Liz Pearce, CEO and co-founder of Fresh Chalk, with her mom and personal executive coach, Nancy Gillespie. (Photo courtesy of Liz Pearce)

It can seem rather pro forma to thank mom for the role that she has played in one’s success. But for Fresh Chalk CEO Liz Pearce, the credit is particularly well-founded.

After short stints early in her career at Sony, Google and Amazon, Pearce joined Seattle-based LiquidPlanner in 2007, not long after the company launched. Pearce worked her way up in the organization, beginning as a marketing consultant pre-launch, then vice president of sales and marketing, chief operating officer, and finally CEO for five years before leaving in 2017.

Prior to joining LiquidPlanner, which builds project management software, “I had never managed a human being before,” Pearce said.

But her mom — whose own career path stretched from librarian and stay-at-home mom to an executive coach — encouraged her to push herself and select jobs based on what would be challenging, rather than focusing on title or pay.

“I’ve always tried to choose roles where I could learn as much as possible,” Pearce said. “There is a temptation to do another variation of what you’ve done before, and a lot of people find success that way and it’s great. But I still consider myself in learning mode.”

That pursuit of new experiences most recently led Pearce to co-founding and leading Fresh Chalk, a Seattle startup that shares recommendations provided by friends, colleagues and others in your network for professional services and businesses. Fresh Chalk is an alternative to relying on ratings from strangers on Yelp, Angie’s List and elsewhere.

“We’re trying to cut through the noise and help people make faster, better decisions,” Pearce said. Particularly when it comes to picking, say, a financial planner, your kid’s pediatrician or a therapist, you want a referral from a trusted source.

Liz Pearce shares her recommendations on Fresh Chalk.

Fresh Chalk’s team of eight includes fellow co-founders Adam Doppelt, Nathan Kriege, and Patrick O’Donnell. During the coronvirus-required shutdown of many businesses, the startup has offered a webinar series called Fresh Take. It includes how-to sessions with experts in gardening, decluttering your home, personal finance, hair cutting and house cleaning. On May 13 at 2 p.m., the startup is featuring a live webinar with a professional dog trainer. Past episodes and key points are available online.

Pearce is happy to be back in the startup space; Fresh Chalk launched in January 2019.

“All of the muscles that you build in the early days of a startup,” she said, “you can find them again.”

We caught up with Pearce for this Working Geek, a regular GeekWire feature. Continue reading for her answers to our questionnaire.

Current location: Seattle

Computer types: MacBook Air

Mobile devices: iPhone 8

Favorite apps, cloud services and software tools: Fresh Chalk, Figma, Zoom, Google Apps, Slack

Liz Pearce in her work-from-home office. (Photo courtesy of Liz Pearce)

Describe your workspace. Why does it work for you? Right now it’s my home office! In March, I hired movers to move all my office furniture to my house so I could be more productive. I even brought our rolling whiteboard. I like that the space has lots of light, a decent internet connection, and allows me to get hugs periodically from my kids throughout the day.

Your best advice for managing everyday work and life? Stay organized. Keep to-do lists for discrete tasks, but schedule time for thinking, reading and writing. Trick yourself into doing things you don’t really want to do. I make a deal with myself — I only have to work on the thing for 15 minutes, then I can stop. Oftentimes I will just keep going after the timer ends. This works for home and business!

Your preferred social network? How do you use it for business/work? Do I have to pick one? I use them all more or less equally, sharing Fresh Chalk news and highlighting businesses and pros we think are interesting, plus connecting with our member community.

Current number of unanswered emails in your inbox? 11

Number of appointments/meetings on your calendar this week? 24

How do you run meetings? Given our size and the amount of work on our plates, we try to keep the internal meeting load low. We have a weekly team meeting and a weekly founders meeting, both of which I come to with a short agenda, then I give folks a time to share their individual updates and perspectives.

Everyday work uniform? Jeans, a sweater and comfy tennis shoes.

Liz Pearce, attending a startup event, in front of The Biosphère in Montreal. (Fresh Chalk Photo)

How do you make time for family? I only have my kids 50% of the time, and when they’re with me, spending time with them is my No. 1 priority. I make sure to set boundaries when it comes to work on my kid days, and rarely schedule any non-kid social events those days. It’s all about food in our house — the day really revolves around having breakfast and dinner together. (And lunch, too, now that we’re social distancing!)

Best stress reliever? How do you unplug? Exercise (running and yoga), watching Top Chef, and hanging out with friends.

What are you listening to? The Daily podcast, Alabama Shakes, Nathaniel Rateliff and Brandi Carlile

Daily reads? Favorite sites and newsletters? New York Times, Seattle Times, GeekWire, Seeking Alpha

Book on your nightstand (or e-reader)? “The Splendid and the Vile” by Erik Larson, “Bargaining for Advantage” by G. Richard Shell, “The Obstacle is the Way” by Ryan Holiday

Night owl or early riser? I split the difference. I’m usually in bed by around 10:30 p.m., in time to read for a while before going to sleep. I’m up consistently around 6:30 or 7 a.m..

Where do you get your best ideas? Either in the shower on or the road when I’m running. I should probably be running more often!

Whose work style would you want to learn more about or emulate? Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. He always seems so calm and collected, and he gets great business results. I want to know his secrets!

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