Financial analyst by day, CEO by night: How Stephanie Nuesi balances her side hustle and day job

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For Stephanie Nuesi , entrepreneurial spirit runs in the family.?

Growing up in the Dominican Republic, the 23-year-old says her mom was always starting businesses, such as selling candies, and her dad was constantly coming up with his own ideas. Their ventures inspired Nuesi to one day build her own company. That dream became a closer reality when she moved to the U.S. in 2015 and found inspiration in her own resilience.?

“I basically started to see a gap between talented college students and companies, especially those students that come from non-traditional backgrounds ... like myself,” she says. “I went through that experience — getting rejected, not knowing what resources to use.”

In 2019, during her junior year at Baruch College, Nuesi founded Max Up , a career consultancy that helps connect students, recent graduates and other early-career professionals to opportunity.?

“I wanted to create a space for people, especially Gen Zers and millennials, to find that opportunity,” she says. “When the pandemic happened, there were millions of people that joined LinkedIn, for example, and a lot of grads that had their offers rescinded that needed career support. I'm glad that Max Up was there to get the resources and the help that they needed.”

Despite finding her passion early on, Nuesi says she was unsure if she wanted to pursue Max Up on its own. That led her to take on several finance and accounting internships at large employers like JPMorgan and Deloitte — all while building her company from the ground up.?

When graduation rolled around in May 2021, Nuesi still wasn’t sold on the idea of turning her side hustle into a full-time gig. So, she decided to do both, adding “financial analyst at Google” next to “CEO of Max Up” on her resume.?

For one year now, Nuesi has been balancing her 9-to-5 job at Google with being her own boss after hours. How does she do it? “You have to make sacrifices,” she says.

I talked with Nuesi to learn more about her entrepreneurial journey and how having a full-time job gives her an edge.

What challenges did you face when you started Max Up in school?

It was really challenging, especially because I was also working full time at a medical office. I was working full time while studying full time and then started my own company. So it was really challenging to manage my time effectively. But I think what challenged me the most was imposter syndrome. It's not really a common story to hear, a college student being a CEO, let alone having people trust that you can do what you're claiming to do. A lot of people said that I couldn't do it. I received a lot of negativity, so it was really hard for me to fight that imposter syndrome, to believe that I could do it. I feel like that's something that a lot of Gen Zers face now on a daily basis.

How did you balance being a full-time student and full-time CEO of a startup?

There were some days that I would do school throughout the day. I would work in the morning, go to school and then, in the evening, I would go to events,?workshops.

Sometimes I had to sacrifice a lot of things to be able to make that happen, and I think that's important for people to understand. You have to make sacrifices because this isn't easy. You kind of have to prioritize what's really important. There were some days that I couldn't go to school because I just had work. And then I had like a full day of conferences that I was speaking at and stuff like that. So, I had to make sacrifices ... and I also had a calendar. Everyone who knows me, even my best friends, they know that if they're not on my calendar, I will not do it.

Did you consider pursuing Max Up on its own post-graduation?

I think I looked at Max Up as something that is my passion, but it wasn't necessarily something that I wanted to fully only do because ... I felt like I wanted to do different things as I grew in my career. That's why I got my full-time job because I wanted to explore different areas and then go back to my passion, which is doing Max Up. I don't know if in the future that will be something that I would consider. You never know what's going to happen in the future, but I feel like, even since I started, I wanted to have enough experience because what I do is career coaching. So I need that experience to be able to teach others as I grow in my career and become a leader. I felt like, what a better place to get it than actually do it myself, living through the experience. That has been my mindset ever since, and I think it's going to be my mentality going forward, too.

What have been the benefits of working at a large employer and at a startup?

