Tonya J. Long: 0:01

Welcome home, friends. I'm Tonya Long, and this is RESET. Where purpose meets possibility. We're broadcasting from KPCRLP 92.9 FM in Los Gatos and KMRTLP 101.9 FM in Santa Cruz. Each week, we share conversations with thought leaders and innovators. Each week, we share conversations with thought leaders and innovators, dreamers and doers who are reshaping the future of work, technology, longevity and purpose. Whether you're navigating AI's impact, reimagining your career or searching for deeper meaning, you're in the right place. So settle in, open your mind and let's explore what happens when purpose meets possibility.

Tonya J. Long: 0:58

Hello and welcome to KPCR LP 92.9 FM. This is Tonya Long with RESET with Tonya. We are here in the studio today with someone I just met a couple of months ago, but she's fascinating. It's Anna Kresnik and I'm practicing my Russian because Anna moved here when she was a teenager and she still looks like a teenager, but that's good living on her part. So Anna has moved here from Austin just a couple of months ago and Anna has.

Tonya J. Long: 1:29

The more I get to know Anna, the more transitions I recognize that she has had in life. She grew up in Russia, moved here when she was a teenager, then from there she, you know of course, went to college, got married and then lived in Austin for 16 or 17 years and just moved back to the Bay Area a few months ago. So she moved back with a family, which is also a transition point in life. Anna was a member of the management team at Amazon AWS, so she was in a huge enterprise, built her family while she was doing that and now has stepped into senior leadership and entrepreneurial roles. So Anna just got all kinds of resets in her life and we are so excited to have her here today on RESET, Anna welcome. Thank you so much for having me Tonya. I don't think that we've got a good mic on you. Try it again for me, hi.

Anna Krasnykh: 2:27

Tonya oh, that's beautiful.

Tonya J. Long: 2:28

That was completely my fault, so welcome, I'm so glad you're here.

Anna Krasnykh: 2:32

Thank you so much, Tonya. Thank you for having me.

Tonya J. Long: 2:43

So tell me a little about what you are looking toward here, now that you've moved back to the Bay Area. It's not your first time living here, but, but you're just settling in. If it's been two, maybe three months, what? What does that look like for you? What are you working on right now?

Anna Krasnykh: 2:53

yeah, there's a ton we're working on. You know we've been here three months now. You're exactly right, but to be honest, it feels like home already. It is just absolutely amazing how the community has seemed to embrace us, yourself included, Tonya, thank you. And you know we're working on building multiple businesses right now. You know I am watching my kiddos just absolutely thrive here and it is just such a pleasure.

Tonya J. Long: 3:24

You have hit the scene pretty hard and it doesn't feel contrived, it doesn't feel forced. You and your husband have really, as a team, been out meeting people and doing the work of networking. I wonder if that's because you are accustomed to change. I'm segueing back to in the beginning. I've got friends who are thinking about moving, just in general, friends all across the US. They're thinking about moving and there's this thing right at their point in life where they have teenagers and the moving is about when the kids are off to school, meaning off to university. And I think about you being 14 and moving not just across town but from a whole other country. So what was that like for you to move from a small town in Russia to where we are now and and what impact did that have on on on your values as an adult? Yeah, absolutely.

Anna Krasnykh: 4:40

Happy to talk about that and maybe I'll I'll actually go back a little bit more in time and and just give you a little bit more insight on. You know where I come from.

Tonya J. Long: 4:49

I'm gonna learn some things here.

Anna Krasnykh: 4:50

I can't wait tell us absolutely so was born and raised in a small academia town in Russia. It was actually what they called a closed city. So and the reason that was is because it was off the map completely until the early 2000s, for scientific, military and political reasons. Okay, I grew up near Oak.

Tonya J. Long: 5:10

Ridge, oak Ridge, tennessee, and for people who don't, and so I'm making that like comparison, because Oak Ridge was, it was not off the map, because you know, living in the. Us is different than living in Russia from a, from an openness standpoint, but brilliant people in Oak Ridge but it was not over-marketed for all that Oak Ridge brought to the nuclear weapons and nuclear research industry. So, anyway, you grew up in a closed town that wasn't even on the map until 2000.

Anna Krasnykh: 5:42

Yep, and you hit the nail on the head. So my dad was, at the the time, a nuclear sciences engineer and so you know we had the opportunity in 2000 to move to the United States and you know I just I watched my parents take that opportunity. You know, when I think about Russian culture in general incredibly gritty and resilient culture you know I think that is probably one of my points of strength as well a very successful life behind, but for something that was going to be so much better for all of us and probably driven by the desire to provide their children with better opportunities down the line, while making a sacrifice in the short term for themselves, has been just an incredible leadership example for me in my life.

Tonya J. Long: 6:48

I love that, but 14 is a fragile age. That's why my friends won't, you know, they won't even move across town until their kids, you know, because they wouldn't want their kids to even change schools because of the disruption that would create.

Tonya J. Long: 7:01

So what was it like for you? You know, leaving behind your friends. This was this. This wasn't pre-internet, but it was pre us all being so socially connected via, via online models. So you really left that life behind at a, at a, at an age that's precarious, and started fresh here. What was, what was the magic for you in starting fresh?

Anna Krasnykh: 7:28

You know I mean at that moment. You know we as children are so incredibly flexible and resilient. You know, at that time I don't remember being scared in the process of moving.

