August 25, 2023 • 27 mins
We are honored to share our latest podcast featuring one of the leading voices in FinTech, Mariquit Corcoran. She joins Tara Thurber to share her Tops 5 Ways to Succeed in Any Job.
Mariquit is a powerhouse. This year, she was recognized by FinTech Futures in their Top 10 Women Blazing a Trail in FinTech and listed as FinTech Magazine’s Top 10 Women in FinTech to watch.
Her previous experience includes positions at Barclay's, FTV Capital and Goldman Sachs - just to name a few!
Tune in now for her tips and delightful insight into the modern workforce!
Tops 5 Ways to Succeed in Any Job
1. Be someone people want to work
2. Don't offer your help to someone unless you're sincere
3. Learn from mistakes
4. Share time, contacts and lessons learned
5. Be kind
Guest Bio: Mariquit Corcoran is one of the leading voices in FinTech, recognized by FinTech Futures in their Top 10 Women Blazing a Trail in FinTech and FinTech Magazine’s Top 10 Women in FinTech to watch in 2023. She was a founding member of Independence Point Advisors and was previously a Managing Director and the Chief Innovation Officer at Barclays.
Mariquit has spent over two decades in the financial services industry, holding positions and leading teams in businesses spanning across fixed income, operations, risk management, finance and banking. Prior to joining Barclays, she led the team responsible for sourcing and closing deals for all strategic engagements of a newly launched FinTech, Marcus by Goldman Sachs. Her past responsibilities included oversight of the global FinTech Accelerator program at Barclays, designed to fast-track the next generation of FinTech businesses, while bringing innovation and application opportunities to Barclays, and leading the Rise Platform. Rise, created by Barclays is a physical and digital ecosystem where FinTechs around the world can connect, create and scale.
Throughout her career, she has been heavily involved in mentoring, coaching and diversity and inclusion initiatives. She launched and was the executive sponsor of the Female Innovators Lab by Barclays and Anthemis, aimed at helping female entrepreneurs launch new companies in the US, UK and Europe.
Mariquit was recognized in the HERoes Top 100 Women Executives in 2021, 2020 and 2019 by INvolve and Yahoo Finance, NYC FinTech Women’s Inspiring Females of 2022 and 2019 and was named in the 2022 and 2021 FinTech Magazine’s Top 100 Women in FinTech. Outside of the office, Mariquit is an avid runner, dancer, tennis, paddle and pickleball player and endurance racer. Mariquit serves on the Strategic Advisory Board for FTV Capital where she is also an LP. She was a Presidential Scholar and earned a BBA in Finance and Investments from Bernard M. Baruch College, summa cum laude.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Tara Thurber (00:00):
Hey everyone, welcome back to Top5 brought to
you by DefinedTalent. We are aresults driven service working
with clients to connect themwith quality talent, as well as
working to make an impact withinthe recruiting industry. We talk
straight about today'sprofessional world with real
world professionals, experts inrecruitment, job seekers and
business owners alike. Have aquestion for us send it in a you
(00:24):
might spur our nextconversation. I'm Tara Thurber,
Co-founder and Director ofTalent Partnerships here at
DefinedTalent. And joining metoday is Mariquit Corcoran, one
of the leading women in FinTech.
Welcome, Mariquit. How are youtoday?
Mariquit Corcoran (00:41):
I'm great.
Thanks so much for having me.
Tara Thurber (00:42):
Absolutely. I'm so excited to have you join us to
share your Top5 Ways to Succeedin Any Job. So in doing some
research, I've seen in a surveyfrom the National Association
for Business Economists, that58% are saying a recession is
forecasted for 2023. With usbeing in the thick of 2023 now,
(01:04):
I can't believe it's coming tothe end of it., how or does this
affect your view on investing instartups and growing business
ventures?
Mariquit Corcoran (01:14):
I think we can all agree it's been a tough
one - two years, the market haschanged. But this really
shouldn't be a surprise foranyone. The excess of 2021
wasn't sustainable. Andhopefully the smartest companies
and leaders prepared for that. Iremember looking at investment
deals where you had to make adecision over a weekend or else
you weren't even gonna have achance to get in on it. That
(01:36):
isn't normal. And I knew that atthe time that what we were
seeing in the market wasn'tgoing to be what was going to be
the near future. So hopefully,whether you're a founder or
leader of a company, you'reprepared for that. And as an
investor, like everyone else,I'm more cautious about where I
invest, especially when it comesto startups, because inherently,
(01:58):
they're riskier investments. Butmy views have always been the
same - invest in companies thathave a path to sustainable
revenue, a solid product, marketfit, and most importantly,
strong leadership, especiallyimportant in these tough times.
Tara Thurber (02:08):
I love that. And then as an investor, can you
describe the spark you look forin either startup businesses, or
business leaders? And just tokind of piggyback on that, when
was the last time you saw thespark?
Mariquit Corcoran (02:24):
Sure, as a spark I'm looking for, I think
when I find a leader who isgenuinely willing to listen and
act on feedback. I get a lot ofpitches presented to me, and
sometimes it sounds like ascripted rehearsal. And they're
not even listening or lookingfor any feedback, they're just
ready to get their script andmove on. I get very excited when
(02:47):
I see a leader talk to me aboutan idea or a company that they
have, and actually pause tolisten to what I have to say,
and whether they agree with itor not seeing that they're
listening, and they'rerecognizing what I'm trying to
give to them. Right? I do haveexpertise in this space as most
people they're probablypresenting to so use an
opportunity to listen to them,whether you agree with it or
not. And for products, I getsuper excited, actually, when I
(03:11):
hear about a product and orservice. And the first thing I
think about is why didn't Ithink of that, or, gosh, I wish
that existed back in XYZ time.
Tara Thurber (03:20):
Right.
Mariquit Corcoran (03:20):
So that's, that's when I sort of get
excited about that. And thosethose types of things, I think
are really important as you'rean investor trying to make a
decision on what to do next.
That said, I get more excitedwhen I find a leader I want to
invest in because with astartup, whatever product or
service, they start with morethan often that's not what they
end up with.
Tara Thurber (03:42):
Right!
Mariquit Corcoran (03:42):
As much as you can get excited with what's
presented to you know that it'sgoing to change 10, 20 times
before our final product is outthere if they get to that point.
But if I find a leader who Ithink hey, this is someone he or
she I want to work with for anextended period of time, that's
when I sort of get that spark.
And last time, I felt that, tobe honest, probably the
highlight was when I used tolead the Barclays Accelerator
(04:05):
powered by TechStars. That was aprogram which I helped lead for
several years. And gosh, therewere so many instances where a
founder was either you know,straight out of school
presenting an idea or someonehad been in the industry for 30
years and I want to come backand change something. There are
so many instances that I gotthat spark and actually you
(04:25):
probably look up that portfolioevery company that made it into
that program was one that youknow sparked when they
presented to me.
