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The Seven Eighths

The Seven Eighths

By Amrutha

Let’s talk about failures, struggles and rejections. Let’s talk about the seven eighths of the iceberg that we don’t hear much about. Let’s normalize failures to embolden us.

Cover Pic Credit: axenehp.com/tip-aca-iceberg/
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Episode 25 - Defying Perceptions

The Seven EighthsJun 02, 2023

00:00
36:15
Episode 25 - Defying Perceptions

Episode 25 - Defying Perceptions

Intro:

Welcome to Episode 25 of the Seven Eighths. In this episode I sat down with Rohan and Rojene for a conversation about their struggles. I met Rohana and Rojene through Gayatri, founder of Accidental Ally - a firm that is pioneering a path to make the web a more accessible place.

Rohan is the Executive Assistant at Accidental Ally. He recently made history twice! He was the first intern with down syndrome to be hired by Five9. He is also the first person with Down syndrome to take the Web Accessibility Certification (CPACC) exam.He dreams of becoming a QE expert with a specialization in Web Accessibility, Localization, and Security testing skills. 

Rojene aspires to be a Digital Marketing professional. She is deeply passionate about social media and marketing operations. Rojene also made history as the first intern with Cerebral Palsy to be hired by Five9. She focussed on Digital Web Marketing and helped the Five9 team make their website accessible and also worked on delivering demand gen nurture campaigns. She recently gave her CPACC exam to certify as a Web Accessibility professional as she dreams of becoming an Inclusive Digital Marketer. She is a fashionista and a self-advocate with Cerebral Palsy.

In this episode, Rohan and Rojene share their journey through struggles and how they are overcoming the various hurdles with determination, perseverance and optimism. It is time to pull up a chair and listen in.


Learn more about Accidental Ally: https://theaccidentalally.com/

Stay in touch with TheSevenEighths:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theseveneighthspod/


Outro:

And that’s how the cookie crumbles. Rohan and Rojene have been the most inspiring guests I’ve had on this show - hands down. Born with disabilities, they have overcome insurmountable challenges right from birth. Rohan and Rojene have shown us that disabilities did not hinder their potential and they showed us a fine example of resilience and growth. I loved the enthusiasm and optimism for life that they embodied. I loved Rojene’s humility when she said that if she inspires one person, then she considers it a job done. I loved Rohan’s ‘Never Give Up’ attitude when he shared his plan to work harder and succeed at the next attempt of the Web Accessibility certification. Hearing their stories of struggle was heartbreaking but listening to their plans for the future inspired me beyond words.

Thanks to Gayatri - founder of Accidental Ally for bringing Rohan and Rojene to the Seven Eighths and for doing path breaking work in the field of Accessibility Engineering to make the world a more equitable and inclusive place.


Jun 02, 202336:15
Episode 24 - Introspection

Episode 24 - Introspection

Intro

Welcome to Episode 24 of the Seven Eighths with our guest Ethan Evans. Ethan is an Ex-Amazon Vice President, now sharing his leadership expertise on LinkedIn, Medium, YouTube, and other outlets. He has a BS in Computer Science and Computer Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University, and a Masters of Science in Engineering from Purdue.  After spending more than a decade in startups in Pittsburgh, Washington, D.C., and Boston, where he rose to the level of Vice President.

In 2005, Ethan moved to Amazon as a Senior Manager where he was the first engineer on the project that became Prime Video.  Over time, he was promoted first to Director, then to Vice President, ultimately leading global teams of 800+ and working on well known products such as the Amazon Appstore, Twitch, and Prime Gaming.

In 2020 Ethan left Amazon to focus on leadership training and executive coaching for a small group of motivated clients. His mission is to share his lessons learned in his long career to save others delay and frustration struggling with issues he has been through before. You can find Ethan on the web at https://ethanevans.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ethanevansvp/

In this episode, Ethan gets candid about his setbacks and failures. It’s time to pull up a chair and just listen in


Conclusion

And That’s how the cookie crumbles. Ethan’s conversation made me realize that behind all the visible success, there is failures that builds character and that has teaching moments. Ethan shared his several set backs, feeling misjudged and mislabeled. But he also talked about how he used the pain to introspect and adopt habits to prevent that pain from recurring. This change in behavior helped him recover from the set back. Ethan’s guidance on how to accept and absorb feedback feels like a gold mine. Thank you for listening to this episode. Do share your thoughts and feedback. I’m on twitter @theseveneighths


#normalizefailures #theseveneighthspodcast

Feb 28, 202334:51
Episode 23 - Don't hold

Episode 23 - Don't hold

Intro:

Welcome to episode 23 of The Seven Eighths. This episode is a conversation between me and Navjot Sawhney. Nav Sawhney is the founder of The Washing Machine Project. Nav was born and brought up in London but his family are from unpartitioned India. During the 1947 Indian Independence, Nav’s father and his family fled their home from what is now Pakistan with only the clothes on their backs. This has always been the foundation of why he wants to help people fleeing conflict.

