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Simi Shah speaks with Neerja Birla, matriarch of the storied Birla family, about how she's taking on India's most taboo topic: mental health. Content Warning: Mrs. Birla briefly references her work with victims of sexual violence. The reference is contextual and non-graphic. Mrs. Neerja Birla is the Founder & Chairperson of the Aditya Birla Education Trust, the force behind her organization, Mpower. Founded in 2016, Mpower is a full-stack mental health care and advocacy organization serving individuals, schools, corporates, and government across India. One decade later, Mpower has impacted over 180 million lives and delivered more than 300,000 clinical sessions. Today, Mrs. Birla is a global voice on mental health, serving as Global Chair for Mental Health at G100 (Group of 100 Global Women Leaders) and the first Indian representative on Headspace's advisory board. Married at 18 to Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman of the Aditya Birla Group, Mrs. Neerja Birla has spent 37 years at the center of one of India's most storied families. Her most personal work, though, has been building alongside her daughters: Mpower, the mental health organization she co-founded with Ananya Birla, and Ujaas, the menstrual health venture Advaitesha Birla started at 17. She dives into how she approaches leadership, legacy, and the thesis the entire movement rests on: mental health does not discriminate — not by age, gender, geography, nor how much a person has in their bank account. Catch up on our conversation with her daughter: business leader, artist, mental health advocate, Ananya Birla, from March 2026. IN THIS EPISODE: Why Mrs. Birla chose mental health advocacy over every other cause she could have taken onBuilding Mpower and challenging India's deep mental health stigmaWhy wealth and privilege do not protect against mental health strugglesParenting across generations and raising independent daughters at the center of a dynastic familyThe opportunities and risks of AI in mental healthcare, from first-layer ChatGPT counselors to the loneliness pandemicExpanding mental health access across the Global SouthMarriage, personal growth, leadership, and the meaning of legacyShe also opens up about being a social entrepreneur, mother, wife, and matriarch from one of India's foremost industrial families; the role of language and culture in mental health care; the loneliness pandemic in the age of AI; and her ambition to build mental health infrastructure in the Global South. ABOUT NEERJA BIRLA — Educationist, Mental Health Advocate & Philanthropist Mrs. Neerja Birla is an Indian educationist, mental health advocate, and philanthropist. Beyond her landmark work in mental health through Mpower — a pioneering initiative under the Aditya Birla Education Trust (ABET) — she leads premium educational institutions, including schools designed specifically for children with special needs. She is a powerful voice for empathy, education, and holistic societal change. FOLLOW: Instagram · LinkedIn · Mpower South Asian Trailblazers is an award-winning podcast, community, and agency dedicated to elevating leading South Asians. Join our community at SouthAsianTrailblazers.com. Subscribe to our newsletter to get new episodes and updates on our latest events in your inbox. Follow us @southasiantrailblazers on Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, and all major podcast platforms, including Apple and Spotify.

Simi speaks with Garima Shah, Co-founder & President of Biller Genie, on scaling a fintech to $10M+ in revenue. Biller Genie tackles a simple key problem: helping small businesses (SMBs) get paid faster. The company has doubled every year since 2022, and takes the average small business from 47 days to get paid down to 8. In an era where the glorification of venture capital has convinced a generation of founders that revenue is optional, Garima Shah wants to set the record straight on building strong, sustainable businesses...sometimes solving unsexy problems.  From starting her career in door-to-door sales at 19 to entering fintech, Garima shares how those early experiences shaped her approach to entrepreneurship, leadership, and business. Garima also opens up about being a founder, mother, and wife, the importance of communication and soft skills in the age of AI, and her non-profit Brown Girls on a Mission. KEY TOPICS: Why door-to-door sales at 19 was the single most important early-career trainingScaling Biller Genie to $10M+ without raising massive VC roundsWhy the glorification of fundraising is hurting young founders Taking small businesses from 47 days to get paid down to 8 Why human connection and soft skills matter in the age of AI Balancing entrepreneurship, motherhood, and Brown Girls on a MissionABOUT GARIMA SHAH  Co-Founder & President, Biller Genie Born in the UK, raised across the US (Detroit, Chicago, Missouri, Florida), Garima Shah graduated from Boston University at 19 and holds an MBA from Rollins. Before co-founding Biller Genie, she led sales at Bell South, built and sold her own outsourced sales firm, and ran sales for Payment Alliance. Garima is the founder of Brown Girls on a Mission — a giving circle for minority women that has donated over $80,000 and 1,600 volunteer hours in its first year.  FOLLOW GARIMA: Instagram · LinkedIn South Asian Trailblazers is an award-winning podcast, community, and agency dedicated to elevating leading South Asians. Join our community at SouthAsianTrailblazers.com. Subscribe to our newsletter to get new episodes and updates on our latest events in your inbox. Follow us @southasiantrailblazers on Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, and all major podcast platforms, including Apple and Spotify.