Tara Thurber (04:34):
Right. I love to that you go through the the
listening aspect because peopledo have these ideas and they
want to kind of explode them outthere. But they don't take a
step back to listen to thefeedback to listen to the
criticism to the positives andthe negatives of feedback. And
(04:55):
so I love that you value that. Ifind that that's really
important too.
Mariquit Corcoran (05:01):
I mean, I'll just plug it out there, I've
often been asked how do you sellto big businesses or big
companies or big banks?And it'sthe same advice when you're
presenting your company. Theyalready know what your company
offers, because you wouldn't behaving that meeting to begin
with.
Tara Thurber (05:14):
Right! (laughs)
Mariquit Corcoran (05:14):
The ones who are actually successful in a
sale or getting a contract inplace are the ones who actually
listen to the people they'repitching to. And if you pick up
on an issue or a problem orconcern that they have, and then
you either address it on thespot, or come back to them and
say, Hey, I listened to you, Iknow, this is what you want to
get done. Here's how my productcan do that. That's how you sign
(05:35):
a deal and sign a contract. It'snot going to be the cookie
cutter pitch that you get overand over that may get you the
meeting, but that's not going toget you the deal.
Tara Thurber (05:42):
Yep, I can definitely understand and see
that all the way through. So howdo you encourage new business
ventures or business people toeither seek out their dream or
keep going when maybe they're ina rut? Or maybe they get
negative feedback. What What areyour thoughts?
Mariquit Corcoran (06:04):
So I am super pragmatic, anyone who knows me
will attest to that. And my viewis, if there's a founder with an
idea, or a product that I thinkhas real promise, you just got
to remind them that an overnightsuccess takes 7 to 10 years.
Someone I heard someone say thatonce. And that's in my head all
the time. Because when you hearabout these amazing companies
(06:25):
with these incredible exits, ordeals, they weren't invented
yesterday, they've been aroundfor a very long time. So I think
it's pushing through and takingthose rejections and continuing
to move forward. Those are allreally key things to tell people
that you're probably going tofail 5, 10, 15, 20 times before
you get that next step kind of,you know, resolved or through.
(06:47):
And I tell them, like,especially if I believe in what
they're doing and theirleadership, then I will give
them the support, advice, openmy network to them and really
encourage them to to moveforward or help kind of think
through, hey, here's some ideason what you should be doing
next, and sort of really bethere for them and support them.
But to be perfectly frank, onthe flip side, if I see a
founder struggling, or I see acompany struggling, and I don't
(07:08):
think there's big promise, Iwill also be very honest with
them, whether they want to hearit or not, and say, Listen,
maybe you want to take that exittoday, because that may not be
available to you six months fromnow, people don't want to hear
that. But the good leaderslisten, and I think you have to
be realistic, in great times,you don't have to worry about
that. But in tougher times, youreally have to be conscious of
(07:30):
that. And I think that's areally, that's why I say I
invest in the founder and leaderbecause they have to be able to
make those decisions, and lookout, you know, for the company
and themselves and not thinkabout what could have been or
what they ideally want. Becauseyou're not always going to get
that.
Tara Thurber (07:42):
Yeah, you know, I've always been one to failure
is opportunity. And if somebodycan accept that or being in a
rut, there's always going to bea way to learn from it or, and
to be better than what you werejust at. So it's almost
acknowledging, accepting andfinding the positivity and the
(08:04):
opportunity even in a rut or ina negative space, right?
Mariquit Corcoran (08:10):
1,000%, and I've had those threats of myself
in my career.
Tara Thurber (08:13):
Yeah! (laughs)
Mariquit Corcoran (08:13):
I mean, of course, we will talk about all
the highlights, you know, we putall the highlights in our BIOS
and awards and recognition. Butthere have been some really
tough lows, and you have to sortof self reflect and be aware and
figure out okay, well, what am Igoing to do? Is it gonna break
me?
Tara Thurber (08:26):
Right. Yep.
Mariquit Corcoran (08:26):
Are they gonna make me stronger? And I
remember one point in my careerwhen I was just ready to give
up, right? I was just like, thisis done. And I'm just this is,
it's too much, I can't do itanymore. And I had a good friend
who I used to call my lifecoach. And he looked over at me
and said, Don't let this breakyou. This is a blip in your
career.
Tara Thurber (08:42):
Right (laughs).
Mariquit Corcoran (08:42):
I'm like, You know what, you're right. And at
the time, it was probably justlike this awful moment in your
career. And you're you know,you're kind of second guessing
everything you've done, but likeit was totally a blip. Right?
Because six months after that, Iwasn't even thinking about that
moment.
Tara Thurber (08:55):
Right (laughs).
Mariquit Corcoran (08:55):
And so you just have to get through it. And
whether it's your career or yourcompany, you got to keep moving
forward.
Tara Thurber (09:01):
I love that so much. It's definitely true. So
to dive into a little bit withFinTech, why did you choose a
career in FinTech? I would lovefor you to share your story.
Mariquit Corcoran (09:13):
It kind of chose me. I, to be honest, you
know, 1520 years ago, I'm noteven sure I would have known how
to define a FinTech or maybeback then everybody just defined
that as a payments company,right>? Now it's such a broad
definition. But what hadhappened was I started my career
in Wall Street and was ananalyst at Goldman Sachs went
through their analyst program,and held a variety of different
(09:34):
roles. And one day I got a phonecall from their private equity
arm and they told me that theywere looking to create a new
revenue generating business. Andwould I like to join them and
doing that and I thought, wow,wait, well, one of those are one
of those phone calls you don'tget every day. Ultimately, fast
forward I did join and we spentthe next year developing what
(09:55):
became Marcus by Goldman Sachs,which was the first consumer for
a for Goldman And that wasreally where I just jumped in.
And I started learning about allthese innovative new technology
solutions. And I really did endup meeting with some potential
vendors, for example, that trulyweren't like the traditional
startup that was just newlycreated, as well as more
(10:16):
established startups. And Irealized FinTech was this
game-changing category ofcompanies. And I started really
appreciating how muchindividual's finances or
awareness of their financescould really impact not just
those individuals, but theindustry. I'm like, the whole,
like, No, we're really just likethe whole economy of the whole
(10:37):
world. And it really stemmedfrom oftentimes an individual
understanding how money works,how they should save money, what
they should do with theirfinances, how they should think
about it, whether it's forthemselves or their businesses,
and I got really passionateabout about the space. And
ultimately, when, you know, it'sbeen a couple of years at Marcus
and I was trying to think aboutwhat we had already launched,
(10:58):
like what was next I had thisopportunity from Barclays, who
recruited me to run theirAccelerator Program, run their
FinTech partnerships, eventuallylead several investment pools of
funding capital, and then createnew programs to support and work
with fintechs. And I really justimmersed myself in this space
(11:18):
and realized 1) it wasn't justone, one lane of category,
FinTech can impact you in somany different angles. Some of
them aren't even financialservices related, right? It's
really broad, you can go intohealth care, you can go into
gaming tech, there's just somuch out there. And I got really
excited about the solutions Iwas seeing that I could see
impacting my day to day life. Soa fun story I always think
(11:40):
about. When I got married almosttwo decades ago, I remember
receiving a stack of physicalchecks. And my husband and I had
a destination wedding. And wewere gonna go to Hawaii right
after our wedding. I carriedthese physical checks with me
through through Hawaii and putthem in like my hotel space
through island hopping for twoweeks, hoping I wouldn't lose
(12:02):
one and they wouldn't get wet.