Whether it’s building lifesaving cookstoves in rural India or  being a trustee of Engineers Without Borders UK (EWB-UK), Nav has always been passionate about helping others, with a particular interest in International Development. He has helped build clean water systems for an orphanage in Namibia, volunteered time at a local homeless shelter for migrants in London and done much more. With over five years of professional engineering experience at global technology companies such as Dyson and Jaguar Land Rover behind him, Nav realizes he is at theperfect moment to combine his desire to help people with his Engineering skills.

Nav and I talked about his childhood, his journey through ups and downs of The Washing Machine Project, how he handles failures and much more. It is time for us to pull up a chair and listen in.

Outro

And that’s how the cookie crumbles. Nav’s reminded us to not compare ourselves to our peers when it comes to effort vs outcome. We are all differently talented and focussing on what we can do best will relieve us from the pressure of expecting the same outcome. Nav doesn’t hold any bitterness to failures. Isn’t that a refreshing position to take? I”m going to try it and feel the lightness of the experience. Thank you for listening to this episode. Do share your thoughts. I’m on twitter @femmenectar. Until the next conversation, cheers everyone!

Apr 26, 202230:36
Episode 22 - Conviction

Episode 22 - Conviction

Intro

Welcome to Episode 22 of The Seven Eighths. In this episode, I chat with Bracken Darrell about his journey through highs and lows of life. Bracken Darrell is the President and CEO of Logitech. Under Bracken Darrell’s nine years of leadership, Logitech has reinvented itself into an award-winning design company, an industry force in pursuing a more

sustainable and equitable world, and a top performer on the SIX Swiss stock exchange and

NASDAQ. Bracken is a proponent of design and the liberal arts in business, especially of their role in innovating product experiences for consumers. As a result, Logitech has been the recipient of numerous awards, including more than 200 design awards over the past three years from the likes of iF Design, Red Dot and Fast Company, and numerous sustainability awards.

Bracken himself has been named Swiss CEO of the year by Obermatt three times in the past

four years.

Bracken brings to Logitech nearly thirty years of experience in product, people and brand

management through design. He has worked around the world on iconic brands like Old Spice,

Gillette and Braun, for which he was president. He has spent time at P&G, Arthur Anderson,

PepsiCo, GE and Whirlpool. In this episode, Bracken shares his journey through life, his approach to failures and successes and shares pearls of wisdom on navigating through the ups and downs. It is time for us to pull up a chair, sit down and just listen in.

Outro

And that’s how the cookie crumbles. Bracken shared his stick trick. Imagine yourself at the beach with a stick dragging it behind you and everything behind that stick is just to learn from. Your whole life is still in front of you and so stop worrying about what is behind that stick. Just figure out what to learn from. He also talked about how he looked at failures like just a grade in school. It is important what you learn from it, and not just the grade. Bracken stressed the importance of having conviction along with intuition on any undertaking. Lastly Bracken reminded me that success also comes at a cost - one you solve one problem, you are given a bigger one to solve. Thank you for listening to this episode. Do share your thoughts. I”m on twitter at femmenectar. Until the next conversation..cheers everyone!

Feb 21, 202228:57
Episode 21 - Acknowledge

Episode 21 - Acknowledge

Introduction

Welcome to Episode 21 of the Seven Eighths. In this episode, I sit down with Krishna Sundaresan for a conversation of failures and rejections. Krishna Ramani Sundaresan is currently a blockchain gamer and trying to find his place in the metaverse. He was earlier the VP, Engineering at Symphony MediaAI, a part of SymphonyAI working in the space of B2B AI solutions. He was the founder of Surukam Analytics, a pioneer in the field of legal AI, where he built a contract intelligence platform, raised a round of funding and managed a successful exit to SymphonyAI. An alumnus of BITS Pilani, and IIM Bangalore, he likes to meditate in his free time and  also mentors and invests in early stage businesses. In this episode, we talked about

Trigger warning: there is a discussion about suicide and self harm which my be a trigger for a few listeners. It is time for us to pull up a chair and sit down to listen in.


