Betwixt.us: The Activism of Empathy And How To Build Trust In A Digital World

In this episode, I chat with both Jumana Abu-Ghazaleh and Shaina Stigler of betwixt.us – a company that is taking on the massive challenge of helping teams work together and still maintain humanity in our digital times. Listen in as we discuss what it’s like to bring a new offer to a new age and the importance of empathy when it comes to our work together.


Topics include:

  • What Jumana learned about the inflection point in our levels of trust and intimacy in the world of the Internet
  • The interesting way Shaina and Jamana first met and the questions asked that opened up a conversation that eventually led to a partnership
  • What the company decided to tackle first when it came to the monumental challenge of communication in the workplace (and on the Internet)
  • The place where relationships were built before remote work became part of the conversation (and how that place has gone away)
  • The number one factor in having the most innovative teams and what that factor means to the work betwixt.us is doing now
  • How (and why) our focus on becoming more productive within teams has actually led to a decrease in productivity
  • The process of selling a product that is entirely new to the market
  • How Jumana and Shaina have gotten doors to open for them
  • What you need to be willing to do when you ask hard questions
  • A completely new way to think about selling when you have a new product
  • Shaina and Jamana’s filtering process for taking meetings as pioneers with a new business
  • How companies with two offices run the risk of excluding people who aren’t in the room (and why it can sometimes be dangerous to be “polite”)
  • And much more!

Jumana Abu-Ghazaleh is the Founder and CEO of betwixt.us. She’s got mad credentials from working in strategy for 20 years, but her “uncanny ability to stick her finger in the wound,” as one CEO once put it, is what makes her the right person to pioneer ‘the feely Internet.’

Shaina Stigler is the Chief Empathy Officer of betwixt.us. Trained in the art of improv comedy, she has applied the tenets of improv to the worlds of marketing, innovation, and HR. She has been recognized for creating deeply empathic user experiences, like transporting New York City commuters back in time to the 1980’s.


Mentioned in this episode:


Learn more about Jumana Abu-Ghazaleh:

Learn more about Shaina Stigler:

Learn more about Michael Roderick: