Portfolio careers, human Venn diagrams, diversifying interests ft. Christina Wallace (Harvard Univ)

Innovation is what most of us immediately point to when it comes to product success—but how often have we innovated our own thinking? Have we ever discovered what it means to be at the intersection of interests, ideas, and impact? So many creative entrepreneurial endeavors are based on a portfolio—of skills, careers, and people. And getting into the heart of that is really important.

I'm super happy that I got a chance to pull in Christina Wallace's experiences in this space. Christina dons so many hats—founder, podcaster, professor, and author. She’s currently the Senior Lecturer of Entrepreneurial Management at Harvard Business School, where she co-leads HBS Startup Bootcamp, and is an active angel investor and startup advisor. She’s also authored the book “The Portfolio Life” that’s gonna be live very soon.

As a 'Human Venn Diagram' that she proudly is, Christina and I chat all about how it's okay to not singularly focus on one identity, but bring together a diversified approach to entrepreneurship. Being a multi-hyphenate is so much fun, she quotes, for building a portfolio career and life.

Christina and Aishwarya chat about being a Human Venn diagram, why is it important to 'start' with an idea and connect dots, how to let yourself be naturally curious, how to be a multi-hyphenate, embracing diversification of interests, the left-brain & right-brain fallacy (why it's wrong), the role of self-reflection in identities, the concept of 'portfolio' and how it relates to careers, shedding the 'guilt' and looking at possibilities, what companies should do to accommodate employee's portfolio, and monetizing your passion and looking forward.