<![CDATA[My Unlikely Career]]>939b5414-9c4a-58d0-9dde-999c4c655cfbWed, 14 Oct 2026 10:00:18 +0000Captivate.fmUnlikely Careershttps://artwork.captivate.fm/e7dac802-a3ae-4751-9e07-23c2663f0f8f/MUC-Cover.jpgMy Unlikely CareerUnlikely CareersUnlikely CareersCelebrating people who have carved out unique career paths and found success on their own terms. Whether you're just starting your career, stuck at a crossroads, or ready to make a change, this podcast is for you. Join us for intimate conversations about tough choices, unexpected turns, and the power of listening to your inner voice. https://unlikelycareers.com/falseepisodicnopodcastStarting From Scratch with François de HalleuxStarting From Scratch with François de HalleuxFrançois de Halleux grew up in a Belgian village dreaming of becoming a farmer or a chef. His parents wanted him to pursue a safer path, so he studied business engineering and went on to spend ten years at Google.

Then he left Google and the tech world to become a baker. He opened Origo, an organic sourdough bakery in Barcelona with a mission to promote regenerative agriculture through food.

François's story shows how small, deliberate experiments can make a big leap possible, and why being a beginner again is worth the discomfort.

We talk about:

  • Giving up on culinary school for a "safe" degree
  • Testing a big dream with a small pilot first
  • Traveling around the world without flying
  • Learning a craft through apprenticeship

Mentioned in this episode:

  • Tartine Bakery, San Francisco
  • Le Bricheton, Paris
  • The Mentawai Islands, Indonesia

Follow François's Work:


Join the Conversation:


]]>François de Halleux grew up in a Belgian village dreaming of becoming a farmer or a chef. His parents wanted him to pursue a safer path, so he studied business engineering and went on to spend ten years at Google.

Then he left Google and the tech world to become a baker. He opened Origo, an organic sourdough bakery in Barcelona with a mission to promote regenerative agriculture through food.

François's story shows how small, deliberate experiments can make a big leap possible, and why being a beginner again is worth the discomfort.

We talk about:

  • Giving up on culinary school for a "safe" degree
  • Testing a big dream with a small pilot first
  • Traveling around the world without flying
  • Learning a craft through apprenticeship

Mentioned in this episode:

  • Tartine Bakery, San Francisco
  • Le Bricheton, Paris
  • The Mentawai Islands, Indonesia

Follow François's Work:


Join the Conversation:


]]>722541bd-9008-47b5-beb0-1544db6de1fbWed, 14 Oct 2026 11:00:00 +010050:07falsefull1661Make Your Own Luck with Layla ShaikleyMake Your Own Luck with Layla ShaikleyLayla Shaikley has built an unusually nonlinear career. She completed gruelling studies in architecture (twice!) with the objective of contributing to post-war reconstruction of Iraq. She was an unlikely candidate for programs at NASA and MIT but got herself in anyway. She then landed her dream job at UN Habitat, went to Iraq to work on the reconstruction and decided it wasn't the right role for her. She went on to co-found a successful tech company Wise Systems and become a writer and creator with a huge following on multiple platforms.

Along the way she has had to navigate stereotypes, rejection, public scrutiny, and the pressure to fit into other people's ideas of who she should be.

In this episode we talk about:

  • What boredom taught her about creativity
  • Overreach and applying for things you're "not qualified" for
  • Rewriting the stories people make up about us
  • Learning to tolerate rejection and embarrassment
  • Walking away from a dream job, and choosing what not to become
  • Confidence, Capacity, and Creating more "surface area" for luck

Mentioned in this episode


Follow Layla


]]>Layla Shaikley has built an unusually nonlinear career. She completed gruelling studies in architecture (twice!) with the objective of contributing to post-war reconstruction of Iraq. She was an unlikely candidate for programs at NASA and MIT but got herself in anyway. She then landed her dream job at UN Habitat, went to Iraq to work on the reconstruction and decided it wasn't the right role for her. She went on to co-found a successful tech company Wise Systems and become a writer and creator with a huge following on multiple platforms.

Along the way she has had to navigate stereotypes, rejection, public scrutiny, and the pressure to fit into other people's ideas of who she should be.