The main benefits have been focusing on my job, but at the same time, after I finish my day, remembering that I am going to do something completely different. Maybe I have a resume to do. Maybe I have a mock interview. It just feels great that I'm able to do both things because I feel like I'm able to fully utilize my potential. Another thing as well, I feel like there's so much learning that you get just on a personal level when you work your regular 9-to-5 job. Things like communication that I'm able to apply within my own organization, too, because I have people that work with me. I have a team, and I have to be able to provide that leadership. You don't get that just out of the blue. You need to kind of develop that on your own, and that's something that I've been able to do on a consistent basis every day.

What has been challenging about balancing your side hustle and full-time job?

I think the biggest challenge has been really just managing my time between one or the other, and being able to be present at all times. Sometimes there are a lot of opportunities that come my way, specifically for my own company, and sometimes I just have to sacrifice some of those opportunities. I feel like that's OK, even though it is a challenge and I wish I had more time to do more stuff. I feel like it's OK because at the end of the day, you never know what those sacrifices ... might lead into in the future. I feel like people usually focus on like, “Oh, I didn't do this, I will regret it forever.” But you never know. That might come back to you as a bigger opportunity.

What’s your advice to others who want to follow a similar career path?

Don't be afraid to do it. The first thing I would say is try to get someone to help you put your thoughts together. I particularly got a mentor when I was starting Max Up that helped me figure out what was my business idea. The other thing is, it's hard. When you're on this journey, it's going to be hard. There's going to be a lot of obstacles. There's going to be a lot of downsides. There's going to be a lot of times that you fail and that's OK. I would say just kind of being consistent and not giving up, even after facing some obstacles ... and find a way to come back to the reason why you started in the first place.

How have you fought imposter syndrome throughout your career?

One day, I was sitting down with the head of finance for my department at Google and actually asked her the same question. She said something that really changed my perspective. She said, “You never really eliminate impostor syndrome. It's not something that you can just overcome. It's something that you work on on a daily basis by reminding yourself who you are, how hard you worked to be where you are and how much you're worth.” So if you keep reminding yourself who you are, if you keep surrounding yourself with people that will remind you of who you are and what you're worth, that will help you overcome just a little bit of imposter syndrome on a daily basis.

Editor’s Note: Some quotes may have been edited for clarity and length.

?? How do you find balance in your own career? Share in the comments.

Getting a pulse on Gen Z

• New grads are in-demand — and demanding | Melissa Cantor : The class of 2022 had a less-than-ideal college experience amid the pandemic. But the job market that awaits them? Enviable. Sixteen percent of employers surveyed in February and March said they’d double up on new graduate hires this year compared to 2021, The Wall Street Journal reports . And as might be expected, the “most in-demand college graduates” in years know what they want: good money, mentors, flexibility, cultural compatibility, and assurances about future work projects. Here’s what people are saying .
• Quest for higher salaries sharpens | Cate Chapman : Add the fastest inflation in generations to record-high job openings, and you’ve got plenty of incentive for Americans to ask for raises — as well as to share salary information and look for higher-paying jobs. This is especially true of younger workers who, confronting such economic phenomena for the first time, may wonder if they’re being cheated. Not only are they sharing more salary information among themselves than older workers, they’re asking for pay bumps and backing up those requests with job offers from elsewhere. Here’s what people are saying .
• Most student loans less than $20K | Alessandra Riemer : With outstanding federal student loans totaling $1.6 trillion, “cancel student debt” is a mantra that can be heard on college campuses and beyond. While student debt impacts the lives of many, how does it actually break down? Well, it turns out “most borrowers have small loans,” with 53% owing $20,000 or less, and nearly a third owing less than $10,000, reports The Washington Post . Just 7% of borrowers owe more than $100,000, although the Post notes that people with the highest levels of debt are often the most able to pay it back. Here’s what people are saying .

In case you missed it

Last month, LinkedIn News debuted its first annual Top Voices: Next Gen list , a collection of 10 must-follow creators covering how to succeed in the next generation of jobs. Now, countries around the world are sharing their lists, too. Check them out below and follow the creators that spark your interest to gain access to their latest insights in your LinkedIn feed.

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