12:13,960
need to get them done in a
particular way.

209
00:12:13,960 --> 00:12:18,200
So how can I I better understand
the culture so that I can

210
00:12:18,200 --> 00:12:22,920
understand how can I influence
without authority a lot of times

211
00:12:22,920 --> 00:12:27,320
to get the things that I needed
from different people OK?

212
00:12:27,320 --> 00:12:31,160
I'd love to talk a bit about
your Tony award-winning Broadway

213
00:12:31,160 --> 00:12:34,440
production.
So how did you tell me a bit

214
00:12:34,440 --> 00:12:37,880
more about how you got more
involved specifically in this

215
00:12:37,880 --> 00:12:41,960
production and what were some of
the behind the scenes things

216
00:12:41,960 --> 00:12:45,160
that you know, maybe someone
from the outside wouldn't know

217
00:12:45,160 --> 00:12:48,120
that goes on or that that's the
responsibility of a Broadway

218
00:12:48,120 --> 00:12:49,360
producer?
Yeah.

219
00:12:49,720 --> 00:12:54,280
So, as I mentioned, so I had
been engaged in theater when I

220
00:12:54,280 --> 00:12:57,560
first moved to New York, and so
many of my friends from college

221
00:12:57,800 --> 00:13:00,000
stayed in New York to do
theater, became actors,

222
00:13:00,000 --> 00:13:02,680
directors, music directors,
conductors.

223
00:13:02,680 --> 00:13:06,960
So I had a pretty extensive
Broadway network coming back to

224
00:13:06,960 --> 00:13:09,360
New York.
And I really thought that the

225
00:13:09,360 --> 00:13:13,440
only way for me to engage was
either to perform or to be a

226
00:13:13,440 --> 00:13:16,240
patron and actually just attend
shows.

227
00:13:16,240 --> 00:13:18,800
And so that's what I was doing.
And one of my really good

228
00:13:18,800 --> 00:13:22,440
friends from college had become
a pretty prolific producer.

229
00:13:22,800 --> 00:13:26,080
And so we actually had just been
talking because he, he

230
00:13:26,080 --> 00:13:28,800
suggested, you know, you've got
an MBA, you have the creative

231
00:13:28,800 --> 00:13:30,760
background.
Would producing be something

232
00:13:30,760 --> 00:13:34,080
that's of interest to you?
And I thought, oh, so don't you

233
00:13:34,080 --> 00:13:36,640
just have to be super rich to be
a producer?

234
00:13:36,640 --> 00:13:39,520
Like is that something anybody
can do?

235
00:13:40,480 --> 00:13:45,600
And really what what the job of
a producer and like more

236
00:13:45,600 --> 00:13:47,360
specifically a Co producer,
because they're sort of

237
00:13:47,360 --> 00:13:51,360
different types of producers
within Broadway, is that you're

238
00:13:51,480 --> 00:13:56,520
supporting the lead producer in
their fundraising effort to fund

239
00:13:56,560 --> 00:13:58,800
the pre production portion of
the show.

240
00:13:59,120 --> 00:14:02,920
So before the show begins you
have a budget, you know anywhere

241
00:14:02,920 --> 00:14:09,080
from 5 to $20 million that you
need to fundraise for.

242
00:14:09,080 --> 00:14:12,760
And then once the show begins
the ticket sales are what go

243
00:14:12,760 --> 00:14:16,640
towards basically covering that
production budget plus hopefully

244
00:14:16,880 --> 00:14:19,240
providing a profit for you at
the end of the day.

245
00:14:19,560 --> 00:14:23,000
So the lead producers have
effectively A delegation system

246
00:14:23,000 --> 00:14:26,960
where they delegate out specific
amounts to each Co producer of

247
00:14:26,960 --> 00:14:32,400
what they need to fundraise.
So we talked about it and he was

248
00:14:32,400 --> 00:14:35,560
like, you know, the best way to
really start as a producer is to

249
00:14:35,920 --> 00:14:40,560
be an investor and to see what
it looks like, get a taste for,

250
00:14:40,560 --> 00:14:45,040
you know, the level of risk of,
you know, investing in something

251
00:14:45,040 --> 00:14:47,120
and sort of see like, is it
something you want to engage in?

252
00:14:47,120 --> 00:14:52,240
So my I sort of got my family
together and I was like, look,

253
00:14:52,240 --> 00:14:55,080
guys, we're going to we're going
to invest in this Off Broadway

254
00:14:55,080 --> 00:14:57,280
play.
It was called Danny and the Deep

255
00:14:57,280 --> 00:14:59,320
Blue Sea, the starring Aubrey
Plaza.

256
00:14:59,320 --> 00:15:02,920
And I was like, I think it's
going to make money.

257
00:15:03,080 --> 00:15:06,000
And I think this will be a
really good, interesting way for

258
00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:12,360
us to diversify assets.
And there is a specific sort of

259
00:15:12,360 --> 00:15:16,080
show which I focus on, which are
celebrity driven limited run

260
00:15:16,080 --> 00:15:19,920
shows, which this one was where
you have some sort of non

261
00:15:19,920 --> 00:15:23,240
theater celebrity TV movie star
leading the production.