In this episode we talk about:

  • What boredom taught her about creativity
  • Overreach and applying for things you're "not qualified" for
  • Rewriting the stories people make up about us
  • Learning to tolerate rejection and embarrassment
  • Walking away from a dream job, and choosing what not to become
  • Confidence, Capacity, and Creating more "surface area" for luck

Mentioned in this episode


Follow Layla


]]>f1af048d-4722-4d80-b520-55d176718b86Thu, 24 Sep 2026 12:15:00 +010057:19falsefull1551Live Your Purpose, Not Your Plan with Chris ConnorsLive Your Purpose, Not Your Plan with Chris ConnorsChris Connors takes us from a childhood in Belfast during the Troubles, through his career as part of an award-winning fashion design team in the late-nineties London fashion scene, to the painful losses that sent him on spiritual journey and new career path.

We talk about:

  • Growing up in a war and what constant fear does to a young nervous system
  • Burning his suit after a year in advertising, and what came next
  • Grief, PTSD, and the difference between suffering and our attachment to it
  • Holding many identities at once and the absurdity of linear thinking
  • Why the linear career is a fiction, and what our right brain is worth in an age of AI

Follow Chris's Work:


Join the Conversation:

Instagram: @myunlikelycareer

Substack: myunlikelycareer.substack.com

]]>Chris Connors takes us from a childhood in Belfast during the Troubles, through his career as part of an award-winning fashion design team in the late-nineties London fashion scene, to the painful losses that sent him on spiritual journey and new career path.

We talk about:

  • Growing up in a war and what constant fear does to a young nervous system
  • Burning his suit after a year in advertising, and what came next
  • Grief, PTSD, and the difference between suffering and our attachment to it
  • Holding many identities at once and the absurdity of linear thinking
  • Why the linear career is a fiction, and what our right brain is worth in an age of AI

Follow Chris's Work:


Join the Conversation:

Instagram: @myunlikelycareer

Substack: myunlikelycareer.substack.com

]]>6f05171d-70d4-43b1-b43e-877d79dfa7ccWed, 09 Sep 2026 20:25:00 +010055:52falsefull1441Don't Outsource Your Thinking with Ahmed RashadDon't Outsource Your Thinking with Ahmed RashadAhmed Rashad has built his career by chasing interesting problems and betting on the right people. From an oil rig in the Gulf to studying at MIT to joining the rocketship, Scale AI, in Silicon Valley, his path has never been predictable or planned. Along the way, he's learned to trust his intuition, take the right risks, and move on when comfort starts to feel like a trap.

We talk about:

  • How to take the right career bet and evaluate risk
  • Importance of building intuition from making mistakes
  • Dangers of outsourcing your thinking to AI tools
  • Knowing when stability starts to feel like a trap
  • What curiosity and obsession actually look like in practice

Follow Ahmed's Work:


Join the Conversation:

Instagram: @myunlikelycareer

Substack: myunlikelycareer.substack.com

]]>Ahmed Rashad has built his career by chasing interesting problems and betting on the right people. From an oil rig in the Gulf to studying at MIT to joining the rocketship, Scale AI, in Silicon Valley, his path has never been predictable or planned. Along the way, he's learned to trust his intuition, take the right risks, and move on when comfort starts to feel like a trap.

We talk about:

  • How to take the right career bet and evaluate risk
  • Importance of building intuition from making mistakes
  • Dangers of outsourcing your thinking to AI tools
  • Knowing when stability starts to feel like a trap
  • What curiosity and obsession actually look like in practice

Follow Ahmed's Work:


Join the Conversation:

Instagram: @myunlikelycareer

Substack: myunlikelycareer.substack.com

]]>892730cc-aa6d-4217-8637-a472a3e5bbcdTue, 25 Aug 2026 14:05:00 +010001:00:41falsefull1331Keeping The Dream Alive with Dominic JacquessonKeeping The Dream Alive with Dominic JacquessonFormer VP of Talent & Insights at Index Ventures, Dominic Jacquesson shares his remarkable journey from publishing to tech and venture capital and the decision to leave it all behind to become a student once again, now in his fifties. His story is a powerful reminder that the dreams and curiosities we carry through our lives don’t have to be left behind and that the path we take along the way can help make them possible.

We talk about:

  • Following your curiosity throughout your career
  • Creating the conditions to pursue your passions
  • Making a career pivot later in life
  • And some big questions around consciousness, AI, and what comes next

Follow Dominic’s Work:


Join the Conversation:

Instagram: @myunlikelycareer

Substack: myunlikelycareer.substack.com

]]>Former VP of Talent & Insights at Index Ventures, Dominic Jacquesson shares his remarkable journey from publishing to tech and venture capital and the decision to leave it all behind to become a student once again, now in his fifties. His story is a powerful reminder that the dreams and curiosities we carry through our lives don’t have to be left behind and that the path we take along the way can help make them possible.

