As part of our endeavour to bring compelling stories from the start-up ecosystem, we invited yet another passionate womanpreneur, Neha Tripathi, for an interview with us to understand more about her interesting entrepreneurial journey so far. Neha is an Entrepreneur, Change enabler, Mentor, Keynote Speaker and Founder & Host of Neha Tripathi Talk Show. She is also actively involved in various initiatives on women empowerment. Let’s learn more!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Neha:
Talk us through your background and your journey as a women entrepreneur, please;
I come from a Finance background with a decade of experience in Corporate Finance and Investment Banking. I wanted to do something of my own right from my school days. The college led to work in corporate and my dream to start my own work was put on a hold for long. In a way, I would say the journey which I travelled in corporate gave me a rich experience and prepared me to handle a diverse portfolio.
Today as I run my talk show and Mentorship program, my corporate experience gives me a different perspective altogether. I can think like an employee and an employer at the same time.”
Everything in life has a reason and we have our own share of learning through each phase.
Why did you choose entrepreneurship over a job?
Entrepreneurship was clear way back since childhood, but when and why was not.
I got some time to decide whether to go for job or entrepreneurship when I relocated from one metro city to another metro city. This gave me an opportunity to explore myself and understand the way how this new city works.”
I massively attended events and conferences to meet new people and rebuild my tribe. Eventually, I started interviewing people about their journey and how they have to build a successful venture of their own. Initially, it began with one on one interviews which I thought to share with a larger audience. Fast forward the idea to run my Talk Show came up and I started it without a second thought.
How do you find the industry/niche that you’re in?
I come from a service background where running a business was an alien concept, it still is.
We get comfortable with our monthly paycheques and over a period of time our risk appetite comes down. We want a comfortable and easy life. But for those who aspire to do something different, they need to reach to different circle and access their network. It requires strategy and effort. We also have to learn to listen to NO, which we are not used to off since childhood.
I knew I wanted to run my business someday but How to go for it was missing. During my days of networking, I came across entrepreneurs who were self-built and were expert in their domains. I learnt a lot through my conversations with them. I realised if more people can have access to such conversations and their questions are answered by such experts, they are sorted in that area. I started experimenting with my idea and I realised this has opened up a completely fresh perspective of a learning curve for all of us together.
While I worked for the Corporate Sector, the sense of purpose was missing. I felt a lack of guidance and mentorship in my career. Family and friends are a great support system but having someone who is professional and unbiased was the need of the hour for me. I strongly believe my calibre at the workplace would have been at an exponential curve under a mentor. A lot of my calibre I explored and discovered during my entrepreneurial journey after I had discovered my mentors. From that day onwards, I decided to run my mentorship programs for Women and Mid Career Professional to bring in the concept of LEADING WITH PURPOSE.
My idea to run “Neha Tripathi Talk Show” and “Leading with Purpose – Mentorship Program” took its own time to be where it is today. Months and Years from today it will set its own milestones. The clarity to run a platform where I can serve Women came with experience. The clarity to run my talk show to interview entrepreneurs came with my own curiosity to learn and share.
What gets you out of bed in the morning i.e. what’s your source of motivation?
There is a lot that I have to cover through my talk shows, there are stories and learning process that I have to share with my audience. I have to create a community where we all can rise together. If I am the admin of the community I have to keep my vision in place and work consistently.
What Next? Who Next? How Next? – they are always there to keep me going and bring in more creativity to the work I do.
I have a strong support system to back my entrepreneurial journey. More than for myself, my everyday hustle to give them a lifestyle that I want keeps me going. Silence is the biggest motivating factor I feel. My low phases go in silence because of the support I have. The moments of celebrations are cherished in a royal way because of them. The gift of a smooth journey which I have today is because of them. I feel pleasure in my own way when I am able to give them back their share of happiness.
What challenges/obstacles did you face in your journey so far?
My biggest roadblock was I had no one in my family to guide me on how I can walk through my entrepreneurial journey since everyone was in the Service sector. I had to recreate my own network, invest a lot of my time in meeting the kind of people I wanted to meet. I am still learning and growing in the phase. No Mentor in my corporate journey was again one big learning that I had for myself. Today, because of my mentors and the CoI that I created for myself gives me a bandwidth to explore more and take bigger risks.
What comes first for you – money or emotions?
Both are important to me, both have a role to play in business. It is important to maintain an equilibrium for both.
Emotion allowed me to be an active listener and understand the pain point. It gave me a better understanding and a diverse perspective to ponder upon before I make my final call.
At the same time, you can not simply run your business based on emotions. An understanding of who your right prospect is important. We need to understand where the business is coming from and where our focus should be.
How do you handle the pressure and manage stress?
I practice meditation and solitude.
What is one strategy that you believe has helped you grow as a person/startup?
Never tell yourself You are done Learning and Exploring. The day we tell ourselves that we have reached the zenith, is the end of our progress.
In your opinion what are the keys to success?
Getting the right Circle of Influence should be the priority. We need to look around and take inspiration around the work that we are doing.
Invest in yourself in terms of Time, Money. It is important to take a pause and reflect back how far we have come by ourselves and how far we can go in the next 5 years. In order to speed up, do I need to Collaborate or find the right Mentors for myself?
What advice would you give to someone starting out as an aspiring women entrepreneur?
Network massively. Take an extra effort to reach out to people and learn. Take risks to initiate a dialogue. Lastly, NOTHING comes for free. Stop expecting the world to give you free services.
BrilliantRead is committed to bringing stories from the startup ecosystem, stories that reshape our perspective, add value to our community and be a constant source of motivation not just for our community but also for the whole ecosystem of entrepreneurs and aspiring individuals.
Note: If you have a similar story to share with our audience and would like to be featured on our online magazine, then please write to us at [email protected], we will review your story and extend an invitation to feature if it is worth publishing.
