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All the way from Mumbai 🇮🇳✈️ our latest LIVE ✨podcast features Karishma Mehta: Founder & CEO of Humans of Bombay, India’s largest storytelling platform. This memorable live conversation from June 2024 is finally here.  WATCH IT ON YOUTUBE.

Born and raised in Mumbai, Karishma launched Humans of Bombay at just 21. Over the past decade, she has grown it into India’s largest storytelling platform — spanning a photo blog, YouTube series, podcasts, books, and an agency — sharing thousands of stories that have inspired, mobilized, and connected millions.

We talk about:

💬 The origin story of #HumansofBombay and its 10-year journey
💬 Navigating the highs and lows of building a media company in India
💬 Lessons on #manifestation, balance, and detachment as a founder
💬 The challenges of living and creating in public
💬 How storytelling — from Marine Drive to global boardrooms — is evolving

🎧 Tune in for a candid conversation with one of India’s leading storytellers.

Thanks to our partners in this event: DesiGalli, Rupee Beer, The Third Place Co, and Photographer Dhaval Shah.

South Asian Trailblazers is an award-winning media platform, community, and agency dedicated to elevating leading South Asians. Join our community at SouthAsianTrailblazers.com. Subscribe to our newsletter to get new episodes and updates on our latest events in your inbox. Follow us @southasiantrailblazers on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, Youtube, and all major podcast platforms, including Apple and Spotify.

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Globally-acclaimed Singer, Songwriter, and Author ‪Ali Sethi sits down with South Asian Trailblazers Host Simi Shah for a deeply personal podcast conversation on the heels of his debut solo album #LoveLanguage. WATCH IT ON YOUTUBE.

Born in Lahore, educated at Harvard University and currently based in New York, he studied under acclaimed mentors across musical genres before rising to international acclaim with his viral hit “Pasoori,” which has surpassed a billion streams. From ghazals to reggaeton, Carnegie Hall to Coachella, he blends the classical with the contemporary in ways that transcend borders.

A vocalist, composer, and published author, Ali is a TIME100 Next honoree whose work has appeared in The New York Times, The New Yorker, and Pitchfork. His debut novel The Wish Maker received international acclaim, and with Love Language, he offers his most personal work yet.

In this deeply personal conversation, we unpack:
 💬 Growing up in a household of dissenters in Pakistan
 💬 The story behind Pasoori — and how the most hummed song of 2022 became a cultural flashpoint
💬 The symbolism of the color red in his new album
💬 How a Harvard class on Sufi poetry and a collaboration with Mira Nair transformed his creative path
💬 What it means to be a queer South Asian artist making art in a climate of fear

Tune in for a rare and resonant conversation with one of the most compelling artists of our time.

South Asian Trailblazers is an award-winning media platform, community, and agency dedicated to elevating leading South Asians. Join our community at SouthAsianTrailblazers.com. Subscribe to our newsletter to get new episodes and updates on our latest events in your inbox. Follow us @southasiantrailblazers on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, Youtube, and all major podcast platforms, including Apple and Spotify.

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On the night his new Netflix special Full Volume hits screens, global comedy icon Vir Das sits down with South Asian Trailblazers Host Simi Shah for an unforgettable podcast live-recorded at the ‪Asia Society of New York.  WATCH IT ON YOUTUBE.

🎧 This is Vir Das off-script — raw, real, and as per always, hilarious.

Born in Dehradun, raised in Lagos, and educated everywhere from Delhi to Knox College in Illinois, Vir Das is definitionally global.

He has traversed Hindi cinema and inspired India’s comedy scene – from crowd favorites like Delhi Belly to performing stand-up at Carnegie Hall. In his career, he has worn the hats of actor, director, writer, comic, and soon-to-be author. 

To date, he’s released five global specials – winning an Emmy for his special: Landing in 2023. In 2024, he hosted the International Emmy’s. Vir was the first Indian comedian from India to launch a special on Netflix. The night of this conversation, he launched his 5th special – VIR DAS: FOOL VOLUME with the streamer.

