This episode is all about identity: what it means, why we’re fixated on ‘solving it’ and if we should even try to. Joining us to share her journey with identity is the Founder and CEO of Indian-inspired skincare brand Aavrani, Rooshy Roy. With humility and humour, Rooshy reflects on the confusion she felt as a teen trying to navigate cultural expectations as an Indian and American woman. Why rebellion in school is often a sign, not a write-off, and how we can gain more clarity on who we really a...
Feb 28, 2021•50 min
Zoia Kozakov’s life and career to-date has been so full, condensing it into a few sentences seems impractical. Alas, here we go. Vice President, Product at CitiBank NYC, Global Marketing Lead at Women In Innovation, a Podcast Host and Founder, Zoia straddles between tech and innovation. In this ep, Zoia recounts the journey of being inscripted into the Israeli army following her father’s passing, why living in the present is a constant struggle and how to find your value system. Discover more: T...
Feb 21, 2021•51 min
You’re graduating college, you’ve got your 9-5, health-care covered, cubicle cemented dream on a platter. You call your mom. Everything is good, everything is right, everything is in order, except you. When Rachel Carpenter called her mom, she had one question: to take the opportunity with money, or to sleep on a friend’s couch and earn no money. Her mom said to do the thing that fuelled her. Rachel is the Co-Founder and CEO of Intrinio, a fin-tech start-up that provides businesses with fast, ac...
Feb 14, 2021•47 min
How can we progress when everyone around us is urging us not to go forward? That’s a pain today’s guest, Cristina De la Peña knows all too well. An architect turned-tech-entrepreneur, Cristina left Mexico to pursue a career in Paris, only to return after her then-business partner told her she was the ‘weak link.’ With her self-worth in question, Cristina stopped focusing on ‘who’ she was and began to ask herself ‘why’ she wanted to continue. Finding your ‘why’ is at the centre of today’s episode...
Feb 07, 2021•49 min
Niara Valério is an ed-tech entrepreneur and Co-founder of Learnabi, an online platform that brings personalised learning to high-risk students in underserved areas of the U.S. In two years, Learnabi has earned over six figures in sales and led Niara to be recognised on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list. It all came together in the end, but only because it fell apart. With wisdom and frankness, Niara shares her early financial and mental hardships, understanding the ‘why’ behind our commitment and the...
Jan 31, 2021•41 min
Today’s episode is all about closing the gap: pleasure, that is. Liz Klinger is the Co-founder of Lioness, a sexual wellness company responsible for creating the world's first and only biofeedback smart vibrators. Translation: you can see when and how to improve your orgasms by understanding what arouses you. Like a true taboo-breaker, Liz doesn’t leave much to interpretation as she reflects on the way art insisted her interest in sex, how we can become more open to the things that scare us and ...
Jan 24, 2021•1 hr 2 min
Some people make babies, Georgia Branch grows 7-figure start ups. Impressive? Yes. But behind every successful bi-line comes a cost most of us don’t choose to check. As the founder of mature-aged model agency, Silverfox and wellness brands including Hemple CBD, Georgia has experienced the praise, recognition and commercial status of being a true entrepreneurial “success story,” but she’s also felt the grief that comes from it. In this powerful interview, Georgia shares her tale from PR girl to F...
Jan 17, 2021•42 min
There’s a cultural divide and your brands know it. Christie Ding is the Co-Founder of Brand Catalyser, a full service marketing agency specialising in cross-border and cross-cultural marketing strategies for brands wanting to expand into the Asian market. With a pragmatic mindset and youthful voice, Christie reflects on the year that changes everything, overcoming her introverted tendencies and the art of self-improvement. Discover more: Connect with Christie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.co...
Jan 10, 2021•42 min
Ethical fashion has become a trend, a buzz word - something with flare but no substance. Then, along came Sophia Danner-Okotie, a Nigerian born entrepreneur who wanted to create something familiar as well as fashionable. The result is Besida, a black-owned boutique and online store based in Atlanta that offers women’s fashion that’s both sustainably and ethically made in Nigeria. With charm and allure, Sophia shares how entrepreneurship softened her, why she felt the need to wear a defensive arm...
Jan 03, 2021•51 min
Hope felt awfully far this year but never completely out of sight and note entirely out of reach. In today’s final episode of 2020, Host and Founder Michelle takes a moment to give her honest recount of the year that was. A time of great loss, unbearable uncertainty and high hopes. As a company we lost, we won and we learnt a lot. From missing people to missed opportunities, Michelle tracks the hardships of entrepreneurship during a pandemic and the lessons born from it. This is our truth. Disco...
