What is it like to be Southern in Silicon Valley?

Happy to be a Southern girl rocking the tech scene in San Francisco

Silicon Valley is a magical place. A place that resides in the future; in the heads of brilliant ideators forced to execute products for revenue in the present. The culture and aura of the land between mountains and beside the Bay seems to lure ambitious people with the smarts to back up their dreams.

To a child growing up in the South, in a small Georgia town of 30,000 people; and child of a single mother who worked nights, I had no clue a place such as this existed…except from watching Full House.

Growing up we didn’t have much, but I knew I was smart. I inherited skills to figure out puzzles, even at a young age, with the capability to envision solutions and be what my mother called ‘mechanical.’ No one in our family at that time had ever graduated college or became anything like an ‘engineer.’

Being from a humble beginning with family where no one had a formal four-year education at the time, I didn’t have much in the way of direction once I attained my scholarship and headed toward The University of Georgia in Athens, Ga. However, the experience opened my eyes to the experience of being in a place where the intellectual capital is high, and ambition levels, ideas were surrounding me and I loved that environment.

My interest in the business side of technology developed after college when I was provided the opportunity to work in the field of technology recruiting and human capital consulting. I took the job thinking I would give it a year, but I was hooked. Learning about new technologies that IT organizations were looking to implement to run the overall business more efficiently was exciting. Those who are interested to learn topics that excite them, they can try using the best online learning platforms.

As I talked to more and more consulting candidates, I realized that although technologies were being implemented in companies all over the globe, much of the thought leadership behind NEW technologies was originating out of Silicon Valley. I wanted to be there.

The steps that followed took a ton of hard work, risk, and faith. But what did I have to lose? I could land back in my hometown where I started if all failed.

Step 1- I quit my job.

I decided to go back to the town and University that I so loved and get my MBA at  UGA’s Terry College of Business. In preparation, I took calculus to get my brain back in gear for math related classes. I started editing resumes on the side for income. I spent the next two years working (again) my butt off since many of the math related classes did not come easily for me.

I studied and many of my Atlanta-based friends will tell you it was a blue moon when they saw me. Friendships were lost when I couldn’t attend weddings, etc. There were plenty of sacrifices but my focus came first- when you’re paying for it yourself, and lose out on the salary you would be making, and in student loan debt via the navy federal consolidation loan I got – you realize quickly that you can’t please everyone and have to prioritize. However it is important to have strategies that will help you stick with your debt management plan, check out a helpful place similar to debtconsolidation.com debt management for more info!

During my MBA, due to the network I had built out prior to MBA, I was presented with an opportunity to work for IBM. I knew this would provide me with an excellent opportunity to become familiar with a wide range of technologies leveraged in multiple areas of a business. I chose to spend the summer between my first and second years of my MBA sleeping on a blowup bed in my friend’s basement and fighting Atlanta’s top end perimeter traffic every day.

It paid off in the form of wonderful business relationships gained that provided me with an offer from IBM to move me to the Bay Area in order to work on a highly visible merger.

The magic started there. I have been very fortunate to call San Francisco my home for three years. I work with Gartner now in a global role where I help Silicon Valley C-Levels make decisions with the power of the top technology-related analysts in the world. I study their business and help them select the right technologies to implement, which markets to go after, help them get inside the mind of their buyers. It’s an amazing opportunity and I can verify that this place is truly magical and its sharpest leaders do live in the future.

As for my Southern roots, I carry them with me every day.

You’ll find me on the direct SFO>ATL frequently, as Georgia is home. Athens is now where my mother and my stepfather live. I choose to return and share what I know with UGA students who are pursuing careers in technology.

I fly my mother out often to show her the wonder and mystique of Northern California and repay her a bit for her hard work and support on the journey.

 

When she visits, my Southern accent seems to come out to match hers, and people we meet always ask, “Where are you from?” They never ask, “Where are y’all from?”

The looks on their faces show the mystique they feel for such a charming area of the Southern world we both call forever home.