This year, he’s back with his boldest work yet — not just this special – but a memoir entitled The Outsider: A Memoir for Misfits and a host of other inspired projects. 

Hosted in partnership with Neerja PR and Asia Society.

South Asian Trailblazers is an award-winning media platform, community, and agency dedicated to elevating leading South Asians. Join our community at SouthAsianTrailblazers.com. Subscribe to our newsletter to get new episodes and updates on our latest events in your inbox. Follow us @southasiantrailblazers on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, Youtube, and all major podcast platforms, including Apple and Spotify.

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On today’s episode, I’m joined by Sandeep Acharya — Founder and CEO of Octave, a company that’s quietly but powerfully transforming how we experience mental health care in America. WATCH IT ON YOUTUBE.

Under his leadership, Octave has partnered with major insurers to make high-quality, affordable therapy accessible across 23 states. It’s been named a LinkedIn Top Startup and one of the best places to work in the country.

Before founding Octave, Sandeep wore many hats: investor at Bain Capital and Insight, consultant at Bain & Company, and executive at One Medical, where he helped scale the company nationwide and saw firsthand how deeply unmet our mental health needs are.

In this conversation, we go far beyond the bullet points — talking about his battle with cancer, the role of spirituality and music in his life, and what it really takes to build a company that’s both mission-driven and sustainable. He shares unfiltered insights on leadership and navigating uncertainty.

This one’s for the builders, those fighting their own battles, and the believers.

South Asian Trailblazers is an award-winning media platform, community, and agency dedicated to elevating leading South Asians. Join our community at SouthAsianTrailblazers.com. Subscribe to our newsletter to get new episodes and updates on our latest events in your inbox. Follow us @southasiantrailblazers on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, Youtube, and all major podcast platforms, including Apple and Spotify.

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On the nostalgic grounds of their shared alma mater, Wharton, Simi speaks with Dilawar Syed, the Deputy Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). A role he was nominated into by President Biden, Administrator Syed was the highest-ranking Muslim official in the U.S. Government at the time of this recording. WATCH IT ON YOUTUBE.

Syed came to the SBA from the State Department where he served as Special Representative for Commercial & Business Affairs. As the State Department’s top commercial diplomat, Deputy Administrator Syed advocated for U.S. companies to compete and win abroad and helped ensure U.S. competitiveness in markets across the globe. 

Before joining the Biden Administration, Syed held the roles of CEO at Lumiata, an AI healthcare company, and President at software company, Freshworks.  Earlier in his career, Syed oversaw business operations for Yahoo!'s platforms and infrastructure and was a product manager at Siebel Systems and SAP. 

His transition to public service is marked by civic efforts at the federal, state, and local levels. He was the founding Chair of the California Entrepreneurship Task Force with the Governor's Office, served on President Obama's White House Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs), and chaired the White House Initiative on AAPIs’ Economic Growth Committee. In that role, Syed led the administration’s engagement with small businesses across the U.S. after the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. In 2020, Syed was tapped by San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo to help lead Silicon Valley’s pandemic recovery as a member of the Silicon Valley Recovery Roundtable. Syed holds an M.B.A. from Wharton and earned a B.A. in Economics and Computer Science from The University of Texas at Austin.

South Asian Trailblazers is an award-winning media platform, community, and agency dedicated to elevating leading South Asians. Join our community at SouthAsianTrailblazers.com. Subscribe to our newsletter to get new episodes and updates on our latest events in your inbox. Follow us @southasiantrailblazers on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, Youtube, and all major podcast platforms, including Apple and Spotify.

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South Asian Trailblazers at the Oscars 🏆 WATCH this episode HERE.

Founder & Host, Simi Shah, takes us inside a celebration of South Asian excellence at the 2025 Academy Awards. She speaks with trailblazers across generations and genres about their journeys to the hallowed halls of Hollywood. Join us for interviews with and speeches from this Oscars Pre-Party!