Outro

And that’s how the cookie crumbles. Through the conversation with Krishna, When you are in the midst of the problem, it is difficult to see things clearly. Acknowledging that there is a problem is the first step followed by slowing down a bit to understand the situation better. It is hard to relive failure, but it is important to look at the failures through a hard lens to identify and understand inflection points. By doing so, you can better plan your actions and manage emotions better the next time you are at such inflection points. Even in your failures, look at your support network through the lens of gratitude rather than guilt. Being grateful for them for being with you through your journey is a more positive and long lasting feeling than guilt. With the story of Hanuman in Sundara Kandam, Krishna reminded us that even someone with a strong archetype like Hanuman himself experiences debilitating self doubt. Going through these emotions and coming out through the light at the end of the tunnel with a strong sense of confidence to handle these situations in the future.

Thank you for listening to this episode. Do share your thoughts. I am on twitter @femmenectar. Until the next conversation. Cheers everyone!



Jan 06, 202227:57
Episode 20 - Undefined

Episode 20 - Undefined

Introduction

Welcome to Episode 20 of the Seven Eighths. In this episode, I sat down with Sunil Rajaraman, CMO of GoodRX to talk about his journey through failures and setbacks.Sunil Rajaraman is a tech entrepreneur, investor and exec. He's spent the past 12 years in the tech space where he's started or been part of the Founding team of several companies, and angel invested in others. He's currently a marketing executive at GoodRx. Sunil's passion area outside of work is mental healthTedX talk on mental health to high school students at Monta Vista, and guest written for The Information about mental health in the tech industry. His podcast, 'This is Your Life in Silicon Valley', features guests such as the Mayor of Oakland and the CEO of Instagram. We talked about transitioning from founder to operator, managing that feeling of not being enough and much more.


Outro

And that’s how the cookie crumbles. Talking to Sunil helped me understand that you are always going to wrangle with the feeling of not being good enough, the feeling of not being on top of your game. One way to deal with that emotion is to realize that such feelings will always exist and reflect on how far you have come from where you started.

Sunil also actively advocates limiting time on social media to platforms where you derive value, you learn and make real connections. He also talked about how therapy has been helping him dispel the feeling of loneliness in struggles. Therapy also has helped him become extremely self aware and provided him techniques to manage the struggles.

Sunil reminded me that the definition of success constantly evolves and changes based on the stage of life that you are in. More importantly, sometimes, it is ok not knowing what your definition of success is.

You can find me on Twitter: @Femmenectar and Sunil:@subes01


Nov 24, 202122:15
Episode 19 - Hurdles

Episode 19 - Hurdles

Intro

Welcome to Episode 19 of the Seven Eighths. This episode is a conversation between me and Tina Nayak about her journey through setbacks. Tina is a Berlin-based entrepreneur. Her latest startup - Useristics, helps tech startups understand their users better so they build products that users can’t live without. Prior to launching her own company, she oversaw marketing and growth at Babbel, Preply, Zipdial(acq by Twitter). In this episode, Tina talks about the changes that she took on in career and life, struggling with explaining her role and impact, the setbacks she faced with her first start up and dealing with grief. It’s time to just sit down and listen in.

You can find Tina on: https://tinanayak.com/

Here is the amazing company that Tina is building: https://useristics.com/


Outro

And that’s how the cookie crumbles. I liked how Tina framed rejection in your personal life. It's not because of something that is wrong with you. It's really a question of fit. There are some people that want to work with you and, and appreciate what you bring to the table. And some people that don't see that value now. So don't take that as a full stop for whatever you're trying to be. She also talked about the hustle culture and while it is applauded and encouraged, it can quickly become toxic. So just recognizing that while you hustle,remember to be kind to yourself. She shared her approach to, not just an interview, but every conversation, as an equal partner. If there isn’t a fit , have the agency to walk away. And lastly, she shared her struggle with handling grief. That is no shame, or there is no regret in getting help through a therapist or a healer.

Thank you for listening to the Seven Eighths. Do leave a note on twitter at femmenectar.


