Be Anomalous

What does it look like to build a career — and a life — entirely on your own terms?

In this episode, Sai sits down with Radha Mistry, a foresight strategist, designer, and educator whose path has been anything but conventional. From growing up across India, England, and Taiwan, to walking away from architecture, moving to London for art school, and eventually finding her calling in futures research — Radha's story is about what happens when you refuse to let the world define you.

They dig into:

• How Radha went from architecture school to leading foresight work at a global firm
• What "futures thinking" actually is (hint: it's provocation, not prediction)
• Why she struggled to call herself a designer — and how she found the language to own it
• Growing up between cultures and never quite fitting in
• Redefining marriage, motherhood, and ambition on her own terms
• What it means to raise kids who feel free to contain multitudes
• Why mentoring women of color in design is deeply personal to her

Book mentioned: Trick Mirror by Jia TolentinoQuote: "We are called to be architects of the future, not its victims." — Buckminster Fuller

What happens when the career you thought you’d have forever suddenly disappears?

In this episode of Be Anomalous, Sai Menon sits down with Stephanie Fisher — engineer, mom of four, and content creator — to talk about the unexpected layoff that completely shifted the direction of her life.

What started as posting videos after her kids went to sleep slowly became something bigger: confidence, creativity, community, and a new identity she never imagined for herself. But this conversation goes far deeper than content creation. Steph opens up about:

• The fear of being perceived online

• Motherhood and ambition

• Internet pressure and trolls

• Transparency around money

• Building confidence later in life

• Reinventing yourself when life forces you to pivot

• Learning to stop living by other people’s expectations.

This episode is for anyone questioning whether it’s too late to start over — or wondering if the version of themselves they want to become is actually possible. If you’ve ever felt different, stuck, or ready for something more… this conversation will stay with you.

Be bold. Be real. Be anomalous.

In this episode of Be Anomalous, Sai Menon sits down with entrepreneur and Bev founder Alix Peabody for an honest conversation about what it really takes to build something from nothing.From growing up between countries and cultures, to pitching 200+ investors, building in a male-dominated industry, and eventually exiting Bev, Alix opens up about the emotional and mental realities of entrepreneurship that rarely get talked about publicly.This isn’t just a conversation about startups.It’s about ambition, resilience, intuition, loneliness, reinvention — and learning who you are outside the company you built.In this episode, we talk about:* Building Bev from scratch* Navigating fundraising as a female founder* Why rejection became fuel* Founder burnout and life after exit* The emotional weight of leadership* Hiring, intuition, and building the right team* Entrepreneurship vs identity* Mental health, sleep, and rebuilding after success* Why there’s never a “perfect time” to startAlix also shares the mindset shifts that helped her survive the chaos of startup life — and the advice she’d give anyone bold enough to build something unconventional.“If you’re a founder, creative, or someone trying to carve your own path… this episode is for you.”Be bold. Be real. Be anomalous.Subscribe to the Be Anomalous https://www.beanomalous.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/beanomalouspodcast/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/be-anomalous/New conversations with founders, creators, and unconventional thinkers.New episodes every Monday and Thursday —Follow Sai:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamsaimenon/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamsaimenon/

What does it take to walk away from companies like Google, Tesla, and SpaceX to build your own vision?

In this episode of Be Anomalous, Sai Menon sits down with Rama Afullo, founder and CEO of Satlyt, to talk about identity, ambition, startup culture, and building the future of orbital computing.

Born in Kenya and raised across multiple countries, Rama shares how growing up between cultures shaped his thinking about resilience, confidence, and innovation. From being one of Tesla’s earliest employees in Africa to working at Google and later joining Starlink at SpaceX, his journey has been anything but conventional.

But this conversation goes deeper than résumés and startups.

We talk about:

• Walking away from prestige to build your own path
• The hidden realities of venture capital
• What working inside Google and SpaceX actually taught him
• Why confidence and identity matter in entrepreneurship
• The future of AI and orbital infrastructure
• Building with conviction before the world understands your vision

This is a conversation for founders, creatives, engineers, and anyone trying to build a life outside the lines.

What does it really mean to build a life around impact?

