Drift

"Ask. Keep going. Don't stop. Be your mama, be your grandmother. Elegant, but still be that, and you will get through." Martha Montoya, CEO of Agtools - a dashboard platform for agribusiness operators - follows this mindset every day, as she aims to transform the agriculture industry and create more food security for all. In this episode of The American Dream, Martha breaks down what the agriculture industry looks like both in the United States and globally. She and Elias discuss how technology can help lessen food waste and why it's so important to cook with intention. Be sure to hit the subscribe button to get new episodes when they drop every other Tuesday. In the meantime, be sure to leave a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ review and share the pod with your friends. You can connect with Elias on Twitter at @eliast and @DriftPodcasts and Martha on LinkedIn.

Martha Montoya

CEO, Agtools

CEO of Agtools, Martha Montoya, explains how a mix of technology and cooking with intention will help solve the global food security problem.


Cook with Intention, and Both the Planet & Your Body Will Thank You (With Agtool's Martha Montoya)

Cook with Intention, and Both the Planet & Your Body Will Thank You

"Ask. Keep going. Don't stop. Be your mama, be your grandmother. Elegant, but still be that, and you will get through." Martha Montoya, CEO of Agtools - a dashboard platform for agribusiness operators - follows this mindset every day, as she aims to transform the agriculture industry and create more food security for all.


“Practice and preparation breeds perfection over time” That's the motto Isabel Gomez Vidal, Chief Revenue Officer of Fortune 500 company Moody’s Analytics, used to motivate her own career growth, and it's the motto she continues to use to help others grow their own careers. Aside from her day job as CRO, Isabel sits on the advisory board of The Posse Foundation, where she helps to create more leadership opportunities for underrepresented high school students. In this American Dream episode, Isabel shares her professional career journey from intern to CRO and gives advice on how others can do the same. Be sure to hit the subscribe button to get new episodes when they drop every other Tuesday. In the meantime, be sure to leave a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ review and share the pod with your friends. You can connect with Elias on Twitter at @eliast and Isabel on LinkedIn.

Isabel Gomez Vidal

Chief Revenue Officer, Moody's Analytics

Isabel Gomez Vidal (CRO, Moody’s Analytics) and Elias Torres discuss why keeping a positive and motivated mindset is the key to advancing in your career.


Here are the Stepping Stones to Successful Career Progression (with Isabel Gomez Vidal, Chief Revenue Officer of Moody’s Analytics)

Here are the Stepping Stones to Successful Career Progression 

“Practice and preparation breeds perfection over time”
That's the motto Isabel Gomez Vidal, Chief Revenue Officer of Fortune 500 company Moody’s Analytics, used to motivate her own career growth, and it's the motto she continues to use to help others grow their own careers. 
Aside from her day job as CRO, Isabel sits on the advisory board of The Posse Foundation, where she helps to create more leadership opportunities for underrepresented high school students. 
In this American Dream episode, Isabel shares her professional career journey from intern to CRO and gives advice on how others can do the same.


"Fair, balanced, and kind." Those are the three adjectives people most commonly use to describe Zamawa Arenas, Founder &amp; CEO of Flowetik. They're also the adjectives that help Zamawa communicate effectively in the board room. In this episode of The American Dream, Zamawa explains why she chose to stay in the United States only if she could drive change. She explains how the entrepreneurial journey chose her instead of her choosing it, and the work she does outside of her 9-5 to create more social equity in the United States. Be sure to hit the subscribe button to get new episodes when they drop every other Tuesday. In the meantime, be sure to leave a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ review and share the pod with your friends. You can connect with Elias and Zamawa on Twitter at @eliast and @ZamawaArenas.

Zamawa Arenas

Founder & CEO, Flowetik

Zamawa Arenas explains how a two-year academic stint in the United States turned into a lifelong residency of entrepreneurship to drive social impact.  


