Larissa Herda is the CEO of tw telecom. She has grown her company from $26 million to $1.2 billion and employs 3,000 people. In this interview, Larissa shares how she overcame a difficult childhood. While her friends also got into trouble, she realized the path she wanted to take.
Larissa’s advice to our listeners is to:
Get an education.
Work hard.
If there is something you really want... go for it.
If you are undecided about careers she suggests trying a lot of things, asking questions and not being afraid to fail. Larissa says, "You need to take risks or you won't have rewards."
Larissa watched her friends make some bad choices. Have you ever encountered a situation where you have learned from your friend’s mistakes?
Setting goals helped Larissa overcome challenges at work. What goals have you set and have they helped you work through a difficult time?
tw telecom is a billon dollar company and has grown to almost 3000 employees. Would you like a career as a CEO such as Larissa, managing such a large company?
At a difficult time in Larissa’s life she did not have anyone to support her. Who supports you and how?
Larissa is involved in the Sungate Kids organization because she cares about kids and wanted to help those in need. What are you passionate about?
Special thanks to interviewer Stefy Bautista, assistant Carly Fabian, host Stephanie May, episode researcher Gloria Yang and SheHero Larissa Herda.