Anna Krasnykh: 7:43

You know, making friends here of course, was hard, but I think life in general, you know, when I look back towards my childhood, it really prepared me for that. Happy to even tell you a story on that front. So you know, in our town and when I was six years old, I tested into the best school, the best you know academic school, our town. When I was six years old I tested into the best school, the best you know academic school at the time that focused on four languages of math and I remember first, through fourth grade I must have gotten the strictest teacher that there was at the time. His parents were scared of her, kids were scared of her. I'm pretty sure you know the principal of the school was scared of her and you know like she wasn't abusive or anything like that, but she certainly made a point of making sure that everybody in class knew she was going to call on them and if they didn't know the answer she would publicly shame you. So I think we all got the point really really quickly that you know you better know your stuff and so I think that really shaped me. That was good training. Yeah, absolutely.

Anna Krasnykh: 8:52

But you know, interestingly enough, I think at the time. You know I wasn't a standout student. You know I was pretty average, I'd say, you know, when I compared myself to my peers B's and C's at the time. But then I remember transitioning into like fifth grade and beyond, all of a sudden I started getting A's and I felt confident. I had all these friends and it was like, oh, I like this, you know, I like the competitiveness, I liked achievement, I liked winning, yeah, so I think that that really, you know she. You know I'm 40 years old today, almost I'll be 40 this year, and it's interesting that I still think, really, you know she. You know I'm 40 years old today, almost I'll be 40 this year, and it's interesting that I still think back to, you know, my elementary teacher helping to mold me into what I am today.

Tonya J. Long: 9:35

Those experiences stay with us. One of my colleagues here at the radio station teaches drama to like the junior high age, teaches drama to like the junior high age and and I remember I could, I could, I won't, but I could come through here with my own stories about what made me me back in Sue Cherry's for all those people in Tennessee listening for, back in Sue Cherry's first grade class and they, they start to form how we feel about ourselves, right. So when you moved over here, equally, you know tough age. I don't think it was as tough 20 years ago as it is today in terms of you know, we hear a lot about kids bullying each other. You know school's tough. It's tough to stand out. So when you moved over here, did you stand out? Were you? You know, because you moved, russian was your first language. Yes, I imagine you were in a fairly competitive area in terms of your classmates.

Anna Krasnykh: 10:34

Yeah, you know, I think what really helped me through the transition? Because I did, I felt like I stood out and I think at that age, all you want to do is fit in with your peers.

Anna Krasnykh: 10:45

And you know the fact that you have an accent is super uncomfortable. So I think you know I worked really, really hard to get rid of mine. You know you'll probably pick up on some points where you can still hear it, but for the most part people don't. But I remember, you know jumping into sports right away is something that really helped me fit in. You know bonding with my peers, with my teammates at the time, and again working on something hard together, right, and you're all working towards a goal and you know you're all failing and then you're all winning and you know you're celebrating each other.

Anna Krasnykh: 11:22

And that really helped me through that transition. I would say so that helped me find my community there at the time get my footing.

Tonya J. Long: 11:34

I love it. I love it. At some point you went to college, and I don't remember where you went to school, but then you landed, really as an adult, in Boston Austin, not Boston, whoops, yeah, and Austin's a great town. You built a family there, yes, and then you moved from Austin back to the Bay Area, as we've described the last three months.

Tonya J. Long: 12:00

what was it like having to make such a large transition, establishing your own family? Your kids aren't 14. Your kids are on the younger side, but still they're still in an age where they have a social network. And so you picked up four people and moved from Austin back to the Bay Area a few months ago. What have you learned from that process and from being responsible for children, frankly, through that process, what are you learning about that, with the transition?

Anna Krasnykh: 12:31

You know, Tonya, it's interesting because I don't know if it's all that much different. I've moved multiple times in my life, so you know I remember how scary it felt, even moving from California to Austin 17 years ago. You know, of course at the time it was just myself and my partner, you know, we weren't even married yet. But what drew us is the opportunity that we saw moving to Texas, and that was way before everybody decided that they wanted to move to Austin, to Texas, and that was way before everybody decided that they wanted to move to Austin, you know. But we were like, wow, here's an opportunity where, you know, we can buy a home and maybe raise a family here sometime down the line. And Austin, you know, has been absolutely incredible to us.

Anna Krasnykh: 13:18

But then, of course, you know, when I think about today and having a family with young children, you really have to prioritize everybody's needs and and really, what made us make that decision is it just made sense across the board for the entire family? You know it made sense. For the kids, you know, an opportunity to grow up in California, different climate, different schools you know all this opportunity. And for ourselves, you know, equally right. So we moved for family reasons that really pulled us towards here with. You know, we unfortunately lost my mother-in-law last year and one of the bigger reasons was to move here to support my father-in-law again through this transition and really be here for him. But you know, when we thought about the opportunity to be in the Silicon Valley at this point in time when so much about technology is changing, you know we said you know what? Let's just do it, it just makes sense.

Tonya J. Long: 14:21

let's let's take a little detour on what you just said. I first started I lived in Tennessee and I first started coming to the Bay Area in 99, 2000 with my early tech jobs. So I lived in Tennessee and I was out here once a month and I felt in we'll say, 2000, that this place was on fire, that this was you know, that this was everything and so much of what was happening in the world. I knew it was centered here and the pace felt so inspiring, scary, fun, and I thought in 2000 everything was happening here and now I'm and you were here then you would have been here in 2000 in the Bay Area or close to the year 2000. Then you left and we're in Austin for 17 years and now you're back saying everything is here. In the meantime I've been here 12 years, 13 this fall, and I've gotten jaded to how much we see and experience and are able to be involved in here.

