Indian Entrepreneur | Sana Javeri Kadri | Global Indian

Global IndianstorySana Javeri Kadri: Cultivating change in the spice industry with Diaspora Co.

Sana Javeri Kadri: Cultivating change in the spice industry with Diaspora Co.

Written by: Amrita Priya

(February 13, 2024) Entrepreneur Sana Javeri Kadri is the founder and CEO of Diaspora Co., a direct trade, single-origin spice company dedicated to improving the spice trade in South Asia. Beginning with just one spice (turmeric) in 2017, her company now sources 30 single-origin spices from 150 farms across India and Sri Lanka, aiming to create fairer opportunities for spice farmers. With offices in Mumbai and California, Diaspora Co. is at the forefront of ethical spice sourcing and building an equitable spice trade.

“The original intent of colonial conquest of the Indian subcontinent was a desire for domination of the spice trade. 400ish years later, as a young woman born and raised in postcolonial Mumbai, working at the intersection of food and culture, I was slowly discovering that not much about that system had changed,” Sana writes on her Diaspora Co’s website. Mirroring the colourful packaging of products that her company deals in, her website too immediately captivates visitors with its colourful pages spreading radiance like Sana. The young entrepreneur has been empowering marginalised communities by channelling funds, equity, and authority into the hands of Indian and Sri Lankan farmers, with the aim of disrupting an outdated spice trading system.

Sana Javeri Kadri

Through extensive taste testing, farm visits, and collaboration with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Diaspora Co. sources the finest spices from South Asia, bringing them to international markets.

Solving a big problem

In the conventional commodity trading model, crops from multiple farmers are mixed together at each stage, with quality judged solely on colour and size rather than factors such as cultivation methods, seed varieties, taste, and aroma. Farmers lack control as well as influence over both the price they receive and the ultimate quality of the product. “We’re here to say that the system is no longer good enough – we all deserve better,” remarks Sana.

The Diaspora Co. model guarantees that the spices are sourced from the latest harvest to maintain maximum potency and freshness. Her organisation claims to collaborate with small, multi-generational family farms, providing them with an average premium of three to five times the market rate for their sustainably-farmed single-origin spices. “Each spice takes us anywhere from a few months to several years to source, based on rigorous lab testing, in-field visits, and several tastings,” Sana shares. She is committed to sourcing the finest spices while supporting sustainable farming practices in a mission to revolutionise the spice industry.

Sana Javeri Kadri with farmers

Taking up the responsibility

The young entrepreneur has dedicated all her efforts to make her venture successful, driven by the deep desire to uplift the disadvantaged farmers. In 2022, much to Sana and Diaspora Co. team’s happiness, the spice startup raised more than two million dollars in funding from value-aligned investors like Meena Harris of media company Phenomenal, Pentland Ventures, Ben Jacobsen of Jacobsen Salt Co. and Shelley Armistead of hospitality group Gjelina.

“I’m responsible for 200 farmers who like to look to us for a majority of their income,” an elated Sana had shared after raising fresh funding in 2022. “There’s the world of valuations and growth. And then there’s a world of farms and farmers and things grown in the grounds. In raising this round, I had to constantly think about what honours both of these things.”

Diaspora Co. also appointed a new board of advisers including Ellen Bennett of apron company, and Hedley & Bennett and Food52 co-founder Merrill Stubbs. “I started this company not really to be a unicorn. Our numbers are great and we are profitable. The math makes sense. But I started the company for the impact and flavour and cultural piece,” she mentioned.

Using global education to uplift natives

In 2017, at the age of 23, very confident about the potential for ethically produced high- quality spices Sana dipped her toes into entrepreneurship. Coming from a privileged family and growing up in an environment of entrepreneurship, choosing an entrepreneurial career path came naturally to her.

Sana grew up in a family of successful architects. Her grandfather, IM Kadri, is the veteran architect who founded I.M.K Architects in Mumbai. He has been a key figure behind the creation of iconic buildings across various cities in India, the United States, Russia, the Middle East, Hong Kong, and numerous other locations globally. Sana’s parents Rahul and Shimul Javeri Kadri are well-known architects too.