Growing up, Ankur Rathee only saw South Asians on screen playing age-old tropes. This week, he plays Ronak in Netflix's Best of the Best, a South Asian leading man written as a true hero, something Hollywood has rarely put on screen. Simi sits down with Ankur to trace his unconventional journey to acting. It runs from a family of farmers in Haryana, to a California childhood spent reenacting Bollywood dance numbers, to Princeton, where he couldn't stay off the stage.  From there, it's ten years building a career in Bollywood (Four More Shots Please!, Made in Heaven), and now a lead role in a Hollywood studio film with an entirely South Asian cast. IN THIS EPISODE:  Why Ankur has to fight "tooth and nail" to protect his optimism in an industry built on rejection Bollywood vs. Hollywood sets: hierarchy, crew size, jugaad, and red tapeHow we get more South Asian-centric films greenlit His wife, actor Anuja Joshi, and how she's shaped his career Why he calls fame a currency, and what "making it" means to him His advice for college students torn between a corporate career and the arts The two words he wants to define his legacy: spiritual warriorABOUT ANKUR RATHEE Ankur Rathee is an Indian-American actor known for Prime Video's Four More Shots Please!, Zoya Akhtar's Made in Heaven, and Netflix's Best of the Best, where he plays the male lead, Ronak. He was born in India, raised in California and educated at Princeton, and spent a decade working in Bollywood before returning to Hollywood. He is married to actress Anuja Joshi, a fourth-generation artist whose aunt is National Award-winning actress Pallavi Joshi. ABOUT BEST OF THE BEST Netflix. Released September 18, 2026. Directed by Lena Khan. Written by Prashanth Venkataramanujam and Hasan Minhaj. Starring Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Priyanka Kedia, Ankur Rathee, Janina Gavankar, Chaneil Kular, Becky Alex, Shreya Navile, and Hasan Minhaj.  WATCH OUR EPISODE THE CREATORS of BEST OF THE BEST: Hasan Minhaj, Prashanth Venkataramanujam, and Lena Khan. South Asian Trailblazers is an award-winning podcast, community, and agency dedicated to elevating leading South Asians. Join our community at SouthAsianTrailblazers.com. Subscribe to our newsletter to get new episodes and updates on our latest events in your inbox. Follow us @southasiantrailblazers on Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, and all major podcast platforms, including Apple and Spotify.

Six years ago, Hasan Minhaj and Prashanth Venkataramanujam asked a question: How has a movie about the South Asian college dance team experience not been made? Together, they made Best of the Best — a coming-of-age comedy about two best friends — played by Maitreyi Ramakrishnan and Priyanka Kedia — who join their college’s competitive Bollywood-fusion dance team — out Friday, September 18 on Netflix.  Simi speaks with Hasan Minhaj (comedian, producer, actor), Prashanth Venkataramanujam (producer, writer), and director Lena Khan about the journey to bringing Best of the Best — the first movie about the American collegiate Bollywood competitive dance scene — to the big screen. Ultimately, they answer: Can South Asian stories be commercially viable in Hollywood? What does it take to make a story that feels authentic to the community, while still reaching mainstream audiences?  KEY TOPICS: Building an all-Brown ensemble castHow they pushed this movie through the show business ecosystemWhy Maitreyi Ramakrishnan said this film was a first for herHasan Minhaj on collegiate Bollywood dance being "an American art form"The moment Lena Khan knew the community had arrivedWhat Hasan learned from Dev Patel about chasing bold, audacious risksABOUT HASAN MINHAJ — Comedian, Writer, and Actor Best known as the creator and host of Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj and his OG special Homecoming King, He’s a former Daily Show correspondent and toured with shows: The King’s Jester, Off With His Head, and Hasan Hates Ronny. Through his production company, 186K Films, he wrote Best of the Best with longtime collaborator Prashanth and stars in the film as Professor Hamza Latif.  He is an investor in Kolkata Chai Co — whose founders we had on the podcast last season! FOLLOW: Instagram  ABOUT LENA KHAN — Director Known for films like Tiger Hunter, Flora & Ulysses, and directing episodes of Never Have I Ever, which featured Best of the Best star Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, she is the director of Best of the Best. FOLLOW: Instagram ABOUT PRASHANTH VENKATARAMANUJAM — Writer and Producer Prashanth has been Hasan’s creative collaborator for over 15 years. He co-created Patriot Act, The King’s Jester, Off With His Head, and Hasan Hates Ronny. And he co-wrote and produced Best of the Best alongside Hasan under 186K Films. His credits include Billy Nye Saves the World and BAIT. FOLLOW: Instagram South Asian Trailblazers is an award-winning podcast, community, and agency dedicated to elevating leading South Asians. Join our community at SouthAsianTrailblazers.com. Subscribe to our newsletter to get new episodes and updates on our latest events in your inbox. Follow us @southasiantrailblazers on Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, and all major podcast platforms, including Apple and Spotify.