And think about how crazy thatis now!
Tara Thurber (12:07):
(laughs)
Mariquit Corcoran (12:07):
With the solutions are out there. That
wasn't that long ago.
Tara Thurber (12:10):
Right! Wow.
Mariquit Corcoran (12:12):
And to think about, like, that's such a minor
thing, but that inconveniencedoesn't even exist today.
Tara Thurber (12:17):
Yeah.
Mariquit Corcoran (12:17):
So to think about how something that simple
could be impacted, versus youknow, how FinTech can so be
broadly, you know, applied now,right? You think about, you go
online, there's embedded financeand so many different
opportunities out there, you cansort of buy anything online and
take out a loan or, you know, doit in multiple payments and do
(12:37):
it all in one stop shopping. Or,you know, even on the flip side,
you could be a gig worker, andyou can have their FinTech
applications that help manageyour funds so that they're
coming in in regular incrementsare helping you manage it. Like
there's just so many differentapplications. And I guess
without choosing FinTech, I kindof fell into it. And it just
became something that I was justimmersed in and passionate
(12:58):
about. And I just see theapplicability everywhere. So
it's hard not to be invested init and hard not to be immersed
in it and wanting to support it.
And we're just beginning.
There's so much to do.
Tara Thurber (13:08):
Right. So much to do. And I feel like it's
exploding fast, though. And it'sgrowing fast, too.
Mariquit Corcoran (13:17):
It totally is. There was that massive
growth, of course, over the lastprobably five, seven years.
Yeah, I'm trying to think aboutthe last year or two.
Tara Thurber (13:25):
Right.
Mariquit Corcoran (13:25):
But prior to that there was just this
exponential growth.
Tara Thurber (13:29):
Yeah.
Mariquit Corcoran (13:29):
But there's still so much out there and
probably a shift and what typesof companies and solutions are
going to be created and grow.
And yeah, I'm talking aboutphysical checks. I can imagine
what we'll be talking about in10 years of what's created out
there.
Tara Thurber (13:43):
Yeah, it's exciting. It's really exciting.
So as you know, one of theleading women in FinTech, I know
that you do a lot of talks, youdo a lot of interviews. I mean,
that's how I came to meet youwas watching you speak at a
TechUnited event. When you'respeaking, talking, interviewing,
(14:06):
reading your bio, what is onething that you wish you would
have said? Is there anything isthere one thing that is missing
or that you would want to sendout to the universe?
Mariquit Corcoran (14:18):
So actually, two things popped into mind. So
I'm gonna answer it in two ways.
Probably personally about me.
Yes, you can read my bio, I readabout the accomplishments and
I'm very proud of them and trustme and worked really hard to
achieve each and every one ofthem.
Tara Thurber (14:30):
Yeah.
Mariquit Corcoran (14:31):
But I think what doesn't come across some
times, whether it's me oranyone's bio is like who they
are as a person and who they areas an investor or colleague. And
for me, I think really is whatyou see is what you get. I
genuinely try to be a goodperson. I sincerely try to help
any company I work with. I don'tpretend to know everything about
(14:52):
everything. I like to say I knowa little bit about everything
but I know an expert and prettymuch anything so everybody has a
phone call or text message.
Tara Thurber (15:00):
Right.
Mariquit Corcoran (15:01):
I think that makes you valuable to be able to
recognize that and then sort ofbuild that network. And I do
believe like, you know, for me,you get what you give. And
that's something I do think thatI live by. And that's probably
not something that I'll evercome across in a speech or big
interview. And the other thing,I think the flipside I just
(15:23):
wanted to answer to that was,when you do all these talks, I
will say it's good and bad to belabeled as a woman in a male
dominated industry. So good,because people are listening and
I love that I have the voice.
And I have the ability to get mymessage out there. And
hopefully, you know, strike achord with, you know, with
people, I love it, when I getlike a CEO of a big company come
(15:46):
up to me after talking to melike, Oh, my gosh, I had no idea
about XYZ. Now, thanks forcommunicating that. That's
awesome. But I do think that wehave to be careful that if
there's, for example, a woman ina male dominated industry, that
the questions don't all becomeabout, So what's it's like being
a woman in that industry or talkto me about diversity? And
(16:06):
again, I think it's a doubleedged sword. I love the
platform, and ability to voicethat, but you also don't want to
be labeled as Okay, well, youknow, we have this woman speaker
she'll talk about, she'll talkabout that. And I do think
there's, there's a bit of abalance you want to get there.
And look, I'll talk about genderequity all day.
(16:29):
But I hopepeople are listening to more
Tara Thurber (16:29):
Yeah.
than just that, because I wantto be looked at as Mariquit
Corcoran an accomplishedhardworking leader who has made
change and impacted XYZcolleagues, companies, founders,
etc. Not America Corker, andshe's a woman and she's all
about diversity. And you know,she brings diversity into the
(16:50):
industry. Yeah. So while true, Iwant that to be secondary, not
the primary.
I love that. Ijust got goosebumps. So thank
you. As a trailblazer, why doyou think it's so difficult for
women to break into, or breakthrough in the tech industry?
Mariquit Corcoran (17:11):
I really think inherently, it's because
it's not easy. And it's easierto give up.
Tara Thurber (17:16):
Yeah.
Mariquit Corcoran (17:16):
I think about all these other careers, I could
have chosen, or many women canchoose where they don't have to
fight so hard for equalopportunity equal pay, not being
the only woman in the room.
Tara Thurber (17:29):
Yeah.
Mariquit Corcoran (17:29):
And it's easier to take that path and be
you can be just as successful,make just as much money, and
collect as many titles as youcan versus working in tech. So I
think that's, that's a toughone. So I think you really have
to recognize progress is slow.
It's not going to be overnight.
I certainly can't fix anythingmyself. But I can make
(17:49):
incremental changes. And if Ican help a few founders or a few
women with their careers, I'vedone my part and hopefully
others do the same. And youknow, maybe some have done that
for me as well. But I reallythink that's why it's hard any
male dominated industry, it'salways going to be hard for
women, because your voice may bethe minority. But you also
recognize there's a magnifyingglass on what you say, Because
(18:12):
you are the minority, so there'sthat added pressure. And I think
that makes it really hard. Andearly in my career, I used to be
really scared to speak upbecause I felt like what I was
gonna say was gonna bescrutinized 10 times more than
the 10 men sitting around mebecause I was the only woman in
the room.
Tara Thurber (18:28):
Yup.
Mariquit Corcoran (18:29):
And I think what was important was flipping
that and then thinking, Wait,what I'm going to say to women
in the room, then more peopleare going to listen and
hopefully be impacted by what Isay. So it's just looking at the
two different perspectives.
