What happens when you stop waiting for the perfect moment and start building with what you’ve got?

In this episode, Sai Menon sits down with Luiza Villela, a Brazilian-born food scientist and the founder of Onklassic, a company on a mission to reimagine the center of the plate—one mushroom at a time.

From making vegan ice cream in a scrappy startup kitchen to navigating immigration hurdles with $500 in her account, Luiza shares how she carved her own path in the food industry with relentless purpose, clarity, and obsession. Every decision—from her major at Berkeley to walking away from a role at Beyond Meat—was rooted in values, not vanity.

This is a raw and honest conversation about purpose, grit, and building something that truly matters. If you’ve ever questioned whether you’re ready, this is your reminder: conviction > credentials.

In this episode of Be Anomalous, futurist and designer Radha Mistry joins me for a conversation that felt both deeply personal and profoundly expansive. Radha shares her journey from growing up across continents, to training as an architect, to ultimately carving a path in foresight, helping organizations imagine the world 20 years from now.

We talk about questioning cultural expectations, redefining what marriage and motherhood look like, and the healing that comes from raising kids differently than you were raised. Radha’s story is about curiosity as a compass, about refusing to fit neatly into boxes, and about permitting yourself to change course, again and again.

If you’ve ever felt like you don’t quite fit in, or wondered how to align who you are with the life you’re building, this episode will remind you that you don’t have to follow the blueprint; you get to create it.

Elizabeth Ahern’s career reads like a marketer’s dream, leading major campaigns for Red Bull, Carvana, and Chamberlain Coffee — but the way she got there was anything but traditional. In this candid conversation, Liz opens up about her unplanned journey to Harvard, navigating culture shock, and finding her place in high-pressure environments. She shares the pivotal moments that shaped her career, from corporate boardrooms to startup hustle, and the strategies that made her a sought-after brand leader.

We talk career pivots, leading with purpose, building brands that resonate, and the marketing plays that actually work. Liz is generous with her knowledge, raw about the challenges, and honest about how career ambitions shift at different points in life. If you’ve ever wondered how to stand out, adapt, and thrive in a constantly changing landscape, this episode is your masterclass.