Two Coffees In

Ashok Venkatraj & Luciana Madeira
  • 5.0 (2)
  • CAREERS
  • UPDATED BIWEEKLY

Two Coffees In is the anti-hustle podcast for seasoned professionals navigating layoffs, burnout, and career reinvention in the age of AI. Hosted by Ashok & Lu—two ex-colleagues who gave their all to corporate—we bring you honest conversations about what work really looks like today. No frameworks. Just real talk over coffee.

Episodes

  1. APR 7

    Retiring Abroad : Worth giving up your Costco Card?

    Most "retire abroad" conversations skip the part where things get weird — healthcare paperwork, school enrollment in a language you're still learning, the moment you realize Costco won't be there in your new country. In this episode, Ashok and Lu sit down with Kartheek Hirode, a former Fortune 100 IT Director who walked away from corporate life and moved his family to Provence, France — few months ago. Not as a trial run. As the plan. We get into the real numbers: what healthcare actually costs, how he built a visa and tax strategy without losing his mind, and what surprised him most after the move that no spreadsheet flagged. Kartheek also opens up about how he decided he had "enough" — financially and mentally — and what he genuinely misses about the U.S. (it's not what you'd expect). No buzzwords. No fantasy. Just a grounded, honest conversation with someone people dream of achieving. TL;DR Guest Kartheek Hirode — recently retired Fortune 100 IT Director, now living in Provence, France with his family. What you'll learn How to calculate your real financial runway before making the move — including healthcare, taxes, and what savings actually buys you abroad. How to research the visa and residency requirement for any country on your list. How to evaluate schools, social life, and day-to-day friction when you're moving with kids — not just with a backpack. The mental shift required to stop optimizing for salary and start designing for time / autonomy — and how Kartheek made that call. First steps How to run an honest "enough" number for your own situation — and where to start research if you're seriously considering it.

    26 min

  2. MAR 23

    50 & Fired!

    “50 & Fired” goes inside what it’s really like to be restructured out of a senior role at 50—and what you do the week after the call. Ashok and Lu talk with executive leader Shay Tower about losing identity, status, and structure overnight, the black hole of LinkedIn, and the “cobwebs” metaphor from her coach that helped her move through fear instead of freezing.​ Shay Tower is a seasoned program management leader who currently runs the IT Project Management Office at Austin Community College and previously led major global digital portfolios at General Motors, where she and Ashok first worked together. She brings deep experience turning strategy into execution, building high-performing teams, and guiding organizations through digital and cultural transformation.​ Now she’s using all of that to design a second act built on purpose, impact, and autonomy after a late-career layoff—showing that while a company can end your job, they don’t get to decide what you do next.

    27 min

  3. MAR 9

    No Time For Meditation & other Excuses we tell ourselves!

    No Time For Meditation (& Other Excuses We Tell Ourselves) dives into the lies we tell ourselves about why we “can’t” slow down, be still, or take care of our own minds. From “I’m too busy” to “my brain just doesn’t shut off,” we unpack the real reasons behind these excuses and how they keep us stuck on the productivity hamster wheel. In this episode, Selva, Lu & Ashok share practical, no-fluff ways to bring micro-moments of calm into real life—between meetings, after kids drop-off, or during that first sip of coffee — without needing a cushion, an app, or a 60-minute routine. If you’ve ever said “I know I should meditate” but never actually start, this one’s your gentle (and slightly uncomfortable) wake-up call. Our guest, Selva Kumaraswamy is a seasoned technology entrepreneur with over 25 years in the industry, having served as founding principal of a consulting practice, CEO of an early-stage startup, and CTO across multiple ventures. He is currently Co-Founder and CTO of Hawcx, a funded cybersecurity startup, and has spent more than two decades studying and practicing meditation and breath-work. With over 1,000 hours of formal meditation teacher training, he leads resilience and mindfulness workshops that blend ancient wisdom with modern professional life, bringing a unique lens on leadership at the intersection of innovation, mindfulness, and human performance.[riverside]​ Selva Kumaraswamy – Co-Founder & CTO, Hawcx (featured in TechCrunch) · selva@hawcx.com

    24 min
  • 3 Episodes

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

Two Coffees In is the anti-hustle podcast for seasoned professionals navigating layoffs, burnout, and career reinvention in the age of AI. Hosted by Ashok & Lu—two ex-colleagues who gave their all to corporate—we bring you honest conversations about what work really looks like today. No frameworks. Just real talk over coffee.

Information

  • Creator
    Ashok Venkatraj & Luciana Madeira
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    3
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Ashok Venkatraj & Luciana Madeira
  • Show Website
    Two Coffees In