📣NYC, we're back! + Season 7 SparkNotes
Our 6/12 Live Event with the Founder of Humans of Bombay
Welcome to South Asian Trailblazers — a media platform, community, and agency dedicated to elevating leading South Asians. I’m Simi Shah, and here, we dive deep into the journeys of trailblazing South Asians. Listen to the podcast that inspires this newsletter on Apple, Spotify, or any major podcast platform. You can also find us on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube.
SPECIAL EVENT in NYC⚡️ Live Podcast with Karishma Mehta, Founder of Humans of Bombay
In this special, LIVE-recorded edition of the South Asian Trailblazers podcast, we’re hosting Karishma Mehta, the Founder & CEO of Humans of Bombay, in person in New York City — all the way from Bombay!
🗓️ Other Upcoming Events
This Summer, we’re going global 🌍 Scroll to the bottom of this newsletter to RSVP for your city. While the pod/newsletter is on hiatus, follow us on socials to keep up with event announcements!
Season 7 SparkNotes — quotable moments
From OpenAI’s Amol Shah to our first-ever episode with a married power couple: Physician Leader Srishti Gupta Narasimhan & Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan, you may want to catch up on this unbelievable last season here. Read on for the SparkNotes:
Episode 1: Dr. Vas Narasimhan & Dr. Srishti Gupta Narasimhan — CEO of Novartis) & Physician Leader in Health and Education
For us, global health equity has been about challenging the belief that some lives matter less. It’s about how you use leadership and a deep understanding of medicine and public health to have a bigger impact.
Episode 2: Ruchi Bhowmik — Vice President of Public Policy at Netflix
I’m often in rooms where I’m the “only.” The only woman. The only person of color. The only woman of color. It’s not easy to tell leaders things that diverge from the norm. But it’s important to inject that diversity of thought. I’ve never felt limited by who I am.
Episode 3: Diipa Büller-Khosla — Influencer & Founder of indē wild
When I first launched indē wild, people didn’t take us seriously. It was like, ‘Oh, another day, another celebrity brand.’ I had to fight twice as hard to show credibility. I had to prove that there was real expertise, R&D, and passion behind it.
Episode 4: Nora Ali — CEO and Co-Founder of Mason Media
Most people in media start in the mailroom and work their way up to the executive ranks. So when I come in as a young woman of color with my background, they think, ‘She cut the line.’ It's hard for me to feel like I have authority. I have to bring more gravitas for people to take me seriously.
Episode 5: Priya Singh — Chief Strategy Officer & Senior Associate Dean at Stanford Medicine
The right time to make a change in your career is when you’ve learned a lot and you’re at your peak, but still at a stage where people don’t want you to go.
Episode 6: Nikhil Saboo — Broadway Star and Actor
I went to Broadway shows to study, to understand where I could see myself. But I didn’t see myself anywhere. What do you do in that situation? Do you pack up shop? Or do you lean into that ambiguity and take a shovel and create a space for yourself?
Episode 7: Raja Kumari — Rapper, Singer, Songwriter
You have to have the audacity to believe in yourself. The second you believe you’re worthy of your vision, the universe starts to unfold to bring it to you. The universe will also humble you, but put your time and energy in. Everybody gets their chance. It’s up to you to be prepared for it.
Episode 8: Akash Mehta & Niki Mehta — Founders of Fable & Mane
We were sometimes told by merchants, “You’ll be the only one. We don’t have another Ayurvedic brand.” We said no, that’s not music to our ears. Make sure you take others on. There has to be more than one. We’re here to uplift our culture, and that’s with more of us. Not just one of us.
Episode 9: Nishant Roy — Chief Communications & Impact Officer at Chobani
Neuroscience has proven that all decision-making is ultimately emotional. You take all the facts, but at the moment of decision, the parts of the brain that light up are the emotional ones. There's no such thing as a rational decision.
Episode 10: Amol Shah — Go-To-Market at OpenAI
In an industry like tech, where there are waves of innovation, you have no way to forecast the next big thing. You have to adapt to big shifts and quickly become an expert. I had to pivot and reinvent to move into separate and different spaces. My advice: Think about what you can take from one experience and apply it to something else. Be adaptable. Be resilient.
🎙️🔥 Did someone say Season 8?
Season 8 goes live this Fall! But we couldn’t wait to share a sneak peek with you…which is why you can enjoy our latest LIVE recording with the esteemed Gurbir S. Grewal, the Director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement and former Attorney General of New Jersey. 👇🏾
We proudly hosted this event in partnership with Morrison Foerster and The South Asian Bar Association of New York (SABANY) — an organization devoted to lawyers of South Asian heritage in the New York area.
🌍 RSVP for Upcoming Global Events
🇬🇧 London | July 2024 | RSVP
🌉 San Francisco | July 2024 | RSVP
🗽New York | RSVP
FYI: RSVP for NYC event doesn’t take you to the air table form