What if the most important thing AI can do for you has nothing to do with writing?

Nina Willdorf is a go-to-market leader with 20+ years building positioning and content for early-stage tech and VC brands. She's worked at Airbnb, Coinbase, and Time Inc., and she's the co-founder of the Aged Intelligence Society, the "AI Tupperware party" the New York Times profiled in Wine, Cheese, and ChatGPT.

In this episode, Zoe and Nina get into how Nina grew her consultancy, Special Projects, from zero to six figures in under a year. The secret is to hand AI your soul-crushing ops work, not your voice.

They also cover why women in midlife are the people AI was made for, the three phases of networking, and the Susan Orlean invitation Nina still regrets turning down.

In this episode:

• Lightning round: the best and worst networking advice, and finding the chicest woman at the party
• Nina's red flags and green flags for clients (including the "I need you in the office two days a week" client)
• Zero to six figures: using AI as a "work girlfriend," a chief of staff, and a partner that searches her CRM
• Just starting with AI? Sign up, connect your email, and tell it "I'm overwhelmed"
• Why AI is made for women in midlife: the heaviest mental load, and the best BS detectors
• Why LinkedIn lurkers matter, and why posts with personality get the most response
• The three phases of networking: apprentice, build, give back
• The Susan Orlean story, and why you should accept the offer

Connect with Nina:

Special Projects: https://special-projects.io

Aged Intelligence Society: https://agedintelligencesociety.substack.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ninawilldorf/

Connect with Zoe: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zoe-weisberg-coady-57aab37

What does healthy aging actually look like — and are we making wellness way more complicated than it needs to be?

In this episode of The Not Perfect Networking Podcast, Zoe sits down with Dr. Erika Schwartz, a pioneer in longevity, hormone health, and preventative medicine, for a conversation that goes far beyond wellness trends.

From the pressure to constantly “optimize” ourselves to the role stress, sleep, and connection play in our lives, Dr. Erika shares the mindset shifts she believes matter most after decades of working with patients around the world.

The conversation also explores what it takes to build trust, create meaningful relationships, and stay grounded in a world full of noise and information.

In this episode, we discuss:

• The biggest misconceptions around wellness and aging
• Why more information isn’t always better
• The hidden impact of stress and sleep
• The pressure to constantly optimize your life
• Building trust and connection over time
• Why slowing down matters more than people realize
• Dr. Erika's approach to longevity and preventative health

Connect with Dr. Erika Schwartz: https://linktr.ee/dr.erika

Networking gets a bad rap, but what if the problem isn't networking itself? What if it is the way we've been thinking about it all along?

In this episode of the Not Perfect Networking Podcast, Zoe sits down with Caroline Dell to reframe networking as what it really is: relationship building. Caroline is the founder of Goodword, a relationship operating system for the AI era, and former employee #5 at Chief, where she helped scale the executive women's network from 200 to over 20,000 members.

Even if you think "I'm bad at networking," this episode will show you how to move from transactional to relational connections, and practical strategies for staying visible and connected before you need something.

In this episode:

• The super connector who changed Caroline's career trajectory twice (and how you can find yours)
• Why AI is actually making your relationships more valuable, not less
• How to think about your network as your personal board of advisors
• The golden rule that changes everything about networking
• The one question that breaks the ice better than small talk
• What a "relationship operating system" actually does—and why you might need one
• Practical ways to stay visible and keep your network updated

Connect with Caroline:

Website: https://www.goodword.com/

Connect with Zoe:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zoe-weisberg-coady-57aab37