What if the key to building your midlife business isn't having all the answers but knowing how to ask the right questions? In this episode, we meet Gita Vellanki, founder of Neeshi, who left a successful career in high tech to create functional foods for women navigating menstruation, perimenopause, and menopause. After watching her daughter struggle with debilitating periods and experiencing her own perimenopausal chaos, Gita drew on her grandmother's wisdom about food as medicine and created a line of chocolate spreads designed to help women feel better without sacrificing pleasure.

But Gita's journey from corporate executive to midlife founder wasn't about having the perfect credentials. With zero background in CPG or marketing, she had to learn how to leverage the resources she did have, get specific about her gaps, and become her own loudest advocate. This is a masterclass in starting over at 40, asking for help without apologizing, and building courage capital one brave choice at a time.

Whether you're considering a perimenopause career change, wondering about starting a business during menopause, or simply trying to figure out how to take the leap when you don't feel ready, Gita's story offers practical wisdom for women over 40 starting businesses and reclaiming their power in the midlife transition women experience.

1. How to start a business after 40 without feeling ready - Gita shares how she began Neeshi with zero CPG experience, learning to leverage what she had rather than waiting for perfect credentials
2. Perimenopause business strategies for women entrepreneurs - How to identify and fill skill gaps like marketing while building a mission-driven company
3. Starting over at 40 with limited resources - Practical advice on using your existing network, even when it feels irrelevant to your new venture
4. Women over 40 overcoming self-doubt as founders - Why following up doesn't mean being pushy, and how to stop interpreting silence as rejection
5. Midlife career change through purpose-driven work - How personal pain can become the foundation for meaningful business that helps others
6. Building confidence after 40 as a female founder - The courage practice of asking for help without apology, and trading stress for realistic timelines
7. Menopause wellness business success stories - From frozen products to hero spreads: how to pivot without judgment when your first idea doesn't work

0:00 - Introduction

2:15 - How Neeshi was born from watching her daughter suffer

6:30 - Gita's own perimenopause journey and discovering the power of functional food

10:00 - The pivot from frozen products to chocolate spreads

13:15 - Leveraging your existing resources even when they feel irrelevant

16:45 - The marketing challenge and learning new skills at 40+

20:00 - Why asking for help became her superpower

23:00 - Trading stress for timeline: letting go of artificial urgency

26:45 - Supporting Neeshi and connecting with Gita

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