Give Each Other Grace, and Work to Make the Process Unfold (Zamawa Arenas, Flowetik)

Give Each Other Grace, and Work to Make the Process Unfold

"Fair, balanced, and kind." Those are the three adjectives people most commonly use to describe Zamawa Arenas, Founder & CEO of Flowetik. They're also the adjectives that help Zamawa communicate effectively in the board room. In this episode of The American Dream, Zamawa explains why she chose to stay in the United States only if she could drive change. She explains how the entrepreneurial journey chose her instead of her choosing it, and the work she does outside of her 9-5 to create more social equity in the United States.


“If you have an idea, you see the friction point in the world, and if you have the time and drive, you can change it.”&nbsp; This motivation drives Sami Shalabi in his work at Outcomes4Me - an AI-driven patient empowerment platform that helps cancer patients take a proactive&nbsp;approach to their care, gaining access to personalized, evidence-based treatment options and information. Sami, an immigrant from Jordan, came to America and attended MIT to pursue a career in computer programming. After college, his deep-rooted entrepreneurial spirit took over, and he ventured out to start his own company. In this episode of American Dream, Sami and Elias discuss their time together at IBM, share the key characteristics that define entrepreneurs, and Sami shares his big goals for Outcomes4Me. Be sure to hit the subscribe button to get new episodes when they drop every other Tuesday. In the meantime, be sure to leave a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ review and share the pod with your friends. You can connect with Elias on Twitter at @eliast and @DriftPodcasts and Sami on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/sshalabi" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">LinkedIn.</a>&nbsp;

Sami Shalabi 

COO at Outcomes4Me

COO and Co-Founder of Outcomes4Me, Sami Shalabi, explains why he chose a career path of entrepreneurship and how he’s using his passion to drive change.


How A Passion for Technology is Bringing an Impact to Healthcare (With Sami Shalabi, Outcomes4Me)

How A Passion for Technology is Bringing an Impact to Healthcare 

“If you have an idea, you see the friction point in the world, and if you have the time and drive, you can change it.” This motivation drives Sami Shalabi in his work at Outcomes4Me - an AI-driven patient empowerment platform that helps cancer patients take a proactive approach to their care, gaining access to personalized, evidence-based treatment options and information. Sami, an immigrant from Jordan, came to America and attended MIT to pursue a career in computer programming. After college, his deep-rooted entrepreneurial spirit took over, and he ventured out to start his own company. In this episode of American Dream, Sami and Elias discuss their time together at IBM, share the key characteristics that define entrepreneurs, and Sami shares his big goals for Outcomes4Me.


“Just by the virtue of surrounding yourself with success, you become success. Just by the virtue of osmosis.” That's the logic Edrizio De La Cruz has lived with since he forced himself into the Wall Street world some 17 years ago. After trying out a few different jobs to support his family, Edrizio made a pivot into the foreign world of finance. Thanks to communities like SEO and UBS, Edrizio made a name for himself, but not before being ridiculed for his accent, people assuming he was the wait staff in country clubs, and getting his confidence knocked multiple times. In this episode of the American Dream podcast, Edrizio shares why he didn't let any of those obstacles stop him from achieving his own version of the American Dream and why now, he's so determined to help others achieve their own, too. Be sure to hit the subscribe button to get new episodes when they drop every other Tuesday.&nbsp;In the meantime, be sure to leave a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ review and share the pod with your friends. You can connect with Elias and Edrizio on Twitter at @eliast, @EdrizioCruz, and @DriftPodcasts.

Edrizio De La Cruz

Visiting Group Partner, Y Combinator

Former investment bank analyst, founder, and MBA graduate, Edrizio De La Cruz, shares his experience living as a colored person within white men's spaces.


What It's Really Like to Be a Colored Person in a White Man's Space (With Y Combinator's Edrizio De La Cruz)

What It's Really Like to Be a Colored Person in a White Man's Space

“Just by the virtue of surrounding yourself with success, you become success. Just by the virtue of osmosis.”
That's the logic Edrizio De La Cruz has lived with since he forced himself into the Wall Street world some 17 years ago.
After trying out a few different jobs to support his family, Edrizio made a pivot into the foreign world of finance. Thanks to communities like SEO and UBS, Edrizio made a name for himself, but not before being ridiculed for his accent, people assuming he was the wait staff in country clubs, and getting his confidence knocked multiple times.
In this episode of the American Dream podcast, Edrizio shares why he didn't let any of those obstacles stop him from achieving his own version of the American Dream and why now, he's so determined to help others achieve their own, too. 