Simi speaks with Karan Bhagat, Founder and CEO of 360 ONE — one of India's largest wealth and asset management firms, advising nearly 9,000 of the country's top families with almost $80 billion in assets under management, including industrialists, tech founders, Bollywood stars, cricketers, and some of India's most prominent public figures. Recorded at the India Conference at Harvard, this conversation traces Karan Bhagat's extraordinary journey from cold-calling Delhi's wealthiest families at age 25 to building a firm that just partnered with UBS. Karan Bhagat shares how he built 360 ONE with $3 million in seed capital during the 2008 financial crisis, why adversity became his greatest advantage, and his conviction that true wealth is created only by building your own business. He explains why global banks like Goldman Sachs and UBS have struggled to crack India's wealth management market, opens up about generational wealth in India, and walks through the P-multiple formula that reframed his understanding of success in entrepreneurship. KEY TOPICS: How 360 ONE came to advise 9,000 of India's top families — including industrialists, Bollywood stars, and cricketers — with trust at scaleBuilding India's largest wealth management firm from $3M in seed capital to $80B in assetsThe real difference between wealth creation and wealth optimizationWhy global banks like UBS and Goldman Sachs have struggled in IndiaGenerational wealth transfer and the "third generation" myth in Indian familiesHard work, hustle, and the "special sauce" that separates the top 50 from 2,000What does Karan Bhagat believe about wealth creation — and why does he say you can only build wealth through your own business?What the P-multiple is and how it impacts Karan Bhagat's view on entrepreneurshipABOUT KARAN BHAGAT: Karan Bhagat is the Founder, Managing Director, and CEO of 360 ONE WAM, one of India's largest wealth and asset management firms. Under his leadership, 360 ONE has grown to manage approximately $80 billion in assets across nearly 9,000 families. Karan Bhagat began his career at Kotak Securities in 2001 and co-founded IIFL Wealth Management in 2008, which rebranded to 360 ONE in 2023. He forged a strategic collaboration with UBS in 2025. A Fortune India 40 Under 40 honoree and EY Entrepreneur of the Year (Services, 2025), Karan Bhagat holds an MBA from IIM Bangalore. FOLLOW: KARAN BHAGAT Instagram |  X | LinkedIn 360 ONE Website | Instagram | X | YouTube | LinkedIn South Asian Trailblazers is an award-winning podcast, community, and agency dedicated to elevating leading South Asians. Join our community at SouthAsianTrailblazers.com. Subscribe to our newsletter to get new episodes and updates on our latest events in your inbox. Follow us @southasiantrailblazers on Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, and all major podcast platforms, including Apple and Spotify.