Tonya J. Long: 15:29

I appreciate it. I deeply appreciate living in this zone of innovation because it creates a creativity that I don't think exists anywhere else. So, for you, do you recognize any difference from when you left and I thought it was the top of the world way back then and now, and the fevered pitch that we're at with AI? This is not to talk about AI, but it's more about being in the middle of all the opportunity, being in the middle of all the opportunity.

Anna Krasnykh: 16:05

Yeah, you know for me what energizes me, is all of this change?

Anna Krasnykh: 16:15

and all the wonderful conversations. And you know I am in favor of just leaning into that, leaning into the curiosities, just to find out more. Even if you feel a little bit of fear, you know, I tend to lean more in and ask, well, why is that? And when I think about just the opportunity to soak all of that in and ultimately be able to bring those insights to our customers. You know the people that we serve that live beyond the Silicon Valley, you know our customers are global, so I mean it's just a huge opportunity.

Tonya J. Long: 16:57

Yeah, yeah, I love it, I love it. I'm going to pause for just a second and talk about some fun things going on in our community here, locally. You just said global and I'm pulling us back in to local. We are broadcasting live from Los Gatos, and Los Gatos is hosting a wine walk. The Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce will be hosting a wine walk on Saturday, april 26th, and so that's next weekend, and there will be vendors. I think it's more than 30 vendors will be pouring wines from the region. Kpcr will also have bands in our courtyard.

Tonya J. Long: 17:41

So we're at 59 Santa Cruz Avenue, north Santa Cruz Avenue, which is the main drag here through Los Gatos. So I would encourage people who are listening, who are local, to think about coming down grabbing a glass of wine. You have to get a ticket to go through all 30 wines, but you know that's actually a bargain if you think about it. But the shops are making this a big deal here in Los Gatos and the radio station is making it a big deal because we have bands. We'll be doing live broadcasting throughout the day. So I'd like to encourage people that are local to get involved with the community and join us here.

Tonya J. Long: 18:16

So back to community for you with all these changes. You know you work globally We'll talk about AWS more in a minute or two or ten but you work globally with what you've done, with work and how you've lived. And you've lived very locally because I see you when you are with me at events and I see you network and so you're very interested in people Across that range. What is it that anchors you in who you are? What keeps you grounded in?

Anna Krasnykh: 18:50

you know big company, small town, you know all the range that you work in live in what keeps you grounded to be you yeah, the main thing that comes to mind is is really values. Tonya, that is probably the one thing that has been consistent my entire life, so maybe the way that I accomplish those things and the tools that I use in my toolkit might be a little bit different, but the values really stay the same. You know, I think about the impact that I want to and am able to drive on behalf of our customers, our companies that we're building, and really the opportunity to make a difference and continue to learn, both as a professional, as an individual, and continue to discover yourself through the journey. That has always remained an interest.

Tonya J. Long: 19:49

So and Will. I love it. You've had all these I'll call them geographical, cultural journeys that make you fascinating and patient with other people. That's what I see in you. But you've also had work journeys. You were at AWS and for anyone listening who doesn't know, because not everybody lives in our tech level, but AWS is multi, multi, multi, multi, multi, multi. I could keep going billion dollar behemoth of a company that has ridden this tech wave inside of Amazon. Company that has ridden this tech wave inside of Amazon. You were on the management team there. I think you were responsible for like 239% growth in your division.

Anna Krasnykh: 20:33

And then For 100, for sure.

Tonya J. Long: 20:35

Okay, and then you, and then you, and then you moved on to something else. So so what was your experience? And what you moved on to was, I'm going to say, obviously much smaller than AWS, because nearly everything in the world, from a work perspective, is going to be smaller than AWS. But what was that like for you to move from something so ubiquitous with global and tech, into something smaller?

Anna Krasnykh: 21:09

ubiquitous with global and tech into something smaller. Yeah, you know I absolutely loved my time at AWS. You know it is very widely known as a very fast, innovative competitive culture.

Anna Krasnykh: 21:17

Of course, you know, and the opportunity that I had to work with just incredibly brilliant people all working towards just this massive vision changing lives for customers and just people out there in the world. I loved my time there. It was incredibly difficult, I learned a ton and we've worked really, really hard, Tonya. We worked really hard. And we've worked really, really hard, Tonya. We worked really hard. You know I remember how much I also wanted to shine within that environment and this is an environment where you know AWS only hires A players.

Anna Krasnykh: 22:01

And it's hard to keep that up right, but I remember my first two years. You know I got top tier two years in a row. First year in, you know, I approached my manager at the time and I said you know what does the promotion look like around here? And at the time, you know, she said well, you know, I'm really supportive and the leader of our organization wants you to serve two and a half years in a role before that's even considered. And I went well, excuse me, I'll do it in two. And I worked really hard. I worked nights and weekends and I did it. I more than doubled my pay in three years and people knew me. I was so proud of that within the organization.

Tonya J. Long: 22:44

And then if that wasn't the lure of the big company environment?

Anna Krasnykh: 22:47

yes, yes, it is and if that wasn't enough, I threw myself into sort of a career change to drive digital transformation with customers out in the field, and that was a really interesting journey of its own. And I remember one morning, you know I'm getting ready to go to a customer on site and we're ready to kick off an eight-digit transformation project and we've got teams flying in from other states to help lead this. And I sign on to my computer and I'm almost dressed, yeah, yeah. And I get this email that says your role has been eliminated.