262
00:15:23,520 --> 00:15:28,480
The show runs for anywhere from
8:00 to maybe 20 weeks.

263
00:15:28,480 --> 00:15:30,560
So it's very limited in
capacity.

264
00:15:30,560 --> 00:15:33,920
And so there's a different
funding structure that's more

265
00:15:33,920 --> 00:15:37,240
likely to be profitable.
So that's really where it

266
00:15:37,240 --> 00:15:39,320
started.
We worked on that show with my

267
00:15:39,320 --> 00:15:42,120
friend and then the show ended
up being profitable, which was

268
00:15:42,480 --> 00:15:48,160
fantastic because most is not
just sort of high risk

269
00:15:48,160 --> 00:15:53,000
investment.
And then I started getting more

270
00:15:53,000 --> 00:15:55,600
engaged with the the producer
group.

271
00:15:55,640 --> 00:15:58,000
It's called Seaview is the
production company that I work

272
00:15:58,000 --> 00:16:01,200
with.
And it actually started with An

273
00:16:01,200 --> 00:16:05,080
Enemy of the People, which was a
show that ran last season that

274
00:16:05,080 --> 00:16:08,760
was starring Jeremy Strong and
Michael Imperioli and Victoria

275
00:16:09,160 --> 00:16:12,520
Pedretti.
And so that was my first time

276
00:16:12,520 --> 00:16:15,560
actually trying to fundraise.
And.

277
00:16:17,280 --> 00:16:21,880
It's interesting because I think
that actually working in a

278
00:16:21,880 --> 00:16:25,200
startup and doing that grind,
that customer interview, like I

279
00:16:25,200 --> 00:16:29,320
have to talk to 150 people and I
have to get them to buy my

280
00:16:29,320 --> 00:16:33,480
product and I have to hear a lot
of no's like translates directly

281
00:16:33,480 --> 00:16:36,280
into what I.
Was thinking.

282
00:16:37,240 --> 00:16:43,520
And so raised $125,000 for that
to be a Co producer in the show

283
00:16:43,520 --> 00:16:46,200
and be billed in the Playbill as
a producer.

284
00:16:46,760 --> 00:16:52,320
And I think that what people
don't know about theater is that

285
00:16:52,840 --> 00:16:56,800
truly anybody can invest in
theater if you want to.

286
00:16:56,840 --> 00:16:59,800
I mean, you have to be an
accredited investor, but it's

287
00:16:59,800 --> 00:17:05,520
such a network heavy industry
where like if you know, you

288
00:17:05,520 --> 00:17:07,599
know, and if you don't know, you
don't know.

289
00:17:07,640 --> 00:17:14,040
And that's when I try to be
really vocal about 90.

290
00:17:14,040 --> 00:17:17,480
There was a study done that I
think it was like 96% of

291
00:17:17,480 --> 00:17:22,920
Broadway producers are white.
And anytime you have any kind of

292
00:17:22,920 --> 00:17:26,200
networking heavy industry,
you're always going to have a

293
00:17:26,200 --> 00:17:30,840
lot of you're going to have a
lack of diversity because

294
00:17:31,480 --> 00:17:34,560
they're just, you know, sharing
opportunities with who they

295
00:17:34,560 --> 00:17:36,640
know.
I, I saw this when I was, you

296
00:17:36,640 --> 00:17:42,240
know, working in BC at booth of,
you know, how lacking in

297
00:17:42,240 --> 00:17:46,440
diversity that that industry is
because it's so much just we

298
00:17:46,440 --> 00:17:49,480
don't post jobs.
We tell our they're hiring and

299
00:17:49,480 --> 00:17:53,640
they give me a referral.
And so one of the things that I

300
00:17:53,640 --> 00:17:56,440
really focus on in this first
show was I really wanted to

301
00:17:56,440 --> 00:17:59,080
bring in a diverse pool of
investors.

302
00:18:00,600 --> 00:18:03,720
All of my investors for that
show are people of color.

303
00:18:04,120 --> 00:18:08,640
And it also was nominated for
Tony for best revival of a play.

304
00:18:08,640 --> 00:18:12,840
Didn't win, unfortunately, but
it was still such an incredible

305
00:18:12,840 --> 00:18:16,520
experience to be able to know
that I was able to bring in this

306
00:18:16,520 --> 00:18:20,720
group of, you know, increasing
the diversity of people being

307
00:18:20,720 --> 00:18:24,160
able to invest in the show and
be engaged in the legacy of

308
00:18:24,160 --> 00:18:26,640
Broadway.
Like, that's just the coolest

309
00:18:26,640 --> 00:18:30,720
things about being able to
invest is you're keeping this

310
00:18:30,720 --> 00:18:38,040
thing that is so such a, how
would I put it, such a

311
00:18:38,040 --> 00:18:39,920
foundation of, of American
culture.