Tara Thurber (18:46):
I love that and you know, I work and talk to a
lot of women that are trying tobreak into the tech industry or
are in the tech industry and arestruggling to find their voice
or to use their voice. So onething I like too, that I hear
from you is just keep pushing,keep pushing forward, breaking
those boundaries, and allowyourself to be uncomfortable,
(19:12):
but feel that uncomfortablenessand just keep, just keep going.
I feel a struggle when I talk toa lot of women and it's, they do
feel that way. And I also feelthat it's good to let them know
that they're not alone. I thinkthat's a really strong point,
(19:32):
too is women now work, they'recoming together in numbers
within the tech industry andthey're trying to lift each
other up. And I think thatthat's really important too.
Mariquit Corcoran (19:44):
Find your people find your network, it
doesn't have to be 50 strong butif you have two or three people
you can talk to that can makeall the difference especially
when you're having a bad daywhich we all have.
Tara Thurber (19:54):
Yeah.
Mariquit Corcoran (19:54):
Find the right people to call or talk to
and if you can, like also havethem not be in your immediate
circle. I'm at work, because anoutside perspective is so
valuable when it comes to makingbig decisions, or even sometimes
even the littlest decisions justneed someone else to to give a
different perspective.
Tara Thurber (20:11):
I love that. So within the industry, what are
some changes you'd want to see?
I think let's kind of justtarget into do you have a
favorite quote or mantra thatyou use?
Mariquit Corcoran (20:31):
Yes, well, this is probably not specific to
the industry. But I saw it in asign once at some like random
location in London, and I neverforgot it. I'm pretty sure took
a picture with it. And itbasically said, work hard, play
hard and be kind to others. AndI think that sign or that
message can be in a kindergartenclassroom.
Tara Thurber (20:51):
Yeah.
Mariquit Corcoran (20:52):
And it can be in the office of a Fortune 500
CEO. Right?
Tara Thurber (20:57):
Absolutley.
Mariquit Corcoran (20:57):
Those are words to live by. And I think
about that all the time.
Tara Thurber (21:00):
Absolutely. I really love that a lot. In
regards to technology, what aresome updates you're excited
about that are happeningnowadays?
Mariquit Corcoran (21:11):
Gosh, it's probably the hot topic of the of
the year. But all the otherthings happening in AI.
Tara Thurber (21:18):
Yeah.
Mariquit Corcoran (21:18):
It's just beginning. And artificial
intelligence isn't anything new.
To be honest, I found like fiveyears ago was such a buzzword.
Tara Thurber (21:25):
Mmm hmm.
Mariquit Corcoran (21:25):
Every other pitch I heard use the word
artificial intelligence, whetherthey were truly using it or not,
or understood it or not.
Tara Thurber (21:31):
Right.
Mariquit Corcoran (21:31):
But I do think with things like ChatGPT,
and all these other innovationscoming along, it's just
beginning. And there's a lot ofopportunity there to impact
every industry, not justfinancial services, right? It
can impact everything,healthcare, consumer, etc. And I
think that's really exciting. Aslong as people get it right, and
(21:53):
seeing us in the appropriateway. I really think it's
limitless. I remember, I think Ihad read I think the the founder
of ChatGPT said something like,look, calculators changed the
way math had to be taught,right? Things like ChatGPT are
going to change the way essaysare written or tests are given.
And I think that's great. Iactually think innovation and
(22:15):
change is good, as long as tosmartly and correctly. And we're
in a generation to wherechildren are tech savvy. I, to
be honest, like I thought it wasso exciting. I was going to show
my 13 year old how ChatGPTworked when she was studying for
something. And she looked at me,she said, Mom, I've been using
this for months.
Tara Thurber (22:33):
(laughs loudly)
Mariquit Corcoran (22:33):
I thought oh, okay - yeah, I mean, it was the
biggest, the biggest sort ofpeople that are going to impact
technology and innovation areprobably between the ages of
like 10 and 16 years old rightnow.
Tara Thurber (22:50):
Yeah.
Mariquit Corcoran (22:52):
That was really humbling, by the way,
because I thought I was gonna belike, Look at this exciting
thing I'm going to show you andit was just like, Yeah, okay,
I've been using it for months.
What are you gonna show me?
Tara Thurber (22:59):
Been there, done that, thank you! (laughs)
Mariquit Corcoran (23:01):
Exactly.
(laughs)
Tara Thurber (23:04):
When I talked to my daughter about it as well.
And it's, it's something for me,I think a lot of people look at
AI in so many different ways.
And you're right, it needs to beused properly, because I think
that's going to force the nextgeneration and the next
generation to grow and thinkfurther and further outside of
(23:27):
the box in order for I mean, alldifferent industries to really
change. And change is good. Ifeel like so many people get
very worried about change, orstart to get really nervous, but
what I'm seeing out there is allof the changes is good, are
good, because it's just gonnahelp everything. I say grow, I
(23:51):
feel like I keep going back tothe grow and innovate and step
outside of the box step outsideof the those comfort zones in
order to continue to keeppushing forward.
Mariquit Corcoran (24:07):
I absolutely agree. And I think what's
exciting about AI is when youlook back maybe even 20 years
ago the words AI were linked torobots that take over the world.
Tara Thurber (24:19):
(laughs)
Mariquit Corcoran (24:19):
Or it was such like a scary mystery sort
of sci fi type of thing. But Ithink there's a lot more
education, right? It's notreally that out there, right?
It'ssomething that can exist and so
Tara Thurber (24:30):
No.
many things that we use everyday, and I'm sure most of us who
turn on a computer every dayencounter some sort of AI
without even knowing it andbreaking it down and I think
educating people about what itactually is what it means makes
it a little less scary. And it'snot about these fancy robotic
movies that again, I think aboutall those movies that came out
(24:51):
20 plus years ago that's alwayswhat they were so became a scary
thing. Whereas now it's Hey, AIis using you know, an online
chat bot that allows me toresolve an issue without going
through 20 steps or prompts on aphone.
Right?
Mariquit Corcoran (25:04):
That's great!
Tara Thurber (25:05):
Right?! It's an added tool for us. It's an added
tool for us to utilize. Amazing.
Mariquit, I could be on this forhours with you. Please, I would
love for you to share with ouraudience, your Top5 Ways to
Succeed in Any Job.
Mariquit Corcoran (25:26):
Number one, I think about this anytime I
actually recruit or interview anindividual, and it's be someone
people want to work with.
Tara Thurber (25:36):
I love that.
Mariquit Corcoran (25:37):
Iit's so simple. You don't have to be the
smartest person in the room.
Just be someone people want towork with. Because ultimately,
that's what's gonna matter the
most. Two (25:44):
don't offer your help to someone if you're not sincere
about it. And throughout yourcareer, you'll find people like,
Oh, do you need help? Or can Ican I assist in that and when
you actually, maybe once in awhile, ask them, they almost
seem annoyed with you (laughs).
Tara Thurber (25:58):
Yeah (laughs).