However, for Sana, the choice of business sector to indulge in came with her own experiences of life. When she was on a full scholarship at United World College of the Adriatic in Italy, she worked on an olive grove one spring and a vineyard the following year.

Later, when she went to study in the US, her on-campus job was on a farm, and that’s when she discovered that she wanted to work in the realm of agriculture. Around that time the US had just discovered turmeric latte (haldi doodh – the time-tested concoction to boost immunity in Indian homes). The youngster realised that the ethnic food and spices of South Asia – the region that she comes from needs more exposure.

Sana Javeri Kadri

For the sake of social change

Her family has always believed in social upliftment. “At age 12, my dad taught me the term ‘social change’,” Sana shared in an interview. She merged her discoveries with the values she grew up with to establish her spice startup for empowering farmers.

Motivated by her desire to utilise her privileged global education to create meaningful change as soon as she had finished college, Sana had purchased a one-way ticket to her home-town Mumbai. Immersing herself in seven months of thorough market research, which included over 40 farm visits, she had dedicated herself to understanding the intricacies of the industry. It was during this period that a meeting with professionals from the Indian Institute of Spices Research had reaffirmed her commitment to making a difference in the spice trade sector.

Sana began with a single spice – 350 kilos of turmeric that she sourced from a young farmer who had his farm at the outskirts of Vijayawada. Today Sana and her company deal in 30 types of spices, which they source from more than 200 farmers across India and Sri Lanka. Apart from whole spices, Diaspora Co. has also diversified into masalas and now have an impressive range of products in this segment as well.

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A post shared by Diaspora Co. Spices (@diasporaco)

“From our very first day, the big, audacious dream was to grow a radically new, decidedly delicious and truly equitable spice trade, to push a broken system into an equal exchange, and to have a lot of fun doing it,” shares Sana who is busy penning a cookbook of family dishes that are ‘heirlooms and generational gifts’ celebrating 25 family farms across India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

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Published on 13, Feb 2024

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How locally-sourced milk becomes world class cheese in the hands of Luigi Avarelli, the cheese-master in Puttaparthi

(October 12, 2024) He came to India for a break; never left, but set up a dharmasala, a dental clinic and now, Luigi Avarelli runs a successful business making varieties of authentic Italian cheeses. Listening to Luigi Avarelli discuss how he runs his cheese business is a lesson in integrity, passion, and ethics. He lives on the outskirts of the Sathya Sai Baba Ashram in Puttaparthi, Andhra Pradesh. He’s been here since 1999 and tells Global Indian in an exclusive, how his tryst with India began. “I had been working for 16-17 hours every day for 23 years in Torino – but I am a native of Southern Italy – Cosenza. I was tired and needed a break. I came to the Sathya Sai Baba Ashram and stayed here. When I wanted to return, Baba told me not to go back and stay back in India. So I went to Italy, sold my business to my nephew and moved here permanently. My wife travels between India and Italy frequently.” Drawn to Satya Sai Baba of Puttaparthi, Luigi Avarelli left behind a chain of successful restaurants in Milano, along with a bevy of sports cars, to begin a new spiritual lease

behind a chain of successful restaurants in Milano, along with a bevy of sports cars, to begin a new spiritual lease on life. Today, his team works amid of whir of gleaming steel, operating top of the line machinery from Italy, with which they produce 500-600 kilos of cheese everyday. It's priced anywhere between Rs 1200 and Rs 1800 per kilo. Avarelli's cheeses make their way across the country to a list of top-tier clientele, including The Leela Palace, and Masque, in Mumbai. Even Mukesh Ambani is reportedly a fan of Avarelli's burratta, and the giant white pyramid-shaped dome in his garden, caught the attention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

[caption id="attachment_57766" align="aligncenter" width="342"] Luigi Avarelli | cheese maker | Global Indian Italian cheesemaker Luigi Avarelli[/caption]

Italian Cheese Made in India

When Luigi needed a break, he was working as a manager with a company, running his restaurant [he is also a chef] and is the third-generation cheese-maker in his family, which meant he was in the business of making cheese as well. On his return, after tying up loose ends in Italy, Luigi, with his friend Sai Krishna, decided to build a dharmshala. He says, “We built a dharmshala that provides food and accommodation at a nominal price to 600 people in support of the Super Speciality Hospital built by Sri Sathya Sai Baba. On Thursdays, we provide free food for all the poor in the surrounding area. Then in 2007-08, we built a dental clinic that would provide dental treatment to the poor for free.”

