The video explores the journey of Sora Lee, a professional who has successfully balanced a demanding career in the tech industry with personal responsibilities and achievements. Sora shares insights into her career transitions, moving from startups to renowned companies like Netflix and Facebook, and eventually landing a role at TikTok. She discusses the importance of Negotiation, leveraging counteroffers, personal growth challenges, and the pivotal moments that have defined her career trajectory.

Sora candidly talks about her experiences with financial management, from handling credit card debt and spousal support post-divorce to learning about personal investments such as index funds, stocks, and cryptocurrencies. She emphasizes the significance of having a healthy relationship with money, driven by her upbringing and continuous personal efforts to balance financial goals with life priorities, including providing for her son and managing her expenses effectively.

Main takeaways from the video:

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Key Vocabularies and Common Phrases:

1. Compensation [ˌkɑːmpənˈseɪʃən] - (n.) - The money received by an employee from an employer as a salary or wages.

In 2023, my total Compensation consisted of my base salary and sign on bonus from TikTok...

2. Severance [ˈsɛvərəns] - (n.) - The action of ending a connection or relationship; payment to an employee on the termination of a contract.

...and I got this TikTok role. I was able to get the Severance and start my new job.

3. Operational efficiency [ˌɑːpəˈreɪʃənəl ɪˈfɪʃənsi] - (n.) - The capability of an organization to deliver products or services in the most cost-effective manner.

...you're thinking about your Operational efficiency. So never go into the hall without bringing anything...

4. Negotiation [nɪˌɡoʊʃiˈeɪʃən] - (n.) - Discussion aimed at reaching an agreement.

My biggest Negotiation tip is to have counter offers. Always.

5. Empowered [ɪmˈpaʊərd] - (adj.) - Having the confidence, means, or abilities to take action.

...they're going to be more Empowered to be better at their jobs and pursue their passion...

6. Regrets [rɪˈɡrɛts] - (n.) - A feeling of sadness or disappointment over something that has happened or been done.

I don't have any Regrets.

7. Exponentially [ˌɛkspəˈnɛnʃəli] - (adv.) - At a very fast rate.

...my social media account started to grow Exponentially...

8. Financial literacy [faɪˈnænʃ(ə)l ˈlɪtərəsi] - (n.) - The ability to understand and use various financial skills.

...emphasizes the significance of having a healthy relationship with money...

9. Counteroffer [ˈkaʊntərˌɔːfər] - (n.) - An offer made in response to another.

...to have counter offers. Always. When I was interviewing on Netflix...

10. Appreciating asset [əˈpriːʃiˌeɪtɪŋ ˈæsɛt] - (n.) - An asset that increases in value over time.

...just because someone has a nice car doesn't mean that they're wealthy...

Balancing Life, Career Success, and Parenthood

We are all imperfect, but you can try to do it all. You can have a job at a big tech company, you can be a working mom, you can have friendships, and you can work out. It's all about time management and finding the balance while you're doing all this. You may not be perfect, but don't feel like you have to choose one over the other.

My name is Sora Lee. I'm 34 years old. I make about $400,000 a year. I live in San Mateo, California. One thing that I like about TikTok is it moves really fast. I sit between product and sales and users. Sometimes I go to market with a product. They wanted me to send them feedback from each day. And because I have engineers in Asia, a lot of them that were easily addressable were fixed overnight. That was the moment when I realized why TikTok has been growing so fast.

In 2023, my total Compensation consisted of my base salary and sign on bonus from TikTok, Severance from meta, selling primary residence I co owned with my ex husband, and landing some brand partnership deals as a creator. I graduated in three years. I decided that I'm gonna take that route to save money. I think it was a good way to help fund my education at the same time, give children to families who wanted their own kids.

I also worked at a Korean bar. I highly recommend that everyone should work as a server at a busy restaurant at least once in their life, especially in an early age, because it teaches you about greeting people and servicing people. But also, more importantly, you're thinking about your Operational efficiency. So never go into the hall without bringing anything, or never go back to the kitchen without bringing anything.

I started my career working at a few different startups, and then I joined Tubemogul, which later got acquired by Adobe. At Tubemogul, I made $40,000 in base and 6000 in bonus. And then by the time I left the next year, I made $46,000 in base and 6000 in bonus. And in 2014, when I moved over to Netflix as an associate, I think that was the biggest jump. So I went from 46 to 110,000, which is more than double my biggest Negotiation. Tip is to have counter offers. Always.