Sep 27, 202123:54
Episode 18 - Series of

Episode 18 - Series of

Introduction

Welcome to Episode 18 of the Seven Eighths. In this episode, I sit down with David Fano, Founder and CEO of Teal, for a conversation. David Fano is a serial entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience building products & services. As the founder and CEO of his latest venture, Teal, Dave is focusing on building technology tools that can empower people to grow their careers. In under 1 year, Teal has grown to be loved and used by over 20,000 users to power boost their careers.

Prior to Teal, Dave co-founded CASE, a technology consulting firm, while serving as adjunct faculty at Columbia’s Graduate School of Architecture. CASE worked with clients such as Google, Disney & Apple and went on to be the first acquisition made by WeWork in 2015. At WeWork David held several executive roles and eventually became the Chief Growth Officer. In a span of just 4 years, Dave built and led a global growth team that transacted over 2 million square feet of space per month.

In this episode, Dave talks about his journey from humble beginnings to CASE and then WeWork to now founding and managing TEAL. Dave is raw and real about pivoting his first start up, the turmoil with transition from CASE to WeWork, his struggles with his identity as he walked away from the role that almost defined him. He is honest and says it as it is. Let’s listen in. #normalizefailures

You can find David Fano on 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidfano/

Twitter: @davidfano

To learn more about Dave's latest venture visit: Teal:https://www.tealhq.com/

 


Summary

And that’s how the cookie crumbles. It was surprising to hear that someone as successful as Dave too had questions of self doubt at every step of the way. I liked Dave’s point of view on success: He framed success as not one event in itself but a series of failures coming together to give success as failures gives one a chance to iterate and refine. The big aha that I learnt from Dave was the fact that in life, many of us think of ourselves, our role as much bigger than what it truly is. We tend to think of our impact as more important than any other in the company. In Dave’s words: Companies are self healing organisms. They will find a way to continue to carryon with or without you. And lastly, giving up the perception that you are what you do. Dave shared how once he decoupled his identity from his work, he was a better place to make tough decisions.

Thank you for listening to the Seven Eighths. Do share your thoughts. I am on twitter @femmenectar. Until the next conversation. Cheers Everyone!

Aug 23, 202144:24
Episode 17 - Constant change

Episode 17 - Constant change

Welcome to Episode 17 of The Seven Eighths.In this episode, I sit down with Vikrant Karnik for a conversation about his struggles and failures. Vikrant Karnik - VK is now responsible for the Global Cloud Services business in Genpact. Prior to joining Genpact, he led Capgemini’s Global Digital and Cloud Services business in the Financial Services Strategic Business Unit. He has managed and delivered complex digital transformation, public and hybrid cloud deployments since 2009 when he was involved in the first cloud bursting pilot with Capgemini and AWS.

In our conversation, VK and I talked about his struggles with transition, moments of self doubt, struggles with outcomes that don’t align with his vision and much more. He candidly chatted about signing up for challenges larger than life and the fear of being able to deliver on a commitment. I would love for you to listen in.

Follow VK on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vkarnik/

Follow me on 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amruthar/

Twitter: @femmenectar



Jul 18, 202133:11
Episode 16 - Reflecting and moving forward

Episode 16 - Reflecting and moving forward

Intro

Special Announcement: This episode marks the one year anniversary of The Seven Eighths. I want to thank everyone involved in helping me get to this milestone starting with my family, close friends, guests that have agreed to candidly and authentically share their story and Corey Quinn for giving me the push to keep my work going. I owe it to every one of you. I believe even more than I did a year ago that we indeed need to talk to help normalize failures. We absolutely must talk about the Seven Eighths part of our life that is submerged beneath the social media persona of each one of us.

Welcome to Episode 16 of the Seven Eighths. For this episode, I sat down with Shiva Rajaraman for a conversation about his journey and his struggles. Shiva is no stranger to many of us in the valley. Shiva Rajaraman has held product leadership roles over the past 20 years working on platforms that democratized access for creators. He's currently VP Commerce at Facebook helping people discover products and businesses they love. Previously he helmed technology for WeWork helping over half a million members find the right space for their working needs so they could focus fully on their business. Prior to this, Shiva has held Product Leadership positions at Spotify, Google and YouTube. I speak out of personal experience when I say Shiva is most excited by helping everyone reach their full creative and business potential irrespective of their starting point. In this episode, you will hear Shiva talk about the crazy year of 2020, his personal growth and struggles. He candidly shared about the pitfalls of having a wide scope without a narrow focus, his lessons on betting on just people and not looking at culture and purpose. He talks about the roller coaster ride of scaling a large team and quickly having to pivot and how he would redo if at all. You would hear his eternal optimism and it is infectious. Time to just listen in

