Like a lot of women in their 30s, Radha Vyas found herself burned out at work and in need of some fun and adventure. With her extensive travel experience, she initially dismissed the idea of joining a group tour, thinking they were only reserved for wealthy retirees or young backpackers. The more she researched, she found there was an entire market of travelers who, like Radha, were somewhere in between these two demographics, and who were being underserved.

With her now-husband, Lee Thompson, Radha created Flash Pack—a luxury, adventure-travel company for solo travelers in their 30s and 40s. Though travel isn't her main mission, Radha’s ultimate goal is to connect like minded people at a time in their lives when their social circle is shrinking. Flashpack is determined to build community and to facilitate one million friendships.

Tune in to this week's episode of Dear FoundHer… for a conversation about what it was like for Radha to lose her business to COVID just as it was hitting its stride, only to relaunch it stronger.  Plus, you'll hear her talk about the undiscussed loneliness of being a CEO, and the toll it takes on one's mental and emotional health.

Quotes

• "Just before COVID hit, we were flying really high. We were a team of about 55-60 people. We were just about to complete our Series A Institutional funding round. We were being solicited by VCs from Silicon Valley and in London." (19:08-19:24 | Radha)

• “People want connection. And our collective isolation over two years just made everyone realize that friendship and connection is as important to your mental health and well being as getting a good night's sleep." (26:12-26:26 | Radha)

• "I'm a much more confident CEO now. I've learned more from failure than I learned from years of high-growth and success. Now, I feel really super comfortable in my role as CEO of a high-growth company."(29:04-29:22 | Radha)

• "Generally, I would say most businesses don't die of starvation, they die of indigestion."  (31:44-31:49 | Radha)

• "As entrepreneurs we need to talk about loneliness and the mental health toll running your own business has. And I think this needs to be an open subject."(34:31-34:39 | Radha)

• "Understand your customers deeply and the problems they have and try to solve around that." (45:08-45:13 | Radha)

Connect with Radha Vyas:

Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/flashpack/

Website | https://www.flashpack.com/

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