Sakshi Sindwani is one of India's most prominent curve models, content creators, and body-positivity advocates who has built a community of 700,000 women. In 2021, she became the first curve model to appear in a Manish Malhotra bridal couture campaign, and in 2026, the first Indian creator to walk the Grammys red carpet.  Recorded at the India Conference at Harvard, Simi's conversation traces Sakshi's path from growing up hearing "You're fat, you're never going to be worthy of love" to embodying self-love and normalizing representation among India's biggest fashion houses. Sakshi shares the behind-the-scenes hustle most people never see: cold-calling designers to put herself on the runway at Dubai Fashion Week and why she believes inclusivity still needs to transcend surface-level representation. She opens up about the mother-daughter encounter that changed how she measures success, why she dropped her famous handle to reclaim her real name in 2026, and the message she has for every young woman: the quirks people criticize will become the strengths that carry you far and forward. KEY TOPICS: Making history as the first Indian creator at the Grammys in custom Manish Malhotra coutureFighting tokenism and normalizing inclusivity in Indian and global fashionBuilding a 700K female community through authenticity vs. viralityThe hustle behind Dubai Fashion Week, Forbes, and global platformsSelf-love, identity, and the message young South Asian women need to hearABOUT SAKSHI SINDWANI: Sakshi is a curve model & creator redefining beauty standards in Indian couture. She has walked for fashion houses including Manish Malhotra, Gaurav Gupta, and Papa Don't Preach, and partnered with brands like L'Oréal, Johnnie Walker, H&M, and Swarovski. She has walked red carpets at the Grammys, the Cannes Film Festival, and Paris Fashion Week. She is a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, has walked Lakme Fashion Week and three shows at Dubai Fashion Week, and commands a powerful community of women as a creator. Originally from Delhi, Sakshi launched her channel in 2015 and broke out during COVID under the handle @StyleMeUpWithSakshi before rebranding to her given name in 2026. Follow Sakshi: Instagram | YouTubeSouth Asian Trailblazers is an award-winning podcast, community, and agency dedicated to elevating leading South Asians. Join our community at SouthAsianTrailblazers.com. Subscribe to our newsletter to get new episodes and updates on our latest events in your inbox. Follow us @southasiantrailblazers on Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, and all major podcast platforms, including Apple and Spotify.

Simi Shah sits down with Sid Sriram — one of the most distinct voices in global music — for a live-recorded conversation at Harvard. Born in Chennai, raised in Fremont, trained at Berklee, mentored by A.R. Rahman, Sid Sriram has spent 15+ years alchemizing Carnatic and R&B music and putting Eastern and Western music "in conversation with each other." He was the first South Indian artist to perform at Coachella and took NPR's Tiny Desk by storm. With over 3.8 billion+ Spotify streams alone, Sid Sriram opens up about his journey through three worlds of music — Carnatic, playback singing, and original — as well as the highs and profound lows that shaped his trajectory: from his first collaboration with the legendary A.R. Rahman to the profound ego death he faced in Covid. Inside Sid reveals speaks to AI in music; the levitating sensation he first felt singing for the first time; how he's surmounted the classic traps around celebrity; and the path for South Asian artists to break through globally. He also teases a very special, unreleased song. KEY TOPICS: How cold emailing A.R. Rahman from his college dorm set him on a journey to 3.8 billion streamsHis career across three worlds of music: Carnatic, playback singing, and his original soundWhy AI is the first thing that's made Sid Sriram feel like an "old head"The buzzing, levitating sensation that's been Sid Sriram's north star since age sixThe Bad Bunny Super Bowl moment — and what it's actually going to take for South Asian artists to get thereABOUT SID SRIRAM: Sid Sriram is a singer, songwriter, and producer whose work bridges Carnatic music, R&B, and soul. Born in Chennai and raised in Fremont, California, he trained at Berklee College of Music and got his start as a playback singer in 2012 when A.R. Rahman called him to record "Adiye" for the Tamil film Kadal. He has since become one of India's most-streamed artists with 3.8 billion+ Spotify plays. Sid Sriram's original work — including the recent single "Soul" and a forthcoming album — represents what he calls the "kaleidoscope" of all his influences finally existing within each other. He is widely credited with helping shape the modern wave of Indian creators putting their roots in conversation with global sound. Follow: @sidsriram Recorded live at the India Conference at Harvard. South Asian Trailblazers is an award-winning podcast, community, and agency dedicated to elevating leading South Asians. Join our community at SouthAsianTrailblazers.com. Subscribe to our newsletter to get new episodes and updates on our latest events in your inbox. Follow us @southasiantrailblazers on Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, and all major podcast platforms, including Apple and Spotify.