In this episode, Sai sits down with Julie Castro Abrams, venture capitalist, founder, foster parent, and one of the most quietly radical voices in women's leadership. Julie opens up about marrying an undocumented immigrant at 22, fostering children, running a venture firm that exclusively backs women founders, and why she's never worked for a man in her life. They go deep on white privilege, co-founder mistakes, what fundraising really looks like for women, and why letting your light shine permits others to do the same-

Mitali Saxena went from being an engineer in a male-dominated industry to launching two fashion-tech companies rooted in something the industry rarely talks about: real women and real bodies. No filters. No fluff. Just smart tech, thoughtful design, and a deep “why” centered on empowerment.

In this episode, we talk about what it actually takes to leave the safe path, build from scratch, and stay soft while doing hard things. Mitali shares the unfiltered truth about fundraising as a woman in tech, what she got wrong about her first customers, and why operations (not aesthetics) almost broke her.

We discuss burnout, mindfulness, and what it means to lead with empathy, especially when the world rewards hustle over healing.

This isn’t just a founder story. It’s a reminder that your difference is your power, and you don’t need anyone’s permission to start where you are.

In this episode of Be Anomalous, we sit down with Katherine, founder of Francis Henry—a curated children’s clothing retailer bringing international baby and toddler brands to the U.S. market through both brick-and-mortar stores and online retail.

Katherine shares her unconventional journey from aspiring wedding planner to PR professional at Neiman Marcus, and ultimately to becoming a multi-store founder and entrepreneur. We dive deep into how she navigated career pivots, built a business during the pandemic, and balanced entrepreneurship with raising three young children.

In this episode of Be Anomalous, I sit down with Shahezad — founder of Cousins Burger — who spent over two decades in IT before walking away from a stable, predictable career to build something completely different.

What started as a last-minute decision to show up at a food festival turned into a fast-growing restaurant brand doing millions in revenue.

But this conversation isn’t just about business.

It’s about unlearning the beliefs you grew up with.

Choosing uncertainty over comfort.

And building something that feels true to you — even when you’re not sure it will work.

We talk about fear, risk, identity, scaling a brand, and how success evolves over time.

Shahezad shares the real side of entrepreneurship — the parts that aren’t always visible, but matter the most.

If you’ve ever questioned whether you’re ready to start…

This episode might change how you think about it.

Be bold. Be real. Be anomalous.

In this episode of Be Anomalous, I sit down with Melissa — founder of a K-beauty brand designed specifically for melanin-rich skin — to talk about identity, representation, and what it really takes to build something that challenges an entire industry.

This conversation goes deep into:

• Why K-beauty hasn’t historically worked for darker skin tones.
• The science behind melanin-rich skin and why most products miss the mark

• What it takes to build a brand in a saturated industry.
• The reality of fundraising as a female founder.
• Moving to Korea and working directly with labs and the government
• Balancing entrepreneurship and motherhood.

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New conversations with founders, creators, and unconventional thinkers.

In this episode of Be Anomalous, Priya Ravindra shares how a simple question turned into a mission-driven company. Priya didn’t start in sustainability. She was an engineer, working in tech, navigating spaces where she was often the only woman in the room. But during the pandemic, something didn’t sit right. As consumption increased, she found herself asking: Where does all this go? That question led her down a path into textile waste, ethical production, and eventually into building Punar — a sustainable brand focused on recycled materials and conscious consumption. But this conversation goes far beyond business

We talk about:

• Building a company without a traditional background

• Why curiosity is one of the most underrated founder traits • Learning an entirely new industry from scratch

• The reality of entrepreneurship — failures, delays, and self-doubt

• Why speaking about your work is essential (especially for women)

• How self-belief is built when things aren’t working.

This is a conversation about trusting yourself before you have proof.

Subscribe to the Be Anomalous https://www.beanomalous.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/beanomalouspodcast/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/be-anomalous/New conversations with founders, creators, and unconventional thinkers.—

Subscribe to the YouTube Channelhttps://www.youtube.com/@iamsaimenonNew episodes every Monday and Thursday. —

Follow Sai:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamsaimenon/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamsaimenon/Thoughtful insights on entrepreneurship, identity, and building a life outside the lines.—About Be Anomalous: Be Anomalous is a podcast for trailblazers, creators, and founders who chose the unconventional path. Hosted by Sai Menon, the show explores the real stories behind people building meaningful work outside the lines. Be bold. Be real. Be Anomalous.