Welcome back trailblazers! I’m Simi Shah, and in this newsletter, I dive deep into the journeys of South Asian trailblazers. You can find our podcast on Apple and Spotify + more content and news on upcoming events on Instagram + LinkedIn.
SPECIAL 50th EPISODE: Reflections on 50 Trailblazing Stories
In this special edition of South Asian Trailblazers, we celebrate our 50th podcast episode. To mark this exciting milestone, we did something a little bit different.
In the 50 episodes, 50 stories we’ve shared thus far, we’ve met some phenomenal individuals — visionary entrepreneurs, seasoned executives, next gen creatives... all the way from fashion to medicine. These leaders affirmed a lot of the early hypotheses I came in with: that success is rarely linear and that it has no singular definition. That representation matters because it’s hard to be what you can’t see. That our community is not just setting, but breaking precedents.
But in addition to confirming some of these early theories, I also uncovered some unexpected themes as we've gone 50 episodes and 52 trailblazers deep. So in this episode, I journey back through our most thought-provoking and inspired moments to explore 4 of these motifs. We’ll talk about the internal and external forces that factor into success; the truth about the trials of leadership; and the non-linear paths and pivots that can be attributed to the fact that passions come in packs. Plus, there's a few of our favorite, awe-inspiring moments.
We hope you’ll listen to the ep, but in case you prefer to read, get the TLDR below. ⬇️
Mental Health at Work: How managers and companies can think comprehensively about mental health to live longer, better, and more productively. More here.
THEME #1: INTERNAL FORCES — THE POWER OF MOXIE
If you’ve followed Trailblazers for some time, you, like me, have likely become attuned to certain defining traits that often characterize successful leaders. Integrity. Grit. Empathy. Intelligence. But there's one trait I feel has uniquely positioned a lot of our trailblazers and that trait is… moxie. Moxie is defined as force of character or a fighting spirit.
To illustrate this theme, we look at clips from our episodes with:
Raja Krishnamoorthi, Congressman (IL-08)
Ann Mukherjee, Chairman and CEO @ Pernod Ricard North America
Sean Desai, Associate Head Coach @ the Seattle Seahawks
Maybe this theme is a bit… obvious. All great leaders are resilient, courageous, determined. But the reason moxie struck a chord with me is because of the range of leaders we've seen harness this skill and that too, in the toughest of circumstances. Just take a look at the slate above — a Congressman, a CEO, an NFL coach. When you listen to these clips, you’ll understand how this fighting spirit has enabled these trailblazers to defy the greatest of odds.
THEME #2: EXTERNAL FORCES — 9/11, A SEMINAL MOMENT FOR SOUTH ASIAN LEADERS
For our next theme, I want to highlight a factor in these trailblazers’ greatness, that is more exogenous to the trailblazers themselves. Unsurprisingly, 9/11 left a lasting impact on a generation of South Asian leaders. It shaped not only their identities, but also their career pursuits and the opportunities they seized. And as we look at the patterns of behavior among our trailblazers in the aftermath of 9/11, you'll note that leadership isn't just about moxie or other internal traits we possess, it's also about the way in which we respond to entirely external circumstances.
To illustrate this theme, we look at clips from our episodes with:
Reshma Saujani, Attorney, Founder @ Girls Who Code / Moms First
Rabia Chaudry, Attorney, Advocate, and Author
Saeed Ahmed, now the Director of Digital News @ AP / formerly at NPR
9/11 was a black swan event — a rare and unpredictable occurrence that had a profound impact on our society at large. But it represents an especially seminal moment for a generation of South Asian leaders. In having to overcome serious stereotypes, fight for their rights and better representation, they ended up forging paths they never expected to. And I find this theme especially fascinating, because it helps us parse the linkages between identity and leadership. It's my guess that in another 20 to 30 years, we're probably going to look back at the pandemic as yet another black swan event with similar impacts.
