Beta-Tested: A Podcast for Women Building Bold Careers in Media and Tech

Stacy Bohrer
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Weekly

Beta-Tested is a podcast for the women navigating careers in tech, leadership, and life while still figuring it out in real time. Hosted by Stacy Bohrer, each episode features honest, unfiltered conversations with women who are writing their own rules, breaking invisible barriers, and redefining what power looks like from the inside. Whether you're leading teams, selling vision, building products, or entering through nontraditional paths - this show is your seat at the table. We unpack the truth behind big titles and polished LinkedIn bios: the ambition, the setbacks, the pivots, and the systems that don’t always work for us. From the myth of work-life balance to the realities of boardroom politics and the psychology of confidence, Beta-Tested is a space to explore what it really takes to build a meaningful, sustainable career as a woman in media and tech. Interested in sponsoring the show? Contact ⁠Marketecture Media.⁠

  1. 5d ago

    Gina Cavallo on Leadership, Self-Awareness & Building a Career with Confidence

    Stacy Bohrer sits down with Gina Cavallo, Chief Revenue Officer at xpln.ai, for an honest conversation about leadership, self-awareness, and building a career without pretending to have all the answers. Gina shares how she learned to lean into her strengths, trust her instincts, build teams rooted in empathy and psychological safety, navigate imposter syndrome, and advocate for more women in leadership. She also opens up about what she is still beta testing: permitting herself to rest while building a new team and culture from the ground up. Takeaways - Self-awareness means knowing your strengths and being equally honest about where you need others to shine. - Strong leaders create psychological safety by giving feedback without making people feel judged. - Culture matters more than hiring the highest performer if that person brings toxicity to the team. - Imposter syndrome can still appear at senior levels, but trusted mentors and peers can help leaders recognize their own value. - Making room for other women to succeed does not diminish your own success. It creates a bigger table. - Rest, health, and life outside work are part of sustainable leadership, not distractions from it. Chapters 00:00 Welcome to Beta Tested 01:14 Knowing Your Strengths and Weaknesses 04:34 Gina’s Early Drive and Career Mindset 07:33 Trusting Your Gut and Challenging Your Biases 10:28 The Value of Executive Coaching 11:39 Learning From Bad Judgment Calls 14:42 Confidence, Experience, and Getting Older 15:20 Building Teams That Want to Follow You 17:57 Why Toxicity Can Destroy a Culture 20:21 Leading Without Micromanaging 21:46 The Emotional Side of an Acquisition 25:14 Navigating a Male-Dominated Industry 28:42 Imposter Syndrome and Knowing Your Value 31:08 Helping the Next Generation of Women Lead 33:00 Building a Bigger Table for Women 35:59 Who Are You Without the Job Title? 38:32 permitting Yourself to Be Imperfect 39:03 What Gina Is Beta Testing: Permission to Rest 40:03 Building a Culture From Scratch 41:05 Friendship, Sisterhood, and Closing Thoughts

  2. Sep 30

    Building a Career Through Curiosity with Rebecca Holland

    Stacy Bohrer sits down with Rebecca Holland, Customer Revenue Leader, to share the experiences and mindset that shaped her journey from a Division 1 athlete to a revenue leader, advisor, and entrepreneur. She discusses building a career around curiosity, learning to thrive in fast-growing companies, navigating leadership, and helping founders create scalable organizations. She also reflects on motherhood, mentorship, personal growth, and why strong teams and aligned leadership remain essential as technology and AI reshape the workplace. Takeaways - Curiosity creates opportunities: Staying curious and being willing to figure things out has been a consistent driver throughout Rebecca’s career. - Growth requires adaptability: Success can mean optimizing for different things at different stages, from performance and revenue to balance, clarity, and family. - Scaling is more than sales: Rebecca evaluates people, processes, structure, technology, tools, and performance to identify what businesses need to grow. - People still matter in an AI-driven world: She believes aligned teams and individual participation remain critical to executing a shared mission. - Mentorship builds stronger leaders: Professional communities can give women access to the mentorship and support that earlier generations often lacked. Chapters 00:00 Introduction and Rebecca’s career journey 01:25 Becoming the person people turn to for leadership 04:37 Building a career outside the traditional path 06:54 Division 1 athletics and learning to figure things out 08:38 Entering startups and high-growth environments 10:13 Selling emerging technology and finding early success 13:11 Curiosity, trust, and connecting with people 18:48 Learning from mentors and high performers 22:22 Motherhood, priorities, and redefining success 24:02 Athletics, injury, yoga, and finding balance 28:04 Launching GTM RH Advisory 29:10 Building scalable revenue organizations 31:02 Why people still matter in the age of AI 33:04 Redefining career success 33:38 Becoming a multi-hyphenate leader 36:03 Women, mentorship, and workplace leadership 38:25 Motherhood, curiosity, and creating the next chapter