Stefanie Diaz rocks her show Mastermind Your Launch on Business Radio X.

 Stefanie Diaz and yours truly @Pretty_Southern

Talk about a #GirlBoss! Stef is rocking the tech scene in North Fulton – a.k.a. the 400 corridor from Atlanta to Alpharetta. Her consulting firm Mastermind Your Launch is dedicated to helping early-stage entrepreneurs develop strategic marketing programs and communication plans. I was delighted to connect with Stefanie and join her weekly show at Business Radio X!

 Y’all definitely should follow Stef on Twitter @MastermindStef

Click here to replay Mastermind Your Launch

This was one of the first opportunities I’ve had to speak publicly about my career as editor of PrettySouthern.com and the Storyteller at Terminus: Account-Based Marketing. With my 10th anniversary from graduating at UGA (yikes!) coming up in May, it was cool to share my story since graduating from the Grady College of Journalism & Mass Communication, when I was Editor of The Red & Black.

I shared with Stef how I graduated right before the Great Recession in 2007 and worked for Naylor Publications, Jezebel magazine, AutoTrader.com, and RaceTrac convenience stores before making my “pivot” to the startup world. In the summer of 2011, I launched Pretty Southern with my husband, Kevin, who bought this domain, our WordPress theme, and he even designed our first logo.

Around the same time, the content marketing boom started happening thanks to Pardot for putting Atlanta on the map. All these startups started getting funded all of a sudden. And these companies needed help with their digital brand presence, marketing communications, PR, websites, social media, SEO (see page), etc.

I saw job openings for roles like Marketing Communications Manager and Content Manager. Big shout out to Nate Kristy for giving me my first gig in the startup world and training me how to use B2B #MarTech software.

Stef pointed out this was a cool opportunity for me to find a career which leveraged my journalism training in college. I’ve been lucky to work at awesome startups like Preparis, Urjanet, and MemberSuite before coming to my fourth startup, Terminus. I was employee #12 and now we’re at 100 people!

Click here to listen to the replay

“So you call yourself a Storyteller…”

 Chatting at Business Radio X

During our conversation, Stef and I talked about how we both love to help companies tell their story. There’s been a shift in digital marketing to focus on the story of a company, creating thought leadership for the brand. It’s about creating awareness and education in the marketplace. Stef pointed out that there are so many different ways to go about sharing a story in different angles to promote a company and the product/services they offer.

“Story brings an attachment…it can mean a lot of different things.” – Stefanie Diaz

One of her favorite examples was about the proprietor at Vino 100 who can tell the stories about all the different vineyards represented in his wine shop. We both “drink the Kool-Aid” when it comes to Simon Sinek and his “Start with Why” and the Golden Circle. Giving out promotional items like branded bottled water from nevadabottledwater.com also boosts brand exposure.

With Sinek’s philosophy for business or “why” you’re here is to serve your customer, and then you develop your company’s value proposition. It’s all about how you execute the story: are entrepreneurs being courageous and passionate to get their story out there. Wha is cool, too, is using technology to tell your story at scale..like we do here at Pretty Southern.

“It’s easy for anyone of us to tell our story.”

When Stefanie asked me what the future holds, I said I wanted to keep doing the Pretty Southern thing for the foreseeable future. Kevin is rocking at his company, Exomotive, building Mazda Miata-based racecars called Exocets, and we were honored to be named by Hypepotamus as a Startup Power Couple on Valentine’s Day. There are lots of late nights on the couch, with Kevin plugging away too, but it’s so special to have someone to share this startup journey with, to cheer you on, and understand the pressures that come with running a company.

Kevin and I got married on October 10, 2010 (yes that’s 10.10.10) so now we’ve really started thinking about where we want to be on 10.10.2020 and what success would look like.

Stay tuned to see where this Pretty Southern story goes…

Thanks again to Stefanie Diaz of Mastermind Your Launch and Business Radio X for having me on the show!