Interviews

1. Charithra Chandran, Actor | Bridgerton, One Piece
2. Saagar Shaikh, Actor | Deli Boys, Ms. Marvel
3. Manish Dayal, Actor | The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, The Resident, 90210
4. Swayam Bhatia, Actor | Succession, The Mighty Ducks
5. Iqbal Theba, Actor | Deli Boys, Glee
6. Sukki Menon, Writer, Director, Producer | I See Her, From Here

Speeches

1. Mindy Kaling, Actor, Writer, Producer | Running Point, The Office, Never Have I Ever, The Mindy Project
2. Adam J. Graves and Suchitra Mattai, Director, Writer, Producer | Oscar-nominated Anuja
3. Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Journalist & Filmmaker | Star Wars: New Jedi Order
4. Smriti Mundhra, Director & Producer | Oscar-nominated I Am Ready, Warden, Indian Matchmaking
5. David Taghioff, Associate Producer | Oscar-nominated Emilia Pérez
6. Pawo Choyning Dorji, Filmmaker & Photographer | Oscar-nominated Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom

South Asian Trailblazers is an award-winning media platform, community, and agency dedicated to elevating leading South Asians. Join our community at SouthAsianTrailblazers.com. Subscribe to our newsletter to get new episodes and updates on our latest events in your inbox. Follow us @southasiantrailblazers on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, Youtube, and all major podcast platforms, including Apple and Spotify.

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In this special edition of South Asian Trailblazers,  Simi Shah hosts a LIVE podcast with Gurbir S. Grewal — the Director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement and former Attorney General of New Jersey — at the law offices of Morrison Foerster in New York City. WATCH this episode on YouTube.

This event was proudly hosted in partnership with global law firm, Morrison Foerster and The South Asian Bar Association of New York (SABANY). SABANY is an organization devoted to the needs, concerns, and interests of lawyers of South Asian heritage in the New York Metropolitan Area.

South Asian Trailblazers is a media company, community, and talent agency dedicated to elevating leading South Asians. To learn about future events and upcoming episodes, subscribe to our newsletter at SouthAsianTrailblazers.com and follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube. Our episodes are available on Apple, Spotify, and all major podcast platforms.

About Gurbir S. Grewal:  Gurbir S. Grewal is the Director of the Division of Enforcement at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission – the SEC. Before joining the Commission in 2021, he served as the Attorney General for the State of New Jersey – becoming the first-ever Sikh and second-ever South Asian American to serve as state attorney general in American history. Prior to this role, Gurbir held the role of Bergen County Prosecutor, the chief law enforcement officer for New Jersey’s most populous county.  In this capacity, he concentrated on fighting the opioid epidemic and white-collar crime. 

Earlier in his career, Gurbir served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey, where he was the Chief of the Economic Crimes Unit. He also spent time as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, where he was assigned to the Business and Securities Fraud Un

South Asian Trailblazers is an award-winning media platform, community, and agency dedicated to elevating leading South Asians. Join our community at SouthAsianTrailblazers.com. Subscribe to our newsletter to get new episodes and updates on our latest events in your inbox. Follow us @southasiantrailblazers on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, Youtube, and all major podcast platforms, including Apple and Spotify.

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In this special, LIVE-recorded edition of South Asian Trailblazers, Host Simi Shah kicks off Season 8 with Jay Sean — multi-platinum artist, entrepreneur, and record label executive. WATCH this and EVERY FUTURE episode on YouTube.

South Asian Trailblazers is an award-winning media platform, community, and agency dedicated to elevating leading South Asians. Join our community at SouthAsianTrailblazers.com.

This special live episode was proudly hosted in partnership with Boston Consulting Group (BCG). A special thanks to Karma Wellness Kitchen, Kulture Khazana, Stitched Sweets, Aayka Fashion, Bollygood, Rupee Beer, Woops!, Malai, DesiGalli, Tinto Amorio, Banyan & Birch, Pics by Dhaval, MishMedia+, Ravi Ray Audio.

