It's Friday, and that means it's Peak Q&A time.
Every Friday we feature someone in the Canadian tech, finance, or startup space doing something cool and pick their brain to get practical and actionable tips and advice for the rest of us.
This week we are featuring Stefany Nieto, Executive Director of Green Iglu, a company tackling food insecurity in Canada by building dome greenhouses.
Tell us a bit about yourself and what you do.
Stefany Nieto: I started my company, Green Iglu, at Ryerson when I was 19. For a long time, I felt I was ‘too young’ to be a founder and so I took it upon myself to get the best of both worlds and worked anywhere between 2-4 jobs simultaneously. I dipped my toes in diverse sectors ranging from government, a Fortune 500 company, accelerators, consulting, teaching, and charitable endeavours. All to say, I learned that I love variety in my day-to-day. These experiences gave me the opportunity to build a well-rounded professional background which landed me where I am today: the Executive Director for Green Iglu (www.greeniglu.com), my food-security start-up, and an operations enthusiast.
What's one book that has taught you a lesson that you apply to your daily business life? What's that lesson?
SN: The Jaunt by Stephen King reminds me that adventure, while exciting, can also be dangerous. It’s a reminder that balance is key and something I strive for, daily.
I feel like this question could also be "What song..." because Vienna by Billy Joel has been my saving grace when heavily stressed as a reminder to breathe and balance.
What evening and/or morning routines do you have that set you up for success?
SN: An early bedtime! Friends may judge me occasionally but I try to get 8-10 hours of sleep per night.
What are you involved in outside of your company? As in mentoring, boards, volunteering or other activities? How do you recommend others engage in activities outside of work and how do you give and get the most out of them?
SN: Teaching/mentoring: I’m a lead instructor for the Women’s Entrepreneurship Hub where I work with low-income women and newcomers to Canada to start-up their business ideas.
Consulting: I occasionally consult on go-to-market strategies with start-ups.
Entrepreneurship programming: I recently finished up the WOSEN program through CSI, great mentorship and learning opportunities.
Gwella: I’ve recently joined the founding team of a mushroom start-up!
As for how to get involved, I recommend asking yourself what you want to learn more about. I typically ask myself that question, make a list, and then see who I know that has some type of connection to the topics listed. Next, I contact people and learn about what they do and their journeys. After that, I analyze what gaps I see in these topics, choose what I’d like to jump into, jot down my value add, and pitch myself. That's how I joined Gwella, Corey and Peter heard me out and now we’ll be working on making a meaningful impact in the mushroom industry!
What advice do you have for students or young professionals who are trying to position themselves in a competitive job market. What can they do to make themselves stand out?
SN: Initiative is the single most important attribute you can bring to the table. See a job posting? Learn about the role, team, and company, find gaps and figure out what you can do to fill them. Also, don’t be afraid to go the extra mile (within reason). Several years ago, I found a ‘perfect’ job but I had just missed the application deadline by a singular day. So I did what any other inventive human would do and figured out who the hiring manager was (+what they looked like) and camped out in the lobby of their office until I could personally hand-in my resume. I got the interview.
What's one app or another piece of technology that improves your productivity and you couldn't live without?
SN: Workflowy. If I lost access to my account, I’m pretty sure my brain would explode. It’s a list-making app that is super simple to use and hitting complete is usually a highlight in my day. Remember, I’m an operations enthusiast.