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.

Welcome back to Season 2 of Brown Girls, Money Moves with Bhargavi Varma!

Today, we're talking to Nitya Subramanian, the founder behind blockchain leader Para, and her investor Maya Bakhai of Spice Capital, who's also backed by the likes of Marc Andreessen and Alexis Ohanian.

We're covering everything from how anyone can become an angel investor, to why democratizing access isn't just good ethics—it's good business.

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/iY6y_ZMPjPs

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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.

If you believe business is about more than the bottom line—or if you need fresh faith that purpose-driven founders can commercialize real innovation—this is your new playbook.

In this truly inspiring episode, host Bhargavi Varma sits down with Founder Nivatha Balendra (Dispersa), and Investor Olga Cruz (BDC) to talk about resilience, science-driven innovation, and the power of value-aligned investing.Nivatha shares the remarkable journey of launching Dispersa, a cleantech startup which converts food waste into eco-friendly biosurfactants. Olga reflects on her path as an Investor (from Good & Well to BDC Thrive Lab) and the importance of intuition, seva, and supporting women founders.

Together, they unpack what it takes to commercialize sustainability solutions, navigate fundraising, and stay grounded through meditation, community, and resilience.

About The Founder:Nivatha Balendra, (Forbes 30 Under 30 Science) founded Dispersa, a biotechnology company that transforms food waste into sustainable, biodegradable surfactants for the cleaning and personal care industries. After the 2013 Lac-Mégantic oil spill, she began researching oil-degrading bacteria at the age of 17 and has since been recognised for her innovative approach to environmental sustainability.

About The Investor: Olga Cruz, is a Director at BDC Capital’s Thrive Lab, where she leads a $50 million investment fund focused on early-stage, women-led, impact-driven businesses across Canada. In addition to her investment work, Olga is a certified breathwork and meditation teacher with the Art of Living Foundation, emphasizing the importance of clarity, presence, and emotional intelligence in leadership.

🔗 Mentioned in this episode:

Dispersa

PuraSurf (by Dispersa)BDC

BDC Thrive Lab for Women Good & Well

Hyve

For Nivatha's Mom

In this episode Host and Founder of Brown Girl Angels, Bhargavi Varma shares insights on the true value of women-led businesses and why it’s time for more of us to take our seat at the cap table. Answering your questions, she shares her own journey into the world of angel investing and what inspired her to create a space for South Asian women to talk money, risk, and entrepreneurship.

🔗 Mentioned in this episode:

Brown Girl Magazine

McKinsey 2024 Report: Women in the Workplace

Brown Girls, Bold Moves is hosted by Bhargavi Varma. Find out more about Brown Girl Angels here. The show is made by editaudio. It’s edited, mixed and produced by Megan Hayward. Our Production Manager is Kathleen Speckert. Our Associate Producer is Kam Grewal. Theme music for Brown Girls, Bold Moves is by Kunal Merchant, Prateeksha Srivastava, and 6091 from Indo Warehouse.

Get involved with Brown Girl Angels below:

• Follow us on social @browngirlangels
• Watch us on YouTube at Brown Girl Angels
• Sign up to the Brown Girls, Money Moves newsletter
• Join Brown Girls, Desi Dinners in your city by visiting our website: www.browngirlangels.com

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode, host Bhargavi Varma is joined by Charles Hudson and Amrita Saigal to talk about conviction in venture capital and how backing founders with a mission is key to making profit. Charles demonstrates the power that comes from conviction of self and ideas; something he found in Amrita as a founder. Discover how Amrita's journey from engineering to entrepreneurship led to the creation of a sustainable diaper brand, and learn about Charles' approach to investing in diverse founders and innovative consumer products.

We get into the real-world challenges of consumer goods, the rise of elegant sustainability, and how early-stage bets shape the future of startups.

About The Founder:

Amrita Saigal, Founder and CEO of Kudos, a direct-to-consumer sustainable baby diaper startup. She created Kudos to provide elegant, sustainable diapers and has grown into a household name, been invested in by Gwenyth Paltrow and Mark Cuban, and is sold in Target. Previously, Amrita created Saathi- a sustainable sanitary pad company, and led Biz Dev at Google X.

About The Investor:

Charles Hudson is the Managing Partner and Founder of Precursor Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm focused on investing in the first institutional round of investment for the most promising software and hardware companies. Notably, Superhuman, Co-Star, MarcoPolo.

🔗 Mentioned in this episode:

Kudos Diapers

Precursor Ventures

Co - Star Astrology

Saathi Pads

Charles’ Substack

Brown Girls, Bold Moves is hosted by Bhargavi Varma. Find out more about Brown Girl Angels here. The show is made by editaudio. It’s edited, mixed and produced by Megan Hayward. Our Production Manager is Kathleen Speckert. Our Associate Producer is Kam Grewal. Theme music for Brown Girls, Bold Moves is by Kunal Merchant, Prateeksha Srivastava, and 6091 from Indo Warehouse.

Get involved with Brown Girl Angels below:

• Follow us on social @browngirlangels
• Watch us on YouTube at Brown Girl Angels
• Sign up to the Brown Girls, Money Moves newsletter
• Join Brown Girls, Desi Dinners in your city by visiting our website: www.browngirlangels.com

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.