Towards the end of last year, Michelle Khouri said 2017 will be the Year of the Warrior.

Michelle Khouri looking fabulous and fierce on NYE 2016.

This year we’ll be joining forces with Michelle to support her in launching a nonprofit, Miranda Writes. More on that later. For now…

Here is why 2017 is the Year of the Warrior.

As 2016 came to a close, I thought a lot more about how the coming year would be the Year of the Warrior. Then something pretty cool happened. We were staying at home for New Year’s Eve. It was late afternoon and the skies were graying. A storm was coming.

For most of us in the South, y’all know about the torrential downpour we had for NYE. Before the storm came, I went to let our pup, Marley, out in the backyard. He took off barking! I cried out for Marley to stop, then cried, “Oh!” When I saw what he was barking at.

Across the fence, there was a pair of deer: a buck with multiple points on his antlers and a lovely doe. They bounded off after we scared them away. The deer could be heard trotting through the forest behind our house. A hawk that lives in those trees took off across the sky, a squirrel scampered down a tree to avoid becoming that hawk’s dinner.

This wildlife sighting in the natural setting was a special moment and a pretty Southern way to end 2016. Folks in New York City don’t get to experience those types of moments.

 

I started to embrace the warrior spirit.

The wildelife sighting was a unique and special way to bring an insane year to a close. 2016 was such a roller coaster ride with so many ups-and-downs.

For me, 2016 was one of the best years of my career. Pretty Southern continues to be one of the top-ranking Southern blogs, especially thanks to Words Only Southerners Say. Through work, I had the opportunity to travel across the U.S. including San Francisco, Seattle, Boston, Austin, and New York City. I traveled the South through Georgia, the Carolinas, and Virginia, plus to Illinois, America’s heartland.

On the flipside of the lovely Pretty Southern adventure, there were so many funerals. Two of Kevin’s grandparents passed and my grandfather died. We lost Geoggrey Loy to skydiving. Alex Newton was murdered. It doesn’t get more up-and-down than that. By November, I was ready for 2016 to be over…and then the election happened.

Our world got rocked on Nov. 9, 2016, as the election results came in. Most of y’all already know my feelings on the subject of politics, and if you don’t, then read this post. Everything changed on Nov. 9.

As “Year of the Warrior” Michelle put it, 2016 was the year we got woke.

Celebrating my freedom & the 1st Amendment

It’s time for a revolution.

But first, a brief Pretty Southern history. Every five years or so, I’ve found my life sorta evolves. The first time I got published I was 6 years old. We moved to Georgia in 1996, right before the Summer Olympics and my 11th birthday. Adolescence, puberty, and my early teenage years were pretty miserable (as my parents will attest to).

Life changed at 16, in 2001, when the towers fell. Our country hasn’t been the same since 9/11. It was the first time I realized just how dangerous world we lived in and that perhaps I might have the power to change it.

Ages 16 to 20 were years of self-discovery, exploring my passion for journalism at UGA’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, which culminated in my study abroad at Oxford University. I turned 21 overseas that summer abroad.

From 21-26, it was all about discovering this place called the “real world”. I struggled to find the right career for me amidst the Great Recession. Blessedly, I found the love of my life in my husband, and together we launched Pretty Southern to achieve my dream of becoming a blogger, then I had to go back to work full-time to help support my husband when he launched Exomotive.

Ultimately, what we’ve achieved together here at Pretty Southern has presented so many amazing opportunities. It paved the way for my work in the Atlanta Startup community, and helping to raise awareness for philanthropic causes through events such as Jeffrey Fashion Cares and Hope Filled Holiday for Feed My Starving Children.

Now is another precipice. Today is my half birthday. I’m 31.5 years old. I’ve been called to reinvent my life.

“Be Focused. Be Determined. Be Hopeful. Be Empowered.” ~ Michelle Obama

We’re only a few weeks into this new year, and there’s a tension in the air. Fights are ensuing. There are fights over who should lead this country. We’re debating the very essence of what holds our great nation together.