  3. Sep 23

    Heather Carver on Leadership, Career Risks and Embracing Ambiguity

    Heather Carver, Chief Customer Officer at tvScientific by Pinterest, joins host Stacy Bohrer to share the career risks and lessons that shaped her leadership journey. Heather reflects on leaving Magnite after a decade, navigating Amazon and Freestar, stepping into executive leadership, building trust, embracing ambiguity, and learning that saying no can be just as important as saying yes. Interested in sponsoring the show? Contact ⁠ http://marketecturemedia.com Takeaways: - Career growth often starts outside your comfort zone. - Strong leaders do not need to know everything. - Trust and relationships can shape long-term career opportunities. - Saying no is a leadership skill that protects your time. - Success should be measured by impact, not just titles. - Embracing ambiguity can build confidence and resilience. Chapters: 00:40 - Welcome to Beta Tested 01:22 - Heather Carver’s 20-Year Ad Tech Journey 04:34 - Lessons From Going Private to Public 08:53 - Knowing When It’s Time to Leave 14:06 - Rebuilding Your Identity After a Career Change 17:30 - Taking on the Next Scary Challenge 20:09 - Moving From Doer to Executive Leader 22:29 - Handling Bad Days and Building Resilience 25:11 - The Habits and Experiences That Shaped Heather 27:57 - Beta Testing Boundaries 30:15 - What Success Actually Feels Like 34:37 - Trust, Conflict and Difficult Feedback 40:13 - Finding Work-Life Balance 41:53 - Learning How to Say No 43:21 - Final Lessons on Leadership and Growth

  4. Sep 16

    From Patent Lawyer to Ad Tech Founder: Vanessa Otero on Risk, Rejection & Reinvention

    Vanessa Otero, Founder and CEO of Ad Fontes Media, joins Stacey Bohrer to share how a side project became the viral Media Bias Chart and ultimately transformed her career. Vanessa opens up about leaving a secure career in patent law, navigating rejection and criticism, stepping into her identity as a founder and CEO, and finding an unexpected path into ad tech. She also explores the importance of funding quality journalism and why success often requires learning to move forward without knowing how the story will end. Interested in sponsoring the show? Contact ⁠ http://marketecturemedia.com Takeaways - Failure and rejection can be preparation for entrepreneurship. - Stepping into a new professional identity often requires confidence before certainty. - The Media Bias Chart began as a side project before reaching millions online. - Vanessa found an unexpected opportunity to bring Ad Fontes Media's data into ad tech and brand safety. - Taking a risk does not guarantee success, but giving it your best effort is something you can control. Chapters 00:00 Welcome to Beta Tested 00:28 Meet Vanessa Otero, Founder & CEO of Ad Fontes Media 01:11 From Sales to Patent Law to Entrepreneurship 03:43 Learning to Embrace Failure in Sales 05:11 The Story Behind the Media Bias Chart 09:21 How the Media Bias Chart Went Viral 13:33 Turning a Passion Project Into a Business 16:17 Leaving Behind a Professional Identity 19:50 Learning to Own the Founder & CEO Title 23:35 Building Confidence and Overcoming Imposter Syndrome 25:18 Representation and Women in Leadership 27:57 The Reality of Gender Equality Later in a Career 29:14 How Ad Fontes Media Found Its Way Into Ad Tech 32:38 Making Quality News Easier for Advertisers to Buy 34:33 Why Advertising Matters to Journalism 37:03 Leaving a Secure Law Career to Go All In 37:55 Crowdfunding, Rejection and Raising Capital 40:44 The Reality Behind Entrepreneurial Success 43:07 Balancing Profit With a Public Mission 46:49 Learning What You Don't Know 47:35 Authenticity, Criticism and Building in Public 50:28 What Vanessa Is Beta Testing Now 52:54 Trying Even When Success Isn't Guaranteed 54:06 Final Thoughts

