Lyte presents “Womxn at Lyte,” a series of conversations highlighting the voices of our womxn.
Interviewer: As a child, what did you think you wanted to be? How do you think you came to that decision?
Sasha Sotnik: I can’t remember anything specific, there were so many options. You could do anything, and at the same time, why would you do anything? Also, it was some role modeling from my parents. They got married when they were very young, and I was like, “I need to get married when I’m young.” And then they started their business, and I was like, “Wow, it’s so fun,” it is not though. Their business was internet service providing, and they had all these servers and cables and stuff. They took me with them, I was looking at these networks, it was so fascinating, and I was thinking that I should be doing this. So, my head was full of something and nothing at the same time.
Interviewer: What would your younger self be most surprised about how you live your life today?
Sasha Sotnik: The thing is I never had any kind of expectations for my life, it was just going with the flow. Reflecting on what was going on, I think the biggest discovery that I made during this time is that there are no adults. As a child, you always think that there are adults, and they are making the right decisions, and all the people are so smart when they are adults. But now it’s you who is supposed to be an adult. And then people around you are also making some decisions that are supposed to be reasonable, and they are not really reasonable, and your decisions are also not so reasonable. I think my younger self would be really surprised that there are no adults and everyone is just doing their thing in this adult world.
Interviewer: What do you think is the hardest part of what you do for a living?
Sasha Sotnik: For me, the hardest thing is that it never ends. There is always something to do better, something to improve in yourself and the world around you, or something to learn. So it’s not like you reach some point, and you’re a professional. You’re good, and you’re here, and you’re enjoying this never-ending journey, and you always need to adapt to it and adjust yourself and your life.
I rarely have a moment when I say, “I did something. I feel good about it and I need to stop.” Usually, it’s more of, “I did this, but there is something else, and this needs to happen as well.” It’s endless and you always have something to do.
Interviewer: What do you love about working at Lyte?
Sasha Sotnik: Oh, this is great! I always speak about this in interviews with people. I like how vivid Lyte is, and how full of life it is. Every day you see people buying tickets. You see people selling tickets. You see people who are facilitating this. Sometimes, I have the feeling that the engineering team and myself are like little fixer-uppers that wake up, and like tiny gnomes are fixing things around here and there. When the event starts, the numbers are getting higher and every number has a person behind it. It gives a lot of inspiration.
Interviewer: What lesson took you the longest to unlearn?
Sasha Sotnik: As I said, I’m having a hard time trying to stop at some moments. I have this thought that I need to work constantly, and I need to put a lot of effort into it, and this is the main focus. But it is not ok. There is still your life, partner, family, friends, and other things that you’d better keep in balance. I’m trying to find these non-work interests, so far for me, these are photography and good old reading.
Interviewer: What have you accomplished recently that would’ve shocked you a year ago?
Sasha Sotnik: I feel like I have grown personally and professionally since I joined Lyte, I have a bigger team, and we have a lot more happening. I have moved to another country and I don’t know whether I’m going back anytime soon, so much is just happening. Sometimes, I try to pause and think about how fascinating it is that I am in this company of people where I can learn and do something good.
Interviewer: What are you more afraid of, failure or success, and why?
Sasha Sotnik: When it’s a success, it raises the bar; and you should be better and better every time. When it’s a failure, you have something to learn from. I’m not unique here, it’s not easy for me to learn through failures, and it’s hard to admit that I made the wrong choices. So they’re equal to me.
Interviewer: What’s a non-negotiable in your life?
Sasha Sotnik: Integrity. With all that’s happening in the world and the war that is so close, it feels like there are no more shadows, it’s either good or evil. You constantly hear that black is white and everything is turned inside out. I’m thinking a lot about what it is to be good, to be right or if it’s even possible, to be a human, and how I would behave in this or that situation. I don’t want to be anywhere around people who are not good.
I know this is very vague, but I mean here are some basic moral concepts like being decent, not lying, being kind to other people, and overall being all that you are saying about good people (what we usually take for granted). When all the basics are taken from you, and your life is turning upside down, it feels especially important.
Interviewer: What can womxn create together? What do we want to create together?
Sasha Sotnik: Womxn can do everything, nothing can stop us. I’d say we can build a world, a kinder, nicer, more, empathetic world.
Interviewer: What’s the most exciting improvement for womxn in the industry or in general?
Sasha Sotnik: I never thought of it from this perspective, and never shared achievements humanity made between men and womxn. I would say it’s the fact that we are heard. I mean some people did something and now for all the voices to be heard, regardless it’s womxn, men, or any other signs that you use to divide people. The whole movement that makes all the voices heard is incredible.
Interviewer: What title would you give this chapter in your life?
Sasha Sotnik: I would call it uncertainty. Everything has changed. Things that you believed in are no longer there. Things that you considered incredibly stable and inevitable are taken from you, it makes you feel disoriented. I’m in a good place here, I should admit, there are people who survived terrible things. And all of this makes you think about what is important – what you want to be, where and how you want to live, and so on. In my case, I find some peace at work, this is a place where I know what is going on, and I somehow can control it. But in other aspects, I am not so confident.
Interviewer: Any last words for us?
Sasha Sotnik: Thank you for doing this! These interviews showed me people from all angles, I had never thought of before. It is so great to read all the stories of my colleagues whom I mostly meet on different Slack channels. Some of them I have never met in my life. Some of them are real, I have touched them, and they exist. This sharing lets us get a sense of each other, and this is extremely valuable.
Womxn at Lyte featuring Sasha Sotnik, Product Manager at Lyte