Dec 27, 2020•23 min
Nyha Shree: An entrepreneur who pursued option D to find herself. As the Co-founder and CMO of conversational commerce platform, Jumper.ai, Nyha helps bridge the gap between e-commerce and brick and mortar retail. In this week’s ep, we hear from Nyha as she reflects on her indecisive adulthood, how we can get ok with pursuing option D and the ‘aggressive’ commentary inflicted on hard-working women. Discover more: Connect with Nyha on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nyhashree/ - Learn more ...
Dec 20, 2020•41 min
Maxine Ryan is a Fintech entrepreneur changing the way people think about money. A two-time founder, Maxine is the former CEO of Bitspark, a cash-to-crypto solution company, and now ProsperApp, the TikTok of financial literacy for the millennial and Gen-Z generation. In this insightful chat, Maxine reflects on the importance of connection with older generations, why we are not our thoughts and how she left university, quit her job and started a business all in the same month. Discover more: Conn...
Dec 13, 2020•49 min
Kim Kaupe is a self-confessed ‘accidental entrepreneur.’ As the Co-founder and CEO of The Superfan Company, a fan engagement agency creating merchandise, products and programs for entertainers, celebrities and brands, Kim is seen pulling concerts together one day and working with Oprah the next. In this humorously candid interview, Kim shares the realities of realising her childhood dream job, the grey areas of work and the rise of The Superfan Company. Discover more: Connect with Kim on LinkedI...
Dec 06, 2020•56 min
Wendy Chan is a finance grad who took a long hard look at a career working for someone else before thinking: what else? As the Co-founder and CEO of PackMojo (a B2B start-up helping businesses get affordable, custom packaging), Wendy spends her days combining her love of strategy and design to make something functional, affordable and different. In this no-holds-barred chat, Wendy reflects on the constant of change, lessons from a start-up and the steps it takes to launch something of value. Dis...
Nov 29, 2020•46 min
Safaath Ahmed Zahir is a leading women's rights activist in the Maldives and the founder of Women and Democracy, a non-profit organisation promoting gender diversity in the workplace. In this inspiring episode, Safaath reflects on her upbringing in a country resisting the call of democracy. With insight and hope, Safaath paints a path towards female empowerment and economic independence through her work, and challenges us to see life as a fight to right a wrong, rather than a game of win or lose...
Nov 21, 2020•34 min
Youssef El Kaddioui is a two-time startup founder and Forbes 30 under 30 alumni. As Founder and CEO of The Scalelab, Youssef helps companies to grow by finding them new clients, but we’re not here to talk about his resumé. In this humbling interview, Youssef reminds us that life is configured by undetermined rules and unclear paths, it is up to us to define it ourselves. Youssef explores the impact of growing up in a developing country, moving to Hong Kong without a plan and the rise and rise of...
Nov 15, 2020•48 min
Yulkendy Valdez is a tech entrepreneur, social justice advocate, and public speaker but in this episode, we’re asking who she was before. As the Co-Founder and CEO of Forefront, Yulkendy helps employers, schools and youth non-for-profits prepare for the next generation of workforce but it was what she witnessed as a child in the Dominican Republic that pushed her to break the box society confined her in. In today’s episode, Yulkendy discusses her experience with cultural identity as a child, how...
Nov 08, 2020•34 min
Most people finish writing a thesis and head towards tequila, Kinga Jentetics turned to self-publication instead. Realising she could put her work out there without a third party, Kinga wondered why other writers were left waiting? PublishDrive was created in 2014 as an act of creative autonomy, allowing authors to distribute their work without having to push for it to live outside their own pages. In this interview, Kinga explains how she got her start, the biggest failure of her career and why...
Nov 01, 2020•44 min
Human trafficking. That’s only one of a spectrum of problems Emily Kennedy is solving through her tech company, Marinus Analytics. If it seems unimaginable, you’d only be half-right. Emily doesn't rely on the ‘real’ world to eliminate it, instead she constructs an artificial one. Harnessing the sophistication of AI technology, Emily and her team at Marinus Analytics solve social problems by engineering and reimagining the very tool that has propelled many of them; the internet. In this episode, ...
Oct 25, 2020•55 min
As the founder and CEO of Planable, a content review and marketing collaboration platform, Xenia works with the likes of Christian Louboutin, the United Nations and Hyundai to take the admin out of content planning and bring teams greater transparency, enjoyment and creative freedom, but the role of ‘boss’ has proven to be less ego-boosting and more soul searching than she anticipated. In this episode, Xenia breaks down the misconceptions of being a boss, the role fear plays in her day-to-day li...