312
00:18:40,240 --> 00:18:43,040
In my opinion, Broadway is the
pinnacle of theater.

313
00:18:43,360 --> 00:18:46,120
Yeah.
Anywhere globally, Broadway is

314
00:18:46,120 --> 00:18:49,080
the dream.
And you can actually engage in

315
00:18:49,080 --> 00:18:50,840
that.
You just have to know the right

316
00:18:50,840 --> 00:18:52,320
people.
And that's why I tried to be

317
00:18:52,320 --> 00:18:54,640
really vocal so that people know
that this is something that they

318
00:18:54,640 --> 00:18:59,440
can be a part of.
And so did that show and then

319
00:18:59,440 --> 00:19:02,680
was looking for my next
opportunity and ended up working

320
00:19:02,680 --> 00:19:05,600
again with the same production
company on Romeo and Juliet.

321
00:19:06,680 --> 00:19:09,200
And So what was really
interesting about that show is

322
00:19:09,200 --> 00:19:13,400
it was, you know, this Gen.
Z retelling of Romeo and Juliet

323
00:19:13,400 --> 00:19:19,520
sort of set in a rave kind of
which sounds kind of weird, but

324
00:19:19,520 --> 00:19:22,600
ended up really working and
broke.

325
00:19:22,600 --> 00:19:26,040
So it sets standards, broke
records.

326
00:19:26,680 --> 00:19:30,360
We had the youngest audience on
Broadway, had one of the most

327
00:19:30,360 --> 00:19:33,960
diverse audiences on Broadway
because we were daring to do

328
00:19:33,960 --> 00:19:36,520
something different.
We were like, we want to bring

329
00:19:36,520 --> 00:19:40,080
in younger audiences, more
diverse them see themselves on

330
00:19:40,080 --> 00:19:42,040
stage.
So super part of that

331
00:19:42,040 --> 00:19:44,640
production.
It was really an honor to be a

332
00:19:44,640 --> 00:19:47,280
part of.
And it was incredible when we

333
00:19:47,280 --> 00:19:50,160
got nominated for a Tony, which
was so unexpected.

334
00:19:51,160 --> 00:19:55,960
And yeah, it's cool to be able
to say I'm a I'm a two time Tony

335
00:19:55,960 --> 00:19:59,960
Award nominated producer.
Would never, would never have

336
00:19:59,960 --> 00:20:04,440
seen that coming.
It really comes full circle

337
00:20:04,440 --> 00:20:05,800
though, which is.
Great.

338
00:20:07,560 --> 00:20:09,800
OK.
Completely shifting gears a

339
00:20:09,800 --> 00:20:14,560
little bit, I'd love to hear
more about your work at Section.

340
00:20:14,560 --> 00:20:22,040
And specifically, AI is such a
new sort of technology in the

341
00:20:22,040 --> 00:20:24,200
terms of how much it's
progressed and how much that we

342
00:20:24,200 --> 00:20:26,640
can actually apply it to the
work workplace.

343
00:20:26,640 --> 00:20:29,040
So we'd love to hear what are
some insights or things that

344
00:20:29,040 --> 00:20:32,880
you're seeing being at Section
that managers or leaders should

345
00:20:32,880 --> 00:20:35,320
really focus on in the
workforce.

346
00:20:35,440 --> 00:20:38,680
Yeah.
So when I joined section, we

347
00:20:38,680 --> 00:20:41,760
were pretty much exclusively
focused on upskilling, so

348
00:20:41,760 --> 00:20:44,720
creating workshops that would
teach knowledge workers how to

349
00:20:44,720 --> 00:20:49,240
use AI.
And since then we have pivoted

350
00:20:49,240 --> 00:20:54,040
into actually focusing more on
AI transformation consulting.

351
00:20:54,040 --> 00:20:58,640
And so we not only teach your
workers how to use AI, but also

352
00:20:58,920 --> 00:21:02,240
when you want to deploy ChatGPT
or Copilot or something like

353
00:21:02,240 --> 00:21:06,640
that and you want to get up to
80% adoption and regular use.

354
00:21:07,040 --> 00:21:10,880
It's not just a, we've flopped
in an LLM and now everyone knows

355
00:21:10,880 --> 00:21:12,720
how to use it and everybody's
more efficient.

356
00:21:12,720 --> 00:21:15,080
Yay.
Like there's so much that needs

357
00:21:15,080 --> 00:21:20,680
to go into ensuring that people
are really efficiently using AI

358
00:21:20,680 --> 00:21:25,920
for their productivity.
And so I have learned so, so, so

359
00:21:25,920 --> 00:21:29,800
much about AI and how to
leverage it.

360
00:21:29,880 --> 00:21:37,160
And I think that I am, I don't
know if I would say I'm the

361
00:21:37,200 --> 00:21:41,440
biggest AI evangelist, but I'm,
I'm pretty up there and like

362
00:21:41,720 --> 00:21:44,880
everybody should be using some
sort of generative AI tool every

363
00:21:44,880 --> 00:21:46,560
day for something that they're
doing.