Simi speaks with Masoom Minawala — one of India's pioneering influencers. Masoom bet her career on the internet at 17, starting her fashion blog Miss Style Fiesta in 2010, a decade before the world knew what an influencer was. She became the first Indian content creator to walk at Milan Fashion Week, a fixture on the Cannes red carpet, and has collaborated with over 500 brands, including Louis Vuitton, Dior, and Hermès. She also launched the #SupportIndianDesigners movement that generated 300,000+ posts during COVID-19. But 16 years in, Masoom Minawala isn't resting on her highlight reel. In this episode, she reveals the identity crisis that hit after becoming a mother — "I looked in the mirror and didn't recognize myself" — and how it forced her to tear down her personal brand and rebuild as the founder of MSF Media, one of India's fastest-growing media platforms dedicated to the global woman. Masoom Minawala also shares her bold thesis that India is being dangerously undervalued as the "next superpower," why AI will make authenticity the only strategy left for creators, and the two words her husband said that changed everything. KEY TOPICS: How motherhood rewired Masoom Minawala's brain and forced her to reinvent her careerWhy Masoom Minawala says India is not the "next superpower" — it's already hereSurviving 16 years in the creator economy — from blogger era to AI ageIndian fashion on the global stage: Milan, Cannes, and why IP still isn't protectedThe $770 billion GDP gap and why women's economics matterABOUT MASOOM MINAWALA: Masoom Minawala is one of India's most influential digital creators and the founder of MSF Media. She launched Miss Style Fiesta in 2010, has collaborated with over 500 brands including Louis Vuitton, Dior, Hermès, and Samsung, and became the first Indian content creator to walk the runway at Milan Fashion Week. She hosts The Masoom Minawala Show, the most-watched podcast by women in India. She is the author of "She'll Never Make It" and was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia. Masoom Minawala splits her time between Dubai and Mumbai and is a mom of two. Follow:  Masoom Minawala | The Masoom Minawala Show South Asian Trailblazers is an award-winning podcast, community, and agency dedicated to elevating leading South Asians. Join our community at SouthAsianTrailblazers.com. Subscribe to our newsletter to get new episodes and updates on our latest events in your inbox. Follow us @southasiantrailblazers on Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, and all major podcast platforms, including Apple and Spotify.

In a first-ever live multi-founder panel from South Asian Trailblazers, Simi Shah sits with 4 South Asian beauty founders at the vanguard of South Asian-inspired beauty: Diipa Büller Khosla (indē wild), Rooshy Roy (Aavrani), Nisha Phatak (Lion Pose), and Lisa Mattam (Sahajan). The conversation was born from a single line. When Rooshy returned to Trailblazers to announce Aavrani's acquisition, Simi asked about whether the dynamics with other founders were collaborative or competitive. Her response?That there's actually a "Desis at Sephora WhatsApp group." Simi made it her mission to bring that group chat to life — every South Asian beauty founder in Sephora who could be in the room. Inside: how Diipa built indē wild's hair oil from her mother's recipe into Sephora's #1 seller; why Rooshy says she launched Aavrani at Sephora "too early" — and that it'll take 100 brands for South Asian beauty to become a true category; how Nisha cold-emailed Mindy Kaling and took a Zoom 48 hours after giving birth; how Lisa pioneered clean + clinical Ayurveda before Sephora had a "Clean" shelf. KEY TOPICS: Why South Asian beauty isn't yet mainstream — and what makes a true categorySephora's road map: when to launch, when to waitThe influencer-to-founder pivot, fundraising, and being underestimatedBuilding for the US, UK, and India consumer at the same timeFounder life and motherhood: the "balance is a lie" doctrineFollow: Diipa Büller Khosla: @diipakhosla · @indewildRooshy Roy: @rooshyroy · @aavraniNisha Phatak: @nishaphatak · @lionposeLisa Mattam: @lisamattam · @sahajan South Asian Trailblazers is an award-winning podcast, community, and agency dedicated to elevating leading South Asians. Join our community at SouthAsianTrailblazers.com. Subscribe to our newsletter to get new episodes and updates on our latest events in your inbox. Follow us @southasiantrailblazers on Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, and all major podcast platforms, including Apple and Spotify.

