Episode 56: Platinum Rule

Off The Tracks

In this episode, we are joined by Erin Zipes. Erin has been a lawyer for eighteen years and has spent half of those years working in tech. She previously spent over seven years at Shopify, serving in a variety of roles including Vice President Assistant General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. Erin is currently the Chief Legal Officer at 1Password, a password management security software company. Outside of work, Erin also is a Founding Partner of Backbone Angels, a collective of angel investors who invest in women and non-binary founders with a focus on investments in Black, Indigenous, and Women of Colour-led companies.

Erin shares with us the many turning points throughout her career and how she ended up working in tech. By the time Erin left Shopify, she was managing 75 people and we discuss the reality of lawyers as managers. Erin describes her “failure to launch” after articling and how that setback impacted her career outlook. Erin also gives us a behind the scenes look at angel investing and shares how and why Backbone Angels focuses on entrepreneurs who might otherwise not get the funding they need.

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Learn more about Backbone Angels

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Thanks for taking some time to step off the tracks with us!

– Erin & Piper –

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