If you believe business is about more than the bottom line—or if you need fresh faith that purpose-driven founders can commercialize real innovation—this is your new playbook.  

In this truly inspiring episode, host Bhargavi Varma sits down with Founder Nivatha Balendra (Dispersa), and Investor Olga Cruz (BDC) to talk about resilience, science-driven innovation, and the power of value-aligned investing.Nivatha shares the remarkable journey of launching Dispersa, a cleantech startup which converts food waste into eco-friendly biosurfactants. Olga reflects on her path as an Investor (from Good & Well to BDC Thrive Lab) and the importance of intuition, seva, and supporting women founders.

Together, they unpack what it takes to commercialize sustainability solutions, navigate fundraising, and stay grounded through meditation, community, and resilience.

About The Founder:Nivatha Balendra, (Forbes 30 Under 30 Science) founded Dispersa, a biotechnology company that transforms food waste into sustainable, biodegradable surfactants for the cleaning and personal care industries. After the 2013 Lac-Mégantic oil spill, she began researching oil-degrading bacteria at the age of 17 and has since been recognised for her innovative approach to environmental sustainability.

About The Investor: Olga Cruz, is a Director at BDC Capital’s Thrive Lab, where she leads a $50 million investment fund focused on early-stage, women-led, impact-driven businesses across Canada. In addition to her investment work, Olga is a certified breathwork and meditation teacher with the Art of Living Foundation, emphasizing the importance of clarity, presence, and emotional intelligence in leadership.

🔗 Mentioned in this episode:

Dispersa

PuraSurf (by Dispersa)BDC

BDC Thrive Lab for Women Good & Well

Hyve

For Nivatha's Mom

 In this episode, Shaherose Charania(Women 2.0, Unshackled, Nike) and Ishveen Jolly (OpenSponsorship) join host Bhargavi Varma for a conversation that embodies the core values of Brown Girl Angels: The power of paying it forward. They dive into how Sevā and giving to others influences their work and creates pathways to capital, while also sharing insight into the practices that make a strategic angel and if there’s a right time to raise funds.

Together they discuss the growing presence of South Asian women in business and sports, and what it’s like to be supported by someone like Serena Williams. From a serendipitous first meeting to nurturing a business that’s creating powerful changes in sports sponsorship- they have set the bar for Investor/Founder relationships. Grab your chai, join us! 

About The Founder:

Ishveen Jolly is the founder and CEO of OpenSponsorship, the largest two-sided marketplace for sports sponsorship, connecting tens of thousands of brands and athletes globally. Notably, Brandin Cooks’ Levis x Dicks Sporting Goods campaign and Jamal Adams’ Quorn campaign.

About The Investor:

Shaherose Charania is the CEO and Co-Founder of Women 2.0, a Partner at Unshackled Ventures, and the host of the podcast First Funders. Coming from a background in Strategy, Advisory and Investments with Nike, Shaherose has since expanded her vast portfolio to include angel investing, her own VC firm and advisory of others. 

🔗 Mentioned in this episode:

OpenSponsorship 

Women 2.0

Unshackled Ventures

First Funders Podcast

Serena Ventures

Oregon Sports Angels

All Raise

Brown Girls, Bold Moves is hosted by Bhargavi Varma. Find out more about Brown Girl Angels here. The show is made by editaudio. It’s edited, mixed and produced by Megan Hayward. Our Production Manager is Kathleen Speckert. Our Associate Producer is Kam Grewal. Theme music for Brown Girls, Bold Moves is by Kunal Merchant, Prateeksha Srivastava, and 6091 from Indo Warehouse.

Get involved with Brown Girl Angels below:

• Follow us on social @browngirlangels 
• Watch us on YouTube at Brown Girl Angels 
• Sign up to the Brown Girls, Money Moves newsletter 
• Join Brown Girls, Desi Dinners in your city by visiting our website: www.browngirlangels.com

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode Host and Founder of Brown Girl Angels, Bhargavi Varma shares insights on the true value of women-led businesses and why it’s time for more of us to take our seat at the cap table. Answering your questions, she shares her own journey into the world of angel investing and what inspired her to create a space for South Asian women to talk money, risk, and entrepreneurship.

🔗 Mentioned in this episode:

Brown Girl Magazine

McKinsey 2024 Report: Women in the Workplace

Brown Girls, Bold Moves is hosted by Bhargavi Varma. Find out more about Brown Girl Angels here. The show is made by editaudio. It’s edited, mixed and produced by Megan Hayward. Our Production Manager is Kathleen Speckert. Our Associate Producer is Kam Grewal. Theme music for Brown Girls, Bold Moves is by Kunal Merchant, Prateeksha Srivastava, and 6091 from Indo Warehouse.