Tonya J. Long: 23:27

Oh my God, that's how your notification occurred. Yeah, oh wow. I hope we've learned a lot then, oh, okay, okay, I'm so sorry.

Anna Krasnykh: 23:38

No, and it's okay, you know, and I sat there, you know, in that moment, yeah, yeah, and I was like like wait a minute, what? And I watched my computer start to go dark yeah, wow and I had tears running down my face oh, of course yeah yeah, and when I think about how I felt in that moment, you know I felt in that moment. You know I felt betrayed. Yeah, I understand.

Tonya J. Long: 24:05

I felt betrayed.

Anna Krasnykh: 24:07

I felt like I had lost all those years worth of work.

Tonya J. Long: 24:13

It's your identity when you go through that cycle. Yeah, for most of us.

Anna Krasnykh: 24:18

It felt like I lost. But then I paused and you know my head was racing with all these thoughts of, well, how do I make sure that never happens again? Of course, Right. But then I was like, well, wait a minute, what does it mean to be a winner? And here's the funny part I went to chat GPT because I was like, what's the definition of a winner?

Tonya J. Long: 24:46

So this was more recent than I thought it was. It was fairly recent.

Anna Krasnykh: 24:49

Oh, then that's embarrassing. Shame on you, a couple years. Shame on you, aws. No, no, no, no, Jeff, do better. No, no, no. Like I said, I loved my time with the organization, I know. So I went to Chajapati and it gave me the definition of a winner, and the definition was a winner is someone who achieves their goals through perseverance, resilience and a clear sense of purpose. Oh, yes, and it didn't say anything about not failing. It didn't say anything about not failing. Yeah, of course A winner is somebody who fails. They get back up and collect themselves and they do it over and over and over again until they win. Yeah, until they win. Um, but my biggest takeaway from all of that was that latter part, the part about the clear sense of purpose, because I had realized that, while I was chasing all the accolades and the titles and all the things, I forgot about my sense of purpose. Oh, entirely.

Tonya J. Long: 25:53

You're not alone, keep going. I'm like yes, and, yes, and and.

Anna Krasnykh: 26:01

I think, looking back, what this opportunity really gave me is a chance to reflect, to hop off the hamster wheel and say, well, who am I and what do I want to do? What do I really want to do? What do I want to accomplish? How do I want to accomplish, how do I want to feel? And I found my sense of purpose again with clarity, and I said I want to lead, I want to build, I want to learn, I want to love, I want to touch the hearts of others. You want too much.

Tonya J. Long: 26:37

I'm kidding, I'm kidding.

Anna Krasnykh: 26:38

I'm just kidding, kidding Again. This was a time where I put myself last. It just felt so incredibly good to discover that again, again, in a big conglomerate, like you said, where you're serving your leaders, you're serving your customers, you've got a family at home with children whose needs you put before your own, Absolutely All the way around.

Tonya J. Long: 27:00

We are living for other people there and their roadmap in life right yeah, oh wow. So I'm glad chat GPT helped you through that crisis oh, it, sure did. I'm being a little snarky saying that, but I but you know we all have things that we turn to.

Tonya J. Long: 27:20

To to help give us grounding right and what. What occurs to me about your shift and I'm still kind of reeling over how that happened to you and I am deeply sorry because we owe our organism. I know you, I know you're whole and full and moving forward beautifully in your life and, just as a small detour, I was responsible for those decisions that affected thousands of people in my career and I can say about you, because I know enough about you, nearly every single person that I was leading organizational decisions to make those tough decisions, nearly every single person went on to do more and better, absolutely. I mean even the ones who were closer to you know quote retirement age who were already looking at that, pivoted into what they were going to do in that very different next chapter of their lives. People who were still, you know, churning on that hamster wheel you mentioned. They almost all. I mean five, nines, five nines We'll talk some industry terms Five nines of them did better. They moved into roles that were closer to a lot of people. Their purpose so that's what I will offer is when things do happen, when these events in life occur, they happen for us, not to us. That's my deep belief. It's taken a lot to get there, to realize that, to accept that. But I see you doing better than if you were still on that hamster wheel at AWS 100%. I really really do One of the things about moving from a really big company to a to a.

Tonya J. Long: 29:11

You know I this is not I go. You can't be bigger than AWS. It's just hard to be bigger than AWS. But to a smaller organization is the obvious opportunity for impact. Right, because when you're flying to Dali in China every week, every week, every month, when you're doing things like that, you feel like your impact is on such a big scale. And then when you go to work for any entity that's smaller, you feel like you know part of your identity is tied to the measurements we put around, the impact that we deliver. So how did your definition of impact change when you shifted into the clarity of purpose?

Anna Krasnykh: 29:55

So for me, a lot of the focus shifted from some of those, as I call them, accolades and things to relationships with people. Oh, wonderful.

Anna Krasnykh: 30:09

Yes, Because you know, I remember, I recall, you know, at the time, you know, earlier time in my career, you know, I was like, well, let me just take the most efficient, quickest path to where I need to go. And I almost felt like, you know, there were certain things and people who slowed me down. But what I learned throughout, you know, all these various transitions and in my career as a whole, it's, it's the relationships at the end of the day that matter, you know. And and through those darker days, you know, know, when I was going through the transition of separating from from.

