Ambition Without Apology: How Carlotta Zorzi-Chapman Is Changing the Narrative for Women

As a child, a couple of key elements served as a catalyst for what then became my path: experiencing my parents' divorce at a young age and having to cope with constant reminders of how we had to guard the pennies. However, the first challenge served as a heartbreak and the second one as motivation. 

Growing up in Italy, in a mid-size city called Schio, surrounded by the Little Dolomites, I had to figure out a way to make my dream of moving abroad after high school a reality. The motivation was a combination of wanting to remove myself from a painful context, which was also fuelled by a burning desire to speak different languages (I studied 5 languages in high school), meet people from around the world, and finally experience the beauty of diversity. This instilled a deep sense of determination, ambition and focus in me. 

Given the financial limitations, I had to figure out a way to study abroad in a way that would not weigh on my family as much. Through research, I found ways of accessing free education in Scotland, California and Sweden over the years, working seasonal jobs and always thinking four steps ahead to mitigate potential challenges. This early encounter with ambition to make a positive change in my life then expanded after starting my career in London, where I noticed that ambitious women were not necessarily as well perceived as men (also by women themselves!). That really got me thinking, why is this the status quo? 

To ensure more women have more opportunities to shine, I think there should be a new approach to leadership and managerial training, including bias and empathy training. I think many organisations can forget, at times, who their employees really are behind their job titles.

After being told a few times to slow down, and that I was ‘too ambitious’, I decided to turn that experience into something empowering for others: I launched Too Ambitious (too-ambitious.com), which is a brand, a community and a movement that aims at redefining ambition as a force for good and positive change. I truly believe that there is no such thing as 'Too Ambitious'; there is only success and learning opportunities.

Having lived across different countries and countries, one of the biggest gifts I was given was people’s time for mentoring. When I lived in Silicon Valley, I managed to find some work experience through a couple of local startups.

Thanks to those founders, CEOs and MDs, who all took me under their wing and taught me how to network, pitch and grow my confidence at a very young age (I was 20 years old at the time), I realised how important the role of giving back was. As soon as I found myself settled in London, I became very intentional about working and volunteering for various non-profit organisations and charities in a mentor capacity, ultimately turning my ambition for positive change into something I could empower others with.

Mentoring has become a constant in my daily life, and that is why it is also one of the pillars I am aiming to develop when it comes to Too Ambitious. Currently, Too Ambitious doesn’t just offer a variety of products that make strong women feel part of a driven and empowering community, but also hosts free monthly sessions that bring together amazing women from all backgrounds. These sessions cover topics relevant to ambition, such as Dressing for Confidence, Navigating Humility Norms, Following our Intuition, Planning for Motherhood as Ambitious Women, and Communicating for Impact, among others. 

Finally, because the main goal of Too Ambitious is redefining ambition as a force for positive impact in the world, and because socio-economic disparities are generally at the root of most inequality, one of the key collections I created is focused on exactly that. The Making Waves collection has a clear focus on supporting the Social Mobility Foundation (25% of the profit from these products goes towards the SMF), which is a topic close to my heart. 

Encouraging authenticity and promoting ambition can feel scary, especially in the corporate world where there are generally some predefined set of behaviours to follow and existing biases that need breaking. Despite the confidence I have been nurturing for years, there will always be some fear of judgment, especially when you are managing both a corporate career and a passion project that fuels your heart. However, one of my favourite quotes is ‘Speak your mind even if your voice shakes’ (Maggie Kuhn). This serves as a reminder that if we don’t decide to live authentically for ourselves, no one else will make that decision on our behalf.

To ensure more women have more opportunities to shine, I think there should be a new approach to leadership and managerial training, including bias and empathy training. I think many organisations can forget, at times, who their employees really are behind their job titles. This, to me, means they might be missing out on other skills and resources the person might bring to the table, simply because their bias towards them prevented them from discovering them.

 Different milestones feel special for different reasons, but if I had to name a few, I would mention the first donation I managed to make to the Social Mobility Foundation through Too Ambitious profits (Making Waves Collection). Knowing that I was able to turn an idea (Too Ambitious) into a tangible impact that benefits others is beyond heartwarming, and so is receiving great feedback on our monthly online sessions.

In a world that rewards ‘sameness’, being a Disruptor to me is developing confidence in knowing that it is up to you to define what good feels like, what too slow or too fast is, when a dream is too much, or not enough, and ultimately, having the courage to live authentically to experience it all.

On a professional level, going from being a young international student with limited financial means to becoming a tech professional working for companies I always admired still baffles me at times. That is why social mobility remains a key topic for me. I want to help others experience the same through mentoring, coaching, accessible workshops and more. Seeing my mentees and coachees achieve what they were hoping to do is truly the best feeling in the world. Finally, being an avid public speaker and storyteller, one of my highlights will always remain the first TEDx Talk I gave in 2024 on the Beauty of Discomfort.

In a world that rewards ‘sameness’, being a Disruptor to me is developing confidence in knowing that it is up to you to define what good feels like, what too slow or too fast is, when a dream is too much, or not enough, and ultimately, having the courage to live authentically to experience it all. We are often conditioned to act within norms that have been defined as ‘acceptable’ by others, forgetting how much power we hold to make a positive change not only in our lives but also in what huge positive difference we can make in the lives of others. I cannot wait to keep changing the narrative around ambition in women because is there really such a thing as Too Ambitious?

Carlotta Zorzi-Chapman is a seasoned partnerships professional in the tech industry, TEDx and Keynote speaker, mentor, business consultant & coach, and founder of Too Ambitious. Originally from Italy, Carlotta has lived, studied and worked across Scotland, Silicon Valley, and Sweden - and she now lives in Brighton and works in London, UK.

An active advocate for more diversity in leadership and for the opportunities the tech industry brings to the table when it comes to social mobility, Carlotta has spoken on stages like TEDx, WomenXImpact Summit, Reframe Women in Tech Conference and OneTechWorld, Sussex University, to name a few.

Carlotta founded Too Ambitious (too-ambitious.com) in 2024 with the goal of helping ambitious women pursue their dreams, despite the challenges they might face, by developing a community and products that celebrate their resilience, grit and drive - and creating a space to share knowledge on how to manage growth, impact and performance in different ways.