The incoming administration terrifies me. Not only the President Elect but the people he has tapped to help him lead. The freedoms we hold most dear are being called into question. Luckily, we have the power of the internet to raise our voices and cry out in protest.

So what does that mean for Pretty Southern?

We are going to get more political and vocal about issues we’re concerned about. There will be more stories about people at the local, regional, national, and even international level who are shaping our world. It’s also the reason we’re helping Michelle and Miranda Writes in hopes of raising awareness for nonprofits in our community.

Speaking of which, I’m also proud to announce that I’ve been selected to the Atlanta committee for No Kid Hungry and to help host Taste of the Nation in Atlanta on April 20. I’ve also been selected to attend Al Gore’s Climate Reality Leadership Project in Denver this March. In order to keep the South as beautiful as she is today, we must do a better job protecting our natural resources.

Also, I’m trying to publish my first novel this spring, the first of what I pray will be a series of books to come over the next three years. I’m doubling down on the things that matter most, these commitments and spending more time with family and friends, instead of going out five nights a week for different events.

It’s a change that has to happen if I truly want to change the world.

All this to say, I firmly believe 2017 is the Year of the Warrior

It’s time to fight for what we believe in, to pursue our dreams together, and reach for the highest achievements without fear of failure. Let your battle cry for freedom be one of inspiration. Fight for social injustice. Become a warrior in your own right.

Together, let’s Make the South, America, and the Planet Earth truly great! #YearofTheWarrior

Y’all – it’s been a week.

On Nov. 9, Kathryn Stockett, author of The Help wrote:

Forgive me for referencing my own book but I feel like Hilly Holbrook was just elected president.

— Kathryn Stockett (@kathrynstockett) November 9, 2016

For those of y’all who love Stockett’s book as much as we do here at Pretty Southern, you know what the writer implied. Hilly was a racist and the antagonist in the novel. Her character represented everything wrong about the way white Southerners treated people of color. Now, here’s another quote from The Help that I think we as a country need right now:

“You is smart. You is kind. You is important.”

The past week has been exhausting. On Election Night, I didn’t watch the live broadcast or stay up late to see who won. Around 10 p.m., my husband checked Google to see how the electoral college votes were coming in; with Trump ahead by 60 votes, that’s when I knew this game was over. I almost had a breakdown.

As bedtime approached, I was standing in our kitchen when I nearly collapsed. I had to catch my breath. The magnitude of this situation hit me: the world is not okay. There is so much in this world that I want to change and improve, and the flood of it all hit me as I filled a glass of water in the kitchen. I shut the water off and braced myself over the sink, taking in a few deep breaths, and reminding myself that I have the power to impact change. I did not cry. I went to bed hoping, praying, that when I woke up then the world would somehow be a better place.

While I love living this Pretty Southern existence, there is too much happening in the world to only focus on the pretty parts. Two weeks ago, my friend was senselessly murdered in his own apartment. This week, an accused rapist and actual racist was elected president. Like many of you reading this post, I unleashed my frustrations on social media:

First, I want to apologize

To you, who voted for Trump, who think I called you a racist: I’m sorry. It wasn’t meant to be taken personally. You’re not a racist unless of course you actually are, but I’m not calling anyone out on an individual basis because that’s between you and the good Lord in heaven. My commentary was meant to spark a discussion, which it certainly did. I posted this because I wanted to see the dialogue and conversations which would come. And we need to keep having these conversations because racism is a huge, monumental problem in this country.

As a nation, we have to say it’s not right that the KKK is still in power, enough power to endorse a president. It’s not right to use sexist and misogynistic words such as “grab her by the pussy” and “bleeding from her wherever.” It’s not right; but somehow, millions of Americans ignored those hateful words and said “sure, I think you’ll be a better president than Clinton.” This election was won by a white misogynist and racist who shouted the loudest, regardless of what those words actually were.

