Unpolished Wisdom

Katrina Gisbert-Tay
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Self-Improvement

The most interesting conversations happen in the messy middle - between who we were and who we're becoming. Hosted by Dr. Katrina Gisbert-Tay, medical doctor and executive wellbeing coach, Unpolished Wisdom celebrates beautifully imperfect conversations about career transitions, identity shifts, burnout and the quiet wisdom found in uncertainty. Each episode features honest storytelling with people navigating their own messy middles - no polished solutions, just authentic stories about reinvention, letting go, and discovering what matters as life reshapes itself.

  1. 2d ago

    How Angel Investors Back the Future, with Erika Aquino | The Messy Middle of Purpose and Profit

    What does it take to back a founder before there's a product, a track record, or a single number to prove you're right? Angel investor Erika Aquino joins Unpolished Wisdom to unpack the messy middle of angel investing, and how to balance purpose and profit when every bet is on a future that doesn't exist yet. Erika is an angel investor and strategic advisor to early-stage founders in sustainability, wellness, education, and the future of work. After a career across PR, marketing, business development, hospitality, finance, and education, she moved into angel investing about four years ago to carry on what her father started. Her first bet was a pre-launch company whose entire pitch was a single Figma screenshot. She and host Dr. Katrina Gisbert-Tay talk about how Erika learned to trust her instincts with no investing background, how she evaluates a founder before there's a product, why she says no even when every box is ticked, and what it feels like to hold real conviction about someone else's future. The heart of the conversation is the pull between profit and purpose. Angel investing is one of the riskiest asset classes, so Erika goes in expecting not to see the money back. She explains why she's moving toward a more structured family office, why access is her key word, and what keeps her hopeful after the bets that didn't land. She also shares practical advice for founders, from warm leads and networking to practicing for a "no." In this episode: What an angel investor looks for in a founder before there is a product Why Erika says no, even when every box is ticked How to start angel investing from around US$1,000 through syndicates Why angel investing is one of the riskiest asset classes How founders can pitch better: warm leads, networking, and practicing for a "no" When the founder who built the company isn't the one to scale it Balancing purpose and profit, and the move toward a family office Unpolished Wisdom is hosted by Dr. Katrina Gisbert-Tay, a medical doctor, executive wellbeing coach, and somatic practitioner based in Singapore. Each episode stays inside the messy, unfinished middle of a life transition, the part most people never talk about while they're living it, in conversation with guests who are either navigating it themselves or guiding others through it. Guest: Erika Aquino, angel investor and strategic advisor. Host: Dr. Katrina Gisbert-Tay, medical doctor, executive wellbeing coach, and host of Unpolished Wisdom.

    How Angel Investors Back the Future, with Erika Aquino | The Messy Middle of Purpose and Profit

  2. Oct 8

    Scars, Not Wounds: How Much Should Leaders Share? with Anna Ong | The Messy Middle of Vulnerability