With no Trust funds or any NGO supporting his charitable efforts, he ran out of money in 2013. That is when he decided he had to do something sustainable. “I put my own money and built the structure where my cheese factory is. Sai Krishna helped with the land and I imported all the machinery from Italy.” To counter the heat of Andhra Pradesh, Luigi ensured the walls of the building were two feet thick. The company he set up is called Parthifoods and Caseificio Italia is the brand name under which the cheeses are made and sold.

As for the staff and ingredients, he sourced them locally. “I buy the milk directly from the local farmers and my staff can speak Hindi and Telugu. The vegetarian rennet for the cheese I import from Italy directly.”

Sweet Dreams are made of Cheese

The cheese range made by Luigi includes Mozzarella, Ricotta [low in fat and sodium, it is recommended for low-cal diets and is used to make Neapolitan pastries, Cassatas and Sicilian Cannoli]; Bocconcini and Ciliegine, [both of these are used for salads and appetisers] Mascarpone [excellent for cheesecakes and Tiramisu], Mozzarella “Fior Di Latte” [made from cow’s milk and predominantly used to make a Caprese and pizzas], and Burrata, a product typical of Southern Italy.

I ask why Parmesan cheese is excluded from his list and he explains, “There is no authentic Parmesan cheese in India. In Italy, Parmesan comes from two regions, Parma and Reggio Emilia, in Central Italy: the accurate phrase is ‘Parmigiano Reggiano’. The cows there, the grass they eat, and the milk they produce cannot be replicated in India. What you get here is duplicate Parmesan if it is made here. That is why I do not make Parmesan cheese.”

I buy the milk directly from the local farmers and my staff can speak Hindi and Telugu. The vegetarian rennet for the cheese I import from Italy directly - Luigi Avarelli

[caption id="attachment_57765" align="aligncenter" width="552"] Luigi Avarelli | cheese maker | Global Indian Luigi Avarelli at work. He supplies to some of India's top restaurants and hotel including Araku in Mumbai and The Leela Palace[/caption]

Several hotel chains including The Leela Palace and ITC Gardenia were his clients when he started. While the former still buys their cheese from him, the latter no longer does – a fact he attributes to the changing staff who come with their preferences. However, he has other hotel groups like the Taj and the Oberoi and smaller restaurants and pizzerias buying his cheese in cities like Bengaluru, Chennai and even Hyderabad. When he started, he would personally teach the chefs how to use the cheeses with authentic Italian dishes that best showcased them.

When Luigi started, he was making 30 to 40 kilos of cheese a day in 2014. Today, his factory makes 500 to 600 kilos of cheese every day, all year round. The packaging is kept simple and functional. Depending on the cheese, the price ranges from Rs 1200 to Rs 1800 per kilo. He reiterates that his prices are based on the fact that his cheese is chemical-free, and ethically made with no shortcuts or compromise on the ingredient quality, it is completely natural and authentic. He owns temperature-controlled trucks, through which the cheese is transported with the temperature at a steady 4 degrees Centigrade. “How can cheese makers in India send cheese by train without any cooling? Plus, the cold storage trucks here are at -18 degrees which is too cold for cheese. Hence, I bought my trucks to transport the cheese the right way,” he states. When his business grew, Luigi brought in more machinery from Italy in 2016-17. He would like to expand his reach of customers but logistics are a challenge he says.

Luigi sends his trucks to Bengaluru twice a week and prefers to work with customers who understand the authenticity of his products and the value they add to their dishes. He says, “My goal is not only to make money; it is tough to work with those who don’t understand what I do. Other cheese brands will last a month or more, mine lasts for only one week.”