We talk about:

  • Following your curiosity throughout your career
  • Creating the conditions to pursue your passions
  • Making a career pivot later in life
  • And some big questions around consciousness, AI, and what comes next

Follow Dominic’s Work:


Join the Conversation:

Instagram: @myunlikelycareer

Substack: myunlikelycareer.substack.com

]]>ec906e5f-c8f2-4920-9bf0-94038fef1d30Tue, 11 Aug 2026 13:15:00 +010056:13falsefull1221Nothing You Learn Is Ever Wasted with Bella PollenNothing You Learn Is Ever Wasted with Bella PollenBella Pollen began her career at nineteen as a self-taught fashion designer, founding her own label and becoming one of Britain’s best-known young designers. She later reinvented herself as a journalist and novelist, writing for publications including Vogue, The Financial Times and The Observer, and publishing five novels, among them the bestselling Hunting Unicorns and the critically acclaimed The Summer of the Bear.

Her work has increasingly taken her beyond the worlds of fashion and literature. After first visiting Afghanistan in 2013, she became deeply involved in education for Afghan girls as the cofounder and UK trustee of 30 Birds Foundation, supporting Afghan women and girls through education, mentorship and opportunity.

Bella has followed an instinct for finding possibility in unexpected places. Her story illustrates that even though our lives and careers may not always go to plan, we can use what we learn along the way to achieve more than we ever imagined possible.

We talk about:

  • Career reinvention and adaptability
  • The importance of resilience and hard work
  • Balancing motherhood and entrepreneurship
  • Lessons learned from success and failure
  • The impact of personal values on professional choices
  • The significance of community and responsibility

Follow Bella's Work:


Join the Conversation:

Instagram: @myunlikelycareer

Substack: myunlikelycareer.substack.com

© 2026 Unlikely Careers. All rights reserved.

]]>Bella Pollen began her career at nineteen as a self-taught fashion designer, founding her own label and becoming one of Britain’s best-known young designers. She later reinvented herself as a journalist and novelist, writing for publications including Vogue, The Financial Times and The Observer, and publishing five novels, among them the bestselling Hunting Unicorns and the critically acclaimed The Summer of the Bear.

Her work has increasingly taken her beyond the worlds of fashion and literature. After first visiting Afghanistan in 2013, she became deeply involved in education for Afghan girls as the cofounder and UK trustee of 30 Birds Foundation, supporting Afghan women and girls through education, mentorship and opportunity.

Bella has followed an instinct for finding possibility in unexpected places. Her story illustrates that even though our lives and careers may not always go to plan, we can use what we learn along the way to achieve more than we ever imagined possible.

We talk about:

  • Career reinvention and adaptability
  • The importance of resilience and hard work
  • Balancing motherhood and entrepreneurship
  • Lessons learned from success and failure
  • The impact of personal values on professional choices
  • The significance of community and responsibility

Follow Bella's Work:


Join the Conversation:

Instagram: @myunlikelycareer

Substack: myunlikelycareer.substack.com

© 2026 Unlikely Careers. All rights reserved.

]]>6968424e-f815-4071-8937-3c5c4ba01948Tue, 21 Jul 2026 15:15:00 +010001:00:07falsefull1111Introducing My Unlikely CareerIntroducing My Unlikely CareerWelcome to My Unlikely Career. In this podcast, we share honest conversations with people who followed their intuition and built non-linear career. These are stories of courage, reinvention, and redefining success on your own terms.

This trailer introduces the vision behind My Unlikely Career and what you can expect from the show. If you've ever questioned your chosen path, wondered about changing direction, or simply love hearing remarkable human stories, you're in the right place.

Subscribe now and join us twice a month for new episodes.

]]>Welcome to My Unlikely Career. In this podcast, we share honest conversations with people who followed their intuition and built non-linear career. These are stories of courage, reinvention, and redefining success on your own terms.

This trailer introduces the vision behind My Unlikely Career and what you can expect from the show. If you've ever questioned your chosen path, wondered about changing direction, or simply love hearing remarkable human stories, you're in the right place.

Subscribe now and join us twice a month for new episodes.

]]>16f7c58d-7c9b-4481-a067-1ede6ed84ab1Mon, 13 Jul 2026 10:00:00 +010001:45falsetrailer