Mariquit Corcoran (25:58):
Versus the ones who actually are sincere
wan (26:01):
learn from others mistakes, don't be smug, you could make
the same ones yourself. You'renot above that. And when you see
someone going through a toughtime, observe, watch, have some
empathy and know that that couldbe you. So learn from their
mistakes. Four (26:17):
if you're in a position where you have time,
contacts and lessons learned toshare, please do so. I really do
believe I said, although you getwhat you give. And last, it was
in that sign I saw a long timeago, which is be kind. It's such
an easy thing to do. But it'ssomething people don't always
(26:38):
remember to do. And the thing isin your career, at least in my
career, I think you're you'regonna remember every time
somebody was kind to you. And atflipside, you'll remember when
people were unkind to you. And Ijust think again be kind of you
get what you give and it allcomes back to you. So those are
(26:59):
my Top5 Ways to Succeed in AnyJob or anything really.
Tara Thurber (27:06):
I love it. Thank you so much for sharing your
time with us today. I reallylook forward to continuing
conversations with you in thefuture.
Mariquit Corcoran (27:15):
I appreciate it. Thank you so much for your
time. I really enjoyed speakingwith you and yeah, let's let's
get out there and get the rightmessages out.
Tara Thurber (27:22):
Definitely. We are DefinedTalent at DefinedTogic
service coming to you at Top5.
Make it a great day.
Hey everyone, welcome back to Top5 brought to
you by DefinedTalent. We are aresults driven service working
with clients to connect themwith quality talent, as well as
working to make an impact withinthe recruiting industry. We talk
straight about today'sprofessional world with real
world professionals, experts inrecruitment, job seekers and
business owners alike. Have aquestion for us send it in a you
(00:24):
might spur our nextconversation. I'm Tara Thurber,
Co-founder and Director ofTalent Partnerships here at
DefinedTalent. And joining metoday is Mariquit Corcoran, one
of the leading women in FinTech.
Welcome, Mariquit. How are youtoday?
Mariquit Corcoran (00:41):
I'm great.
Thanks so much for having me.
Tara Thurber (00:42):
Absolutely. I'm so excited to have you join us to
share your Top5 Ways to Succeedin Any Job. So in doing some
research, I've seen in a surveyfrom the National Association
for Business Economists, that58% are saying a recession is
forecasted for 2023. With usbeing in the thick of 2023 now,
(01:04):
I can't believe it's coming tothe end of it., how or does this
affect your view on investing instartups and growing business
ventures?
Mariquit Corcoran (01:14):
I think we can all agree it's been a tough
one - two years, the market haschanged. But this really
shouldn't be a surprise foranyone. The excess of 2021
wasn't sustainable. Andhopefully the smartest companies
and leaders prepared for that. Iremember looking at investment
deals where you had to make adecision over a weekend or else
you weren't even gonna have achance to get in on it. That
(01:36):
isn't normal. And I knew that atthe time that what we were
seeing in the market wasn'tgoing to be what was going to be
the near future. So hopefully,whether you're a founder or
leader of a company, you'reprepared for that. And as an
investor, like everyone else,I'm more cautious about where I
invest, especially when it comesto startups, because inherently,
(01:58):
they're riskier investments. Butmy views have always been the
same - invest in companies thathave a path to sustainable
revenue, a solid product, marketfit, and most importantly,
strong leadership, especiallyimportant in these tough times.
Tara Thurber (02:08):
I love that. And then as an investor, can you
describe the spark you look forin either startup businesses, or
business leaders? And just tokind of piggyback on that, when
was the last time you saw thespark?
Mariquit Corcoran (02:24):
Sure, as a spark I'm looking for, I think
when I find a leader who isgenuinely willing to listen and
act on feedback. I get a lot ofpitches presented to me, and
sometimes it sounds like ascripted rehearsal. And they're
not even listening or lookingfor any feedback, they're just
ready to get their script andmove on. I get very excited when
(02:47):
I see a leader talk to me aboutan idea or a company that they
have, and actually pause tolisten to what I have to say,
and whether they agree with itor not seeing that they're
listening, and they'rerecognizing what I'm trying to
give to them. Right? I do haveexpertise in this space as most
people they're probablypresenting to so use an
opportunity to listen to them,whether you agree with it or
not. And for products, I getsuper excited, actually, when I
(03:11):
hear about a product and orservice. And the first thing I
think about is why didn't Ithink of that, or, gosh, I wish
that existed back in XYZ time.
Tara Thurber (03:20):
Right.
Mariquit Corcoran (03:20):
So that's, that's when I sort of get
excited about that. And thosethose types of things, I think
are really important as you'rean investor trying to make a
decision on what to do next.
That said, I get more excitedwhen I find a leader I want to
invest in because with astartup, whatever product or
service, they start with morethan often that's not what they
end up with.
Tara Thurber (03:42):
Right!
Mariquit Corcoran (03:42):
As much as you can get excited with what's
presented to you know that it'sgoing to change 10, 20 times
before our final product is outthere if they get to that point.
But if I find a leader who Ithink hey, this is someone he or
she I want to work with for anextended period of time, that's
when I sort of get that spark.
And last time, I felt that, tobe honest, probably the
highlight was when I used tolead the Barclays Accelerator
(04:05):
powered by TechStars. That was aprogram which I helped lead for
several years. And gosh, therewere so many instances where a
founder was either you know,straight out of school
presenting an idea or someonehad been in the industry for 30
years and I want to come backand change something. There are
so many instances that I gotthat spark and actually you
(04:25):
probably look up that portfolioevery company that made it into
that program was one that youknow sparked when they
presented to me.
Tara Thurber (04:34):
Right. I love to that you go through the the
listening aspect because peopledo have these ideas and they
want to kind of explode them outthere. But they don't take a
step back to listen to thefeedback to listen to the
criticism to the positives andthe negatives of feedback. And
(04:55):
so I love that you value that. Ifind that that's really
important too.
Mariquit Corcoran (05:01):
I mean, I'll just plug it out there, I've
often been asked how do you sellto big businesses or big
companies or big banks?And it'sthe same advice when you're
presenting your company. Theyalready know what your company
offers, because you wouldn't behaving that meeting to begin
with.
Tara Thurber (05:14):
Right! (laughs)
Mariquit Corcoran (05:14):
The ones who are actually successful in a
sale or getting a contract inplace are the ones who actually
listen to the people they'repitching to. And if you pick up
on an issue or a problem orconcern that they have, and then
you either address it on thespot, or come back to them and
say, Hey, I listened to you, Iknow, this is what you want to
get done. Here's how my productcan do that. That's how you sign
(05:35):
a deal and sign a contract. It'snot going to be the cookie
cutter pitch that you get overand over that may get you the
meeting, but that's not going toget you the deal.
Tara Thurber (05:42):
Yep, I can definitely understand and see
that all the way through. So howdo you encourage new business
ventures or business people toeither seek out their dream or
keep going when maybe they're ina rut? Or maybe they get
negative feedback. What What areyour thoughts?