True Italian Style

With the cheese business keeping him busy, he still has several ideas for what he would like to do next. “I want to set up a food academy, where I can train people to make authentic Italian food. Here, no one has respect for genuine Italian cuisine. They want to add chilli and spices to everything, and ketchup on their pizza and if you give them the original, they say it is not good. People don’t understand that Italian food is different from Indian food and the spices are not the same. So, when I eat out, I eat Indian food, but if I want to have an Italian meal, I cook it myself.”

[caption id="attachment_57782" align="aligncenter" width="558"] Luigi Avarelli | cheese maker | Global Indian Luigi's staff[/caption]

The olive oil he uses to cook his food comes from the trees in his backyard in Italy. His commitment to authenticity shows in everything he does, not just in his products, but his personal life as well. Not surprising then, that only connoisseurs of true Italian cuisine buy his cheeses. And given the quantities he sells every day; it would appear there are quite a few. One can only hope he achieves his goal of setting up a food academy too someday, so people who love global cuisines can learn how to cook authentic Italian. Till then, they just have to make do with the real cheeses he makes.

Samir Lakhani: Saving lives in developing countries through soap recycling

(February 6, 2024) Interested in sustainability, 23-year-old Samir Lakhani found himself on a muddy trail in one of the villages of Cambodia in 2014 when he caught the sight of a woman bathing her child with laundry detergent. A young volunteer from Pennsylvania, US, Samir was shocked and disturbed. "Something as basic as soap was missing in the majority households of rural Cambodians," Samir tells Global Indian. Keen to bring about a change, he found his solution in Eco Soap Bank which supplies recycled soap to the developing world with a mission to promote basic hygiene, restore health, and employ marginalised women. Started in 2014, the non-profit venture now has recycling centres in five countries - Cambodia, Nepal, Tanzania, South Africa, and Sierra Leone. "Each year 25,000 metric tonnes of soap bars make it to the landfills," informs Samir who has been able to save 4.5 million kilos of soap bars from entering the landfill with Eco Soap Bank. "Moreover, we have provided soap to over 9 million people in 30 countries so far," adds the social entrepreneur who was on the 2020 Forbes 30 Under 30 list. [caption id="attachment_48810" align="aligncenter" width="645"] Samir Lakhani at Eco-Soap Bank headquarter in Siem

[caption id="attachment_48810" align="aligncenter" width="645"] Samir Lakhani | Global Indian Samir Lakhani at Eco-Soap Bank headquarter in Siem Reap, Cambodia.[/caption]

The journey that changed it all

With their roots in Gujarat, his mom was born in Tanzania while his dad is from Uganda, who like other South Asians had to face sudden expulsion at the hands of dictator Idi Amin in 1972. He relocated to the US where he studied at Brown University. His mom, a paediatrician, travelled as a youngster and after studying in Iran for some time, she secured admission to the University of Pennsylvania. Growing up, Samir heard stories about Africa from his parents, which left him intrigued. "I was eager to see what Africa was all about. During high school, I got the opportunity to visit the towns where my parents were born and understand the context in which they were born. Joining the dots of their origin to their final destination was pretty remarkable. It left me with a lot of energy but also the commitment to work in those areas because of the quality of life I had in the US," he adds.

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Passionate about eco-conscious practices, Samir enrolled in environmental studies at the University of Pennsylvania, and an internship with a climate change resilience group led him to Cambodia. But what he noticed in the next few days in a village in Cambodia left him shocked and heartbroken - everyone was using laundry detergent to bathe. "I felt an incredible amount of guilt that something as affordable as soap was out of reach for a majority of the population in the country. I was very disturbed and couldn't get that scene out of my head." Upon his return to the hotel room in Siem Reap, he saw the soap bar replaced by housekeepers. "I realised I had barely used the last one." This epiphany led to the birth of Eco Soap Bank with the aim to recycle soap and distribute it to the underprivileged. "I realised that something as simple as soap was not available in a village 5 miles away, and the same soap was thrown away daily for luxury tourists. Those quick realisations organically created the organisation."

