A conversation with Megan Lentz on unconventional career paths, partnerships rooted in empathy, and why curiosity and real-world experience can tell you more about someone than a resume.
Host: Tia Kleckner (CEO at LinkTech), Adam Kleckner (Head of Strategy at LinkTech)
Summary:
Megan Lentz didn’t follow a straight line into startups. Her path took her through photography, real estate, sales, and cybersecurity before joining Corgi as a Startup Partnerships Manager. A dinner conversation and a LinkedIn message opened the next door. In this conversation, she explores what career pivots teach you, why partnerships need mutual benefit, and how work trials let candidates assess a company while the company assesses them. Her through line: stay curious, ask questions, and be willing to try something unfamiliar.
Main Topics:
- From real estate to tech — how skills travel across industries
- The dinner conversation and proactive outreach that led to Corgi
- What passion projects reveal that resumes leave out
- Empathy as the foundation of partnerships, not just a sales technique
- Work trials as a two-way test of skills, expectations, and environment
- Culture add vs. culture fit — and why growing teams need different perspectives
- Wearing multiple hats without losing sight of the company’s purpose
- Using AI to explore questions without giving up human curiosity
Intriguing Quotes:
“Working with a company that knows their why is also very important.”
“No problem is not my problem, is how I like to look at it.”
“If you don’t ask questions throughout your experiences, like you’re not gonna continue to learn.”
“I think mine would probably say that I’m a very curious person.”
Key Moments:
[01:03] The unconventional career path: chemistry ambitions, photography, real estate, and the move into tech. Each chapter added something useful to the next.
[05:45] The outreach that changed her direction: after meeting Corgi’s CEO at dinner, Megan followed up on LinkedIn. Sometimes confidence starts with someone encouraging you to take the shot.
[08:36] What wasn’t on her resume: a real estate transaction platform she was experimenting with through vibe coding. A personal project became a conversation about what excited her.
[13:33] Partnerships start with empathy — understand the other person’s bottlenecks and make sure both sides benefit. Otherwise, it’s just a transaction.
[18:20] Why Megan values work trials: seeing someone work reveals more than interview answers, and candidates get to experience the environment before committing.
[23:08] Different backgrounds help teams question familiar patterns. As a company grows, more of the same isn’t always what it needs.
[29:41] The many-hats mindset: recruiting, partnerships, sales, operations — and doing the dishes. Shared goals mean being willing to help beyond your job description.
[31:28] What never shows up on Megan’s resume: curiosity. Learning to ask more questions changed how she learns, works, and steps into unfamiliar roles.
Concepts: Transferable skills; culture add vs. culture fit; two-way work trials; empathetic partnerships; curiosity-led learning
Connect with Megan Lentz:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/megmarielentz/
Connect with The Human Advantage Podcast:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thelinktech/