Get involved with Brown Girl Angels below:

• Follow us on social @browngirlangels 
• Watch us on YouTube at Brown Girl Angels 
• Sign up to the Brown Girls, Money Moves newsletter 
• Join Brown Girls, Desi Dinners in your city by visiting our website: www.browngirlangels.com

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

 In this episode, host Bhargavi Varma is joined by Charles Hudson and Amrita Saigal to talk about conviction in venture capital and how backing founders with a mission is key to making profit. Charles demonstrates the power that comes from conviction of self and ideas; something he found in Amrita as a founder. Discover how Amrita's journey from engineering to entrepreneurship led to the creation of a sustainable diaper brand, and learn about Charles' approach to investing in diverse founders and innovative consumer products.

We get into the real-world challenges of consumer goods, the rise of elegant sustainability, and how early-stage bets shape the future of startups.

About The Founder:

Amrita Saigal, Founder and CEO of Kudos, a direct-to-consumer sustainable baby diaper startup. She created Kudos to provide elegant, sustainable diapers and has grown into a household name, been invested in by Gwenyth Paltrow and Mark Cuban, and is sold in Target. Previously, Amrita created Saathi- a sustainable sanitary pad company, and led Biz Dev at Google X.

About The Investor:

Charles Hudson is the Managing Partner and Founder of Precursor Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm focused on investing in the first institutional round of investment for the most promising software and hardware companies. Notably, Superhuman, Co-Star, MarcoPolo.

🔗 Mentioned in this episode:

Kudos Diapers 

Precursor Ventures

Co - Star Astrology

Saathi Pads 

Charles’ Substack

Brown Girls, Bold Moves is hosted by Bhargavi Varma. Find out more about Brown Girl Angels here. The show is made by editaudio. It’s edited, mixed and produced by Megan Hayward. Our Production Manager is Kathleen Speckert. Our Associate Producer is Kam Grewal. Theme music for Brown Girls, Bold Moves is by Kunal Merchant, Prateeksha Srivastava, and 6091 from Indo Warehouse.

Get involved with Brown Girl Angels below:

• Follow us on social @browngirlangels 
• Watch us on YouTube at Brown Girl Angels 
• Sign up to the Brown Girls, Money Moves newsletter 
• Join Brown Girls, Desi Dinners in your city by visiting our website: www.browngirlangels.com

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Host Bhargavi Varma is joined by Suneera Madhani and Dr. Manasa Mantravadi for a powerful conversation on culture, entrepreneurship, and investment. They dive into the immigrant experience, the evolving definition of success for South Asian women and how to make that first million. 

Ahimsa Home founder Dr. Manasa Mantravadi shares insights on why she treats her business’s health like a medical patient, and Investor Suneera Madhani unpacks what every founder needs to hit before they’re ready to raise. Together, they tackle the technicalities behind success and explore the importance of understanding business metrics, preparing for fundraising, and building supportive networks.

About The Founder:

Dr. Manasa Mantravadi is a pediatrician and entrepreneur who founded Ahimsa Home, the world's first colorful stainless steel dinnerware for kids.

About The Investor:

Suneera Madhani, exited founder of Stax Payments (one of America’s top 10 fastest-growing fintech companies) and Co-Founder/CEO of Worth AI. Suneera also launched CEO School to empower women to move the needle and scale their own businesses, and was named as one of Fortune’s 40 under 40.

🔗 Mentioned in this episode:

Manasa’s Ahimsa Home 

Worth AI  

Suneera’s CEO School

Brooklyn Delhi

HoliChic

Brown Girls, Bold Moves is hosted by Bhargavi Varma. Find out more about Brown Girl Angels here. The show is made by editaudio. It’s edited, mixed and produced by Megan Hayward. Our Production Manager is Kathleen Speckert. Our Associate Producer is Kam Grewal. Theme music for Brown Girls, Bold Moves is by Kunal Merchant, Prateeksha Srivastava, and 6091 from Indo Warehouse.

Get involved with Brown Girl Angels below:

• Follow us on social @browngirlangels 
• Watch us on YouTube at Brown Girl Angels 
• Sign up to the Brown Girls, Money Moves newsletter 
• Join Brown Girls, Desi Dinners in your city by visiting our website: www.browngirlangels.com

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Welcome to Brown Girls, Bold Moves, hosted by Bhargavi Varma, Founder of Brown Girl Angels.

Each episode, Bhargavi chats with powerhouse founders and the investors who believed in them. Whether you're building your own startup, exploring angel or venture investing, or just curious about bold women making big moves, this show is for you. Hit follow so you never miss an episode.

Brown Girls Bold Moves is hosted by Bhargavi Varma. Find out more about Brown Girl Angels here. The show is edited, mixed and produced by Megan Hayward. Our Associate Producer is Kam Grewal. Theme music for Brown Girls Bold Moves is by Kunal Merchant, Prateeksha Srivastava, and 6091 from Indo Warehouse. Thank you to our production partner editaudio!

Get involved with Brown Girl Angels below:

• Follow us on social @browngirlangels 
• Watch us on YouTube at Brown Girl Angels 
• Sign up to the Brown Girls, Money Moves newsletter 
• Join Brown Girls, Desi Dinners in your city by visiting our website www.browngirlangels.com 

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.