Outro

And that’s how the cookie crumbles. Talking to Shiva helped me understand failure is all in perspective. The ones where we anticipated failures and yet made the choices are the hardest one to reckon with. But it is important to come to terms with the outcome and make peace with it. It also made me understand that when it comes to career moves, having a perspective on people, product and purpose is all critical. When two of the three feels out of place, one needs to have the courage to take the right next step: whether it is to course correct at place or move on. I also realized that every transition is time consuming and energy consuming. So it is important to recognize the ripple effects of changing jobs, changing roles and make accommodations in lifestyle to absorb the ripple effects. Maybe even giving oneself the time to absorb the ripple effects? Thank you for listening to this episode. Do share your thoughts and feedback. I am on twitter @femmenectar. Until the next conversation. Cheers everyone!

May 27, 202152:31
Episode 15 - Not what I do

Episode 15 - Not what I do

Welcome to episode 15 of the Seven Eighths. For this episode, I sat down with Sonia Gupta for a conversation. A few of us know Sonia Gupta for her bold takes and stands.

Few of us know that Sonia works with individuals suffering from mental illness and substance use disorders to compassionately provide them with care and assistance in achieving their recovery goals. Sonia believes in human resilience and redemption, and understands that social change happens most powerfully in the connections between individuals. In previous incarnations, Sonia proudly served as a public defender, prosecutor, and assistant attorney general for the State of Louisiana. She also took a brief detour into tech as a software developer and developer advocate, which taught her that our social ills are best handled in the muck and mess of the analog world, without technology as a sterilizing mediator. Sonia has spoken about digital ethics at numerous conferences, and is an outspoken advocate against oppressive systems. When she's not actively working to improve her little corner of the planet, Sonia likes to hang out with her pup, cruise around on her bicycle, and enjoy all the perks of living in the beautiful city of New Orleans. My conversation with Sonia took fascinating turns and detours. We talked about the challenges of growing up as an immigrant child, how embracing or not embracing tech can be, the struggle to fit in and much more. Grab a space and just listen in.

You can find me: @femmenectar

Sonia: @soniagupta504

May 05, 202137:09
Episode 14 - Expecting Failure

Episode 14 - Expecting Failure

Introduction:

Welcome to Episode 14 of the Seven Eighths. I had the luck of sitting down with The Corey Quinn for a conversation. For the few of us that don’t know him, Corey is the Chief Cloud Economist at The Duckbill Group, where he specializes in helping companies improve their AWS bills by making them smaller and less horrifying. He also hosts the "Screaming in the Cloud" and "AWS Morning Brief" podcasts; and curates "Last Week in AWS," a weekly newsletter summarizing the latest in AWS news, blogs, and tools, sprinkled with snark and thoughtful analysis in roughly equal measure. Recently, the New York Times feature on Corey called him a part tech analyst, part internet troll and part watchdog. The article highlighted Corey’s success in helping his clients manage cloud infrastructure and how Corey got the attention of executives at AWS and Google themselves. But this podcast isn’t about what the media writes. This episode is about Corey’s journey, the string of failures that he went through, his struggles and how he retells his own story to himself. You will hear a Corey that you don’t get to on Twitter/LinkedIn or any other social media. Let’s sit down and listen in.

Conclusion

And that’s how the cookie crumbles. There are so many nuggets that I heard on this episode that felt like finding treasure! Corey reframed a resume as a sales doc. Now use the sales doc to tell the story you want to tell with it instead of a collection of plain experiences. Turns out, everyone including Corey has a fear of failure. But rather than it stopping you, turn this fear of failure into an expectation of failure and take it as an opportunity to reinvent yourself.

And lastly, reminding me that the failures that we are talking about are still failures from a place of privilege. So, a regular reality check and remembering to be humble and grateful is the antidote.

Thank you for listening to this episode. Do leave me your thoughts. I”m on twitter @femmenectar. Until the next conversation, cheers guys!

Apr 14, 202145:03
Episode 13 - Let it go

Episode 13 - Let it go

Intro: Welcome to Episode 13 of the Seven Eighths. In this episode, I had the pleasure of hosting Mona Sampath Khan for a conversation.