Recycling soaps for the underprivileged

The process began with Samir going from hotel to hotel in Cambodia asking them to collect their used soaps for Eco Soap Bank. But the request was met with resistance. "We initially got a strong pushback because it required them to do extra work and some thought it was a strange request." However, with time their reputation grew hotel-by-hotel, and many started collecting soap for Eco Soap Bank.

While Samir started experimenting with a grinder in his hotel room, crushing the soap into smaller particles, he also kept visiting the nearby rural areas to understand the people and their lack of awareness of basic hygiene. The results were shocking. Most people put the onus of health issues in their community on bad karma. "It was the lack of education and awareness that played a pivotal role," he adds, agreeing to the fact that many doctors and health practitioners were killed in the 70s genocide, thus creating a huge gap in healthcare awareness. "During Covid-19, many Cambodian communities in the rural areas thought Covid was a symptom of eating too many chillies," reveals Samir, adding, "Honestly, I didn't want to lose another generation of Cambodians to misinformation."

Aiming for a healthy and dignified life

While awareness is the key, Samir emphasises that "education which is physical and pragmatic like handing out a bar of soap" is the most effective. "And that's the kind of journey we have taken." The continuous awareness has led to a shift in the mindset of the people, especially children. "Children are much more open to new ideas than adults, so we are focussing on them even if they are in schools or refugee camps." To this end, they also make soaps in toy shapes. "They excite children, who take to handwashing faster," says Samir. When they started Eco Soap Bank a decade ago, creating awareness was as important as soap recycling. However, over the years, it has become less of their strategic priority as they are now mostly focussed on "the hygiene supply gap vs the hygiene awareness gap. Because 2 billion people don't have access to soap at home."

Eco Soap Bank | Global Indian

During COVID-19, Eco Soap Bank called for an urgent need to restrategise as their major supplier- hotels - went into lockdown worldwide. "We switched to factories that make commercial bar soaps as they also generate some volume of waste. We asked them to collect the waste for us and we were able to continue recycling waste. We distributed our 50 millionth soap at the end of 2023." Soap factories worldwide waste an estimate a quarter billion of soap bars annually, and many supply this excess to Eco Soap Bank," informs Samir. Explaining the process behind soap recycling, Samir says the soap collected from factories makes it to their recycling centres where it is crushed into powder. That mix is then pushed through an extruder machine and takes the shape of a bar of soap. "It's a very simple process."

[caption id="attachment_48812" align="aligncenter" width="687"] Eco Soap Bank | Global Indian One of Eco Soap Bank's recycling centre[/caption]

The recycled soaps are then distributed through hundreds and thousands of partnerships with smaller and big organisations - from UNICEF to community schools or social centres. "We distribute soaps to the refugee camps through UN agencies as well as local schools," reveals Samir as Eco Soap Bank makes 50000 bars of soap a day.

Eco Soap Bank began with the mission to recycle soap, promote basic hygiene, and provide employment to marginalised women around the world. "Currently 160 women work in the soap recycling facilities across the five countries, and we plan to increase the number to 212 by the end of the year." Eco Soap Bank also helps women set up businesses by selling soaps at a nominal price. "If an employee is particularly excited, we also provide them with volumes of soap that they can sell in their community while also engaging in hygiene outreach. The vast majority of the women we employ prefer the employment route, however, we do have 320 other women who just exclusively sell soap," adds Samir.

Eco Soap Bank

In the last decade, he has been humbled by the outpour of help and support for Eco Soap Bank, which led to the opening up of recycling centres in four more countries. " I am amazed by people's generosity to get involved and take your mission to the next level," says Samir for whom that singular experience in Cambodia acted as a North Star, guiding him throughout.

Coming to India soon

Eco Soap Bank now plans to expand into India soon, for which they need to partner with factories here. "We also want to be the primary supplier of soaps to the refugee crisis in Bangladesh and Central Africa," Samir says.