    Anna Ong, storyteller, applied improv coach, and founder of What's Your Story Slam, joins Unpolished Wisdom to unpack how vulnerable you should really be, and why the best stories share your scars, not your wounds. After 15 years on a banking trading floor, Anna walked away to live a year as if it were her last, found her voice through improv in New York, and built Singapore's largest live storytelling stage. She and host Dr. Katrina Gisbert-Tay start with the painfully shy girl who grew up being told children should be seen and not heard, and trace how she ended up on stage. They talk about the day she quit banking and her body finally let go of years of stress, and what improv and partner dancing taught her about trust, control, and getting out of your own way. The heart of the conversation is Anna's framework for earned vulnerability. A scar is something you've lived through and healed from. A wound is still open, and when you share it in public, your audience ends up holding it. For leaders, the difference decides whether a story builds credibility or just exposure. They also ask a harder question: can a story be told from the messy middle of healing, before the wound has fully closed? In this episode: The difference between a scar and a wound when telling your story Earned vulnerability: how leaders can be honest and still credible Trauma dumping vs authentic storytelling Overcoming stage fright and the fear of being judged Applied improv for leaders, presentations and uncertain times Whether you can tell a story from the messy middle of healing Unpolished Wisdom is hosted by Dr. Katrina Gisbert-Tay, a medical doctor, executive wellbeing coach, and somatic practitioner based in Singapore. Each episode stays inside the messy, unfinished middle of a life transition, the part most people never talk about while they're living it, in conversation with guests who are either navigating it themselves or guiding others through it. Guest: Anna Ong, storyteller, applied improv coach, and founder of WYSH (What's Your Story Huh?) and What's Your Story Slam. Host: Dr. Katrina Gisbert-Tay, medical doctor, executive wellbeing coach, and host of Unpolished Wisdom. #vulnerability #storytelling #leadership #publicspeaking #stagefright #confidence #authenticity #UnpolishedWisdom #singapore #podcast Chapters: 00:00 Intro 02:06 From painfully shy to the stage 05:49 Leaving 15 years of banking 08:40 Discovering improv in New York 13:19 What would you do with one year left? 17:24 The body knows: stress and somatic awareness 21:02 Building What's Your Story Slam 28:19 Why tell your story? 29:43 Scars, not wounds 32:34 Should you show every scar? 34:29 Leading in uncertain times 39:54 Stage fright and fear of judgement 42:45 Authenticity vs vulnerability 45:24 Trauma dumping and earned vulnerability 49:26 Storytelling from the messy middle 52:23 The question Anna is sitting with

    Scars, Not Wounds: How Much Should Leaders Share? with Anna Ong | The Messy Middle of Vulnerability

  3. Sep 24

    How to Have a Boring Divorce, with Iman Ibrahim | The Messy Middle of Divorce

    Iman Ibrahim, divorce strategist, accredited mediator, and founder of Over It Club, joins Unpolished Wisdom to unpack what it actually takes to end a marriage without losing yourself in it. After 19 years inside the legal machinery of divorce as a family lawyer in Singapore and England, Iman walked away from the courtroom to help people navigate the end of a marriage with clarity instead of chaos. She and host Dr. Katrina Gisbert-Tay go straight into what Iman can't unsee after two decades of high-conflict cases: brilliant, high-functioning people who fall apart the moment it becomes personal, and the children who quietly absorb the fallout. They break down what it actually looks like when kids get weaponized in a divorce, often unconsciously, and the exact language parents use without realizing the damage it does. The conversation makes the case for something most people don't believe is possible: a boring and amicable divorce. Not painless, but not weaponized either, a divorce where the ending doesn't cost you everything else. Unpolished Wisdom is hosted by Dr. Katrina Gisbert-Tay, a medical doctor, executive wellbeing coach, and somatic practitioner based in Singapore. Each episode stays inside the messy, unfinished middle of a life transition, the part most people never talk about while they're living it, in conversation with guests who are either navigating it themselves or guiding others through it. Guest: Iman Ibrahim, divorce strategist, accredited mediator, and coach; founder of Over It Club. Host: Dr. Katrina Gisbert-Tay, medical doctor, executive wellbeing coach, and host of Unpolished Wisdom.

    How to Have a Boring Divorce, with Iman Ibrahim | The Messy Middle of Divorce

  4. Sep 12

    How to Lead Yourself and Others Through Uncertainty, with Angela Cusack | The Messy Middle of Leadership

    Angela Cusack, Master Certified Coach and author of Discover the Matrix, joins Unpolished Wisdom to unpack self-leadership, alignment, and how to lead others through real uncertainty. After 25 years in a successful corporate career, Angela walked away with no plan — driven by one question she couldn't outrun: "Who do I claim to be, in contrast to who everybody else wants me to be?" She and host Dr. Katrina Gisbert-Tay break down the physical signals of misalignment — the nervous-system "nerve endings on fire" feeling — and the practice of naming it out loud before it costs you your voice. The conversation also goes inside Angela's executive coaching work, exploring how leaders stay grounded and lead effectively when uncertainty, not certainty, is the only constant.