  5. Sep 9

    Zoe Mann on Taking Risks, Building Confidence, and Finding Strength Through Loss

    Stacy Bohrer sits down with Zoe Mann, VP of Inventory Partnerships at The Trade Desk, for a personal conversation about taking calculated risks, building resilience, and learning to trust yourself. Drawing on her career at Google, Amazon, and The Trade Desk, Zoe shares how embracing imperfect first attempts helped her grow as a leader, why titles don’t define your value, and why strong leadership doesn’t mean being the loudest person in the room. Takeaways: - Titles don't define your value: What matters is the impact you create, the results you deliver, and how you show up for others. - Confidence comes from repetition: Taking imperfect action, learning from mistakes, and getting more reps can build confidence over time. - Calculated risks can change your trajectory: Zoe explains why data matters, but sometimes your gut has to guide the decision. - Strong leadership doesn't require being the loudest: Being thoughtful, direct, authentic, and results-oriented can carry more weight than dominating a room. - Leadership is about scaling through others: Building great teams means trusting people and accomplishing together what you couldn't accomplish alone. - Life is always being beta tested: Growth comes from trying new things, expanding your horizons, and accepting that you'll never have everything figured out. Chapters: 00:00 Welcome to Beta Tested 00:18 Meet Zoe Mann 02:08 Joining The Trade Desk 03:46 Separating Self-Worth From Job Titles 05:48 Confidence, Vulnerability, and the "S****y First Draft" 07:43 Building SupplyDesk and Taking Calculated Risks 10:52 Trusting Your Gut on Big Career Decisions 12:48 Family, Confidence, and Early Influences 17:42 Women, Leadership, Power, and Finding Your Voice 20:19 Learning to Speak Less and Mean More 21:15 Why It's Powerful to Say "I Don't Know" 22:48 Balancing Ambition With Being Present 23:33 Zoe Shares Harper's Story 26:30 How Loss Changes Your Perspective 28:19 Family, Motherhood, and Marriage 31:27 Perfectionism and Learning From Mistakes 33:26 Friendship, Connection, and Fulfillment 36:15 What Zoe Is Beta Testing Right Now 38:18 Finding Strength, Healing, and Living Fully

  6. Sep 2

    Building the Future of Advertising: Anne Coghlan on Leadership, AI & Scope3

    Stacy Bohrer sits down with Anne Coghlan, Co-Founder and COO of Scope3, to explore her journey from AppNexus to entrepreneurship, the rise of agentic advertising, and the realities of becoming a confident leader. Anne shares how she approaches big bets, overcomes perfectionism, builds strong founder relationships, and continues to "beta test" herself as both a leader and a person. Interested in sponsoring the show? Contact ⁠ http://marketecturemedia.com Takeaways: - Bet on people, not just ideas: Anne explains why the people building the future matter as much as the opportunity itself. - Agentic advertising is expanding what's possible: Scope3 is working toward a future where advertising can extend far beyond traditional websites and social platforms. - Perfection can slow progress: Anne shares how she has learned to balance high standards with making decisions and moving forward. - Leadership doesn't have one mold: Her AppNexus experience taught her that she could lead authentically rather than imitate someone else's leadership style. - Clarity is kindness: Direct communication can help teams understand the outcomes they need to achieve. - Growth never really reaches GA: Anne sees herself as continually evolving, improving, and learning how to balance ambition with downtime and family. Chapters: 00:19 Meet Anne Coghlan, Co-Founder & COO of Scope3 01:46 The Assumptions People Get Wrong About Anne 04:17 Making Big Bets on the Future 06:20 Understanding Technology Through the Hype Cycle 09:20 Scope3 and the Future of Agentic Advertising 11:41 Building Better Advertising Experiences for Consumers 14:22 Confidence, Perfectionism and Self-Doubt 19:24 How AppNexus Shaped Anne's Leadership 23:21 Building a Strong Co-Founder Partnership 26:43 Why Directness and Clarity Matter 28:58 Big Companies vs. Startup Culture 32:35 Curiosity, Childhood and a Love of Learning 36:18 What Anne Is Still Beta Testing

