Leading Rebels

With 40% of Americans having a side hustle, it’s safe to say that side hustles are no longer a trend, but a reality for many! Often though, we see them as a quick stepping stone to leaving our job and diving in fulltime to entrepreneurship. But that’s not necessarily always the right path! Meet Erica Liu Williams, a Silicon Valley techie-turned-food-entrepreneur and founder of gr8nola. That turning moment though took her almost 5 years – after she had already nabbed a spot as a supplier for Google. And Erica doesn’t regret waiting – just the opposite, she credits much of her success to keeping gr8nola a side hustle for longer than most would have.

Tune in to this episode to hear from Erica about:

• Why quitting her swimming career despite being an Olympic Trials swimmer was an important rebel move for her
• Going against the grain of her culture 
• Switching jobs while growing her side hustle
• How having a job kept her patient when getting nos at the beginning of her business
• How being time-constrained keeps you focused on the priorities
• Being transparent with your boss about your side hustle
• Knowing where you get your energy inspiration from and setting actionable goals
• How network leads not only to support & knowledge but to unexpected opportunities
• Identifying as a girlboss
• How living your values gives you the drive and passion to go

Erica’s recommended resources:

• How I Built This with Guy Raz Podcast
• The Accidental Creative Podcast

Erica Liu Williams is a former Olympic Trials swimmer and Silicon Valley techie-turned-food-entrepreneur. She came up with the idea for gr8nola by accident when she was searching for a delicious, yet healthy snack for a post-Super Bowl “cleanse” she and her NFL hubby do each year. Stuck with few options, she created her granola recipe using clean ingredients and superfoods. Her granola was such a hit that she created a side business out of it in 2013, selling gr8nola out of her home at her local farmers market while working a full time tech job. She finally took the pling 4.5 years later and today, she supplies some of the largest tech companies like Google, Twitter, Linkedin, Dropbox, Microsoft, Slack and more. Her granola is are sold on gr8nola.com and Amazon Prime.

Learn more about Erica: Gr8nola | Gr8nola on Amazon