364
00:21:46,560 --> 00:21:50,920
And that's not just using it as
Google, like, hey, how do I do X

365
00:21:50,920 --> 00:21:53,720
or what is this thing?
But really thinking about how

366
00:21:53,720 --> 00:21:57,280
can it actually transform your
workflows?

367
00:21:57,680 --> 00:22:02,560
And I think that so many people
get caught up in like, I don't

368
00:22:02,560 --> 00:22:04,200
know how to use AI.
It's this new thing.

369
00:22:04,200 --> 00:22:06,720
What do I do with it?
And I just tell them, you know,

370
00:22:06,720 --> 00:22:09,480
one of the best ways to figure
it out is to experiment.

371
00:22:12,280 --> 00:22:15,360
What I always tell people is
think about the challenges you

372
00:22:15,360 --> 00:22:20,320
have, you know, when you're,
when you're maybe writing a new

373
00:22:20,320 --> 00:22:23,520
report, maybe the challenge is
the is the blank page problem.

374
00:22:23,960 --> 00:22:27,160
Maybe AI can help you with that.
If you want to figure it out,

375
00:22:27,160 --> 00:22:31,200
literally ask, ask ChatGPT.
How do you help me start a

376
00:22:31,200 --> 00:22:33,120
report and it will be like I can
help you brainstorm.

377
00:22:33,120 --> 00:22:35,120
I can help you do this like you
can.

378
00:22:35,360 --> 00:22:39,600
It can come up with its own
ideas and just experimenting and

379
00:22:39,600 --> 00:22:44,160
seeing if it's possible is one
of the coolest is one of the

380
00:22:44,160 --> 00:22:47,280
best ways to figure out how to
use it.

381
00:22:48,280 --> 00:22:54,400
I also think there's a lot of
sort of a being able to see

382
00:22:54,400 --> 00:22:57,000
other people using AI in
different ways.

383
00:22:57,000 --> 00:23:01,120
So I mentioned upfront, I'm
always looking at AI news like

384
00:23:01,120 --> 00:23:04,360
the first thing I do every
morning is check what is the new

385
00:23:04,360 --> 00:23:06,640
feature.
Has anybody on LinkedIn post

386
00:23:06,640 --> 00:23:11,160
about any new use cases, you
know, what has changed about the

387
00:23:11,160 --> 00:23:15,000
models that I need to know and
be aware of?

388
00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:19,920
Because something that wasn't
possible literally last week

389
00:23:19,920 --> 00:23:24,080
might be possible today.
And if you're running into

390
00:23:24,080 --> 00:23:27,280
roadblocks with AI, wait a
couple of weeks, wait a couple,

391
00:23:28,200 --> 00:23:32,160
probably do that thing that it
couldn't do before that they

392
00:23:32,160 --> 00:23:34,880
needed from it.
So that's sort of how I would

393
00:23:34,880 --> 00:23:40,800
suggest people get started.
But I think thinking about it in

394
00:23:40,800 --> 00:23:47,400
a management sense, I just not
just, but a couple of months ago

395
00:23:47,400 --> 00:23:50,200
worked on a workshop called AI
for Team Meters.

396
00:23:50,520 --> 00:23:53,880
And it was all about how to use
AI to be a better manager.

397
00:23:54,160 --> 00:23:58,680
And I was working with this
instructor and he totally blew

398
00:23:58,680 --> 00:24:02,000
my mind in the ways that he is
using AI to help manage his

399
00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:03,960
teams.
I think it depends on what your

400
00:24:03,960 --> 00:24:06,840
inputs are.
But I am a huge advocate for

401
00:24:06,840 --> 00:24:13,000
recording all of your meetings
and so using transcripts and

402
00:24:13,040 --> 00:24:16,160
analyzing transcripts to find
insights.

403
00:24:16,160 --> 00:24:20,760
So an example might be, you
know, I had a meeting, it was

404
00:24:20,760 --> 00:24:25,120
one of the first meetings that I
LED when we did a sort of real

405
00:24:25,120 --> 00:24:28,800
org internally in terms of how
we work cross functionally.

406
00:24:29,240 --> 00:24:32,040
And I was asked to lead this
team.

407
00:24:32,520 --> 00:24:36,560
And so it was my first time
really running this meeting and

408
00:24:36,880 --> 00:24:38,640
working with these people in
this way.

409
00:24:38,640 --> 00:24:42,800
And there was something specific
that I was trying to get from

410
00:24:42,800 --> 00:24:46,880
the team, and I was just met
with all these blank stares.

411
00:24:48,200 --> 00:24:51,200
I'm clearly not like something
going awry.