“Have resilience, keep doing it, keep trying, no te rindas, and don’t give up” That's the motto Beatris Gandica, Senior Program Manager at Microsoft, takes with her students at Nuevo Foundation - an organization founded to help get more underrepresented individuals introduced to tech earlier. With activities like coding workshops, virtual sessions, and speaker series, Beatris and the Nuevo Foundation show children that careers in tech can take many forms and are more accessible than they may think. In this episode of the American Dream, Beatris shares how she herself got interested in the field of technology, why her experience led her to found the Nuevo Foundation, and why the foundation believes so strongly in hands-on learning. Be sure to hit the subscribe button to get new episodes when they drop every other Tuesday.&nbsp;In the meantime, be sure to leave a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ review and share the pod with your friends. You can connect with Elias and Beatris on Twitter at @eliast, @beagandica, and @DriftPodcasts.

Beatris Gandica 

Senior Program Manager at Microsoft 

Beatris Gandica, Senior Program Manager at Microsoft, explains why she believes people should get introduced to tech careers as early as possible.


How Do We Give Everyone a Chance to Find a Career in Tech? (With Microsoft's Beatris Gandica)

How Do We Give Everyone a Chance to Find a Career in Tech?

“Have resilience, keep doing it, keep trying, no te rindas, and don’t give up”

That's the motto Beatris Gandica, Senior Program Manager at Microsoft, takes with her students at Nuevo Foundation - an organization founded to help get more underrepresented individuals introduced to tech earlier. With activities like coding workshops, virtual sessions, and speaker series, Beatris and the Nuevo Foundation show children that careers in tech can take many forms and are more accessible than they may think.


“You need individuals on the other side who are open to telling their story to have little Ashley who didn't expect to be in the venture capital space to be like, “Wow, I want to be this Latina one day, to become a successful investor and who does a lot for the community.”&nbsp; Ashley Aydin didn’t know the world of venture capital existed until she attended Brown University as a first-generation college student. Then, after entering the workforce, she realized why: People who looked like her and her family were often overlooked within the VC/startup space. Now, Ashley’s on a mission to bring more diversity to the world of venture capital and entrepreneurship through her work at VamosVentures.&nbsp; In this American Dream episode, Ashley, who is now an investor at VamosVentures – a venture capital fund that invests in diverse groups and founders – explains why she believes so strongly in the VamosVentures’ mission to foster a more diverse community that leads to bigger social impact through wealth creation, social mobility, and unique tech solutions. Be sure to hit the subscribe button to get new episodes when they drop every other Tuesday. In the meantime, be sure to leave a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ review and share the pod with your friends. You can connect with Elias and Ashley on Twitter at @eliast, @ashaydin, and @DriftPodcasts.

Ashley Aydin

Principal at VamosVenture

Ashley Aydin (investor, VamosVentures) explains why she’s committed to building a pipeline of founders from different cultural backgrounds and experiences.


How to Champion Diversity in Venture Capital Firms (With Ashley Aydin, VamosVentures)

How to Champion Diversity in Venture Capital Firms

Ashley Aydin didn’t know the world of venture capital existed until she attended Brown University as a first-generation college student. Then, after entering the workforce, she realized why: People who looked like her and her family were often overlooked within the VC/startup space. Now, Ashley’s on a mission to bring more diversity to the world of venture capital and entrepreneurship through her work at VamosVentures.


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Did you know that only 1% of startups that have achieved unicorn status are led by Latin American founders? Drift's co-founder and CTO, Elias Torres, is on a mission to change that. Every other Tuesday, he has honest, inspiring, and authentic conversations with underrepresented leaders in tech. Hear from people who have achieved their own version of the American Dream, as well as those who are creating a more equitable future for the next generation.

Cook with Intention, and Both the Planet & Your Body Will Thank You (With Agtool's Martha Montoya)

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Today's Host

Elias Torres

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Martha Montoya

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