Founder, Fractional COO, Scale Advisor, London, UK
Please introduce yourself and describe your career. What do you do for a living?
Hi, I’m Neda! I’m the Founder / CEO of keshty, where we partner with minority-led, mission-driven startups as Fractional COO and Scale Advisor.
An I/O Psychologist by trade, I specialize in building diverse, high-performing teams in an organization’s scale-up phase. Over the last decade, I've helped 3 companies expand their reach:
1. A fully women-led, European VC to the US and investing their first $10M
2. FOX/NatGeo EMEA through the $70B Disney acquisition
3. The UK’s first EdTech unicorn, Multiverse, from pre-seed to Series D and past a $1B valuation
I left my full-time role in 2023 frustrated with stats like:
1. Other startups fail to survive beyond years 2-5 (traditionally the scale up phase)
2. A disproportionate amount of funding fails to reach minority founders (only 2% of VC funding goes to all gender / ethnic minority founding teams!)
Leveraging a decade of experience in operational leadership, org design, recruitment and retention, I started keshty to level the playing field in tech and help get more minority founders to the top.
As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to be a human rights lawyer!
As a kid, I was an idealizer who thought I could save the world (bless her). As I got older, I also found myself stimulated by logic puzzles, psychology and the humanities, and had endless stamina for reading. Law felt like a natural fit.
It wasn’t until I worked for a criminal defense attorney that I realized my expectations were miles away from reality: both practically and ethically. I had the classic wake up call that law (and by extension, life) isn’t always fair - and that I’d have to approach life differently if I were to make a successful career in law.
I was already studying Psychology, so I pivoted away from law and towards Industrial / Organizational Psychology. Part of me will always itch a little for law (or rather, the idea of law), but I sincerely have no regrets. I/O Psych is still a nascent field filled with massive opportunity, never bores me, is highly relevant in today’s world of work and continues to rapidly develop (it already has even since I graduated!).
What did you study? How much schooling do you think is required to get into your role? What could you have skipped?
As I initially aspired to be a lawyer, I started by studying an AA in Social and Behavioral Sciences at Irvine Valley College.
I then transferred to UC Irvine where I started with a dual BA in (1) Psychology and Social Behavior and (2) Criminology. As I prepared for the LSAT (which wasn’t the deterrent) and interning for lawyers (the deterrent!), I decided to drop Criminology and instead do a semester abroad in London. It was here where I became especially enthusiastic about startups and the European tech market.
When I returned, I took the GRE and applied to Master’s programs in I/O Psychology. I ultimately chose King’s College London to pursue my MSc, as the program is globally ranked, only one year (in the US, it’s two) and significantly cheaper, even for international students.
I’ve been living and working in London since, and last year also became a UK citizen!
Neda on her Masters Graduation Day from Kings College
Was your path hard or smooth getting to where you are in your career? (Can you briefly describe what it was like on your journey so far?)
I love this question. I think how we perceive challenge is subjective, and I’d class my journey as no easier or harder than others.
My career has certainly been squiggly. As I/O Psych is still new, there isn’t necessarily a set career path; I/O can take you into HR, L&D, leadership etc. I started in consulting, moved into HR and ended up in Ops leadership before starting my own venture.
Like anyone else, I experienced obstacles: e.g. working full-time through community college to pay for my education and trying to secure work in the UK (as a US passport holder, we can’t work in the UK without sponsorship - a process most employers still see as lengthy, risky and expensive).
All peaks and troughs considered, this was honestly the right journey for me. I’ve learned that achieving goals isn’t linear and I’m grateful to have always had help - whether through luck, a supportive community or my own tenacity!
Walk us through your typical work day—when do you start, end, and do all day? (Where do you work from?)
My workday doesn’t always look the same, but the beauty of running your own business is you can call the shots on this one.
For example, I know I’m not a morning meeting person; I expend energy best when I start slow, quiet and ease into the day. On the flip side, some of my best ideas come in the evening while I’m preparing dinner!