412
00:24:51,200 --> 00:24:53,760
Like there's some reason why
people are not understanding

413
00:24:53,760 --> 00:24:56,640
what I'm asking for.
And I took the transcript, I put

414
00:24:56,640 --> 00:24:59,680
it into chat TPT and I was like,
give me feedback on this

415
00:24:59,680 --> 00:25:01,720
transcript.
Where did things go wrong?

416
00:25:01,960 --> 00:25:03,440
Where could I have been more
clear?

417
00:25:03,440 --> 00:25:08,000
Why do you think I was met with
the resistance or the lack of

418
00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:13,480
engagement that I was met with?
And it was such an incredible

419
00:25:13,480 --> 00:25:17,200
analysis of like, hey, like it
wasn't clear what the conclusion

420
00:25:17,200 --> 00:25:18,520
of this thing was supposed to
be.

421
00:25:18,520 --> 00:25:21,200
And, you know, you could have
done this better and, you know,

422
00:25:21,200 --> 00:25:25,280
make sure the agenda to do these
things and it really provided

423
00:25:25,280 --> 00:25:30,680
this this analysis of
effectively the subtext of the

424
00:25:30,680 --> 00:25:34,040
meaning that is can be
challenging in the moment to

425
00:25:34,040 --> 00:25:36,640
understand.
But if you look back, you can be

426
00:25:36,640 --> 00:25:39,000
like, yeah, of course I could
sort of see where those things

427
00:25:39,280 --> 00:25:41,840
might have gone wrong.
And so I do that a lot.

428
00:25:41,840 --> 00:25:45,480
I'll analyze feedback sessions
that I have with my direct

429
00:25:45,480 --> 00:25:47,720
reports.
I'm like, was this clear?

430
00:25:47,720 --> 00:25:49,360
Could I have given better
feedback?

431
00:25:49,360 --> 00:25:51,640
And then I'll follow up with
people and be like, actually, I

432
00:25:51,640 --> 00:25:53,640
recognize this was unclear.
Let's talk about it again.

433
00:25:53,880 --> 00:25:59,120
And really getting really great
insight from AI on your

434
00:25:59,120 --> 00:26:01,720
management style and how you
lead meetings on how you give

435
00:26:01,720 --> 00:26:03,120
feedback.
Like there's just so much

436
00:26:03,120 --> 00:26:05,880
opportunity.
Yeah, that's great.

437
00:26:05,880 --> 00:26:10,160
I haven't even thought about
that use case, but it is almost

438
00:26:10,560 --> 00:26:15,080
like, you know, you're having a
career or some sort of like

439
00:26:15,080 --> 00:26:18,760
leadership management coach
right alongside you in all of

440
00:26:18,760 --> 00:26:22,160
these conversations.
Because I think sometimes as the

441
00:26:22,160 --> 00:26:25,560
manager, like the farther up
that you move in the workforce,

442
00:26:25,560 --> 00:26:28,520
the less that you're actually
interacting with your boss.

443
00:26:28,520 --> 00:26:30,640
Your boss isn't sitting in on
meetings the where you're

444
00:26:30,640 --> 00:26:34,000
providing information.
And then sometimes your team,

445
00:26:34,920 --> 00:26:38,480
you know, may not be open to
giving you feedback or may not

446
00:26:38,600 --> 00:26:42,120
be focused on giving you
feedback as a manager of how to

447
00:26:42,120 --> 00:26:44,120
improve.
So something that I always

448
00:26:44,120 --> 00:26:46,000
struggle with is like, where can
I improve?

449
00:26:46,000 --> 00:26:50,040
Where can I make things better?
I've been trying to be a lot

450
00:26:50,040 --> 00:26:55,040
more direct with my team got
harkening back to to that, but

451
00:26:55,280 --> 00:26:59,320
you know, only I can, you know,
I can only recall what I'm

452
00:26:59,320 --> 00:27:04,840
saying versus actually having a
a relatively objective third

453
00:27:04,840 --> 00:27:09,280
party observer, if you will, in
in AI to be able to play that

454
00:27:09,280 --> 00:27:10,440
back to you and give some
feedback.

455
00:27:10,440 --> 00:27:14,680
So I I love that use case from a
management standpoint and I'm

456
00:27:14,680 --> 00:27:16,720
definitely going to try that out
going forward.

457
00:27:16,720 --> 00:27:18,320
So that's that's super, very
helpful.

458
00:27:21,040 --> 00:27:23,640
So you talked a bit about, you
know, being a person of color

459
00:27:23,640 --> 00:27:26,320
and being specifically a woman.
And I think throughout your

460
00:27:26,320 --> 00:27:31,080
career has definitely been, you
know, interesting to manage.

461
00:27:31,080 --> 00:27:33,560
So I'd love to hear more about
what are some of you talked a

462
00:27:33,560 --> 00:27:36,000
bit about, you know,
diversifying Broadway and things

463
00:27:36,000 --> 00:27:37,720
like that.
But what are some other

464
00:27:37,720 --> 00:27:40,400
challenges that you've had to
face in that position?