Anna Krasnykh: 30:47

AWS, when the door had closed. It was the people who got me through that. Yeah, you know, it was the leaders, it was the peers, it was my friends and you know some of those. Of course I had to work to rebuild, frankly, because I again, as I thrust myself completely into the world of, you know, corporate life, you know there were friendships that you know slipped and again I had to work really, really hard to get them back. You know, and sometimes that's normal, right, like we grow and some people come and go out of our lives. But you know, to me that is what I think about today and in building companies and culture is is kind of a people first mentality because, at the end of the day, these great companies and tools that we're building are are for the people, they're for people, they're to make our lives better is the way I view it.

Tonya J. Long: 31:47

You know I'm around a lot of people that are either have transitioned out of big companies or see that on the, or they are still in enterprise and they are considering. Considering that the move will occur soon and defining success for them is a pretty big journey and you have to unlearn some things, I think, about how things operate Were there things that you had to unlearn in making your transition?

Anna Krasnykh: 32:31

I think so. When I think about that, two things come to mind you have to be willing to roll up your sleeves and do the dirty work.

Tonya J. Long: 32:43

I'm smirking at you. Yeah, of course.

Anna Krasnykh: 32:48

Okay, how's that a shift? Well, you have to get down to the details. So if you've been operating at this high level right and you're transitioning into, let's say, a startup environment, you can't expect things to just happen. You have to dive into the details and do the work yourselves and be willing to coach and do all of that. The other thing that comes to mind is you know the political environment of big corporate. It's one big thing I don't miss.

Anna Krasnykh: 33:28

And sometimes in big corporate you'll see people tend to hoard resources you know whether that is to create a moat or you know something along those lines and I really feel like there's an opportunity to achieve so much more if you share more. It's not a small pie that I want. I want a piece of a bigger pie. You know, we can create so much more impact out in the world if we help each other.

Tonya J. Long: 34:11

I agree. I agree. I'm going to come back to a point on networking, but first I'm going to do a quick station ID. You are listening here to KPCR, lp 92.9 out of not as sunny Los Gatos. I usually give a weather report and we also broadcast on sister station KMRT, lp 101.9 out of Santa Cruz, and we're happy to have you here, even if it's a little overcast today. So, coming back to Anna To Anna, dare I try to say it, I'm working on my. If you weren't here at the beginning of the show, krishna, I'm working on my Russian, you did it, you did it.

Tonya J. Long: 34:54

Sounds more like I'm trying to clear something out of my throat. I'll get it. I will get it eventually. But we talked about networking and that is one of the things that I consistently advise people on who are making their transition, or younger career people.

Tonya J. Long: 35:13

When you're in those big organizations, it is so easy to be in that pattern.

Tonya J. Long: 35:18

You and I were both in heads down, all about AWS, all about my division, what we're doing and people fail to network in their 20s and 30s that are in those big companies because they are so heads down committed to the company and the job. And then what I find is they get to that mid-30s mark and they start to make these transitions like you and I've made, and they don't have a network to fall back on because everybody's still busy at AWS, right, and so I encourage people especially women, it seems like have a harder time because they're starting to raise families and they're and they're really trying to achieve and climb and they don't prioritize the value of meeting and knowing and being seen by other high functioning people to help them raise the bar and to be there when they're not where they are now. So, um did, did you do that like I? I'm guilty, I'm totally guilty. Uh, it's. It's in hindsight that I have that wisdom. Were you the same? And if so, what was it like to ramp up your networking chops?

Tonya J. Long: 36:32

to be out there in the market of you, in the market of helping people have an opportunity to see Anna and all that Anna is capable of doing.

Anna Krasnykh: 36:43

Yeah, Tonya, thank you for that question. I think sometimes we go through transitionary periods where, you know, they make us see things very differently. It's called experience. Yeah, and yes, it was definitely when I transitioned more into the entrepreneurial space that I had become intentional about it.

Anna Krasnykh: 37:07

And you know, you see layoffs happen left and right these days too, and you know I just think about how important it was for me at the time to feel that support from some of my AWS colleagues who did offer the hand, and for me I would love, absolutely love, to extend that same gesture to anybody in my network who needs that and beyond that, for my entrepreneurial journey. What we think about a lot within our company is creating partnerships where together, one plus one equals three or equals five. So we are always out there looking for, for partners, looking for fresh ideas, and and I'm an extrovert, you know what drives me is is the people, it's, it's the energy of those around me, and I find that when I surround myself with people who are as growth-minded as I am and maybe are beyond the point where I am, I feel much more energy and motivation and hopefully that goes back and forth so that we create this multiplier effect really.

Tonya J. Long: 38:34

And that multiplier effect I was going to say it's harder to obtain in big enterprise and you get it because you get the synergy of teams and you get the geography impact and all those things, but it's different the multiplier effect. I took a call this morning from somebody who's doing his first fractional assignment and it was a 7.30 LinkedIn text. Oh my God, how do I price this Right? And I'm so thrilled for him because he came out of, you know, one of the really big companies here on the peninsula, I'm going to say six or seven months ago, and he's been doing some angel investing and he's been hitting up all the networks, not really eager to jump back in. But now he's found a very interesting cybersecurity company to be involved with and I felt so honored that he reached out to me at 730 in the morning saying how does this work? What do I do you know? And, and do you have you know? Are there contracts that I do? I need a lawyer. No, you need chat, gpt. That's what I said.

Tonya J. Long: 39:40

I said and if you have anything ChatGPT that you don't understand, then you call me back. But that multiplier effect is we are all relying on each other to get done what we need to get done to move things through to satisfy our lives to make us better people and that network is so valuable people and that network is so valuable.