  7. Aug 26

    From Google & Snap to Founder: Ali Manning on Building Chalice, Leadership & Taking Risks

    Stacy Bohrer sits down with Ali Manning, co-founder of Chalice, to explore her path from The Atlantic and Razorfish to Google, Snap, and entrepreneurship. Ali shares candid lessons about founding a company with her husband, navigating financial pressure, earning credibility as a woman in tech, and building an AI-powered advertising platform while raising a family. Interested in sponsoring the show? Contact ⁠https://marketecturemedia.com/  Takeaways: - Authenticity can be a greater leadership strength than conforming to traditional ideas of executive presence. - Founding a company with a spouse requires mutual respect, productive disagreement, and intentional repair. - Control over your time can be more valuable than the next title or promotion. - Women founders often need to establish their expertise and credibility earlier and more directly. - Chalice helps major brands use AI to connect advertising investments with real business outcomes. - Trusted friends and colleagues can provide perspective when imposter syndrome takes over. - Making space for a long-held creative ambition can restore energy and clarity. 00:00 Welcome to Beta Tested 00:50 Ali Manning’s voice and leadership style 02:11 The childhood goal that built her confidence 03:19 From The Atlantic and Razorfish to Google and Snap 06:14 Becoming co-founder of Chalice 06:46 Building a company with her husband 08:05 Leaping from operator to founder 09:38 The financial pressure behind entrepreneurship 11:45 Ali’s hardest moment as a founder 13:49 Writing, self-awareness and finding her voice 15:02 Rejecting feedback that undermined her authenticity 16:41 Why control over your time matters 18:10 Earning credibility as a woman in technology 20:55 How Chalice uses AI to improve advertising outcomes 23:50 Staying ahead of a rapidly changing market 25:39 Disagreeing productively with a spouse and co-founder 28:34 How to invest in a professional partnership 29:44 What Ali’s children are learning from their parents 32:56 Working through imposter syndrome 34:24 Beta testing a lifelong dream of writing a book 35:44 The story behind Ali’s book 36:27 Closing thoughts

  8. Aug 19

    Priti Ohri, CEO & Co-Founder of Advertible Inc., on Leadership, Entrepreneurship & Self-Belief

    Stacy Bohrer joins Priti Ohri, CEO & Co-Founder of Advertible Inc., to share her journey from corporate leadership to entrepreneurship, trusting intuition, bootstrapping a startup, and finding success without sacrificing peace.  Takeaways - Why Priti left corporate leadership to build Advertible Inc. - How intuition and self-awareness shaped her career decisions. - Lessons from bootstrapping a startup and betting on yourself. - The importance of community, mentorship, and authentic leadership. - Why success doesn't have to come at the expense of peace. Chapters 00:00 Introduction 00:32 Meet Priti Ohri, CEO & Co-Founder of Advertible Inc.  01:47 From Corporate Leadership to Entrepreneurship 06:24 Why Data Became Her Career Compass 07:45 Trusting Intuition and Taking the Leap 10:52 Getting Laid Off and Starting a Company 13:13 The Reality of Bootstrapping a Startup 16:03 Why She Chose Not to Raise Funding 17:24 Finding Balance Beyond Work 19:26 Building Community and Supporting Women 21:53 Why Women Should Bet on Themselves 23:13 The Power of Self-Awareness and Reflection 24:50 Advice to Her Younger Self 26:01 Achievement and Peace Can Coexist 26:50 Final Thoughts

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About

Beta-Tested is a podcast for the women navigating careers in tech, leadership, and life while still figuring it out in real time. Hosted by Stacy Bohrer, each episode features honest, unfiltered conversations with women who are writing their own rules, breaking invisible barriers, and redefining what power looks like from the inside. Whether you're leading teams, selling vision, building products, or entering through nontraditional paths - this show is your seat at the table. We unpack the truth behind big titles and polished LinkedIn bios: the ambition, the setbacks, the pivots, and the systems that don’t always work for us. From the myth of work-life balance to the realities of boardroom politics and the psychology of confidence, Beta-Tested is a space to explore what it really takes to build a meaningful, sustainable career as a woman in media and tech. Interested in sponsoring the show? Contact ⁠Marketecture Media.⁠

Information

  • Creator
    Stacy Bohrer
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    18
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 Stacy Bohrer

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