Simi speaks with Raj Shamani — India's #1 podcaster, ranked #25 in the world — in a special live-recorded episode in New York City. Across 540+ episodes, 15 million subscribers, 400 million annual views, the Host of Figuring Out, Raj Shamani, has interviewed Bill Gates, President of France Emmanuel Macron, Aamir Khan, MS Dhoni, MrBeast, Vijay Mallya, and several other notable figures. Raj speaks primarily in English with moments of Hindi throughout — subtitles on YouTube. But here's what makes today different — Raj Shamani rarely gets on this side of the mic. So when India's #1 podcaster sits down with the leading South Asian diaspora podcast, in front of a live audience in New York, you get the crossover episode of the year. In a rare conversation, Raj Shamani resets the myth of his own origin story, walks Simi through how he turned 15,000 rupees into a global media platform, what the Indian Diaspora gets wrong, and his path to becoming the #1 podcast in the world. KEY TOPICS: Resetting the origin myth — what really happened when Raj's father got sickWhy "values over views" makes Raj turn down guests offering insane moneyThe hidden habits of the world's top 1% — billionaires, presidents, world championsWhat the South Asian diaspora gets wrong (and right) about India todayWhy building trust beats going viral as the modern creator strategyThe 10-Year Framework Raj uses to know whether to enter any new fieldABOUT RAJ SHAMANI Raj Shamani is an Indian entrepreneur, author, and host of Figuring Out with Raj Shamani — India's #1 podcast, ranked #25 globally. Born in 1997 in Indore, he stepped into his family's soap manufacturing business at 16 after a family health scare. He represented India at the United Nations Youth Assembly, built a global personal brand on Instagram, and launched Figuring Out in 2021. In 2023, he co-founded House of X, raising seed funding from Lightspeed, Razorpay, and Mamaearth's founders. He is a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree and an angel investor in Classplus, GrowthSchool, Wint Wealth, and Neko Health. Follow Raj:  Instagram | LinkedIn | XFollow Figuring Out: YouTube | InstagramSouth Asian Trailblazers is an award-winning podcast, community, and agency dedicated to elevating leading South Asians. Join our community at SouthAsianTrailblazers.com. Subscribe to our newsletter to get new episodes and updates on our latest events in your inbox. Follow us @southasiantrailblazers on Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, and all major podcast platforms, including Apple and Spotify.

Simi speaks with Revathi Advaithi, CEO of Flex — a $24 billion global manufacturing company that builds the critical infrastructure behind AI, cloud, healthcare, and automotive. Flex operates in 30 countries with over 140,000 employees, and under Revathi's leadership, the stock has soared from ~$7 to over $60. Revathi started her career on a factory floor in small town Shawnee, Oklahoma. She is the youngest of five sisters and lost her father at the tender age of 15 in India. After nearly failing out of engineering school, she built her career in the industrials sector in small-town America at companies like Honeywell and Eaton. She ascended to the C-suite at Eaton and was eventually tapped to lead Flex. In 2024, she was diagnosed with breast cancer while traveling — and chose to stay on as CEO, working through treatment without missing a single day. Today, she is one of Fortune's Most Powerful Women in the World, Fast Company's Modern CEO of the Year, and serves on the board of Uber and MIT. Recorded live in San Francisco in partnership with Pratham USA, this unfiltered conversation covers breaking into the boardroom, immigrant grit, a battle with breast cancer, and what it actually takes to lead at the highest level. KEY TOPICS: Breaking into the boardroom as an immigrant woman in industrial AmericaLeading through a cancer diagnosis without stepping downTransforming a legacy manufacturer into an AI infrastructure powerhouseOn work, family, and navigating motherhood across continentsThe moments that nearly broke her — and the ones that made herRevathi's TIME Op-Ed on her Cancer Battle ABOUT REVATHI ADVAITHI: Revathi Advaithi is CEO of Flex, the global manufacturing partner helping a diverse customer base design and build products improving the world. Since 2019, she has led Flex's transformation across 30 countries, driving technology innovation and supply chain resilience. Previously, she served as President and COO of Eaton's electrical sector with corporate responsibility for EMEA, and spent six years at Honeywell in manufacturing and supply chain leadership. She has been appointed by the U.S. President to advisory committees on trade policy and supply chain competitiveness, and serves as co-chair of the World Economic Forum's Advanced Manufacturing CEO Community. She holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from BITS Pilani and an MBA from Thunderbird. REVATHI ADVAITHI Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/revathiadvaithi/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/revathiadvaithi/ South Asian Trailblazers is an award-winning podcast, community, and agency dedicated to elevating leading South Asians. Join our community at SouthAsianTrailblazers.com. Subscribe to our newsletter to get new episodes and updates on our latest events in your inbox. Follow us @southasiantrailblazers on Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, and all major podcast platforms, including Apple and Spotify.