Mona Khan's name is synonymous with Bollywood in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is founder of Mona Khan Company - a Bollywood Dance and Fitness company. Her company runs over 100 dance and fitness programs. Mona is highly trained in both Indian Classical dance form, the Bharathnatyam, as well as a variety of Bollywood dance forms. Being highly talented, she was frequently handpicked to work with leading Bollywood choreographers like Farah Khan, Bosco Ceasar, and Ganesh Hegde. She has also collaborated on high profile events with such as Shaan, Alisha Chinai, Sunidhi Chauhan, Kunal Ganjawala, and the maestro himself – A.R.Rahman. After moving to the US, her quest to spread the universal language of dance led her to create the first structured Bollywood Dance program for the India Community Center in the San Francisco Bay Area. She designed and choreographed spectacular dance sequences for several high profile shows including the hit TV show America’s Got Talent, NBA halftime shows, President Obama’s Indiaspora Inaugural Ball, and Oprah’s The Life You Want Weekend.

To see her in action is to witness something spectacular and unforgettable. From Bombay to the Bay Area, her journey is nothing less than awe-inspiring. But her story is much more than what the media writes about. In our episode together, she talked about her struggles trying to fit in, giving up a highly successful career in dancing to escape a toxic work environment, rebuilding her brand and much more.


More on Mona Khan: https://www.monakhancompany.com/


Conclusion: And that’s how the cookie crumbles. Mona reminded me that behind all the glitz and glamor, there is incredible amount of pain, hardwork and struggles. She taught me the mantra to let it go but remember why you are letting it go, but believe in yourself and let it go. Mona talked about how she was incredibly hard on herself on a perceived failure at America’s Got Talent. But by taking a step back, she was able to pause, look around and realize how much she has accomplished even through that perceived failure. Taking that perspective would be helpful in difficult times. I’d also like to thank Mona for sharing that she has been seeking and taking help in the form of therapy and more. She disarmed me by pointing out that all of us need help and there is no shame in admitting it and reaching out for help.

Thank you for listening to this episode. Do share your thoughts. I’m on twitter @Femmenectar

Mar 18, 202130:38
Episode 12 - Decouple

Episode 12 - Decouple

Episode Intro: Welcome to Episode 12 of the Seven Eighths. I sat down with Kaushik Mukherjee, COO of Sugar Cosmetics for a chat. Along with his partner, Vineeta, Kaushik is building the wildly successful first direct to consumer brand.  Kaushik and I went to undergrad school together. I’ve seen him rise through success from nailing the highest paying job in undergrad, through a stint at Goldman Sachs to starting Sugar Cosmetics. But behind all the glamor and the rah rah, Kaushik has struggled with his share of failures, struggles and setbacks. Kaushik gets real, raw and bares his struggles. Let’s listen in.

Kaushik Mukherjee is the Cofounder & COO of SUGAR Cosmetics - one of the fastest-growing beauty startups that is a cult favorite amongst millennials and backed by marquee venture funds. An IIM Ahmedabad/BITS Pilani alumnus, his career that included working in the world's best investment banking (Goldman Sachs) and consulting (McKinsey & Co.) firms before he gave it all up to start something of his own. Apart from work, he is an amateur endurance athlete and is one of the few Indians to complete the IRONMAN triathlon - a 4km swim + 180 km cycle + 42.2 km run event that is largely regarded as the toughest single-day endurance sporting event in the world.


Episode Conclusion: And that’s how the cookie crumbles! Kaushik recognized that the world wants to measure you with a certain yardstick, but that needn’t be the only yardstick you have to use to measure yourself. Have an internal yardstick for yourself and that will help you balance out insecurities. He also shared about how you can never be at the right place at the right time by design. Keep ploughing through and you’ll be at a place that’ll become the right place. And lastly, he shared a gem: Learn to decouple happiness from success. Until you do that, you are a slave to outcomes. Thank you for listening to this episode. Do share your thoughts! I’m on twitter @femmenectar. Until the next conversation, cheers guys!

Feb 10, 202126:37
Episode 11 - Not your game

Episode 11 - Not your game

Episode Intro: Welcome to Episode 11 of the Seven Eighths. This episode is a conversation with Punit Soni, Co-founder and CEO of Suki.ai. After successful stints at Google and Flipkart, Punit is building an AI powered healthcare digital assistant. His startup is one of the Top AI/Healthcare startups by Forbes and CB Insights. Punit is also well known for his frequent posts on LinkedIn where he shares his struggles on the journey of building a company, he expresses his passion for improving healthcare and engages us in his aha moments. I sat down with Punit to hear his story of the transition from being in the limelight at Google/Flipkart to being a lonely founder at Suki.ai, his struggles and fears. Just listen in.