I like some routine, but prefer having pockets of fluidity in mine. Working in Ops is all about structure and focus, so I consciously build for flexibility in life: extending a walk when the weather’s nice, getting engrossed in a good book or mixing up when / what I eat based on what my body’s telling me.
In general, my typical workday looks something like:
Wake up (ideally with the sun!)
Do something for the mind (read or journal)
Do something for the body (gym or walk)
Eat breakfast
Decide on my 1-2 main things today that’ll really move the needle, reply to emails and engage with LinkedIn
Eat lunch
Client work and meetings
Write / schedule a LinkedIn post for the next day and reply to messages
Switch off!
This is my general cadence if I work from home; I typically go into central London for client meetings 1-2x a week to mix it up. I also spend one day a week exclusively on newsletter writing and life admin. I make a point to switch off outside of working hours, and my clients are great at respecting that!
What are some questions someone should really ask themselves if they want to get into your industry / career path?
If you’re considering I/O Psych, you’ll want to ask yourself:
Do I like people?
This seems obvious, but really think about it! In order to sustainably dedicate your career to I/O Psych, you’ll need to feel energized around other people.
Would I prefer to use my Psychology background in the workplace?
If you’ve envisioned yourself in a clinical setting, a courthouse or an office with one individual at a time, other pathways may be better suited to you.
Do I find bureaucracy and office politics stimulating or exhausting to navigate?
If the latter, I’m afraid it won’t get any better the higher up you go. There’s a tremendous amount of influence, communication and upward management involved in this career track. In order to make a meaningful impact, ensure this is something you’re willing to take on.
Does being in a new, ambiguous field without a clearly paved roadmap excite me?
If you’re after something established, structured and with minimal risk, I/O Psych isn’t that. If you like the idea of paving the way and are more intrigued than afraid of unknowns, then this career path could work really well for you.
What do you enjoy most about your career? (What do you enjoy least?)
My favorite part about entrepreneurship is choosing the clients I work with, and ultimately working for myself. I’ve been privileged to work for founders who had no difficulty obtaining capital and trusted me to build teams as big as 100+. But this isn’t the privilege bestowed upon most of us, and certainly not the background I came from. In this next phase of my career, it was important I took all I learned from being in those rooms to pay it forward. Founding keshty meant my work could center around actively removing barriers to entry for minority founders.
The drawback to being a solo founder is you are fully accountable for everything - including the many things you are naturally going to suck at. For example: I’d never done a sales or marketing role before, so selling myself and my services was the most alien sensation ever. Likewise, being a solo founder means you have to proactively nurture a community that’ll share in the wins and lessons with you. Otherwise it can be an incredibly lonely and isolating gig!
Neda on the day she received her UK Citizenship
What tools/resources do you frequently use? (Books, podcasts, mentors, wellness habits, software, etc.)
As an ops geek, I swear by a number of (free!) tools to run a cheap, cheerful and efficient business. Here are my top 5:
Obsidian: a vault for all my thoughts and writing
LinkedIn: for personal branding, marketing and growing your network
Asana: for task/project management and low-touch CRM
Fathom AI: AI notetaker that transcribes meetings and recordings
beehiiv: (not free, but worth it for me!) data-driven and user-friendly newsletter builder
What is something you do when things get difficult? How do you handle stress/ challenges?
My best advice (and greatest learning) is to always put your own oxygen mask on first.
When I started out, I believed in “mind over matter” and pushed myself too hard to constantly achieve the next milestone. I didn’t prioritize or value rest, and learned the hard way when I burnt out physically and mentally.
When things get tough now, I go back to the basics:
Am I eating well enough?
How’s my sleep hygiene?
Am I spending enough time outside?
Am I filling my cup with activities I enjoy e.g. quality time with my husband, speaking with family / friends or reading?
