Her Story
About Leila
I started my career in entertainment marketing before being approached by Google for a coding position. At the time, I didn't know how to code, but I believed I could learn, so I scheduled my interview a month out and taught myself coding through YouTube Academy. After going through 7 interviews, I got the job. At Google, I worked as a coder and then moved into marketing, where I found my true passion. I was later recruited to a startup e-commerce company where I became VP of Marketing within just 6 months. In this role, I led the go-to-market strategy for Ecom AI's Shopify app and drove over 300 installs within the first 90 days. I also owned a 20-plus event marketing calendar, leading sponsorships for major industry events including NRF, Shop Talk, Cane's, and E-Tail. I'm passionate about supporting women in tech and have spoken at numerous women's events and sponsored women's dinners that bring together female leaders from different startup businesses to support each other. Before my tech career, I earned my master's in journalism and worked as a news producer in Maine. Looking ahead, my goal is to open my own agency within the next 5 years, and I'd love to write a book and do speaking engagements like TED Talks to help motivate others.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Leila
01What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I think don't underestimate yourself. Even if you feel out of place, you're not, and when you're dying to get a seat at the head of the table, you have to remember that when you're finally sitting there, nobody else knows exactly what they're doing either. You have to, in some sort of way, fake it till you make it, especially being a woman. It's so funny because we do have bigger balls than men, yet they don't realize that. They have such big egos that sometimes you have to find a way to work and navigate. I'd want to advise women to know that even if you're having imposter syndrome or feeling like you shouldn't be there, don't let that get in the way of your success, because there's many, many men in this world that have never thought that once, and that should be thinking that 10 times a day. If you want to do something, and if you want to learn something, you will. You're gonna get what you want and get where you want to be if that's your goal and if you're working hard enough. It's just when insecurity creeps in, because of course it does, and when you feel like you're the only woman there, then of course it will, but it's like, okay, well, then just be the queen.
02What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Spending time with those you love has become incredibly important to me. My family has been through a lot the last two years - my mom passed away, two of my grandpas passed away, my cousin who's my age passed away in a tragic incident, my boyfriend's dad passed away, and now my grandmother has stage four pancreatic cancer and my dad was diagnosed with cancer as well. Through all of that, just spending time with those that you can has become even more of a hobby, because you just really have to value everyone you have. That's even more of the reason to say yes to everything and be a yes woman. I love spending time with my sister who just had a baby, so I'm obsessed with my nephew, and with my amazing boyfriend. I also value being fearless and taking risks - whether that was moving to Maine for my journalism career, or teaching myself to code to get the Google job, or speaking up even when it's scary, because at the end of the day, that could lead into something bigger.
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