This period hasn’t been easy for many of us. 

2020 had been looking good, and a pipeline of opportunities were beginning to bear fruit. 

I was also excited to launch my “EventStars” Podcast which I created to help people working in the Events Industry. 

But as it has for many, Covid changed EVERYTHING. Business came to a standstill. It has become a time for reflection and in some cases a time for “Pivot”. 

For one, the podcast became a series about “Opportunity In Isolation”. And this is something that I’ve really enjoyed. 

It has given me the chance to interview and connect with some amazing people who are creating opportunities not just for themselves but others. 

In Episode 4, I interview Darshita Gillies, the founder and CEO of Maanch. 

Maanch is an award winning global impact platform, transforming the way millions of people engage with philanthropy and impact investing worldwide. 

Darshita is also listed among the 100 Most Influential in UK - India Relationships. 

We spoke about a number of topics including from her journey from coming from a very humble background in Mumbai where the milkman once had to pay for her school fees to:

• Speaking at the UN, Vatican and Ted

Although this podcast is about “Opportunity in Crisis” and a lot of people might look at that as opportunities for oneself, Darshita got me to think a lot more about success in terms of creating opportunity for others. 

Show notes

[0:20] Darshita explains what she means by global citizen

[3:07] The reason Darshita and her husband quit their jobs

[4:28] how she went from not being able to pay school fees to qualifying as one of the top 50 chartered accountants in India

[5:10] The night before she sat for her chartered accountant exam, the lights got cut off

[8:20] Darshita walks us though her career journey from chartered accountant to investment banker to executive coach, impact investing in tech, blockchain specialist and now running a global impact platform called Maanch

[14:44] Darshita explains how her global impact platform, Maanch, works in basic terms

[18:08] Opportunity in isolation

[19:18] Varshita takes us through the checks her company has in place to ensure that their platform is transparent

[22:40] The steps Darshita took to starting up her global impact platform, Maanch

[25:22] How Darshita set up a team and the advantages of having an advisory board for any business

[26:43} The challenges Darshita experienced setting up her global impact platform

[33:12] Darshita explains the fascinating concept of blockchain technology and how she’s using it for her platform

Quotes

[21:53] “Sometimes we need to invest in failure so that we can invest in success.”

[23:00] “I think to achieve an impossible task, you have to break it down into impossible steps.”

[29:58] The purpose of life is to find your gift and the meaning of life is to give it away – Gurmej quoting Shakespeare/ Pablo. Author of the quote is debated.

[39:10] “Part of me is a risk taker. I learned to dive before I learned to swim.”’

Please let us know your thoughts in the comments and subscribe to the channel for more content!

Follow Darshita

Website https://darshitagillies.com/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/darshitagillies/

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/darshigillies/

Twitter https://twitter.com/darshitagillies?lang=en/

Rodrigo and Andrea Fernandez live in Ontario Canada

Svetlin Todd is an online entrepreneur, on a mission to empower and help as many entrepreneurs as possible be the most fully-developed leaders they can be.He recently started a new experiment on social media where he provides the best tools and knowledge for coaches and entrepreneurs to expand their business online and achieve more freedom. We speak about the current crisis & opportunity it could present to entrepreneurs and business owners, as well as some bio hacks.