465
00:27:40,400 --> 00:27:42,920
And any any advice or things
like that that you'd give to

466
00:27:42,920 --> 00:27:46,360
people in terms of, you know,
overcoming some of those

467
00:27:46,360 --> 00:27:47,520
challenges?
Yeah.

468
00:27:47,960 --> 00:27:51,880
Yeah, My, I remember this so
distinctly.

469
00:27:51,880 --> 00:27:57,760
I interned at AB in Bev during
my summer between first and

470
00:27:57,760 --> 00:28:04,240
second year of Business School.
And AB in Bev has, and this is

471
00:28:04,240 --> 00:28:07,320
public knowledge.
I think like just has a very

472
00:28:07,320 --> 00:28:14,720
strong, extroverted, direct,
really intense culture, which

473
00:28:15,280 --> 00:28:18,080
it's not me.
And also I think for a lot of

474
00:28:18,080 --> 00:28:21,800
people of color, it can be
really intimidating when you're

475
00:28:21,800 --> 00:28:28,200
the only person of color in that
space to feel comfortable, to

476
00:28:28,200 --> 00:28:32,760
feel competent, you know, and to
feel included.

477
00:28:33,240 --> 00:28:39,480
And I am much more of a quiet
person and was interning with

478
00:28:39,480 --> 00:28:42,840
another, another Boothie who's
basically opposite of me, super

479
00:28:42,840 --> 00:28:46,640
extroverted, asking tons of
questions and meetings.

480
00:28:46,680 --> 00:28:51,520
And I remember getting feedback
on day 2 of working there that

481
00:28:51,520 --> 00:28:54,360
they're like, you're not
speaking up enough in meetings.

482
00:28:54,360 --> 00:29:00,040
People think you're disengaged.
And recognizing that there's an

483
00:29:00,440 --> 00:29:04,080
unconscious bias in that
statement that because I don't

484
00:29:04,080 --> 00:29:07,920
speak, I'm disengaged.
And also potentially there might

485
00:29:07,920 --> 00:29:10,840
have been some unconscious bias
about like, you know, maybe

486
00:29:10,840 --> 00:29:13,960
people of color are less engaged
or whatever that might be.

487
00:29:14,240 --> 00:29:18,080
And it was a really frustrating
experience for me of being like,

488
00:29:18,120 --> 00:29:23,800
I am actually so incredibly
engaged kind of person who likes

489
00:29:23,800 --> 00:29:29,360
to listen 1st and really make
sure I understand before I start

490
00:29:31,440 --> 00:29:33,640
leaving my ideas, before I start
being really forward in

491
00:29:33,640 --> 00:29:35,240
conversations.
Why is that?

492
00:29:35,240 --> 00:29:39,600
Because I want to be seen as
competent as I know that there's

493
00:29:39,680 --> 00:29:42,480
unconscious bias and sometimes
people think people of color,

494
00:29:42,960 --> 00:29:46,480
that women are just less
competent in the workforce.

495
00:29:46,760 --> 00:29:51,360
And so that's a learned behavior
that I had that through that

496
00:29:51,360 --> 00:29:55,520
experience, I was able to flex a
different skill set.

497
00:29:56,040 --> 00:29:59,480
And this is where I am so glad
that I went to Business School

498
00:29:59,480 --> 00:30:02,680
and I think that it helped me be
so much more confident.

499
00:30:02,680 --> 00:30:07,640
But we, you know, in one of our
very early leadership classes,

500
00:30:07,640 --> 00:30:11,800
they talk about learning to flex
and hey, well, this is not me.

501
00:30:11,800 --> 00:30:14,400
Like this culture is not me, but
this is where I am for the next

502
00:30:14,400 --> 00:30:18,920
12 weeks.
And I, so I need to come up with

503
00:30:18,920 --> 00:30:23,600
a plan to figure out how I can
fit in here and do what it takes

504
00:30:23,600 --> 00:30:26,600
to be successful and be seen as
successful and competent.

505
00:30:26,920 --> 00:30:31,680
And actually ended up working
with my, my counterpart intern.

506
00:30:31,680 --> 00:30:33,880
And we like sort of created a
game plan where we're like, what

507
00:30:33,880 --> 00:30:37,920
we're going to do is before
every meeting, we're going to

508
00:30:37,920 --> 00:30:41,760
work together and come up with a
list of questions that we both

509
00:30:41,760 --> 00:30:46,520
have that we want to ask whoever
it is we're speaking to or

510
00:30:46,520 --> 00:30:52,000
whatever context of the meeting.
And our strategy was this.

511
00:30:52,040 --> 00:30:54,880
They were like, she was like,
you're gonna ask the first five

512
00:30:54,880 --> 00:30:57,400
of those questions and then I'll
ask all the rest just to make it

513
00:30:57,400 --> 00:30:58,920
seem like you're doing it first
and whatever.

514
00:30:59,280 --> 00:31:03,280
And it was just funny because
nothing really changed, but just

515
00:31:03,680 --> 00:31:06,920
appearance of, OK, I'm asking
the first few questions.

