In this episode, featured not-expert is Maya Mishra.

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Podcast YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj5yt4hoYmvmpIiw_ENLFQA

(00:00) Background + Intro

(01:28) Expectations V Realities of moving to the US(03:54) Helpful steps you can take before even landing in the US

(06:17) Academics in India V the US

(08:53) Teaching/Graduate/Research Assistantships + How to get them

(10:39) Maya’s core internship hunting principles

(15:52) How much time should you be spending on applications?

(18:04) The optimal mindset for the internship hunting process

(20:55) Maya’s career background prior to her MS

(23:42) Secret sauce for transitioning into Product Management roles

(28:52) Tailoring resumes - Yay or Nay?

(30:19) Tesla Interview Process and Experience

(35:10) Negotiating offers and other considerations

(39:43) Maximizing internship experiences

In this episode my guest is Parth Vijeyvargiya. Parth is one of the biggest study abroad creators coming out of India, and arguably the first of his kind. Having followed his content on YouTube for many years now, it was just an unbelievable experience to learn all the tricks of the trade from the man himself.

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro and background

(01:12) The Mind of a Creator

(05:10) The first 1000 subscribers on YouTube

(08:10) On Parth’s first video that BLEW UP

(11:56) On providing value and giving away good information

(13:33) On almost quitting YouTube forever

(15:30) Creators should have a duty towards their audience

(20:16) On hitting 1000 subs vs 100,000 subs

(22:42) In-person events

(25:08) Fame as a motivator instead of altruism

(27:60) Challenges of monetizing channel due to F1 visa

(30:59) How to grow on YouTube

(33:37) Creating both short-form and long-form content

(38:01) On funneling Instagram traffic to YouTube effectively

(40:45) Leveraging various social media platforms effectively

(43:56) Staying motivated over 6 years of content creation

(46:58) On hiring a team - when and how?

(52:21) Parth's advice for all creators

(54:38) Outro + Gratitude

In this episode, my guest is Dr. Aditi Paul. 

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Resources:

Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro + background

(01:37) Switching from STEM background to non-STEM for PhD

(07:09) On Breaking Bad 

(08:24) On being a professor and teaching while conducting research 

(11:53) On (almost) getting fired from PhD program 

(13:19) On writing a VIRAL research paper 

(19:03) The psychology of immigration and imposter syndrome 

(25:28) Cultural differences & why self-awareness is key 

(32:31) The US runs on PR - how everything is “marketing” 

(37:23) The EB1 Visa journey 

(43:11) Taking control of your immigration journey 

(49:05) How to build your profile for the EB1 visa- LIVE DEMO 

(54:36) On Brian Cranston’s autobiography - A Life in Parts 

(57:11) Outro + Gratitude

In this episode, featured not-expert is Tushar Gupta. Tushar is a Senior Product Designer at Microsoft, having over 3 years of experience working on Microsoft AI capabilities for Edge browser.

We discuss:

- Tushar’s reasons for studying MS in Human-Computer Interaction at Georgia Tech

- HCI Curriculum at GA Tech and what one can expect to learn there

- Experiences with Product Design at Google and Microsoft 

- Comparison of first months as a Product Designer vs 3 years later

- Difference between UI/UX and Product Design

- How Big Tech ships product improvements

- Culture of innovation and entrepreneurship at Microsoft 

- Design tips that anybody can use for their visuals

- Future of web browsers with AI implementation

This discussion is for anyone who is interested in learning about product design; or anyone who envisions a career in a field related to the design arts - tech or not. 

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Resources:

Tushar - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tushargupta10/

Ready Set Do Podcast Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/ready.set.do/

Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro and Background

(02:00) Career outline thus far

(07:14) MS in Human-Computer Interaction at Georgia Tech

(12:26) Course curriculum specifics of MS in HCI at GA Tech

(14:52) Day in the Life @ Microsoft Product Designer - Then vs Now (3 years)

(20:46) Internet Explorer memes

(23:02) Overlap between Design and Technology

(26:04) Collaboration between Designers, PMs and Devs at Big Tech

(29:52) Difference between UI/UX and Product Design

(34:09) Design tips for Laypeople : Intention & Minimalism

(39:56) Design iterations in Big Tech - a culture of innovation

(48:01) AI and the future of web browsing

(52:00) Outro + Gratitude

In this episode my guest is Prateek Behera. Prateek is a co-founder at gradCapital, which provides funding for college students in india whose projects can change the world. If you’re a student and have an idea you’re building towards, gradCapital will invest $40k for 4% in you.

We discuss:

-How Prateek and his co-founder started gradCapital.

-The journey so far across multiple rounds of raising investment funds.

-How they shortlist projects to invest in.

-Their contribution to Zepto’s meteoric rise.

-Managing 4-week in-person cohorts with state-of-the-art resources and mentors.

-The creation of the perfect ecosystem to enable success for student founders.

-Incredible discoveries about the value-system of students.

-Qualities Prateek looks for before shortlisting an idea.

-Inspiring narratives of wild projects by gradCapital founders, including a bl00d-bank delivery drone.

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Resources:

gradcapital.in

https://www.linkedin.com/in/prateekbehera96/

Timestamps:

(00:00) Background and Introduction

(02:07) Why gradCapital - the beginning of gC

(03:52) Why fund student founders?

(06:10) Helping student founders apply to YCombinator

(08:03) First stint with raising capital - brush with ZEPTO!

(10:47) What gC looks for in students - belief systems?