British-born international superstar and cultural icon Jay Sean took the US pop culture market by storm in the mid-2000s, launching a career that has spanned nearly 20 years. In addition to being the first Indian artist and the first South Asian artist in history to achieve a No. 1 on Billboard’s charts. In 2024, he founded 3AM Entertainment, a record label under Virgin Music Group, alongside Range M

South Asian Trailblazers is an award-winning media platform, community, and agency dedicated to elevating leading South Asians. Join our community at SouthAsianTrailblazers.com. Subscribe to our newsletter to get new episodes and updates on our latest events in your inbox. Follow us @southasiantrailblazers on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, Youtube, and all major podcast platforms, including Apple and Spotify.

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Happy AAPI Heritage Month from South Asian Trailblazers! 👋🏼 In this short soundbite, I’m sharing exciting updates about events we’re hosting around the world(!), Season 8, and our Agency. The highlights:

1. Season 8 goes live this Fall! But we couldn’t wait to share a sneak peek with you…which is why you can enjoy our latest LIVE recording with the esteemed Gurbir S. Grewal, the Director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement and former Attorney General of New Jersey. WATCH this episode on YouTube.
2. We launched the Trailblazers Agency and Speaker’s Bureau to propel South Asian leaders in our network onto mainstages around the world. Over the last few months, we’ve brought their stories and expertise to tech companies like Flatiron Health and institutions like Harvard Business School. If you want to source and host expert, diverse South Asian talent for your conference, retreat, AAPI Employee Resource Group (ERG), brand campaign, or more, email us!
3. Upcoming Events: This Summer, we’re going global. RSVP for your city below! 

• Washington D.C. | May 15, 2024 | Register for the Summit  or RSVP Here for JUST the Happy Hour
• London | June 2024 | RSVP
• San Francisco | July 2024 | RSVP
• New York | July 2024 | RSVP below
  • For all event announcements, follow us on Instagram & LinkedIn while the pod is on hiatus. We'll also announce in our newsletter.
  • RSVP for South Asian professionals in media
  • RSVP for South Asian professionals in family businesses/ family offices

Until the Fall!

South Asian Trailblazers is an award-winning media platform, community, and agency dedicated to elevating leading South Asians. Join our community at SouthAsianTrailblazers.com. Subscribe to our newsletter to get new episodes and updates on our latest events in your inbox. Follow us @southasiantrailblazers on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, Youtube, and all major podcast platforms, including Apple and Spotify.

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For our Season 7 Finale, we catch up with Amol Shah from OpenAI, one of the world's leading artificial intelligence companies and the creator of ChatGPT. 

Amol's career spans roles at tech giants like Facebook and TikTok, and more recently, he served as the Chief Revenue Officer for blockchain startup QuickNode. Before his foray into the tech c-suite, Amol served as the Head of the US Disruptor team and Founding Sales Leader at TikTok. Between 2015 and 2019, he led platform sales at Facebook. 

Amol began his career in the investment banking and principal investment divisions at Goldman Sachs and got his start in tech in 2013 at RocketFuel, an ad tech company. He entered the sector after graduating with his MBA from Harvard Business School. He holds a B.S. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. In October of 2023, preceding a period of immense controversy at the company, Amol joined OpenAI's Go-to-Market team -- driving partnerships with the company's largest customers to advance OpenAI's mission of bringing the benefits of artificial intelligence to all of humanity. Join us for a conversation about Amol's role sitting at the controversial yet cutting edge of AI, his pivot from finance to tech sales, and the impacts of his identity as a queer South Asian man in industry and beyond. 

South Asian Trailblazers is an award-winning media platform, community, and agency dedicated to elevating leading South Asians. Join our community at SouthAsianTrailblazers.com. Subscribe to our newsletter to get new episodes and updates on our latest events in your inbox. Follow us @southasiantrailblazers on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, Youtube, and all major podcast platforms, including Apple and Spotify.