Jessica Shortall found the words to express the sentiment:

“To my friends (yes, friends) who voted for Trump: You say you voted for Trump for reasons entirely absent from hatred, racism, and misogyny. You are sick of being called a racist, a misanthrope, a sexist, a xenophobe.

So let’s start with this premise: I believe you when you say you don’t hold any of these things in your heart. I believe you when you say that these things are not why you voted for him. I BELIEVE YOU.”

This status was meant to be a wake-up call that this world, our country, is not okay.

The amount of hate speech that’s flowed and what our own kids have done to each other in the past 72 hours since Trump was announced President-Elect is atrocious. Just look at what happened on Day 1 in Trump’s America.

Our pal, Paige Jackson, help explains how this election impacts African Americans:

“Many of you are uncomfortable identifying as a racist, misogynist, xenophobe or homophobe. However, you are obviously ok supporting someone that is all these things. But in siding with Donald Trump and his unapologetically hate-filled views you have cosigned and validated his viewpoints. And his viewpoints are all of those things.

“You did not stand up for me or anyone else that he attacked with his words. Instead, you gave him a pat on the back & told him that the things he says are acceptable. You rewarded his behavior with your vote. So, whether or not you believe all the things he has said to further marginalize people and groups, you have, in fact, condoned it.

“Neutrality is comfortable. But neutrality contributes to oppression. You, my friends, are guilty of oppression as long as you try to straddle the line of supporting Donald Trump the politician without condemning his rhetoric.

“So, what can you do? Stop sitting in silence. Because as long as you are silent and go along with the hate that is around you, you are a co-conspirator and you are responsible for the hatred and division we are experiencing.

“I do apologize if this upsets you or makes you feel uncomfortable; however, it wasn’t meant to make you feel warm and fuzzy. I cannot keep dancing around your feelings at the detriment of the greater good.” – Paige

She also shared this awe-inspiring quote from Desmond Tutu.

So does it mean that you’re racist if you voted for Trump? No. It does mean that with everything this man said in the election — every misogynistic, xenophobic, and racist comment — you somehow still thought he would be the best leader for America. It is you, our fellow American, who now have the responsibility to help make our country a better place. We’re in this together to truly Make America Great Again.

Now let’s talk about the zeitgeist for a second, y’all

Quick vocab refresher: the zeitgeist is the defining spirit or mood of a particular period of history as shown by the ideas and beliefs of the time. The slogan “Make America Great Again” is part of our national zeitgeist. The defining spirit of America is anger. Millions of angry Americans voted, and millions are angry at the outcome. Dave Chapelle’s opening monologue on SNL pretty much sums of the zeitgeist of America in late 2016.

So what do we do now? What are next steps? How you, my fellow American, personally plan to be part of the change?

Let’s end the hate speech together.

Our pal Chuck Reece at The Bitter Southerner wrote, “only the hardest conversations yield real understanding. We’ve been down that road, and we have to commit to go farther down it, into the swamps, into the scariest parts.”

It’s time for us to come together, as Americans, to move our society forward in a positive direction. What we must do now is to continue having tough conversations. We look at small steps we can make to help our neighbors, our countrymen, and billions of other people on this Earth we call home. We have to come together as the United States of America. Like my mother said to me over our post-election brunch:

“Put on your big girl panties and deal with it.”

Momma Lynne dropped some harsh truth on me as I sucked down a spicy Bloody Mary. She said that as a journalist, I have a responsibility to be a voice of change. It’s my choice which direction I want to take, and choose to take the high road. “You’re such a positive person,” she told me. “Use that positivity.”

So to you, my fellow Southerner, American, citizen of planet Earth: it’s time to find a way to work together. It’s time to help each other. We have to end the name calling, the prejudices in every way, shape and form. The human race is going to have to combine forces to stop global warming. Yes, climate change is real and if we don’t do something to change our behavior then our planet, our home, is going to suffer. We, as a people, are better than the current zeitgeist.

We are smart. We are kind. We are important.