Mariquit Corcoran (06:04):
So I am super pragmatic, anyone who knows me
will attest to that. And my viewis, if there's a founder with an
idea, or a product that I thinkhas real promise, you just got
to remind them that an overnightsuccess takes 7 to 10 years.
Someone I heard someone say thatonce. And that's in my head all
the time. Because when you hearabout these amazing companies
(06:25):
with these incredible exits, ordeals, they weren't invented
yesterday, they've been aroundfor a very long time. So I think
it's pushing through and takingthose rejections and continuing
to move forward. Those are allreally key things to tell people
that you're probably going tofail 5, 10, 15, 20 times before
you get that next step kind of,you know, resolved or through.
(06:47):
And I tell them, like,especially if I believe in what
they're doing and theirleadership, then I will give
them the support, advice, openmy network to them and really
encourage them to to moveforward or help kind of think
through, hey, here's some ideason what you should be doing
next, and sort of really bethere for them and support them.
But to be perfectly frank, onthe flip side, if I see a
founder struggling, or I see acompany struggling, and I don't
(07:08):
think there's big promise, Iwill also be very honest with
them, whether they want to hearit or not, and say, Listen,
maybe you want to take that exittoday, because that may not be
available to you six months fromnow, people don't want to hear
that. But the good leaderslisten, and I think you have to
be realistic, in great times,you don't have to worry about
that. But in tougher times, youreally have to be conscious of
(07:30):
that. And I think that's areally, that's why I say I
invest in the founder and leaderbecause they have to be able to
make those decisions, and lookout, you know, for the company
and themselves and not thinkabout what could have been or
what they ideally want. Becauseyou're not always going to get
that.
Tara Thurber (07:42):
Yeah, you know, I've always been one to failure
is opportunity. And if somebodycan accept that or being in a
rut, there's always going to bea way to learn from it or, and
to be better than what you werejust at. So it's almost
acknowledging, accepting andfinding the positivity and the
(08:04):
opportunity even in a rut or ina negative space, right?
Mariquit Corcoran (08:10):
1,000%, and I've had those threats of myself
in my career.
Tara Thurber (08:13):
Yeah! (laughs)
Mariquit Corcoran (08:13):
I mean, of course, we will talk about all
the highlights, you know, we putall the highlights in our BIOS
and awards and recognition. Butthere have been some really
tough lows, and you have to sortof self reflect and be aware and
figure out okay, well, what am Igoing to do? Is it gonna break
me?
Tara Thurber (08:26):
Right. Yep.
Mariquit Corcoran (08:26):
Are they gonna make me stronger? And I
remember one point in my careerwhen I was just ready to give
up, right? I was just like, thisis done. And I'm just this is,
it's too much, I can't do itanymore. And I had a good friend
who I used to call my lifecoach. And he looked over at me
and said, Don't let this breakyou. This is a blip in your
career.
Tara Thurber (08:42):
Right (laughs).
Mariquit Corcoran (08:42):
I'm like, You know what, you're right. And at
the time, it was probably justlike this awful moment in your
career. And you're you know,you're kind of second guessing
everything you've done, but likeit was totally a blip. Right?
Because six months after that, Iwasn't even thinking about that
moment.
Tara Thurber (08:55):
Right (laughs).
Mariquit Corcoran (08:55):
And so you just have to get through it. And
whether it's your career or yourcompany, you got to keep moving
forward.
Tara Thurber (09:01):
I love that so much. It's definitely true. So
to dive into a little bit withFinTech, why did you choose a
career in FinTech? I would lovefor you to share your story.
Mariquit Corcoran (09:13):
It kind of chose me. I, to be honest, you
know, 1520 years ago, I'm noteven sure I would have known how
to define a FinTech or maybeback then everybody just defined
that as a payments company,right>? Now it's such a broad
definition. But what hadhappened was I started my career
in Wall Street and was ananalyst at Goldman Sachs went
through their analyst program,and held a variety of different
(09:34):
roles. And one day I got a phonecall from their private equity
arm and they told me that theywere looking to create a new
revenue generating business. Andwould I like to join them and
doing that and I thought, wow,wait, well, one of those are one
of those phone calls you don'tget every day. Ultimately, fast
forward I did join and we spentthe next year developing what
(09:55):
became Marcus by Goldman Sachs,which was the first consumer for
a for Goldman And that wasreally where I just jumped in.
And I started learning about allthese innovative new technology
solutions. And I really did endup meeting with some potential
vendors, for example, that trulyweren't like the traditional
startup that was just newlycreated, as well as more
(10:16):
established startups. And Irealized FinTech was this
game-changing category ofcompanies. And I started really
appreciating how muchindividual's finances or
awareness of their financescould really impact not just
those individuals, but theindustry. I'm like, the whole,
like, No, we're really just likethe whole economy of the whole
(10:37):
world. And it really stemmedfrom oftentimes an individual
understanding how money works,how they should save money, what
they should do with theirfinances, how they should think
about it, whether it's forthemselves or their businesses,
and I got really passionateabout about the space. And
ultimately, when, you know, it'sbeen a couple of years at Marcus
and I was trying to think aboutwhat we had already launched,
(10:58):
like what was next I had thisopportunity from Barclays, who
recruited me to run theirAccelerator Program, run their
FinTech partnerships, eventuallylead several investment pools of
funding capital, and then createnew programs to support and work
with fintechs. And I really justimmersed myself in this space
(11:18):
and realized 1) it wasn't justone, one lane of category,
FinTech can impact you in somany different angles. Some of
them aren't even financialservices related, right? It's
really broad, you can go intohealth care, you can go into
gaming tech, there's just somuch out there. And I got really
excited about the solutions Iwas seeing that I could see
impacting my day to day life. Soa fun story I always think
(11:40):
about. When I got married almosttwo decades ago, I remember
receiving a stack of physicalchecks. And my husband and I had
a destination wedding. And wewere gonna go to Hawaii right
after our wedding. I carriedthese physical checks with me
through through Hawaii and putthem in like my hotel space
through island hopping for twoweeks, hoping I wouldn't lose
(12:02):
one and they wouldn't get wet.
And think about how crazy thatis now!
Tara Thurber (12:07):
(laughs)
Mariquit Corcoran (12:07):
With the solutions are out there. That
wasn't that long ago.
Tara Thurber (12:10):
Right! Wow.
Mariquit Corcoran (12:12):
And to think about, like, that's such a minor
thing, but that inconveniencedoesn't even exist today.
Tara Thurber (12:17):
Yeah.
Mariquit Corcoran (12:17):
So to think about how something that simple
could be impacted, versus youknow, how FinTech can so be
broadly, you know, applied now,right? You think about, you go
online, there's embedded financeand so many different
opportunities out there, you cansort of buy anything online and
take out a loan or, you know, doit in multiple payments and do
(12:37):
it all in one stop shopping. Or,you know, even on the flip side,
you could be a gig worker, andyou can have their FinTech
applications that help manageyour funds so that they're
coming in in regular incrementsare helping you manage it. Like
there's just so many differentapplications. And I guess
without choosing FinTech, I kindof fell into it. And it just
became something that I was justimmersed in and passionate
(12:58):
about. And I just see theapplicability everywhere. So
it's hard not to be invested init and hard not to be immersed
in it and wanting to support it.