Simi sits down with Ananya Birla, business leader, artist, mental health advocate, and 7th-generation scion of one of India's oldest and most storied family businesses — the Aditya Birla Group. Ananya is building across more industries than most people will touch in a lifetime. At 17, she founded what is now India's second-largest microfinance institution. After dropping out of Oxford to pursue music, she became the first Indian artist to go platinum with an English single. A consummate multi-hyphenate, she joined the family business — the first woman in her lineage — now leading subsidiaries across film, real estate, cosmetics, and AI. Today, Ananya is recognized as one of Fortune's Most Powerful Women in the world, shaping India's relationship with the world. Recorded live at the India Conference at Harvard, this unfiltered conversation covers leadership principles and privilege, music and mental health, and what it means to craft your own legacy when you were born into one. KEY TOPICS: Dropping out of Oxford to pursue musicLaunching her own ventures and earning credibility in the family businessBeing the only woman in the boardroom On leadership, privilege, and her vision for the Birla Family legacy Leading Birla Studios, Birla Cosmetics, Birla AI Labs, Birla Real EstatesSelf-worth, mental health advocacy, and leadership principlesABOUT ANANYA BIRLA: Ananya Birla is the Founder and Chairperson of Svatantra Microfin — India's second-largest and best-performing microfinance institution with a $7 billion portfolio, over 4 million customers, and 24,000 employees across 19 states. The company is heading toward IPO in 2026 — the fastest any Birla has taken a company public in seven generations. The international PE firm Advent invested $400 million alone. In music, Ananya has multiple English-language multi-platinum singles in India, was the first Indian artist featured on an American national Top 40 chart, and has collaborated with AR Rahman and Sean Kingston. She also leads Birla Cosmetics (LOVETC and Contraband), Birla Studios, and Birla AI Labs. Ananya serves on the Aditya Birla Group's apex strategic body ABMCPL and on the boards of Hindalco, Grasim, and Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail. The Birla conglomerate is one of the largest industrial dynasties in India and the largest Indian greenfield investor in the U.S. ($15 billion). South Asian Trailblazers is an award-winning podcast, community, and agency dedicated to elevating leading South Asians. Join our community at SouthAsianTrailblazers.com. Subscribe to our newsletter to get new episodes and updates on our latest events in your inbox. Follow us @southasiantrailblazers on Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, and all major podcast platforms, including Apple and Spotify.

Simi sits down with power duo Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Anjula Acharia — like you've NEVER seen them before. In this first-of-its-kind conversation, Priyanka and Anjula — best friends and business partners of 15 years — sit down together to tell the full story of how they built one of the most extraordinary careers in global entertainment. 15 years ago, Priyanka was searching for her next chapter in Bollywood. Anjula, a VC investor with a knack for spotting unicorns, saw something the rest of the world hadn't realized yet: a star who could transcend both Bollywood and Hollywood and become truly global. After an awkward first phone call, a partnership was born — one that would transform the two LARGEST film industries in the world and build a global crossover career unlike anything that came before. Recorded live at the India Conference at Harvard, ahead of the premiere of her new film The Bluff, Priyanka keeps it cool and candid with her best friend and business partner, Anjula, the investor and entrepreneur who bet on her when no one else would. It's our most star-powered episode yet. Rich with insight, advice, and real talk, this is the origin story behind the icon — as told by the partnership that powered this global stardom. ABOUT PRIYANKA CHOPRA JONAS: Priyanka Chopra Jonas is a global icon — actress, producer, entrepreneur, and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. She won Miss World in 2000 and went on to become one of India's biggest film stars with iconic performances in Fashion (2008, National Film Award for Best Actress), Barfi! (2012), Mary Kom (2014), and Bajirao Mastani (2015, Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress). With over 60 Bollywood films and five Filmfare Awards, she is one of the most decorated actresses in Indian cinema. ABOUT ANJULA ACHARIA: Born in England, Anjula Acharia is an entrepreneur, investor, and cultural strategist who built her career in venture capital before pivoting into entertainment. She backed Bumble and ClassPass, both became billion-dollar companies. She has managed Priyanka Chopra Jonas's career for 15 years, orchestrating her crossover from Bollywood to Hollywood. In 2025, she co-founded 5 Junction Records with Warner Music Group to develop South Asian artists globally, from Rhea Raj to Nora Fatehi. She has been recognized by Billboard, Forbes, Vanity Fair, and ELLE. PREVIOUS EPISODE: Anjula Acharia, Season 6 (2023) ANJULA ACHARIA Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/anjula_acharia/ PRIYANKA CHOPRA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/priyankachopra/ South Asian Trailblazers is an award-winning podcast, community, and agency dedicated to elevating leading South Asians. Join our community at SouthAsianTrailblazers.com. Subscribe to our newsletter to get new episodes and updates on our latest events in your inbox. Follow us @southasiantrailblazers on Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, and all major podcast platforms, including Apple and Spotify.