When Samir started Eco Soap Bank a decade ago, he had no idea about social entrepreneurship but he answered his calling and learnt on the way. "Nothing is out of reach for anyone on how to do, and I hope my story is a small example of that," he signs off.

Follow Samir Lakhani on LinkedIn
Follow Eco Soap Bank on Instagram and website

Travin Singh: The eco-entrepreneur reducing food wastage by converting it into beverages

(September 7, 2024) Roughly one-third of the food produced in the world for human consumption - approximately 1.3 billion tonnes- gets lost or wasted. To reduce this food wastage, Indian-origin Singaporean Travin Singh started CRUST, a value-based food startup that converts surplus food into beverages. The effort has put the 31-year-old on the world's top 50 leading gastronomy game changers, who are creating sustainable solutions for the global food and drink industry. "Why grow and consume more when there is so much surplus around the world which can be used as a substitute for your raw material? It is economically friendly, saves cost and you are also upcycling. Sustainability should not be just a buzzword but more about the value-based concept of maximising our resources," the entrepreneur said. The idea of upcycling food to create a value-based product nudged Travin to dip his toes into the world of entrepreneurship, after a short stint at the Singaporean Navy followed by a job as a financial advisor specialising in corporate insurance. It was in the navy that he pursued a part-time degree in business management from RMIT University in Australia, and a few years later, hopped onto the entrepreneur bandwagon with CRUST.

ersity in Australia, and a few years later, hopped onto the entrepreneur bandwagon with CRUST. He was keen to create a value-based company that could create solutions to real-world problems like food wastage and sustainability.

Travin Singh | Global Indian

How it began

The notion of reducing food wastage was ingrained in the mind of Travin as a young lad by his mother, who encouraged him to finish all the food on his plate. In case he couldn't, the leftovers were incorporated into subsequent meals. This formed the basis for Travin's CRUST, a food-based startup that converts surplus food and food scraps into beverages, thus reducing food wastage. "People have this misconception that you have to be affluent to be sustainable, which isn’t necessarily the case. We did not come from a very rich household with four kids, and therefore had to maximise our resources," he told aplus.

It began as a homebrewing project after Travin learnt that beer could be made from bread. "I wanted to start a value-based company and started dabbling in bread beer when I found out that ancient Egyptians fermented bread to make alcoholic beverages, to ensure they did not waste anything," he added. With the help of YouTube videos, he started his initial trials, and even invited a handful of friends for it, which unfortunately produced "very bad beer."

"I ground the bread up, which was the worst mistake ever. When you do that, you can’t extract enough sugar, and it messes up the taste profile. It was a disaster,” he told Singapore Global Network. Though the results were disastrous initially, it ignited a passion in him to learn more about beer making which took him to California on a month-long trip, visiting 11 breweries across Santa Rosa, San Francisco, San Diego, and Los Angeles. He lapped up as much information as he could on brewing methods and processes and returned to Singapore with a zeal to restart. He attempted home-brewing once more, this time with leftover bread from a small bakery.

[caption id="attachment_30217" align="aligncenter" width="691"] Travin Singh | Entrepreneur | Global Indian CRUST was launched in 2019[/caption]

The start of CRUST

This worked in the Global Indian's favour, and after four attempts, he created his bread beer recipe, and soon after commercialising the process, he dived into the market with the first product - Breaking Bread Ale - a velvety brew with citrus notes and a malt finish. This was the beginning of CRUST in 2019.

Soon more products were added, incorporating new ingredients like coffee grounds, pumpkin and quinoa, and kaya toast. What initially started as a brewing startup has now taken the shape of a food tech company, as CRUST expanded its horizons when it started upcycling food waste like fruit peels into functional drinks under the CROP label. Till now 2536 kg of food waste and loss has been saved by CRUST.

Making a name for themselves

In just three years, CRUST has packed quite a punch but the initial years were an uphill task as many didn’t understand the concept. "They confused food waste and food loss and thought that we were taking food that had been consumed or used by others and turning it into beer. Actually, we were taking surplus ingredients that hadn’t been used or sold. Now that we are three years in the market, more people understood what we are doing through educating them about concepts such as upcycling, and perceptions have changed," the eco-entrepreneur told Waste Today Magazine.