More on Suki: https://www.suki.ai/

Jan 06, 202128:16
Episode 10 - Micro Failures

Episode 10 - Micro Failures

Welcome to Episode 10 of the Seven Eighths. For this episode I invited Rohit Jayakaran, a Dubai based Digital Strategy and Marketing leader. Rohit and I were high school mates that followed very different journeys. Over the last 15 years, Rohit has gone from being a prime time radio jockey to leading the digital business for the Middle East's largest multi-platform radio network. Not to forget he has also delivered TEDx talks and several keynotes. Most recently, Rohit launched "Stories at Work." a training framework to help teammates tell better stories that evoke empathy. As I watched Rohit’s journey, it was clear to me that trying your hand at a variety of opportunities came at a cost. So, we sat down and talked. I would love for you to listen in.

To learn more about Rohit, visit : rohitjayakaran.com

Nov 12, 202032:39
Episode 9 - Double Down

Episode 9 - Double Down

Welcome to Episode 9 of the Seven Eighths with the founder and CEO of Mylapore Cloud Kitchen - Jay Jayaraman. This was a different kind of conversation. We talked at length about Jay’s restaurant: Mylapore and his cloud kitchen initiative: Mylapore Express. Many of us might know Jay through his social media persona: his pictures of sumptuous breakfast at the restaurant, shots of his mom’s handwritten recipes in tamil, screenshots of customer appreciation messages,  mesmerizing videos of the peeling of 50 lbs of potatoes or steaming hot biriyani..His enthusiasm for food and relentless drive to be the best in his business is evident and infectious. But in conversation, you’ll hear the story behind the scenes. He shares his journey, the setbacks and how he carries on. Let’s listen in.

You can find and order Jay's delicious food here: mylaporeexpress.com

You can watch Jay in action on his facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/tambrahmcooking

Sep 25, 202025:25
Episode 8 - Reframing

Episode 8 - Reframing

Welcome to Episode 8 of the Seven Eighths with our first male guest: Ibrahim Bashir! Ibrahim is a product leader who has been building and shipping software for 20 years. In this episode, we discussed lost job opportunities and the dual power of rejection. We dove into imposter syndrome, male privilege, dodging bullets, and...pop culture! Ibrahim acknowledges that his stellar resume doesn’t show the failures he has seen. His take on his journey is sincere, eye opening and simply different. This conversation isn’t what I expected it to be. You’ll see what I mean. Just listen in.

Aug 26, 202026:45
Episode 7 - Processing Emotions
Aug 12, 202026:33
Episode 6 - Self Love
Jul 30, 202026:12
Episode 5 - Relationships

Episode 5 - Relationships

Jennifer M Choi (https://jennmchoi.com/) and I sit down for a candid conversation about failures. Jenn shared her stories of failures in the realm of relationships. She talks about the role of therapy and coach and pulling it all together.

About Jenn: Jenn M Choi is passionate about creating impact at scale. As an Empowerment Coach, she empowers real humans to make BIG ASS life changes and design the life + work they dream of. As the Founder of Bon Intent, a marketing communications consultancy, she helps tech companies sound more human. And as a Writer, Speaker, and Content Creator she tells inspirational personal stories and shares practical life + work lessons to empower people. You can find her online at jennmchoi.com and connect on social media @jennmchoi. 

Jul 21, 202023:18
Episode 4 - Journey

Episode 4 - Journey

A conversation with Preetha Appan about her personal battles and professional struggles

Jun 24, 202026:45
Episode 3 - Allowing failure

Episode 3 - Allowing failure

Talking to Namrata and learning about accepting failure

Jun 13, 202025:14
Episode 2 - Acceptance

Episode 2 - Acceptance

A conversation with Appu about her emotional and physical challenges, her acceptance and her aha moments.

Jun 04, 202023:56
Episode 1 - Confidence

Episode 1 - Confidence

Exploring lack of confidence and self doubt

May 31, 202030:39
Pilot Episode - Vulnerable and Support

Pilot Episode - Vulnerable and Support

Exploring being vulnerable and getting support

May 26, 202034:03
Sneak Peek

Sneak Peek

Teaser to podcast

May 22, 202000:55