Tonya J. Long: 40:09

By the same token, when other people that don't know me just reach out to me on LinkedIn because of my presence there and they say, please introduce me to investors, and I'm like it doesn't work that way. You know that I mean because that is such an important network to me and they're so valued by me, I would never just like do a pass through of oh, sam Smith reached out to me on LinkedIn and so meet Sam Smith. No, because I'm vouching for the people that I introduce. So it's also interesting to be in the position to coach people when you turn down their requests, because these, these networks are valuable to us. You have to. You have to. I told this this man had recently moved here from out of the country and I said you know, get involved with local groups so that you are meeting these people absolutely, and then then make a connection. But you have to do the work and give before you make the ask.

Anna Krasnykh: 41:03

Oh well, yeah, there's that, but I could you, I could only slap him around too much, just so much yeah, but uh, it is a privilege for both of us, I think, to be in the bay area.

Tonya J. Long: 41:16

This networking opportunity is so huge and um and I I get to meet a lot of people who are just here for a few weeks and I tell them, take what you've learned about interaction, about community, and wherever you're going back to host an event, host a dinner, host a tap night you know beer, hop us down the street that you and I have both been to to get people together to create that community where you are. So I think being with people is the transition point. I think you've always been focused on community, but when your work focus isn't drawing you into such a narrow path, it's much easier to broaden out, like you've done in the last few years. So let's talk about I'm segueing, I'm trying to sing into the music here, but along this journey in Austin, you had two beautiful children. I did. You did Still have two beautiful children. I did you did Still have two beautiful children.

Tonya J. Long: 42:26

How has that affected you, also being a breadwinner and a boss mama and I just made that word up Is that even that ought to be?

Anna Krasnykh: 42:36

a website.

Tonya J. Long: 42:39

Boss, mama, affected your transitioning and how you show up as a leader and a person who genuinely loves doing the art of business. So has having kids at home impacted how you do that? How you do that?

Anna Krasnykh: 43:01

Absolutely.

Tonya J. Long: 43:02

Okay.

Anna Krasnykh: 43:02

I think it's taught me patience.

Tonya J. Long: 43:06

Yeah.

Anna Krasnykh: 43:09

It's taught me empathy. Yeah, it's made me slow down and appreciate little moments more and pay attention to the talent of individuals. And how do you multiply that and take that to the next level?

Tonya J. Long: 43:27

I love that. Yeah, not everybody runs at the same speed, not everybody thinks at the same speed, and I think you would be more sensitive to that, having and you've got two children pretty close in age, ten and six.

Anna Krasnykh: 43:43

Yeah, yeah, yeah, but they have given me so much more Tonya. I think They've taught me so much about me. Sometimes children are like little mirrors.

Tonya J. Long: 43:57

Good, and bad oh yeah. But mirrors are good, they serve a purpose. Yes, right.

Anna Krasnykh: 44:03

Yes, yeah, I recall a time when and this little story is on my LinkedIn somewhere maybe about a year or six months ago, all right, we were driving in the car and we were talking about superpowers and my kids were fighting in the backseat about who was better at math. And then I turned around and I said hey, what's my superpower? And they said super love. Like without hesitation. My son said super love and it just stuck with me the entire day. That's how they see you. But as I went about my work, about my day, I was like, yeah, that is.

Tonya J. Long: 44:39

And I'm leaning into that. I didn't know it, but I am leaning in Exactly.

Anna Krasnykh: 44:43

And I'm going to.

Tonya J. Long: 44:45

Yeah, oh, but what a beautiful moment, exactly and wholly authentic. Right for them to reflect that back to you.

Anna Krasnykh: 44:54

Yeah, I love it.

Tonya J. Long: 44:55

I'm absolutely grateful for it. I love it. I've really been blessed with a lot of. When I was in enterprise corporations I've been blessed with more than I think, the normal share of strong, powerful women who were mothers and I looked at them and I did not know how they did it.

Anna Krasnykh: 45:16

You know because raising kids.

Tonya J. Long: 45:19

It's physical and time it and time-consuming work. So how they could do all they could do and then sneak out at 3.30 to hit a soccer game and then, be right back online later to finish things up for a board meeting. I was just so impressed with all of them. Did you have to, or did you find yourself deploying strategies to be able to manage both of those elements of your life, because they both are high demand?

Anna Krasnykh: 45:50

Yeah, and there were definitely times where I was terrible at that. Oh, as I mentioned, go easy on yourself. There were, you know, nights and weekends and all the things. But you know, when I think about, what worked for me is is prioritization and setting boundaries. Oh and tell me more well. I'm terrible at boundaries.

Anna Krasnykh: 46:08

Anybody who knows me knows I'm terrible at boundaries probably not as good at it as I should be either, but, you know, communicating some of that, you know, to your teams, to your leadership, but then also having some of those conversations with your kids, at the end of the day, you know, is it really important to you that I'm here for this particular event? And if they say yes, then damn it, I'm going to be there, I'm going to find some way to be there, and I think that some people maybe feel that if you embrace that and you give the individual the opportunity to take those moments for themselves, somehow the performance bar is lower. No, who says it's got to be lower, the performance bar is still here. But embracing that individual with their whole self, their life, because you know, like things happen every day. Things happen health and family and all the things, and they happen. And and I think unless you allow that individual to live their life and bring their whole self to work, you you will never get their best. That's right at work.