[caption id="attachment_30218" align="aligncenter" width="735"] Entrepreneur | Global Indian | Travin Singh Travin Singh with CRUST COO Ben P[/caption]

It began as a B2B (business-to-business) model but Covid 19 pushed CRUST to shift to the D2C (delivery-to-customer) model, which led to its delivery service and a web store from where customers could directly order their brew. "I'm a Punjabi in Singapore, which is a very small minority. I guess being from that background helped me become a lot more adaptable to different situations and scenarios," he said.

Travin has now expanded his business to Japan and plans to focus on Asia markets first before taking it to the other parts of the world. He opines, "As long as there is food waste in the world, we will always find a way to build a solution around it."

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Google’s $100 million man: YouTube names Neal Mohan as CEO

February 18, 2023) In 2011, Twitter was in turmoil. They needed someone to revamp the product and bring in advertisers - a chief product officer, essentially. Board member David Rosenblatt had just the man in mind: Neal Mohan. So, in 2013, Twitter made him an offer and it seemed like things were going according to plan. Then Neal said no. Google had written him a big, fat cheque - $100 million in stock options, to be exact. Neal Mohan, the man described by Richard Frankel, his former boss, as a "high-end customer support representative," was now Silicon Valley's most valuable asset. And clearly, he has lived up to expectations. On February 17, when Susan Wojcicki announced that she was stepping down, Indian-American Neal Mohan was appointed as YouTube's new CEO. The Global Indian joins the growing list of Indian-Americans at the helm of US' big tech corporations. Thank you, @SusanWojcicki. It's been amazing to work with you over the years. You've built YouTube into an extraordinary home for creators and viewers. I'm excited to continue this awesome and important mission. Looking forward to what lies ahead... https://t.co/Rg5jXv1NGb — Neal Mohan (@nealmohan) February 16, 2023 Life as YouTube's Chief Product Officer

anWojcicki?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SusanWojcicki. It's been amazing to work with you over the years. You've built YouTube into an extraordinary home for creators and viewers. I'm excited to continue this awesome and important mission. Looking forward to what lies ahead... https://t.co/Rg5jXv1NGb

— Neal Mohan (@nealmohan) February 16, 2023

Life as YouTube's Chief Product Officer

He's more than earned his stripes. Ever since he took over as YouTube's Chief Product Officer in 2015, Neal has played a pivotal role in some of the company's top products. He is the driving force behind YouTube TV, YouTube Shorts, YouTube Premium (formerly Red), and YouTube Music.

"In a most fundamental way, my job is twofold. I'm responsible for all our products - the YouTube experience on mobile phones, desktops, laptops and large living room screens - everything that viewers use to connect with their favourite creators," he told Lew Later last year. Then, there "things that creators use - this includes YouTubers, musicians, artists and traditional media companies." Finally, there he is responsible for "trust and safety, community guidelines - the rules of the road, so to speak." Simply put, it comes down to "helping my teams make the best deicisions on behalf of that ecosystem. It includes our viewers, users, creators and advertisors."

Early life

Mohan was born in India in 1975 and moved to the US a few years later. "I had always been interested in technology, even before college," he said, in a 2022 interview with Greylock. "I always knew that working would computers would be my career path." His ambition took him to Stanford University, where he studied Electrical Engineering "and a lot of CS classes, basically."

[caption id="attachment_35253" align="aligncenter" width="550"] Neal Mohan (Photo: CNET)[/caption]

He graduated from Stanford and entered the workforce at what he describes as a "pivotal moment." This was the start of the golden age in Silicon Valley - "the dawn of the internet, really. Netscape had just come out with its browsers and was a Silicon Valley startup. There were lots of companies excited about making the transition." It was a fortunate turn of events for him. "When you're able to start your career at the inflexsion of a big technology change, there are lots of interesting opportunities.