When I was interviewing on Netflix, I actually was interviewing for another company in the morning, and I had gotten an offer on the spot because at VP loved me. What I was offered was about $80,000. So I already went into Netflix thinking, okay, if this doesn't work out, I would still double my Compensation. That gave me a lot of confidence boost, so I did well on the interview. And then when it was time to negotiate my minimum, Washington, I said 90,000, and they came back with 110K.

When I left Netflix, I made 165,000, all cash. And then when I moved over to Facebook as an IC five, I made $150,000 and bonus was 15%. I wasn't having a nice time at meta. I didn't feel like I was really growing. I didn't feel like my leader was very invested in my growth. I got reached out by a recruiter from TikTok on LinkedIn, and I interviewed for the role. So then when the November, the big round of layoffs happened at meta, it was perfect because I got laid off on Wednesday, got my offer from TikTok on Friday, and I got this TikTok role. I was able to get the Severance and start my new job.

My relative feeling of being wealthy. I think it diminishes over time because I'm working with, you know, directors who are making millions. And that moment, from tube mobile to Netflix, I think was the biggest moment where I felt like I made it. And that's when I bought my first designer purse. I haven't felt that way since then.

I try not to keep more than $10,000 in my checking account. I already maxed out my traditional IRA for this year, and I'm on track to max out 401k contribution this year. I also contribute towards my son's 529 and anything else left. I put it into Robinhood to acquire index funds, individual stocks for interesting companies, and bitcoin. I don't have any Regrets. I was at a point where I would be fine if, even if my net worth starts at zero.

I got divorced when my son was two and a half years old. And it was actually because I read an article that if the kids under three, it actually leaves a pretty low impact in their life and it peaks around eleven to 13. So I figured if I'm gonna do it, I should just do it now. It was pretty costly divorce in terms of lawyer fees. I was ordered to pay spousal support, and aside from that, my ex was managing all the finances. So actually, I was pretty oblivious to, like, personal investing, which sounds kind of funny because I'm the one with an MBA degree. I didn't know, like, how you even access 401K or how to buy stock. I knew that it was going to be very difficult financially.

So at the beginning of the divorce, I opened three credit cards that had 0% APR. I think at max, I had about $100,000 in credit card debt because all my money was tied up with real estate, and I couldn't really move money around that much. It's been a learning the past two years. I read a lot of books and a lot of courses. I feel pretty good about it now.

In March, I bought a necklace to celebrate hitting the hundred thousand followers milestone on Instagram. My rent is $49.50, and I split it with my partner. And my son is in pre kindergarten right now, and I pay all of it right now. My car payment is $1,000. So that is one financial mistake I have done. During divorce, I bought a brand new Tesla model three performance. It was about $70,000, and I am still paying off it. $1,000 a month is a big deal, and if I had put that into something else, I would have been making more money, and I regret buying that full price, brand new huge mistake.

I know I've had a pretty unhealthy relationship with money growing up. Looking back, my father constantly talked about money, and I was pretty obsessed with money. I don't think I'm completely free of it now. It's something I think about constantly. I've been making conscious efforts to have healthier relationship with money. Also with Jackson, I like having adults, like, discussions with him. Like, if he's sitting in the car seat and he's like, that's a Porsche. That's an expensive car. He heard it from somewhere else. And I would be like, you know, just because someone has a nice cardinal doesn't mean that they're wealthy and cars are a depreciating asset. It's two for $7. You know what the. This is two for $7. Okay, what's the difference?

He's probably not really understanding all of it, but I think the more I talk to him about it, I think the more he can grasp when he's ready. Jackson, do you want to help mommy? Can you roll up your sleeves first? My number one tip for working moms or working parents is give them chores. Even when we go to restaurants, if we need to get a menu or a new spoon, I try to get him to ask the server. And in the beginning, he was very shy. And now I can see whenever he gets the spoon that he asked for, like, he looks so happy. He's so proud of himself.

I almost feel like God or some sort of higher being gave him to me. So I can take a pause and enjoy life versus constantly think about how I can do better and be more and feeling anxious about how I am not doing enough and how I'm not making enough money. I keep thinking about this, but when I'm with him, I can, like, fully focus on him, and it, I think, really balances me out.

I was on a Netflix reality show called Love after Divorce, which ended last year, my social media account started to grow Exponentially, which I'm really grateful for because I do love sharing my stories on how to become more effective employee and how to navigate corporate careers because I do think the more knowledge we have, especially women of color or people in Korea who want to work for american companies, they're going to be more Empowered to be better at their jobs and pursue their passion and also move up more quickly and make more money. And so that's something I'm very passionate about. So I want to see how far I can take this.

You can do it all. And I want to be that person to inspire people to be more, dream more and do more.

Business, Motivation, Leadership, Sora Lee, Career Transition, Financial Management