Startup Founder, Google VP & Stanford Lecturer | Mauria Finley

In this episode of the HumanizeHer Podcast, we sit down with Mauria Finley - a powerhouse entrepreneur, Stanford lecturer, and current Vice President at Google.   Mauria shares a deeply personal and strategic look at a career that has oscillated between massive corporate scale and the high-stakes "grit and resilience" of the startup world. From building product spreadsheets in her living room to leading global teams, Mauria offers a masterclass in living a life driven by purpose, joy, and connection.   Key themes in this episode include: The Entrepreneurial Leap: Mauria discusses founding Citrus Lane (acquired by Care.com) at age 35 while raising a toddler and an infant, debunking the myth that you have to start young to succeed. Pitching with Conviction: A candid look at the venture capital world. Mauria shares the hard lessons she learned raising Series A funding, including the "Tony Fadell" moment that forced her to fix her intro and why women must pitch the "big idea" rather than a "risk-adjusted plan." The "Beautiful Failure": Mauria reflects on her second startup - a fashion styling business for professional women - which was derailed by the COVID-19 pandemic. She discusses the heavy burden of leading through layoffs and how this "failure" led her to a fulfilling new chapter at Google. Teaching the "Soft Skills" of Engineering: For nearly a decade, Mauria has co-taught a popular class at Stanford's Computer Science school. She reveals what elite students actually want to know: not how to code, but how to negotiate, grow in a job, and navigate the workplace. Perspective through Health Challenges: Mauria shares the jarring story of being diagnosed with breast cancer on the same day she received a text from Erica Lockheimer about a skin cancer diagnosis. She discusses how facing mortality shifted her focus from professional ego to a philosophy centered on joy and health. The Power of Reconnection: After 20 years of distance, Mauria and Erica reconnected, proving that professional relationships can be "reactivated" into deep, vulnerable friendships that provide essential support in midlife.   Mauria concludes with a powerful reminder to women: "God only gave you one body - don't be so busy taking care of everyone else that you forget to take care of yourself."   Join the conversation with host, Erica Lockheimer and co-host, Elizabeth Wendorf-Bloesser.