Joining the 29k Club: Finding Confidence, Clarity and an Incredible Community
WRITTEN BY: Lottie Culf, Business Insights Analyst Graduate at MSD and 29k Club Founding Member 🖤
Early in her career, curious by nature, and thoughtful in how she reflects and applies what she learns. In this blog, she shares what it’s really like to grow with clarity, confidence and community inside the 29k Club.
Hi, I’m Lottie. Earlier this year (2025) I graduated from the University of Bath with a First in Biomedical Sciences, and over the past few years I’ve become really interested in patients, pharmaceuticals, health policy and people-centric problem solving.
Through this blog, I’m hoping to share the learnings and insights I’m picking up from the 29k club community - especially from the perspective of someone who is still at the start of their career, navigating next steps and discovering the value of having the right people around you!
A bit about me
During my degree, I spent a year on placement in the Medical Affairs team at MSD in the UK, mostly working on patient engagement projects. It was my first proper insight into the pharmaceutical industry, and I left with some great skills, a supportive network, and a real interest in pursuing a career in improving health.
After a bit of time to rest (which for me meant travelling, doing an internship, and thinking about what I wanted next), I had the opportunity to re-join MSD - this time as an intern in the Data & Analytics team. With a non-technical background, my role has been focused on launching analytics tools and helping teams across the organisation understand how these tools can support their work.
It’s involved a lot of listening, learning, and communicating - all things I’ve realised I really enjoy!
Why I joined the 29k Club
I joined the 29k Club around the same time I started this internship. My aims were simple: grow my network, understand the industry from different angles, and, above all, to benefit from the mentoring opportunities within the group.
I knew I’d need guidance while figuring out my next steps – but I didn’t expect to find so much more.
Weekly group mentoring - aka shared wisdom!
Each session starts with everyone sharing a quick win and a challenge. Then we pick someone’s challenge and dive in.
I’ve now had several opportunities to sit in the ‘hot seat’. The group are brilliant, curious and experienced, and they asked the questions I didn’t even realise I needed. They pushed me beyond the surface-level answers I’d given myself, and I walked away feeling inspired, with some tangible next steps and a lot less overthinking.
The hot seat isn’t comfortable — and that’s the point. Better questions. Shared wisdom. Clear next steps.
This is what growth looks like in the 29k Club.
It’s one of those things that takes a while to properly digest, but the written summaries Yam sends afterwards really helped me focus on the key insights.
Informative and engaging masterclasses
The masterclasses have covered such a range of interesting topics, from giving your career a ‘glow up’, to presenting with impact, to using systems thinking to achieve a desired goal.
They’re run by real experts in their field – often from within the pharma industry (or with previous experience) - so they’ve been a great way to gain exposure to interesting professionals with a wealth of knowledge.
They’re engaging, personalised, relevant… and recorded in case you need to catch up another time 😉.
Interview support and advice
The interview preparation support I have received within the 29k club deserves its own shout-out.
It started with written resources, including a comprehensive interview success checklist, STARR competency breakdown, common interview questions, and even tips on using AI as an interview coach.
And then the community stepped in, offering advice on reports to read, trends to research, and even jumping on calls to talk things through. People are so willing to help, sharing perspectives from years of interviewing candidates and navigating large, complex pharmaceutical organisations. As someone early on in my career, I really benefitted from that zoomed-out perspective that comes with years of experience.
From “I hope I can answer this” to “I know how I’ll tell this story.”
The STARR method turns experience into confidence… and community turns preparation into progress.
Because of that support, I managed to secure another role – which is something I would have been far less confident in achieving on my own.
But above all, the community 🖤
Everyone in the 29k Club is there for the same reason; we all want to grow, to support each other, and to learn from everyone else’s experience. I really feel a level of humility and openness that you don’t always get in professional spaces.
What I’ve appreciated the most is how willing everyone is to celebrate each other’s wins and step in when you’re navigating the messier parts of your career.
There’s a temptation to feel like you’re progressing through your career all on your own. But if you’re looking for a community that offers real support, shared wisdom and a sense of belonging, the 29k Club is a pretty special place to start 🖤
I’m Yam – Founder of The Black Sherpa
Founder | Strategist | Speaker | Host of The Black Sherpa Podcast
I founded The Black Sherpa to create a world where talent rises on merit and no one’s potential is held back by bias or barriers.
Through bold strategy, storytelling, and our flagship community, The 29k Club - I help professionals grow with confidence and support leaders to build cultures that truly live their values.
Let’s connect and build a future where inclusion powers performance, and leadership reflects the world we serve.