Your Second Curve
  • Episode 3
  • 31 min

Life Without the Big Logo: Paola Cavallero on Building a Portfolio Career

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When you leave a big corporate name behind, you have to go back to what you can actually do for a client.

Paola Cavallero spent more than 30 years in international corporate roles at companies including Microsoft, Nokia, Coca-Cola, Gillette and Johnson & Johnson, leading teams across sales, marketing, operations and general management. Then she stepped away from that structure to begin her own second curve as an independent partner with ERA Group.

In this episode of Your Second Curve, Dr. Arnd Halbach, author of Your Second Curve, talks with Paola about what drove the decision, how her work now spans consulting, board positions and mentoring, and what she learned about building a pipeline from scratch without the big brand behind her. They also cover investing in training, using AI as a one-person business, and why a success fee model suits the way she works. She also has three pieces of advice for anyone considering the move.

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Thinking about going independent?

Start with the free Toolkit: thirteen worksheets from the author of Your Second Curve, on positioning, pricing, pipeline and the rest of what an independent practice stands on.

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The printed Toolkit open on a desk at Tool C, the Positioning Compression Canvas, with the page of sequenced AI prompts beside it