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.

Nick Chen has built his life by trusting his instincts and betting on himself. From growing up in a family of entrepreneurs to navigating global moves, launching startups, pivoting through a pandemic, and scaling Golden Gate Fulfillment, Nick’s story is all about turning uncertainty into opportunity.

In this conversation, we talk about resilience, reinvention, and what it really means to grow on your terms. Nick shares how he spotted an opportunity where others saw risk, why embracing change is key to entrepreneurship, and the lessons he’s learned building businesses rooted in values, not hype.

If you’ve ever wondered what it takes to build a life and business outside the usual playbook, this episode will inspire you to trust the pivot and define success your way

Mayssa, founder and CEO of Behave Candy, isn’t just reinventing candy — she’s redefining what it means to lead and grow as a person while building something bold.

In this conversation, we go beyond business to talk about healing, finding your voice, and embracing the parts of yourself that feel like ‘too much.’ From navigating uncertainty to trusting your vision, this is an honest look at what it takes to build not just a company, but also yourself.

In this episode, we sit down with Jiwon Hong, founder of YesPlz, an AI-powered fashion discovery platform that’s rethinking how we shop online by understanding real human preferences, not just pushing trends.

Jiwon’s journey spans continents and industries: from her teenage years navigating culture shock in South Carolina, to working at global giants like Samsung and Sony Music, to launching not one but two startups. Her first company failed not because she didn’t work hard, but because she built in isolation. Her second? She did it differently. She talked to users. She studied their habits. She listened, obsessively. And from that came YesPlz — a smarter, more intuitive shopping experience designed for how people actually want to shop.

In this powerful episode, we sit down with Sheikha Al Otaibi — first-gen college grad, co-founder of a fast-growing remote staffing startup, and Babson College’s Entrepreneur of the Year — to talk about what it really takes to build something from the ground up.

Born in Boston, raised by her grandmother in South Jersey, and navigating life between her Saudi and American roots, Sheikha opens up about identity, resilience, and the hard decisions that shaped her. From interning at Jimmy Choo to launching a company that helps U.S. businesses hire top talent across Latin America, her story is one of grit, reinvention, and radical self-belief.

We talk hustle culture, cold emails, cultural disconnection, money mindset, and the very real mental toll of trying to “make it.” Sheikha doesn’t hold back — and her honesty will resonate with anyone who’s ever felt like the outsider in the room.

If you’ve ever felt torn between expectations and your truth, this conversation will meet you right where you are.

Kalsoom Lakhani, a woman who defies every box—and then builds new ones.

Kalsoom is the co-founder and general partner of i2i Ventures, Pakistan’s first female-founded venture capital fund. She’s spent over a decade building the startup ecosystem in Pakistan and other overlooked markets as the founder of Invest2Innovate, launching the country’s first startup accelerator and supporting more than a thousand entrepreneurs across South Asia. She’s also a published writer, global speaker, and host of “The Comparable,” a podcast spotlighting voices from emerging markets.

Born in Dubai to Bangladeshi and Pakistani parents, raised across continents, and never fully at home in any one place, Kalsoom embodies what it means to be a true third-culture kid. Her journey has taken her from international schools in Dhaka and Islamabad, to the University of Virginia, to the corridors of Washington, DC, and into the highest-stakes rooms of venture capital, where she invests in the builders and change-makers the world usually overlooks.

In this episode, we dive deep into what it takes to lead as a woman of color in a male-dominated industry, the grit required to keep going through rejection and uncertainty, and the life-changing impact of building with empathy and curiosity. Kalsoom opens up about starting her first blog while working in defense contracting, fighting imposter syndrome, redefining power, and why betting on the “unusual suspects” can change the world.

If you’re ready for a masterclass in resilience, cultural identity, and self-trust, Kalsoom’s story will hit you right where you need it.