Building a peer-to-peer startup from scratch is hard—but doing it sustainably, profitably, and on your own terms? That's a different level entirely. Fresh off of winning Retail Entrepreneur of the Year, Eshita Kabra-Davies, founder of By Rotation, joins us today along with her investor, Triin Linamagi of Sie Ventures, to discuss this milestone, balancing authenticity and community with the risk of seeming cringe, and how to turn a cold connection into a funding relationship.

Brown Girls, Money Moves is hosted by Bhargavi Varma. Henah Velez is Executive Producer, with video support from Amanda Wan. Theme music from Indo Warehouse.

Watch on Youtube: https://youtu.be/IUmkBJ2MLHk

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💌 Want more about angel investing, South Asian female founder stories, and belonging to a community that builds and funds Brown girl businesses? Find us on all social platforms @browngirlangels.

Risk, venture capital, and the fintech landscape look fundamentally different in Silicon Valley than in South Africa, and Africa's tech ecosystem is rapidly growing. So let's learn from the pros: Thalia Pillay, alongside co-founder Carla Wilby, launched Orca to fight against emerging market fraud, and their pre-seed round for an all-women team was the largest across the continent. One of their backers was Norsken22, a tech growth fund backed by more than 30 unicorn partners.

Today, Bhargavi sits down with Thalia Pillay of Orca and Nivesh Pather of Norsken22 to discuss the importance of being capital-efficient (and how valuable that is for investors, too), the advice to just "stay in it" as a woman entrepreneur, and a primer on the VC and tech landscapes in the African ecosystem.

Brown Girls, Money Moves is hosted by Bhargavi Varma. Henah Velez is Executive Producer, with video support from Amanda Wan. Theme music from Indo Warehouse.

Watch on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiLUW4n3X6Y.

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💌 Want more about angel investing, South Asian female founder stories, and belonging to a community that builds and funds Brown girl businesses? Find us on all social platforms @browngirlangels.

Would you interview 1,000 prospective customers about their pain points and ideas, before launching your business?

That's exactly what Kobalt Labs co-founders, Ashi Agrawal and Kalyani Ramagurdam, did. Less than two years later, they closed a $11m round, led by the former Managing Partner at YC Continuity and founder of First Harmonic, Ali Rowghani.

Today, host Bhargavi Varma is joined by both Ashi Agrawal and Ali Rowghani to discuss the power of pivoting, knowing your target market's pain points, investing in your partner over an idea—and how to grow a startup beyond the sapling stage to avoid "where death lurks."

Brown Girls, Money Moves is hosted by Bhargavi Varma. Henah Velez is Executive Producer, with video support from Amanda Wan. Theme music from Indo Warehouse.

Watch on Youtube: https://youtu.be/uJAtv3DyAc8

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💌 Want more about angel investing, South Asian female founder stories, and belonging to a community that builds and funds Brown girl businesses? Find us on all social platforms @browngirlangels.