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Exit Interview #4: From Product Design Leadership to Sound Healing
This video is featured in the Exit Interviews playlist.
Summary
Mary-Lynne Williams is the founder of Buffalo Firefly, a sound-healing and wellness company operating in Richmond, VA and Brooklyn, NY. Before stepping into this work, she spent over two decades in the tech industry as a product design leader, including roles at Microsoft, Meta, and Zillow, where she shaped complex digital products, led teams, and worked at the intersection of systems thinking, user experience, and human behavior. Her career in tech was successful by every external measure. Yet over time, Mary-Lynne began to recognize a growing disconnect between the work she was doing and the way she wanted to live in her purpose. She creates intentional spaces for rest and has recently opened a second location of her Sound Healing Center in New York City. Her story is not about leaving ambition behind, but about redefining success—trusting discernment, and choosing work that feels sustainable not just intellectually, but physically, emotionally, and spiritually as well.
Key Insights
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Prolonged stress and undiagnosed illness were key factors prompting Mary Lynn's departure from UX leadership.
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A retreat for women design leaders exposed Mary Lynn to energy healing, which catalyzed her career pivot.
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Experience in leadership roles enriched Mary Lynn’s communication skills, aiding her transition to wellness coaching.
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'Data-driven' design practices increasingly prioritize company goals over authentic user needs, diminishing job satisfaction.
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Women leaders in tech often face pressure to conform to masculine behavioral norms, leading to a lack of mentorship and support.
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Starting a wellness business required significant personal financial investment and lifestyle adaptation, including relocating to a smaller city.
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Stepping away from UX design can heighten awareness of the impact of constant interface changes on users, especially older adults.
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Imperfect, authentic content is gaining value in the age of AI-generated, overly polished digital experiences.
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Career transitions can feel isolating as previous social networks shift, but new communities form in aligned interest areas.
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Trusting intuition and taking oneself seriously are crucial pieces of advice for anyone considering leaving UX or tech for a new venture.
Notable Quotes
"What is it they say about death? It's not a door closing, it's a door opening."
"I couldn't be as good at this job if I hadn’t been in those leadership roles."
"I walked into the building and it just felt surreal. It didn’t feel right in my body to be there anymore."
"I wanted to be in a place where I was making people feel better, not worse."
"There was an expectation for you to behave like a man, but when you do, you're criticized for being aggressive."
"Decisions based on clicks can be detrimental to the user because they favor company goals, not user needs."
"The universe will absolutely provide if it’s the right thing for you."
"I put most of my retirement savings into making this happen because I didn’t think I was going to survive otherwise."
"The sloppier you are, the more real you’re looking in the age of AI content."
"Meditation isn’t about stopping thinking, it’s about becoming aware of thinking."
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