And we're just beginning.
There's so much to do.
Tara Thurber (13:08):
Right. So much to do. And I feel like it's
exploding fast, though. And it'sgrowing fast, too.
Mariquit Corcoran (13:17):
It totally is. There was that massive
growth, of course, over the lastprobably five, seven years.
Yeah, I'm trying to think aboutthe last year or two.
Tara Thurber (13:25):
Right.
Mariquit Corcoran (13:25):
But prior to that there was just this
exponential growth.
Tara Thurber (13:29):
Yeah.
Mariquit Corcoran (13:29):
But there's still so much out there and
probably a shift and what typesof companies and solutions are
going to be created and grow.
And yeah, I'm talking aboutphysical checks. I can imagine
what we'll be talking about in10 years of what's created out
there.
Tara Thurber (13:43):
Yeah, it's exciting. It's really exciting.
So as you know, one of theleading women in FinTech, I know
that you do a lot of talks, youdo a lot of interviews. I mean,
that's how I came to meet youwas watching you speak at a
TechUnited event. When you'respeaking, talking, interviewing,
(14:06):
reading your bio, what is onething that you wish you would
have said? Is there anything isthere one thing that is missing
or that you would want to sendout to the universe?
Mariquit Corcoran (14:18):
So actually, two things popped into mind. So
I'm gonna answer it in two ways.
Probably personally about me.
Yes, you can read my bio, I readabout the accomplishments and
I'm very proud of them and trustme and worked really hard to
achieve each and every one ofthem.
Tara Thurber (14:30):
Yeah.
Mariquit Corcoran (14:31):
But I think what doesn't come across some
times, whether it's me oranyone's bio is like who they
are as a person and who they areas an investor or colleague. And
for me, I think really is whatyou see is what you get. I
genuinely try to be a goodperson. I sincerely try to help
any company I work with. I don'tpretend to know everything about
(14:52):
everything. I like to say I knowa little bit about everything
but I know an expert and prettymuch anything so everybody has a
phone call or text message.
Tara Thurber (15:00):
Right.
Mariquit Corcoran (15:01):
I think that makes you valuable to be able to
recognize that and then sort ofbuild that network. And I do
believe like, you know, for me,you get what you give. And
that's something I do think thatI live by. And that's probably
not something that I'll evercome across in a speech or big
interview. And the other thing,I think the flipside I just
(15:23):
wanted to answer to that was,when you do all these talks, I
will say it's good and bad to belabeled as a woman in a male
dominated industry. So good,because people are listening and
I love that I have the voice.
And I have the ability to get mymessage out there. And
hopefully, you know, strike achord with, you know, with
people, I love it, when I getlike a CEO of a big company come
(15:46):
up to me after talking to melike, Oh, my gosh, I had no idea
about XYZ. Now, thanks forcommunicating that. That's
awesome. But I do think that wehave to be careful that if
there's, for example, a woman ina male dominated industry, that
the questions don't all becomeabout, So what's it's like being
a woman in that industry or talkto me about diversity? And
(16:06):
again, I think it's a doubleedged sword. I love the
platform, and ability to voicethat, but you also don't want to
be labeled as Okay, well, youknow, we have this woman speaker
she'll talk about, she'll talkabout that. And I do think
there's, there's a bit of abalance you want to get there.
And look, I'll talk about genderequity all day.
(16:29):
But I hopepeople are listening to more
Tara Thurber (16:29):
Yeah.
than just that, because I wantto be looked at as Mariquit
Corcoran an accomplishedhardworking leader who has made
change and impacted XYZcolleagues, companies, founders,
etc. Not America Corker, andshe's a woman and she's all
about diversity. And you know,she brings diversity into the
(16:50):
industry. Yeah. So while true, Iwant that to be secondary, not
the primary.
I love that. Ijust got goosebumps. So thank
you. As a trailblazer, why doyou think it's so difficult for
women to break into, or breakthrough in the tech industry?
Mariquit Corcoran (17:11):
I really think inherently, it's because
it's not easy. And it's easierto give up.
Tara Thurber (17:16):
Yeah.
Mariquit Corcoran (17:16):
I think about all these other careers, I could
have chosen, or many women canchoose where they don't have to
fight so hard for equalopportunity equal pay, not being
the only woman in the room.
Tara Thurber (17:29):
Yeah.
Mariquit Corcoran (17:29):
And it's easier to take that path and be
you can be just as successful,make just as much money, and
collect as many titles as youcan versus working in tech. So I
think that's, that's a toughone. So I think you really have
to recognize progress is slow.
It's not going to be overnight.
I certainly can't fix anythingmyself. But I can make
(17:49):
incremental changes. And if Ican help a few founders or a few
women with their careers, I'vedone my part and hopefully
others do the same. And youknow, maybe some have done that
for me as well. But I reallythink that's why it's hard any
male dominated industry, it'salways going to be hard for
women, because your voice may bethe minority. But you also
recognize there's a magnifyingglass on what you say, Because
(18:12):
you are the minority, so there'sthat added pressure. And I think
that makes it really hard. Andearly in my career, I used to be
really scared to speak upbecause I felt like what I was
gonna say was gonna bescrutinized 10 times more than
the 10 men sitting around mebecause I was the only woman in
the room.
Tara Thurber (18:28):
Yup.
Mariquit Corcoran (18:29):
And I think what was important was flipping
that and then thinking, Wait,what I'm going to say to women
in the room, then more peopleare going to listen and
hopefully be impacted by what Isay. So it's just looking at the
two different perspectives.
Tara Thurber (18:46):
I love that and you know, I work and talk to a
lot of women that are trying tobreak into the tech industry or
are in the tech industry and arestruggling to find their voice
or to use their voice. So onething I like too, that I hear
from you is just keep pushing,keep pushing forward, breaking
those boundaries, and allowyourself to be uncomfortable,
(19:12):
but feel that uncomfortablenessand just keep, just keep going.
I feel a struggle when I talk toa lot of women and it's, they do
feel that way. And I also feelthat it's good to let them know
that they're not alone. I thinkthat's a really strong point,
(19:32):
too is women now work, they'recoming together in numbers
within the tech industry andthey're trying to lift each
other up. And I think thatthat's really important too.
Mariquit Corcoran (19:44):
Find your people find your network, it
doesn't have to be 50 strong butif you have two or three people
you can talk to that can makeall the difference especially
when you're having a bad daywhich we all have.
Tara Thurber (19:54):
Yeah.
Mariquit Corcoran (19:54):
Find the right people to call or talk to
and if you can, like also havethem not be in your immediate
circle. I'm at work, because anoutside perspective is so
valuable when it comes to makingbig decisions, or even sometimes
even the littlest decisions justneed someone else to to give a
different perspective.
Tara Thurber (20:11):
I love that. So within the industry, what are
some changes you'd want to see?
