
From Stanford Soccer to Founder and CEO of Joey AI | Carly Malatskey
What happens when you stop optimizing for title or prestige and start optimizing for what you can learn? In this episode of Athletes to Entrepreneurs: The Alumni Journey, Rob Finkelstein sits down with Carly Malatskey, founder and CEO of Joey, an AI matchmaker rethinking how people meet. Before becoming a founder, Carly played for Stanford Women's Soccer, where she won two NCAA Division I national championships. She went on to work as a software engineer and venture investor at Floodgate before leaving venture to build Joey. Carly also hosts She Leads , a podcast featuring 150+ conversations with founders and leaders. Carly and Rob talk about her path from the soccer field to software engineering to venture capital, and what finally pushed her to start her own company. She shares how cold-emailing and creating her own opportunities shaped her career, why she chose to follow great people early on instead of chasing titles, and how the lessons she learned as an athlete still show up in how she builds teams today. This conversation is a reminder that life after sports is not the end of the journey. It is a new chapter filled with lessons, growth, connection, and opportunity. Carly's path from Stanford soccer to software engineering and venture capital Why she left venture capital to start Joey Cold-emailing and creating your own opportunities Following great people early in your career Optimizing for learning over title or prestige How athlete skillsets translate into entrepreneurship What she's building with Joey and where dating is headed ✨ Create your own opportunities Carly didn't wait for the perfect opening. Cold-emailing and reaching out directly opened doors that a traditional path wouldn't have. ✨ Optimize for learning, not titles Early in her career, Carly chose roles based on who she'd work with and what she'd learn, not the title attached to the job. ✨ Athlete habits carry over to entrepreneurship The resilience and team-building instincts Carly built on the soccer field now shape how she leads at Joey. Carly Malatskey is the founder and CEO of Joey, an AI matchmaker rethinking how people meet. Before becoming a founder, Carly played for Stanford Women's Soccer, where she won two NCAA Division I national championships. She went on to work as a software engineer and venture investor at Floodgate before leaving venture to build Joey. Carly also hosts She Leads, a podcast featuring 150+ conversations with founders and leaders, and brings lessons from elite athletics into how she approaches resilience, team-building, and entrepreneurship. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carlymalatskey/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlymalatskey/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@carlymalatskey Joey Instagram: http://instagram.com/calljoeyai Listen to Athletes to Entrepreneurs: The Alumni Journey on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other major podcast platforms.














