Welcome to Nice Talk, hosted by Marie Claire Editor-in-Chief Nikki Ogunike. Each week, Nikki sits down with a fascinating group of women - entertainers, entrepreneurs, creators, athletes, and changemakers - to discuss money, power, and style. For too long, "well-mannered" women have been discouraged from talking about these topics. Style should be effortless, and conversations about money and power are not "appropriate," "ladylike," or "nice." But Nikki's definition of "nice talk" is one where all parties walk away feeling empowered; Nice Talk with Nikki Ogunnaike is available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

TikTok BFF Tefi Pessoa shares an intimate story about the challenges of entering her dream career.

Recognized by many on TikTok and Instagram as @hellotefi, the online personality and co-host of the prime video talk show "Influenced" (premiering August 1) is the host of Marie Claire's Nice Talk podcast "" where she opens up about her first big break and how it affected her financially and emotionally.

"When I moved to New York City at 22, I only had a minimum wage job. Because as a millennial, the first thing they teach you in school is, 'If you don't go to school, you can't make money and you don't have a chance.'" Pessoa says. 'You have to climb the ladder, and the people holding up the ladder are old white guys. It's amazing. I could never do that. I'm not going anywhere."

With that mindset, the TikTok stars explain that when they landed a job at a production studio that pays $21,000 a year, they were made to feel appreciated. They said, 'You're in charge of the community, but you have to answer the phone at the front desk.' I said, 'Okay, I'm the receptionist. I understand. I understand. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. Thank you. No, you don't need health insurance. Thank you so much."

So when a producer emailed her directly to see if she was interested in hosting a new show, Pessoa jumped at the opportunity, giving her an excuse to take a vacation to go audition.

The influencer recalled on "Nice Talk" that she auditioned at the theater in front of a crowd of several hundred people and performed a 20-minute set about Harry Styles' 2019 Met Gala look and a conversation she had with her grandmother about it. Pessoa explains that it wasn't until he walked off stage that he realized that the audience was made up of other auditioners. Many of them were professional broadcast journalists, podcasters, and prominent influencers.

"I was the only one hired," says Pessoa, who won a job on the YouTube show Tefi on her 29th birthday in July 2019." They told me I would be paid $200,000 a year. I was only making $21,000 a year, so I thought they made a mistake and signed really quickly."

The program was a success there, but was short-lived due to the 2020 pandemic.

"For me, all my life, I knew that I wanted people to hear and see what I had to say, but I was afraid of being recognized," says this online personality. Thanks to the shift in confidence she felt while creating her first show and the affirmation her audience seemed to give to her sense of humor, she said it was like "finding [the] scissors to cut the wrapping paper" and immersed herself in content creation.

"I think what went through my head," Pessoa says, "was, 'B is not an option anymore. Once I found that groove, I was like, 'There's nothing I don't want to give up to do that again. I'd do anything: scrub floors, be a barista, whatever. I would work five jobs just to do that job again. I started posting as if my life literally depended on it. "

Pessoa discusses her career trajectory, her signature online personality, and more on the latest episode of "Nice Talk," available anywhere you listen to podcasts.