Anna Krasnykh: 47:20

That's never, you know, and I don't need a computer. If I wanted a computer, here we go. We've got all these ML models these days, so I think that's the beauty of a diverse work environment you allow the individual to be themselves and bring their best to work and that's how you you also frankly get full, full buy-in and full contribution and and, at the end of the day, what you get back is so much more, including the relationship, including the impact, including the innovation.

Tonya J. Long: 48:02

I agree with everything you said. I'm going to add an angle to it because you've been focused on the impact at work with what you've been talking about. But I think and I'm not trying to preach and I'm not trying to influence anyone to be anything they're not but I think what you bring home to the family when you work is also richer. Very early in my career the chief HR officer at the company and I were buds and she went out to have her baby and then came back to work and she said I'm a better mother when I'm working because I want to be with my kids more.

Tonya J. Long: 48:42

I'm excited when I get home because I get to see them. And her kids were still very, very, very young. But she was anticipating what she brought to them and the example that she set was, for her and for her family, dynamic, something that she looked forward to for her kids seeing balancing priorities. The family is not the only thing in your life. You know that mommy has other things that are important to her and we're going to both honor each other's needs. So I think you bring a lot to your family when you're able to balance that effort 100%.

Anna Krasnykh: 49:23

Yeah, and I think that goes both ways for my son and my daughter. Yeah, you know, I want my daughter to look at me as an example. Yes, but I also want my son to look at me and understand what it's like to be a woman and you know, as he thinks about, you know the women in his life and I don't want to think about that because he's still my baby, but you know, one day he's going to.

Tonya J. Long: 49:51

But you're raising an adult. You're not trying to just keep him at six years old for forever. Is he six? He's ten, he's ten. Thank you when you called him your baby, but he is your baby.

Anna Krasnykh: 50:02

He's forever my baby. I tell him that every day.

Tonya J. Long: 50:04

He's still your baby and he will be when he's 40. But I think, anticipating the role model that you are for them and for them, seeing you struggle, frankly, I mean, I think and here I am putting too much of my own opinion on the air, but I think when we raise our children in a fragile way and they think that everything is supposed to be perfect because we have such a sanitized, do you remember the Truman Show, that movie that Jim Carrey did 25 years ago? No, it was about this perfect community, almost Stepford Wives-like. It was this perfect community, almost Stepford Wives-like. It was this perfect community, but it wasn't real. It was being filmed. It was this microcosm of society, the reason I paid so much attention to it.

Tonya J. Long: 50:52

When I lived in Tennessee, one of my favorite little beach towns was Seaside, all these little painted cottages. All the same, the Truman Show was shot at Seaside because it is this picturesque, made for postcards kind of little town. But the Truman Show was on air for the rest of the world. The people who lived there didn't know it. So it was this fake and everything was beautiful and everyone had huge meals for dinner every night that mom had cooked. Yeah, this was 20 years ago, so it was very much tempered toward traditional gender dynamics.

Tonya J. Long: 51:27

Good, I spit that out, but it was fascinating to see to think about things that aren't real and we have to show our kids what's real and a lot of my friends and I love them. So you know I'm talking to you, you out there listening kids what's real and a lot of my friends and I love them. So you know I'm talking to you, you out there listening. But you know they just want things to be so good for their families. They don't want their families to see struggle. But I think kids, to your very initial point, are much more resilient than we maybe sometimes give them credit for and much more flexible and they're willing to see the adventure in things. So I'm sure that, like this move wasn't trauma for your family, it was. What do we get to do next?

Anna Krasnykh: 52:11

Yes, and I've already seen them grow so much from that.

Tonya J. Long: 52:15

It's only been three months, three months, I mean, I've got this look of shock on my face for those that are listening. Three months and you already see it. Yes, yes shock on my face for those that are listening three months and you already see it. Yes, yes, more confidence. Yeah, all the things um. So how do you characterize the wisdom from motherhood that has made you um better in your professional life?

Anna Krasnykh: 52:41

oh my gosh, I don't even know how to characterize this, something you said earlier makes me recognize.

Tonya J. Long: 52:49

You know, you said you were more patient and you said you were able to look at people in my words, people with different skill sets or different capacities and think in a different way, more heart-centered way different capacities, and think in a different way, more heart-centered way, about how to focus their gifts and talents. Right, and I think maybe that was your answer, for how has the wisdom, has the experience of motherhood taught you to see working with people differently?

Anna Krasnykh: 53:23

Yes, it's a lot of that definitely recognizing people for who they are, but then also giving myself grace sometimes. You know, we often put so much pressure on ourselves, so much pressure I wouldn't know anything about that.

Tonya J. Long: 53:40

But but you are, you are chill, you are um.

Tonya J. Long: 53:46

You're not a high-strung individual, that's not your nature so well, I think I think you have quiet high expectations of yourself, right and um, and of those around me and of and those. I'm glad you said that that's absolutely 100% and living into that with all the pressures that you have, and then setting expectations in a new model Because this is a new paradigm for you and it's a new paradigm for a lot of us where there are clear boundaries and expectations. In enterprise, there's that hierarchy, there's the you know revenue of divisions make one more important than the other. Those kinds of things are models for how we measure our response to requests. So so I think it would be interesting how do you, now that you've shifted to entrepreneurship, how do you, how do you measure how you respond to requests, because there's a lot of hungry birds that are reaching for us. So how do you? How do you? How do you prioritize? And I want to tie it back to motherhood how has being a mother taught you to prioritize in your, in your professional life differently?