    How to Lead Yourself and Others Through Uncertainty, with Angela Cusack | The Messy Middle of Leadership

  5. May 28

    Range, Not Change: Expanding your Identity Without Losing Yourself with Marcus Marsden

    Marcus Marsden is Managing Partner of The Works Partnership and author of Start With Who. He'd built a career helping leaders ask the hard questions — until life asked them of him. In 2019, Marcus unexpectedly found himself leading a company he'd never planned to run. Four months later, COVID shut the world down. In this conversation, Marcus opens up about the difference between change and range, why going against his gut became his greatest leadership tool, and what he learned about comfort zones when crisis takes that option off the table. This is the Season 1 Finale of Unpolished Wisdom — and there's no one I'd rather close this season with. 🔑 In this episode: - Identity range vs identity change in leadership - Leading through crisis and uncertainty - Stepping outside your comfort zone as a leader - The power of difficult conversations - Executive coaching and self-leadership - Building resilience after loss in business 🎙️ Unpolished Wisdom is a podcast hosted by Dr. Katrina Gisbert-Tay, executive wellbeing coach and somatic practitioner, exploring burnout, identity, leadership transitions, and the messy middle of personal growth.

  6. May 12

    Physician, Heal Thyself with Dr. Loo Hui Voon

    Dr. Loo Hui Voon is the doctor people find when they've already seen everyone else. An integrative and functional medicine physician, she's built a practice around seeing the whole person — the body, the gut, the trauma, the invisible threads connecting it all. But for a long time, nobody was applying that same lens to her. In this quietly powerful conversation, Dr. Loo and Dr. Kat explore the exhaustion of being the person everyone leans on, the grief medical practice asks you to witness and never process, and the small rituals that make it possible to keep showing up with an open heart. For anyone who holds space for others — and has quietly wondered who holds space for them.

    Physician, Heal Thyself with Dr. Loo Hui Voon

  7. Apr 26

    The Power of the Pivot: Reinvention, Identity and Starting Again with Siva Shanker Jayaraj

    In this episode of Unpolished Wisdom, Dr. Katrina Gisbert Tay speaks to Siva Shanker Jayaraj. Siva grew up in a kampong in Malacca with no address and no plan — just an unshakeable belief that having nothing to lose was its own kind of freedom. That belief carried him to Nike, where he spent 11 years building some of the boldest brand experiences in Southeast Asia. Then one night, watching The Greatest Showman on a long-haul flight, he asked himself the question that changed everything: was Nike the circus, or was I? This is a conversation about walking away from the rocket, betting on yourself with no safety net, and what it really means to build a life on your own terms.

  8. Apr 9

    When Your Body Keeps the Score with Dr. Suhina Singh

    Dr. Suhina Singh grew up in apartheid South Africa where danger wasn't an exception — it was the baseline. Hypervigilance became her identity. Competence became survival. And for decades, her body absorbed everything her mind refused to feel. Then the pandemic hit. Chronic inflammation, unexplainable pain, and a nervous system finally at its limit forced her into what she calls her first emotional education — a journey that revealed Complex PTSD, possible neurodivergence, and a lifetime of suppressed grief. In this episode, Suhina opens up about forgiveness as physical medicine, learning to name emotions she didn't know she had, and what it finally feels like to stop performing and simply be.

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About

The most interesting conversations happen in the messy middle - between who we were and who we're becoming. Hosted by Dr. Katrina Gisbert-Tay, medical doctor and executive wellbeing coach, Unpolished Wisdom celebrates beautifully imperfect conversations about career transitions, identity shifts, burnout and the quiet wisdom found in uncertainty. Each episode features honest storytelling with people navigating their own messy middles - no polished solutions, just authentic stories about reinvention, letting go, and discovering what matters as life reshapes itself.

Information

  • Creator
    Katrina Gisbert-Tay
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    16
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Katrina Gisbert-Tay
  • Show Website
    Unpolished Wisdom