I think let's kind of justtarget into do you have a
favorite quote or mantra thatyou use?
Mariquit Corcoran (20:31):
Yes, well, this is probably not specific to
the industry. But I saw it in asign once at some like random
location in London, and I neverforgot it. I'm pretty sure took
a picture with it. And itbasically said, work hard, play
hard and be kind to others. AndI think that sign or that
message can be in a kindergartenclassroom.
Tara Thurber (20:51):
Yeah.
Mariquit Corcoran (20:52):
And it can be in the office of a Fortune 500
CEO. Right?
Tara Thurber (20:57):
Absolutley.
Mariquit Corcoran (20:57):
Those are words to live by. And I think
about that all the time.
Tara Thurber (21:00):
Absolutely. I really love that a lot. In
regards to technology, what aresome updates you're excited
about that are happeningnowadays?
Mariquit Corcoran (21:11):
Gosh, it's probably the hot topic of the of
the year. But all the otherthings happening in AI.
Tara Thurber (21:18):
Yeah.
Mariquit Corcoran (21:18):
It's just beginning. And artificial
intelligence isn't anything new.
To be honest, I found like fiveyears ago was such a buzzword.
Tara Thurber (21:25):
Mmm hmm.
Mariquit Corcoran (21:25):
Every other pitch I heard use the word
artificial intelligence, whetherthey were truly using it or not,
or understood it or not.
Tara Thurber (21:31):
Right.
Mariquit Corcoran (21:31):
But I do think with things like ChatGPT,
and all these other innovationscoming along, it's just
beginning. And there's a lot ofopportunity there to impact
every industry, not justfinancial services, right? It
can impact everything,healthcare, consumer, etc. And I
think that's really exciting. Aslong as people get it right, and
(21:53):
seeing us in the appropriateway. I really think it's
limitless. I remember, I think Ihad read I think the the founder
of ChatGPT said something like,look, calculators changed the
way math had to be taught,right? Things like ChatGPT are
going to change the way essaysare written or tests are given.
And I think that's great. Iactually think innovation and
(22:15):
change is good, as long as tosmartly and correctly. And we're
in a generation to wherechildren are tech savvy. I, to
be honest, like I thought it wasso exciting. I was going to show
my 13 year old how ChatGPTworked when she was studying for
something. And she looked at me,she said, Mom, I've been using
this for months.
Tara Thurber (22:33):
(laughs loudly)
Mariquit Corcoran (22:33):
I thought oh, okay - yeah, I mean, it was the
biggest, the biggest sort ofpeople that are going to impact
technology and innovation areprobably between the ages of
like 10 and 16 years old rightnow.
Tara Thurber (22:50):
Yeah.
Mariquit Corcoran (22:52):
That was really humbling, by the way,
because I thought I was gonna belike, Look at this exciting
thing I'm going to show you andit was just like, Yeah, okay,
I've been using it for months.
What are you gonna show me?
Tara Thurber (22:59):
Been there, done that, thank you! (laughs)
Mariquit Corcoran (23:01):
Exactly.
(laughs)
Tara Thurber (23:04):
When I talked to my daughter about it as well.
And it's, it's something for me,I think a lot of people look at
AI in so many different ways.
And you're right, it needs to beused properly, because I think
that's going to force the nextgeneration and the next
generation to grow and thinkfurther and further outside of
(23:27):
the box in order for I mean, alldifferent industries to really
change. And change is good. Ifeel like so many people get
very worried about change, orstart to get really nervous, but
what I'm seeing out there is allof the changes is good, are
good, because it's just gonnahelp everything. I say grow, I
(23:51):
feel like I keep going back tothe grow and innovate and step
outside of the box step outsideof the those comfort zones in
order to continue to keeppushing forward.
Mariquit Corcoran (24:07):
I absolutely agree. And I think what's
exciting about AI is when youlook back maybe even 20 years
ago the words AI were linked torobots that take over the world.
Tara Thurber (24:19):
(laughs)
Mariquit Corcoran (24:19):
Or it was such like a scary mystery sort
of sci fi type of thing. But Ithink there's a lot more
education, right? It's notreally that out there, right?
It'ssomething that can exist and so
Tara Thurber (24:30):
No.
many things that we use everyday, and I'm sure most of us who
turn on a computer every dayencounter some sort of AI
without even knowing it andbreaking it down and I think
educating people about what itactually is what it means makes
it a little less scary. And it'snot about these fancy robotic
movies that again, I think aboutall those movies that came out
(24:51):
20 plus years ago that's alwayswhat they were so became a scary
thing. Whereas now it's Hey, AIis using you know, an online
chat bot that allows me toresolve an issue without going
through 20 steps or prompts on aphone.
Right?
Mariquit Corcoran (25:04):
That's great!
Tara Thurber (25:05):
Right?! It's an added tool for us. It's an added
tool for us to utilize. Amazing.
Mariquit, I could be on this forhours with you. Please, I would
love for you to share with ouraudience, your Top5 Ways to
Succeed in Any Job.
Mariquit Corcoran (25:26):
Number one, I think about this anytime I
actually recruit or interview anindividual, and it's be someone
people want to work with.
Tara Thurber (25:36):
I love that.
Mariquit Corcoran (25:37):
Iit's so simple. You don't have to be the
smartest person in the room.
Just be someone people want towork with. Because ultimately,
that's what's gonna matter the
most. Two (25:44):
don't offer your help to someone if you're not sincere
about it. And throughout yourcareer, you'll find people like,
Oh, do you need help? Or can Ican I assist in that and when
you actually, maybe once in awhile, ask them, they almost
seem annoyed with you (laughs).
Tara Thurber (25:58):
Yeah (laughs).
Mariquit Corcoran (25:58):
Versus the ones who actually are sincere
wan (26:01):
learn from others mistakes, don't be smug, you could make
the same ones yourself. You'renot above that. And when you see
someone going through a toughtime, observe, watch, have some
empathy and know that that couldbe you. So learn from their
mistakes. Four (26:17):
if you're in a position where you have time,
contacts and lessons learned toshare, please do so. I really do
believe I said, although you getwhat you give. And last, it was
in that sign I saw a long timeago, which is be kind. It's such
an easy thing to do. But it'ssomething people don't always
(26:38):
remember to do. And the thing isin your career, at least in my
career, I think you're you'regonna remember every time
somebody was kind to you. And atflipside, you'll remember when
people were unkind to you. And Ijust think again be kind of you
get what you give and it allcomes back to you. So those are
(26:59):
my Top5 Ways to Succeed in AnyJob or anything really.
Tara Thurber (27:06):
I love it. Thank you so much for sharing your
time with us today. I reallylook forward to continuing
conversations with you in thefuture.
Mariquit Corcoran (27:15):
I appreciate it. Thank you so much for your
time. I really enjoyed speakingwith you and yeah, let's let's
get out there and get the rightmessages out.
Tara Thurber (27:22):
Definitely. We are DefinedTalent at DefinedTogic
service coming to you at Top5.
Make it a great day.
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