AAVRANI has been acquired — and founder Rooshy Roy shares the full story for the first time on South Asian Trailblazers. Six years ago, in Season 1 (2020), Rooshy first sat down with Simi as a freshly-funded, newly-married Forbes 30 Under 30 founder building one of the first beauty brands rooted in Indian heritage. Today, she becomes the first trailblazer to ever return to the podcast — here to share the end of her nine-year journey bringing Indian Ayurveda-inspired beauty to the world. In this raw, deeply personal conversation, Rooshy walks through the complete arc of building in beauty — from meeting her co-founder on the second day of Wharton, to raising $10M+ in venture funding, to pivoting from skincare to hair care with Sephora, to partnering with Lilly Singh, to the moment she realized she was playing a game she no longer wanted to win. She reveals why she decided to let go of the brand she spent nine years building and her process in finding an acquirer. This episode is essential listening for ambitious women, founders building in consumer brand, and anyone wrestling with when to hold on and when to let go. KEY TOPICS: AAVRANI's acquisition announcement and what's nextThe truth about launching in Sephora in 2024How celebrity partnerships work (Lilly Singh)Fellow South Asian beauty founders in Sephora: competitive or collaborative?3 things Rooshy would do differentlyChoosing family, chasing dreams, and knowing when to let goAbout Rooshy: Rooshy Roy is the founder and former CEO of AAVRANI, a premium beauty brand inspired by ancient Indian beauty traditions rituals. She co-founded at Wharton in 2017. A first-generation Indian American, Rooshy previously worked at Goldman Sachs and Warburg Pincus before launching AAVRANI to bring Ayurvedic beauty rooted in Indian traditions to the global stage. She was named to Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2020 in Retail & E-Commerce. AAVRANI expanded from skincare into hair care at Sephora in partnership with Lilly Singh, and was acquired at the end of 2025.  PREVIOUS EPISODE: Rooshy Roy, Season 1 (2020) Follow Rooshy & AAVRANI: Rooshy on InstagramRooshy on SubstackAAVRANI WebsiteAAVRANI on InstagramSouth Asian Trailblazers is an award-winning podcast, community, and agency dedicated to elevating leading South Asians. Join our community at SouthAsianTrailblazers.com. Subscribe to our newsletter to get new episodes and updates on our latest events in your inbox. Follow us @southasiantrailblazers on Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, and all major podcast platforms, including Apple and Spotify.

U.S. Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08), Representative Shri Thanedar (MI-13), and Representative Suhas Subramanyam (VA-10) join South Asian Trailblazers Host Simi Shah for a timely and wide-ranging conversation live from the Impact Summit 2025 in Washington, D.C. WATCH IT ON YOUTUBE. On this special panel concluding Season 8, we dive into: 💬 How increased political violence is shaping their leadership 💬 The urgent need for immigration reform and protections for our community 💬 Combating disinformation, hate, and cuts to healthcare 💬 U.S.–India relations, tariffs, and the $130B in trade at stake for small businesses 💬 The path ahead for South Asian representation in Congress — and beyond About the U.S. Congressmen: Raja Krishnamoorthi, who previously joined us on South Asian Trailblazers, is in his fifth term representing Illinois’ 8th District. He is the first South Asian American to lead a Congressional committee, serving as Ranking Member of the Select Committee on Strategic Competition with the Chinese Communist Party. Shri Thanedar, representing Michigan’s 13th District since 2022, is a former chemist, entrepreneur, and immigrant from southern India who rose from poverty to public service. He is the Ranking Member of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Accountability. Suhas Subramanyam, elected in 2024 to represent Virginia’s 10th District, is the first Indian American elected to Congress from Virginia. A former Obama White House technology advisor and Virginia state legislator, he now serves on the Oversight and Science, Space, and Technology Committees. 🎧 This is South Asian leadership in action — inside the nation’s halls of power. South Asian Trailblazers is an award-winning podcast, community, and agency dedicated to elevating leading South Asians. Join our community at SouthAsianTrailblazers.com. Subscribe to our newsletter to get new episodes and updates on our latest events in your inbox. Follow us @southasiantrailblazers on Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, and all major podcast platforms, including Apple and Spotify.