516
00:31:06,920 --> 00:31:09,480
Oh, great, Kyra's vocal, she's
getting in front of people,

517
00:31:09,480 --> 00:31:12,200
she's super engaged.
And then like, even if I didn't

518
00:31:12,200 --> 00:31:15,600
say anything for the rest of the
meeting, it helped so much.

519
00:31:15,600 --> 00:31:17,360
People like, oh, you've
transformed.

520
00:31:17,360 --> 00:31:19,920
You're so my goodness, pretty
better now.

521
00:31:20,840 --> 00:31:23,640
And it was an interesting
learning experience for me of,

522
00:31:25,280 --> 00:31:30,200
of just like how to fit it into
corporate culture as well as my

523
00:31:30,200 --> 00:31:34,680
family are African immigrants.
My parents came from Cameroon,

524
00:31:34,880 --> 00:31:37,800
they moved to the US and they're
both professors.

525
00:31:38,040 --> 00:31:42,120
So I didn't know anybody that.
Ever worked in a corporate?

526
00:31:42,120 --> 00:31:44,920
Environment.
I had no idea how it worked,

527
00:31:45,240 --> 00:31:50,640
didn't know all of the
bureaucracy and the the things

528
00:31:50,640 --> 00:31:56,000
you need to do to really like be
engaged and sort of climb that

529
00:31:56,000 --> 00:31:59,400
corporate ladder.
And so definitely was at a

530
00:31:59,400 --> 00:32:01,880
disadvantage.
And I've had to do so much

531
00:32:01,880 --> 00:32:05,640
learning and so much catching up
through my experiences.

532
00:32:05,640 --> 00:32:10,280
And This is why I love AI.
It's like I can ask all my dumb

533
00:32:10,280 --> 00:32:12,240
questions, like what is this
acronym mean?

534
00:32:12,240 --> 00:32:15,720
And like, you know, engage with
this person a little bit better.

535
00:32:15,720 --> 00:32:19,520
And it's that coach that's
that's really supporting me to

536
00:32:19,520 --> 00:32:22,760
navigate these areas that are
so, you know, generally

537
00:32:22,800 --> 00:32:26,280
relatively new.
Yeah, no, that's great.

538
00:32:26,280 --> 00:32:29,440
I mean, I think to your point
on, on being able to flex, it's,

539
00:32:29,760 --> 00:32:32,840
it's really hard sometimes in
those situations, but it's great

540
00:32:32,840 --> 00:32:35,880
that you were so, you know, self
aware and, and could see that

541
00:32:35,880 --> 00:32:38,240
that's, you know, you had that
skill.

542
00:32:38,240 --> 00:32:41,000
You just had to lean into that
skill set or, or figure out and,

543
00:32:41,000 --> 00:32:43,120
and work with your your
counterpart to figure that out.

544
00:32:43,200 --> 00:32:47,200
Yeah, well, it's been so
incredible talking to you.

545
00:32:47,200 --> 00:32:51,680
I have loved to hear that thread
of passion that you mentioned at

546
00:32:51,680 --> 00:32:55,200
the beginning and how you know
your creativity and the

547
00:32:55,200 --> 00:32:59,400
experimentation that you had
when you were first in Dubai.

548
00:32:59,400 --> 00:33:02,080
Now it seems like you're doing
the same thing with AI and

549
00:33:02,080 --> 00:33:05,400
trying to help and teach people
to do that and everything along

550
00:33:05,400 --> 00:33:07,320
the way.
What's what's next for you?

551
00:33:07,320 --> 00:33:10,880
Is there another Broadway show
on the horizon?

552
00:33:11,360 --> 00:33:14,480
Tell me kind of what where you
where you're headed in the

553
00:33:14,480 --> 00:33:15,840
future here.
Yeah.

554
00:33:16,000 --> 00:33:18,360
Still looking for my next
opportunity.

555
00:33:18,400 --> 00:33:23,240
I would love to produce a
musical because that is my first

556
00:33:23,240 --> 00:33:26,920
love.
Plays are fantastic, but still

557
00:33:26,920 --> 00:33:31,440
looking for the right one
because you know a lot of shows

558
00:33:32,000 --> 00:33:34,240
fail before they are able to
recoup.

559
00:33:34,240 --> 00:33:36,480
So trying to be really strategic
about that.

560
00:33:36,720 --> 00:33:40,320
And then also trying to increase
my investor pool as well because

561
00:33:40,320 --> 00:33:43,200
the more investors I have, the
more opportunities I will be

562
00:33:43,200 --> 00:33:46,480
able to have to invest to
produce more shows.

563
00:33:46,480 --> 00:33:49,720
So very actively looking for my
next opportunity for next

564
00:33:49,720 --> 00:33:56,400
season.
And then on the AI side, what am

565
00:33:56,400 --> 00:34:01,320
I doing next?
I am trying to push myself to to

566
00:34:01,320 --> 00:34:05,680
start really building with AI
and like create crowds and like

567
00:34:05,680 --> 00:34:09,080
do these weekend side projects
and stuff because I use a lot of

568
00:34:09,080 --> 00:34:12,239
LLMS to generate text and stuff
like that.

