In this personal narrative, Nicole Parlapiano recounts her journey from a New Jersey upbringing and early New York ambitions to an unplanned move to Los Angeles during the 2008 recession. Struggling financially, she took on six different jobs—including finance, online dating, beverage incubator work, agency roles, and various cash‑hustles such as nannying, driving, bookkeeping, and even selling Christmas trees—to survive. These side hustles immersed her in the LA startup scene, where she built a supportive community that helped shape her career. A turning point came when, feeling lost at 33, she consulted a psychic who advised her to focus on relationships rather than ambition. Rejecting that guidance, she chose the most aggressive offer available and returned to New York to work for Gary Vaynerchuk’s agency, later joining WeWork. At WeWork she found purpose in the company’s mission to create spaces that foster human connection, echoing the community support she experienced in LA. Throughout, she emphasizes resilience, the value of unconventional paths, and the importance of people‑first culture.
Chapters
Hello. I wanted to let everyone know that I live in New York, and I flew out this morning because my story actually needs to be told in Los Angeles. This city chewed me up and spit me out. Is there anyone here from New Jersey? Anyone? So I'm a typical Jersey girl. My goals in life and my dreams were very one-dimensional. It was to get myself to New York and have a successful career. And I tracked to that. I was doing it, living in the city, had a job, had an apartment, and it came time to apply for business schools. And it wasn't on my radar to leave New York. That was the serious city. That's the city of hustle. I didn't even think about going anywhere else despite there's you know, schools all over that are amazing. But I went through a terrible breakup, and at that point I just wanted to get as far as I could from New York City, the furthest it could take me. So I threw in my application to USC, and I wasn't really concerned about making this cross-country move. I thought, you know, I've watched The Hills, I get it. And I'm a freaking New Yorker, like I'm gonna run circles around this city, it's not gonna be a problem. So there was one problem. It was 2008. It was the belly of the beast of the recession. I worked in private equity. I was getting literally a degree that was depreciating in value on a daily basis in the evenings. I could barely get my car from the Brentwood Country Market to Whole Foods without a problem. So I was running circles around no one. No one. And it was a rough start to what would be a rough 7 years here. I had 6 different jobs. I went from finance to online dating to working for a beverage incubator to then the agency side. And it was, I always had to have this kind of side hustle. So my side hustle was working with a lot of startups and new companies to try to figure out how they could pitch money, what their marketing strategy was, what their branding strategy was. And these jobs, this side hustle had no money. I did a lot of things for pro bono or for sweat equity. So on top of that, I had to have a cash hustle. And my cash hustle was— I was a nanny, I was a driver despite my poor driving, I was a bookkeeper, and during the holidays I could even be found on Doheny slinging Christmas trees at Mr. Green Trees. So it was humbling. It was clear I was not Lauren Conrad. This was not the Hills. And I think where it brought me was I had all these unconventional jobs, jobs that did not require me to be at a desk from 9 to 6. And it really forced me to meet a lot of people, and through those moments, I met— I just built my community in Los Angeles. And a lot of the friends here and the people that I met during this time went far and beyond the bounds of normal friendship to help me with my fledgling career. One example would be, and two of these women are here tonight, I was the marketing director of a healthy soda, flawed, flawed from the beginning, and two of my girlfriends, started a company where they would come to my beverage events and they would hair chalk. And that was a way to lure people over to try this disgusting drink and potentially draw them in and buy it. I mean, who has friends like that? I mean, that's amazing. So despite building this community and all the support I felt, I really did reach my breaking point here. And, you know, my agency got purchased by a holding company. I got priced out of my apartment in Venice. And I had no boyfriend. So I thought, I'm really lost. I'm 33. I don't know what the next move is. Clearly I've made a lot of bad decisions. So I'm going to do what rational people do, and I'm going to make an appointment with a psychic who— My mom friends in the Palisades recommended her, and they swear that their life turned out the way this woman said it would. So I make an appointment. And you know, she was very professional. She asked all of the information, you know, in advance. She had charts and all these things. And the first order of business for me was, what the fuck am I supposed to be doing with my life? Nothing is working. Nothing is working out for me. What am I meant to be doing if something's not working? And she was quiet. And she said, "Your career house is empty." I said, "Oh, really? Because I've worked like a dog since I was 14. So tell me how my career house is empty." And she said, "It just means that, you know, this life is not about success or working." 'Or your career. It's about relationships.' I said, 'That's lovely. I've spent a lot of time and money'—to the tone of 6 figures—'on this career and on this dream. So how is it all going to work out?' And she said, 'You're going to meet a man, and he's going to be successful, and you're going to help him be successful.' So I thought about it. I was like, 'Okay.' So I have some opportunities rolling in, I need to make a decision about where I'm gonna go and what I'm gonna do next. And she said, "Well, whatever you do, it needs to be like, you know, take it easy, it doesn't need to be as ambitious as you've been, and you know, I can help you make that next move. When these offers come in, you call me, and we will make that decision." So I'm driving home, I'm digesting all of this, and I'm thinking, well, I'm not gonna die alone and broke, there's that. But, I mean, is this really what my path is? Is this really how I'm gonna be happy? And in that moment, I had some clarity, and I was like, I have fucking lost my mind if I think that a psychic in the Valley is gonna make my next career choice. I need to leave here. So, The next week when the offers came in, I took the most ambitious and aggressive one I could take, and I moved to New York. I had an offer working for Gary Vaynerchuk at his agency, which is not an easy task, and it was the best decision I ever made. And my whole LA experience really didn't make any sense to me until I started working at WeWork. And it's not for the obvious reasons. It's not because I embraced startups and really worked in that community here. But it's because I understand the importance of people feeling supported and for people showing up for other people because of what the LA community did for me. So to work for a company that our mission is to create spaces where people can have those human connections and where companies of all sizes and individuals can feel supported and where they can thrive is is amazing and awesome. So, I'm sure you're wondering about my future husband and if he's found me yet. He has not, but— hasn't happened, I didn't listen to her. But my shirt says "Boss," and that's really all I ever wanted. So, thank you.