THEME #3: TRUTHS ABOUT THE TRIALS IN THE JOURNEY TO SUCCESS
Now, for our first two themes, I examined the internal and external catalysts that set these trailblazers on their paths to greatness. But now, I want to double down on the the journey itself. Our mission is to dive deep into the journeys of trailblazing South Asians. We're not here to scratch the surface — we're here to push the envelope. I want you to come here and hear the parts of the story you wouldn't necessarily hear anywhere else.
One critical aspect of the journey we don’t hear enough about: the difficulty of it all. The founders we've had on this podcast have stood out in this respect. They're incredibly candid about the trials and hardships they've faced, particularly at a time where startups and founderhood is increasingly glamorized. Their candid accounts serve as a refreshing reminder of the challenges that come with the territory and give us an authentic take on success and leadership.
To illustrate this theme, we look at clips from our episodes with:
Ziad Ahmed, Co-founder/CEO @ JUV Consulting
Shilpa Shah, Co-founder/CXO @ Cuyana
Snigdha Sur, Founder/CEO @ The Juggernaut
As South Asians, as immigrants, as children of immigrants, many of us have been brought up with expectations and ideals around what constitutes success. It ranges from obtaining prestigious degrees, to working in high-paying corporate jobs, to climbing the ladders of success in traditional career paths or our chosen fields. But we don't talk enough about the trials and tribulations, the burnout, the hardship that often accompanies the pursuit of this success. And so for this theme, I really wanted to spotlight trailblazers, like Ziad, Shilpa, and Snigdha, who've owned their experience, who've owned the good, the bad and the really ugly, and who’ve had the courage to say, “I'm not sure I’d do this again.”
THEME #4: NON-LINEAR PATHS AND CAREER PIVOTS HAPPEN BECAUSE PASSION COMES IN PACKS
As I said, I wanted to ensure these last two themes were really about the journey. If you've listened to even one episode of Trailblazers, you've probably gathered that the paths of these leaders tend to be non-linear. And I really wanted to understand why that was, because I have a pretty non-linear journey myself. And I came to the conclusion that it's because we're human… and humans are rarely passionate about just one thing. Passions tend to come in packs. And it's this pursuit of multiple passions that have often pushed these South Asian leaders to take bold untraditional risks that have distinguished them in their career journeys.
To illustrate this theme, we look at clips from our episodes with:
Kal Penn, Actor & Former White House Staffer
Paul Grewal, Chief Legal Officer @ Coinbase
Payal Kadakia, Founder @ ClassPass
Arianna Afsar, Broadway Star & Actress
The stories of these four trailblazers are just a few of many. All this is to say that this idea of one journey one road one career, one passion for life, is a bit of a myth. Our trailblazers have found success and pivoting from passion to passion, or building careers at the intersection of their many passions. And in doing so, they challenge the preconceived notions we have about linear career journeys, and demonstrate what it means to forge our own definitions of success, on our own terms.
FINALE: OUR FAVORITE MOMENTS
Now, before I let you go, I did want to share just a few of our favorite moments from the last 50 episodes of trailblazers… irrespective of themes. Here are a select few clips that captivated us from the first time we heard them:
Sushma Dwivedi, now the President @ Ghetto Ghastro + a Pundit
Favorite Moment: On officiating a wedding while in labor
Manik Gupta, Former Chief Product Officer @ Uber / now CVP @ Microsoft
Favorite Moment: On founding Google Maps India
Sunayna Tuteja, Chief Innovation Officer @ the Federal Reserve
Favorite Moment: Asking, ‘What if we had crypto during Partition?’
With that, this special edition of South Asian Trailblazers comes to an end — we hope it inspires you to listen to Episode 50! Regardless, if you're new here, I hope this edition gave you a chance to get to know what we're all about: diving deep into the journeys of trailblazing South Asians. If you've been along for the ride, I hope our reflections inspire your own. To all of you: thank you for reminding us day in and day out why we do what we do. It’s been so special to celebrate 50 stories with you, 50 instances in which we got to share the stories of the South Asian leaders and dreamers lighting the way across the Diaspora and beyond. Until Season 6!