(14:28) The importance of moving fast and DOING

(16:13) Raising the first million dollars

(20:22) How to network to raise funds

(24:13) Mentoring student founders

(28:04) Notable companies/projects gradCapital has funded - drone bl00d bank

(32:16) Dance India Dance to SAAS Founders

(34:42) Advice for student founders

(36:14) Focusing on strengths for success

(39:19) Outro + Gratitude

In this episode, my guest is Melissa Weinmann. Melissa is a huge travel enthusiast, with her current tally of countries and territories visited being 44 at the time of recording. Having explored most of this by herself, over the years Melissa has learned a multitude of travel hacks and tools that anyone can leverage while planning out their next trip. 

We discuss: 

-Melissa’s experiences in Europe, Melanesia, and Southeast Asia during her time with the Peace Corps. 

-The instagramization of travel and its implications for the future of travel. 

-Experiences in Vanuatu and Cambodia with the Peace Corps 

-Affordable travel experiences. 

-The essence of what makes traveling a fulfilling hobby for many.

-Identifying tourist traps and optimizing experiences while traveling. 

-Lesser-known websites with hidden travel gems in every region of the world. 

-Credit cards and hostels 

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Resources: 

https://www.atlasobscura.com/ 

https://www.spottedbylocals.com/ 

https://freetoursbyfoot.com/ 

Timestamps: 

(00:00:00) Intro + Background 

(00:02:00) Melissa’s experience with traveling 44+ countries! 

(00:05:22) Usual vs affordable traveling and “peak seasons” 

(00:08:52) Identifying where to go - maybe where people don’t like traveling to? 

(00:12:30) The instagram-ization of travel 

(00:16:50) Transportation hacks 

(00:20:30) Peace-corps experiences in Vanuatu 

(00:23:50) Culture training in the Peace Corps 

(00:27:25) Experiences in South-East Asia - Cambodia 

(00:31:10) Tools for optimizing Food and experiences while traveling - Europe and Asia

(00:37:35) Dodgy experiences with food in China and Syria 

(00:40:15) Identifying tourist traps 

(00:44:07) Identifying itinerary items that are “worth it” 

(00:48:52) Atlas Obscura, SpottedByLocals and WalkingToursByFoot 

(00:53:51) Credit Cards, Currency Conversion 

(00:57:40) Hostels 

(01:02:00) Outro + Gratitude

In this episode, featured not-expert is Sohan Sethi. Sohan is a data visualization aficionado and loves effective story-telling using data. He’s also been Top Data Visualization Voice on LinkedIn on numerous occasions, spreading the knowledge and empowering others to excel at business analytics and data visualization.

We discuss:

This discussion is for anyone who is a current or aspiring business analyst, or anyone who wants to learn story-telling using data. The theme of the show being “Learn from not-experts”, this episode is only supposed to get you thinking about what exactly story-telling using data means and how to be a good business analyst.

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Resources:

Sohan - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sohansethi/

Datacamp - datacamp.com

Timestamps: 

(00:00) Intro + Background 

(03:13) Tips for job applicants on landing Business Analyst roles 

(05:51) Benefits of tracking applications? 

(07:53) Why Business Analytics in the US? 

(09:48) Work experience in the US thus far 

(12:16) Key soft skills for Business Analysts working on Data Visualizations 

(18:34) What makes a good dashboard? 

(24:28) Is pie chart criticism legit? 

(26:04) Some underrated and underutilized data visuals? 

(27:56) How to become Top Voice on LinkedIn? 

(32:35) Should job-seekers start learning Copilot/Generative AI for Data Viz? 

(35:53) Application of PowerBI Copilot and the future 

(39:58) Sohan asks a Question to Naman! 

(46:16) Outro + Gratitude

In this episode, my guest is Vrishin Subramaniam. Vrishin is a CFP (Certified Financial Planner) who is on a mission to help NRIs achieve financial freedom - by helping them be millionaires. Vrishin helps provide a blueprint that can be followed by anyone in the US in the capacity of a student or a working professional. 

We discuss:

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Resources:

Vrishin’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vrishin/

Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro and Background

(03:01) Journey from Electrical Engineer to CFP

(07:37) Why focus on Financial Planning for NRIs 

(10:16) Establishing a CFP practice 

(13:37) Best practices to build wealth as students

(17:29) Best practices to build wealth as a full-time employee (OPT)

(21:22) Investment and student loans - recommendations and playbook

(26:09) Remittances to home country and why

(29:06) What to do with investments while leaving US forever

(35:08) Best practices to build wealth on an H1B

(38:54) Home ownership - yay or nay?

(42:45) Anecdotal client case-studies from Vrishin’s experience 

(46:50) Outro + gratitude

In this episode, featured not-experts are Akshansh Pandey and Harshita Gupta. Akshansh and Harshita are computer science engineering students at Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology. Perhaps more notably, they’re also actors and film-makers - having taught themselves how to make short films for their YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@4log_Official) and the Film Society at KIIT.

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In this episode, featured not-expert is Kaushik Sunder. Kaushik is a Global PhD Fellow at NYU Abu Dhabi. Prior to that, he completed his Masters degree in Mechanical Engineering from Louisiana State University.

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(00:00) Intro + Background

(02:29) What prompted a move to the UAE?

(04:39) Experience at NYU Abu Dhabi

(08:09) What is it like to live in UAE - Kaushik’s favorite things

(10:56) Contrasts in education across India, US & UAE

(13:19) Contribution of the strong NYU brand towards Kaushik’s experience

(15:49) Some struggles/challenges around a move to the UAE

(18:53) Stipend and savings during PhD life

(21:29) Job prospects in the UAE after graduation - Work visas

(24:59) Companies/industries offering employment - fastest growing region in the world

(27:29) Indicators that UAE is the fastest growing country to be

(30:59) Culture, Language & Safety - Emirati hospitality

(34:53) Healthcare

(37:43) Extravagant displays of wealth

(40:25) Nostalgia catch-up, LinkedIn and adult friendships