If these basic indicators are taking a hit, I force myself to take a break and bring it back to the basics. Ultimately, ambition is brilliant, but it simply can’t go anywhere if we aren’t healthy.
What advice would you give to someone who is trying to figure out what they want to do (for work) in general?
My top 3 pieces of advice:
Embrace the squiggly path: there’s no right way to build a career and no two paths will ever look the same. Take (relevant) opportunities as they come, even if they’re not necessarily what you planned for. My biggest career wins came from places and people I hadn’t expected - you won’t really know whether something’s for you unless you try!
Your network is your net worth: don’t wait until you’re looking for a new role to build solid, professional relationships. People advocating for you in rooms you’re not in are worth more than most of our practical skills and experiences.
Approach your career from a place of abundance: instead of spending time thinking about what you lack or what others seem to have more easily, focus on what you do have. This isn’t about simply settling; rather, it suggests that if you want to achieve something, consider what’s already in your arsenal (tools, network etc.) to make it possible vs. focusing on why it can’t happen.
Here’s Neda speaking on a panel answering a question very similar to this one to a room of generalists and entrepreneurs.
Do you have any mentors or key pieces of career advice that helped you get to where you are today?
When I started my own business, one of my mentors introduced me to the concept of “micro-incompetencies.” These symbolize the (multiple!) things you’ll kind of suck at simultaneously when you start out. Put them all together, and you’ll feel like you’re failing at everything (even when you’re not).
But here’s the thing: it’s unnatural to be good at everything. The proof is in your ability to be realistic, stay humble, ask for help and approach every opportunity as one to learn. In keshty’s first 6 months when I wasn’t yet generating revenue, I thought I’d lost my marbles to leave a stable, full-time role for something I “wasn’t cut out for.” But no clients and no cash flow meant I had the gift of time without the gift of money - forcing me to upskill in every part of my business.
As painful as they feel at the time, I now see quiet sales seasons as opportunities to get creative, test and even pivot. We will always experience micro-incompetencies, whether in our current roles, a promotion or a new venture entirely; but that’s the fun part of developing a truly fulfilling career.
What excites you about the future OR what's up next for you in the near future? (Could be career-related, life-related, or even a future career pivot / path)
I’m most excited about the future of work (naturally!). The last few years in tech have been defined by exponential growth (just after COVID), followed by savage layoffs, financial mismanagement and bad leadership practices (from ‘23 onward). Experiencing such a rapid boom-and-bust cycle has had a knock-on effect on our workforce, and we’re still learning its long-term impact.
The good news is the industry is forcing more accountability from those up top: Founders / CEOs and VCs. Gone are the days we’d simply give founders millions of dollars to build on an idea; now, founders need to show proof of concept and a path to profitability before taking loads of outside capital.
Those in leadership are also taking organizational design more seriously than ever. Rather than hiring whatever role title sounds right, leaders today need to be more cost-conscious, think strategically about their needs and use data to drive their hiring decisions. In essence, we’re being pushed to take the lives and careers of those we hire more seriously (as it should be).
All in all, I’m optimistic we’re going to eventually see a shift from “growth at all costs” to building sustainable, profitable businesses that are operationally efficient backed by a thriving core team. Watch this space!
Where can readers find/connect with you if they have questions? OR How can we support you?
The best way to connect with me is via LinkedIn and my newsletter!
On LinkedIn, I share micro-lessons centered around two topics: scaling world-class teams and diversifying the tech landscape. These are based on my operational leadership experiences building diverse, high-performing teams with the aim of educating established founders / leaders on the scaleup journey.
As I’m new to my own 0-1 journey (early stage), I’m also openly building keshty in public via my newsletter: the minority misfit. The aim is to enable aspiring/early minority founders to achieve success quicker by sharing my no BS lessons and rookie mistakes. If you’re a business owner from an underrepresented background (e.g. gender, ethnicity etc.), feel free to subscribe and get all your burning founder questions answered!
Hope to connect with you soon 👋🏼