569
00:34:12,239 --> 00:34:15,679
But yeah, next step is I want to
build an app of some sort.

570
00:34:15,880 --> 00:34:16,400
Super.
Yeah, you.

571
00:34:17,080 --> 00:34:18,480
Know people do.
This in a weekend.

572
00:34:19,199 --> 00:34:20,600
Yeah, yeah.
And there you go.

573
00:34:20,639 --> 00:34:23,520
More more experimentation and
we'll see see how that goes.

574
00:34:24,080 --> 00:34:27,800
Will any other like piece of
piece of advice or things that

575
00:34:27,800 --> 00:34:32,679
you'd want to share to like she
is bossy community Yeah, let me.

576
00:34:34,639 --> 00:34:36,360
Take a moment to think about
that.

577
00:34:38,239 --> 00:34:44,800
I think that a lot of people
reach out to me about like, how

578
00:34:44,800 --> 00:34:48,320
did you pivot from, you know,
education and theater into

579
00:34:48,320 --> 00:34:54,199
government into food, into AI?
And I think that, you know, it

580
00:34:54,320 --> 00:34:58,240
might be a simplification, but I
do really think that investing

581
00:34:58,240 --> 00:35:03,440
in yourself and really investing
in your passions and making sort

582
00:35:03,440 --> 00:35:07,520
of micro pivots can be really
helpful to get you from 1

583
00:35:07,520 --> 00:35:10,400
industry, from one function to
another.

584
00:35:10,640 --> 00:35:13,480
And I would say just like, keep
going for it until you find that

585
00:35:13,480 --> 00:35:16,160
person who's willing to take a
chance on you, who's like, you

586
00:35:16,160 --> 00:35:19,040
don't have a background that
seems like it's relevant.

587
00:35:19,040 --> 00:35:22,040
But if you know how to present
yourself and really how to

588
00:35:22,040 --> 00:35:26,560
connect the dots from here's
what I have that is an

589
00:35:26,560 --> 00:35:30,080
equivalent skill or a
transferable skill, you can make

590
00:35:30,080 --> 00:35:32,640
the right case, the right person
to get where it is you want to

591
00:35:32,640 --> 00:35:35,160
be that you know your passion
has LED you to.

592
00:35:35,160 --> 00:35:38,600
So I'm constantly telling people
like, don't give up, be

593
00:35:38,600 --> 00:35:42,360
strategic, network as much as
you can, have as many

594
00:35:42,360 --> 00:35:45,560
conversations as you can and you
know, really get to where you

595
00:35:45,560 --> 00:35:48,760
want to be.
Perfect I love that advice never

596
00:35:48,760 --> 00:35:52,600
give up keep going the world's
your oyster absolutely all right

597
00:35:52,600 --> 00:35:54,760
thanks Kyra.
It was so great to talk to you.

598
00:35:54,880 --> 00:35:58,120
Hope you pick up some great news
and whatever next projects

599
00:35:58,120 --> 00:35:59,840
coming next.
I'm I'm cheering for you and

600
00:35:59,840 --> 00:36:01,960
excited to see where where life
takes you.

601
00:36:02,320 --> 00:36:03,680
Thanks so.
Much It was such a pleasure

602
00:36:03,680 --> 00:36:06,800
chatting.
Thank you so much for listening

603
00:36:06,800 --> 00:36:09,960
to this episode of She Is Bossy.
I hope you're feeling as

604
00:36:09,960 --> 00:36:13,360
energized and inspired as I am
after hearing Kyra's story.

605
00:36:13,720 --> 00:36:16,560
Whether it was her tips on using
AI to strengthen your

606
00:36:16,560 --> 00:36:20,120
leadership, her honest take on
navigating corporate culture as

607
00:36:20,120 --> 00:36:23,320
a woman of color, or her behind
the scenes look at producing

608
00:36:23,320 --> 00:36:26,160
Broadway shows, there is
something in this conversation

609
00:36:26,160 --> 00:36:29,160
for everyone.
If you love this episode, don't

610
00:36:29,160 --> 00:36:32,800
forget to hit follow on Spotify
or Apple Podcast so you never

611
00:36:32,800 --> 00:36:35,160
miss an update.
And if you want more leadership

612
00:36:35,160 --> 00:36:38,720
tips, behind the scenes content,
and future guest updates, head

613
00:36:38,720 --> 00:36:44,520
over to www.sheisbossy.com and
follow on Instagram at at She

614
00:36:44,520 --> 00:36:45,880
dot.
Is dot bossy?

615
00:36:46,360 --> 00:36:49,920
Until next time, keep leading,
keep experimenting, and most

616
00:36:49,920 --> 00:36:51,640
importantly, stay bossy.