Oct 18, 2020•45 min
Money touches us all, but only certain people are included in that conversation. Kate Crowhurst saw first-hand how fractured our financial systems are, wanting to change the conversation to include young people and those from lower socio-economic households, she decided to be part of the change, rather than wait for it. With a background in teaching and a Cambridge alum, Kate developed Money Bites, a content-led platform that provides accessible and actionable information on financial literacy. ...
Oct 11, 2020•40 min
It’s no secret that businesses spend thousands of dollars a year researching ways to better understand their audience but what about their people - the ones who work for them? Having personally seen the impact of exclusion, diversity and bullying in the workplace, Andra realised businesses need to look at their people, not their product line, to be the best they can be. With this empathy-centric vision in mind, Andra went on to create consultancy agency Empathy Global and more recently Hiboo, em...
Oct 04, 2020•44 min
Many of us start working unsure of what we want to do, even when we’re in it. It’s a feeling that rang true for Arianne Sackville when she gained an IBM scholarship that wasn’t all that she’d imagined. Like many of us, Arianne is young, hardworking and sharp but that doesn’t mean her youth should be wasted in work that does not serve her. While making a segway into the consumer goods sector, Arianne found her daily joy came from her dog, not her job. It was this clear distinction of happiness th...
Sep 27, 2020•40 min
On paper, Nikita Gupta’s foray into the professional world seems seamless. With a degree in Computer Science from Cornell University, a place on the coveted Forbes 30 Under 30 list and the co-founder of female tech start-up Symba, Nikita’s transition from school to work looks ideal (and it is). But her entry to technology wasn’t inspired through gaming or innovation, instead it was her lifelong passion that took her digital: food. In this episode, Nikita discusses the influence of her Indian her...
Sep 20, 2020•41 min
Meha Nelson is a Founder, Researcher and Deployment Software Engineer. If that sounds like a lot, it’s because it is. To Meha, it’s simple: the work is at the centre of her title, not the fuss around it. Meha is the Co-founder of Predina, an engineering start-up which developed a machine to predict the risk of road traffic crashes in real-time. Since leaving, she has focused her sites as the Product Manager of Minica, an engineering company that develops Artificial Intelligence and Robotic Proce...
Sep 13, 2020•54 min
Technology is a tumultuous terrain for those of us who aren’t comfortable trekking it. For an outsider, it seems loud and complicated but exclusive: a place only a few can talk their ways into. Lubo Smid loved computer science as a kid. For him, the notion of tech was simple because it was synonymous with contentment. As the Co-founder and CEO at STRV, a software design and engineering company. Based in the U.S & Prague, Lubo moves between start-ups and global brands, breaking systems to cre...
Sep 06, 2020•40 min
As a young Doctor in London, Mala Mawkin saw first hand the holes in the hospital system, but it wasn’t until both of her parents required urgent care that the pin finally dropped. Hospitals work to fix the problem at hand but it’s the patient’s responsibility to fix their lives afterwards. This wasn’t right. There needed to be more care, more support and above all, more equality for those who don’t have the privilege of choice. Combining her love of technology and patient care, Mala ran towards...
Aug 30, 2020•48 min
Everything was fine until it wasn’t. Like most millennials, Merissa Forsyth was living a comfortable life; thriving in her marketing career and climbing up the corporate ladder. Everything was good and hopeful until a feeling hit. It came swifty and it stuck. It made her stop. Something felt off and yet everything was fine. The niggling gut-tingling sensation turned itself into one clear thought: what if women didn’t wear makeup for a day to challenge them and champion change for a greater cause...
Aug 23, 2020•45 min
Growing up in Central New Jersey as a child of Fillipino immigrants, Sandro Roco had a keen sense of ‘otherness’ but this feeling of difference wasn’t a source of pain, instead it altered his curiosity towards the vibrancy around him. Fast forward a few short years, Sandro’s curiosity for culture shapeshifted itself into the form of Sanzo - the first asian-inspired sparkling beverage company, with an array of flavours and one thesis, to bridge cultures. In this episode, Sandro shares how he navi...
Aug 16, 2020•57 min
For all our ‘restless’ peers out there who can’t stay in one place for too long, you’re not alone. Sometimes, moving from one job to the next can boost your skill set and set you up as an impressive Jack (or Jill) of all trades. In this episode, Ayla Kremb takes us through her fascinating career from Sweden to Singapore, and how we can leverage our skills to achieve success from one job to the next. Discover more: Connect with Ayla on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aylakremb/ Tune in now ...
Aug 09, 2020•41 min