Anna Krasnykh: 55:14

Yeah. So I think part of it is understanding your ultimate calling oh beautiful, take it back to purpose. Well, yes. And then also your strengths, yeah. And then thinking about being resourceful. You know, where do I, as an individual, add value? Where are those areas that are not my strengths, or maybe I just frankly don't want to go there? And how do I partner with somebody who does shine that area and that is exactly what they want and need, so that that is ultimately? You know that I think that has served me well, both in my career and in motherhood. I definitely tried to do it all. In the early days when my son was very, very young, I put so much pressure on myself and this whole time I had this amazing partner sitting next to me. All I had to do was ask for some help.

Tonya J. Long: 56:16

Now, let's not say Igor's amazing, he's probably listening.

Anna Krasnykh: 56:20

Maybe, maybe, yeah probably is yeah so, but seriously, like this goes for both the professional life and for personal life, you don't have to do this alone.

Tonya J. Long: 56:35

Oh, bingo, bingo. And your partners aren't just the ones that you're in relationship with and live under a single roof with right your partners in all of this are so broad and diverse, but I think it's making the ask. That is the hard thing for people like us.

Anna Krasnykh: 56:57

We don't reach out enough.

Tonya J. Long: 57:00

Well, I'm not going to go too far, but I was always the boss, I was always doing for other people. I was always helping other people. Being helped is hard I struggle with personally, you know, because I've got all the answers right. And so, coming into these broader communities where we are a matrix of people helping each other, like the call I took this morning at 7 30 about pricing on fractional work um, it's, um, it's, it's a shift to be, to be helped, right, it's a gift, it's a gift, all it's a gift, all right. Now you're preaching. So two words a gift and it's preaching. I love it. So you've got so much experience and so much wisdom from it. For people who are listening, who see this in their trajectory, who see either a physical move from Austin to the Bay Area as an example, or the career shift move, because it is a big shift from big enterprise to an entrepreneurial thing. What's your advice for people who are anticipating and wanting to think more about that journey?

Anna Krasnykh: 58:18

I think, first of all, give yourself grace, slow down, take the time to think deeply about your purpose, where you're going, why you're going there, what it should feel like. What you want it to feel like not the should actually let me take that back. What you want it to feel like Not the should actually. Let me take that back. What you want it to feel like, set the shoulds aside and when you find that big thing and you feel the pull towards it, just lean in, find the courage. You don't have to know the how You'll figure it out along the way. You don't have to have a plan and, by the way, you're allowed to change your mind in the process. Bingo.

Tonya J. Long: 59:08

I'm going to be a little more harsh. You're allowed to change your mind, but whatever you're doing will change. I think it's always been the adage that change is the only constant. You know that change is the only constant, but I, what my forecast for the future in the world of work is, is that we're going to be under constant revision and we, and each of us, has to work on resilience and adaptability, not in a bad way, but in a what do I get to do?

Anna Krasnykh: 59:38

What is coming for me next and and it.

Tonya J. Long: 59:43

These don't have to be radical pivots. I think when you get accustomed to living a life of reinvention which is what RESET is all about then those changes aren't quite so scary, because you have a direction that you're already working toward, that you are interested in, that's at your core, and I think that's the opportunity for people. 100%, yeah, couldn't agree more. Thank you. This has been so enjoyable. We could go on another hour and the station manager might let us, but I'm not going to do that. So, thank you. If people would like to get in touch with you or want to follow you as you make your journey here in the Bay Area and in different segments of your career, how would you like for them to try to get in touch with you?

Anna Krasnykh: 1:00:35

You're welcome to find me on LinkedIn or Instagram. Nakrasnyk is my name, thank you. And then, yeah, feel free to check out techandwebcom. That is our main agency, where we do all kinds of wonderful, wonderful work for our customers.

Tonya J. Long: 1:00:49

Techandweb. Of course, that would be highlighted on your LinkedIn profile. Yes, ma'am, I am going to spell your last name for people. Anna is clear, but K-R-A-S-N-Y-K-H. K-r-a-s-n-y-k-h. See, you got it. I am learning too. So this is wonderful. Thank you for being here. Thank you, it's been an honor. Wonderful Thank you. Thank you.

Tonya J. Long: 1:01:15

We are here on KPCRLP 92.9 FM in still overcast Los Gatos, and also broadcasting from Sister Station KMRT LP 101.9 FM, Santa Cruz. Just as a note for the people who are listening, this is a community station. We are funded by our listeners and we're doing good work putting on programs like this, getting Anna voice heard and other people's voices heard, giving creatives and artists a chance to have their work seen and heard, and then community things like the Wine Walk that's coming up next weekend. These things are all funded by our listeners and if you feel so compelled, just go to the kpcrorg website and you'll find several little support buttons scattered around the website for you to become part of the team that helps us get these messages and the talent out to our communities. So thank you again. This has been Tonya Long with Anna Christneff Christneff, I know I'm getting worse. It's like my RV backing.

Anna Krasnykh: 1:02:23

It gets worse, the more I do it.

Tonya J. Long: 1:02:25

So it has been wonderful to be here. Thank you everyone. It has been a great day and we will see you next week.

Tonya J. Long: 1:02:36

Thanks for joining us on RESET. You've been listening to our show from KPCR, lp 92.9 FM in Los Gatos and KMRT, lp 101.9 FM in Santa Cruz. Remember, transformation is a journey, not a destination. So until next time, keep exploring what's possible. I'm Tonya Long and this is home. This is RESET.