Good Work is a curated exploration of the inner journey of outward success. Through deeply researched, long-form conversations with founders, authors, artists, and adventurers, host Barrett Brooks goes beyond surface-level stories to uncover the psychology of meaningful work. Each episode gives you rare access to the courage, identity shifts, and lessons that shape remarkable lives—insights you can use to navigate your own path with greater clarity and purpose.
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Good Work is a curated exploration of the inner journey of outward success. Through deeply researched, long-form conversations with founders, authors, artists, and adventurers, host Barrett Brooks goes beyond surface-level stories to uncover the psychology of meaningful work. Each episode gives you rare access to the courage, identity shifts, and lessons that shape remarkable lives—insights you can use to navigate your own path with greater clarity and purpose.
The Hardest Decision of My Career: Inside Kieran Snyder’s CEO Journey
Good Work with Barrett Brooks
1 hour 47 minutes
9 months ago
The Hardest Decision of My Career: Inside Kieran Snyder’s CEO Journey
This week, I talk with Kieran Snyder, the co-founder and former CEO of Textio, a groundbreaking company at the forefront of the AI revolution. Kieran’s journey is one of resilience, leadership, and innovation. We discuss how she transitioned from academia to leading a tech startup, raising more than $40 million in funding, and building equitable, high-performing teams along the way. Kieran opens up about the tough decision to step down as CEO after experiencing burnout and shares her path to recovery and rediscovery. We dive into her passion for building up young female leaders, from coaching girls’ basketball to supporting women in tech, and her talent for transforming surprising data into compelling stories through her newsletter, Nerd Processor. Whether you’re a leader, entrepreneur, or just curious about AI’s impact on the workplace, I hope this conversation will inspire and offer some practical insights as well. Let’s get to it!
In this episode:
(00:00) - Intro
(02:55) - Kieran's 8th grade science project
(05:07) - How parental influence shaped Kieran's career path
(08:29) - Academic journey in linguistics
(17:19) - Kieran's transition to tech
(23:47) - Founding Textio
(30:11) - Building a company with your spouse
(36:18) - Navigating product market fit
(46:46) - Burnout and stepping down as CEO
(56:35) - Leadership and knowing when to walk away
(01:01:23) - Detaching identity from career outcomes
(01:05:33) - How Kieran evaluates her performance as a CEO
(01:08:39) - The value of a board of advisors
(01:11:45) - Kieran's advice for someone recruiting a mentor, advisor or board member
(01:15:25) - Starting Nerd Processor and embracing creativity
(01:19:14) - How Kieran chooses what to write about
(01:23:20) - How to create substantial and insightful content
(01:30:11) - What Kieran has learned about hiring execs
(01:35:13) - Coaching youth basketball and personal fulfillment
(01:41:03) - Kieran's beautiful future
(01:42:59) - Who Kieran is becoming
Get full show notes and links at https://GoodWorkShow.com.
Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@barrettabrooks.
Good Work with Barrett Brooks
Good Work is a curated exploration of the inner journey of outward success. Through deeply researched, long-form conversations with founders, authors, artists, and adventurers, host Barrett Brooks goes beyond surface-level stories to uncover the psychology of meaningful work. Each episode gives you rare access to the courage, identity shifts, and lessons that shape remarkable lives—insights you can use to navigate your own path with greater clarity and purpose.
