Is the Mailroom-to-CEO Story a Corporate Fairy Tale?

Nike's new CEO started as an intern in 1988 and worked his way to the top over 32 years. When Zach saw this "mailroom-to-boardroom" success story on LinkedIn, he thought he'd found his path forward—until he discovered even unpaid internships now require years of experience. From automated rejections to impossible requirements, we explore whether these classic career success stories are possible anymore. Has the traditional path to the top disappeared, or does it just look different in 2024? Hosts: Matt Sunbulli https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunbulli/ https://www.threads.net/@mattsunbulli https://www.firstdraft.vc Aaron Calafato Listen to Aaron's 7 Minute Stories Before you start a podcast, talk to Aaron! Leah Ova Follow Leah on TikTok Editorial: Matt Sunbulli Brooks Borden Ken Wendt Aaron Calafato Audio: Ken Wendt Jan Cruz Research: Zaid Safe Matt Sunbulli

Om Podcasten

Welcome to The Lonely Office: a podcast about making sense of the increasingly blurry line between work and life, brought to you by Glassdoor. We tackle real workplace stories sourced from anonymous firsthand accounts—like the rise of job ghosting, the truth behind unlimited PTO, and dealing with a nightmare boss. We also share insider advice on layoffs, severance negotiations, and wild work stories, from candidates vaping in interviews to employees fired over free speech. The professional world can be chaotic, but you don’t have to navigate it alone TLO is hosted by Matt Sunbulli (serial tech entrepreneur, Founder @ Fishbowl and First Draft AI), Aaron Calafato (Storyteller, Narrative Designer & Content Strategist), and Leah Ova (content creator and advertising executive), with special appearances from industry thought leaders and economists.