Callie Rigsbee

I think it goes back to the career advice of not saying no to things just because you think that that product or that project won't get you where you want to go. Taking every opportunity that comes your way and really seeing it through to the ends - that's what I attribute my success to. It's about not counting yourself out before they do. The universe is gonna provide you opportunities, and if the universe is providing you that opportunity, you should take it, whether or not you feel like you're ready for it or feel like you deserve it. You're not applying to the job before they can even reject you, so it's really just about taking every opportunity that comes your way.

The best career advice I've ever received is probably to never count yourself out before they do. The universe is gonna provide you opportunities, and it's not really - if the universe is providing you that opportunity, you should take it, whether or not you feel like you're ready for it or feel like you deserve it. Because then you're saying no to yourself before they can even reject you - you're not applying to the job before they can even reject you. So it's really just about taking every opportunity that comes your way. Also, how important it is to network and build those strong relationships with your coworkers is really important. Getting to work alongside people who are knowledgeable and talented in the same industry is super valuable, not only for the work that you do, but also for my own growth, getting to learn from these people that I work alongside.

You have as much authority as you believe that you have, especially in a big corporation. It's hard to enter that space as a young woman and feel like you're heard. You have to really - I don't want to say put on a front, or fake it till you make it, but you do need to believe in yourself. It's more about believing in yourself and believing that you do have valuable knowledge and experience. Just be okay with taking up space and being involved in conversations, even if you're not commanding the room or making decisions. It's important to not be afraid to engage. I think it's really intimidating, especially for young women entering the field, but don't let that hold you back.

Tech is changing, and I would say that leveraging AI agents and using generative AI in your workflow has really changed the game. That's kind of where pretty much every industry is turning towards in tech, so there's always an opportunity to try to ride that wave and stay on trend and try to integrate that into your workflows. It's a matter of staying up to date on what's happening in the news cycles and market trends. All tech is kind of intertwined - for software as a service businesses, they're all so interconnected in how the end users are consuming this product of software that it's pretty easy to track those industry trends. Things turn around really fast, so as soon as something starts to catch fire a little bit, everyone's talking about it. It's really a matter of staying connected with your industry, networking, and having those conversations with people who have been around in the industry for a long time and learning from their experiences.

I think my number one value is integrity and collaboration. Getting to work alongside people who are knowledgeable and talented in the same industry is super valuable, not only for the work that you do, but also for my own growth - getting to learn from these people that I work alongside. I think integrity is really important in the product space because you need to be an advocate for the end user. Sometimes it's about balancing business decisions versus the user experience, and doing the right thing and doing right by your end user, I think, is really important. You can't compromise on that.