Mohan began his career as a 'management consultant, working with tech businesses and finding ways to bring this new technology, the 'internet' to Fortune 500 companies. He realised, "very quickly," that he wanted to be part of these startups himself. He did a short stint at Andersen Consulting (Accenture) and in 1997, So, he joined Net Gravity, kickstarting his career in the technology business. That company was acquired by advertising startup DoubleClick later that year. It's where he met David Rosenblatt. He played a pivotal role in Google's $3.1 billion acquisition of the company.

DoubleClick Inc.

This was the great revolution in democratising information. "It's about fundamentally powering the creation of and consumption of all this information," regardless of whether the user was on a low-speed dial-up in some corner of the world, or a high-speed connection in Silicon Valley. "You have access to the same technology," he said.

That's where DoubleClick Inc. came in - if information was to be provided to everyone with access to an internet connection, preferably for free, it needed a sustainable revenue model. The internet was a medium too, just like print or TV - and those ran on ads. DoubleClick was at the forefront of developing and providing Internet ad services, through technology products and services that were sold to ad agencies and the mass media. They went on to work with businesses like Microsoft, General Motors, Coca-Cola, Apple Inc, Nike and L'Oreal.

The Google acquisition

In 2003, he quit DoubleClick to return to Stanford University for an MBA. The company was having solvency troubles at the time. In 2003, he quit DoubleClick to return to Stanford University for an MBA. The company was having solvency troubles at the time and in 2004, David Rosenblatt was brought in as CEO. He asked Mohan to rejoin as soon as he was done with his MBA. The company was acquired by Google for $3.1 billion in 2007, with Mohan being a key driver of the deal. He joined Google a year later, in 2008.

Life at Alphabet Inc.

Having always worked at the intersection of media and technology, developing a roadmap for advertising models in the digital age, Mohan became invaluable to Google very quickly. Between 2008 and 2015, he served as a Senior VP of Display and Video Advertising.

He was pivotal to developing the company's ad products and helping to grow YouTube revenue. Mohan became a well-known name in Silicon Valley and when Twitter needed a new man to revamp their product, which was falling apart, they turned to the internet ads savant. Mohan has played an important role in some of Google's most important ad products, including AdWords, DoubleClick and Google Analytics. He was also responsible for the automation of buying and selling digital ad inventory."

Transforming YouTube

In 2015, Mohan joined Alphabet Inc subsidiary YouTube as its Chief Product officer. He has been responsible for the livestreaming service YouTube TV, YouTube Music, YouTube Premium and YouTube Shorts.

Under him, YouTube's creator economy boomed. In 2022, Indian YouTubers were contributing around Rs 6,800 crores annually to the country's GDP. "The creator economy in India is truly flourishing," Mohan remarked. The monetisation model changed the content creation site - as of 2019, there were two billion users on YouTube, watching 1 billion hours of videos every day. YouTube ad revenues were around $19.77 billion in 2020.

With Susan Wojcicki announcing her resignation to focus on her health and personal life, Mohan will take over as YouTube's fourth CEO.

Life at home

[caption id="attachment_35255" align="aligncenter" width="726"] Neal Mohan and his wife, Heema Sareem Mohan[/caption]

Mohan is married to Heema Sareem Mohan, who is a spokesperson for Democratic State Senator Joe Simitian. She specialises in reforming the juvenile justice system and education policies and does extensive non-profit work. Born and raised in New York, she mvoed to Silicon Valley to be with her husband.

The couple resides in the Bay Area, in one of San Francisco's most upscale localities, with their three kids.

Follow Neal Mohan on Twitter and LinkedIn

Aspiring actor to entrepreneur, Samarth Bajaj believes in diversification

(April 22, 2023) Cinema was Samarth Bajaj’s first love and becoming an actor was his dream. And he had all it takes to become one. His parents supported his career choices too, but had one condition – he was to obtain a degree from a top university in the US before pursuing his acting career. That’s how this entrepreneur ended up graduating with a bachelor's degree in business administration, majoring in entrepreneurship and marketing from the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California (USC) and minoring in acting. Destiny had a different plan for him. Gradually, the acting bug faded away and the Hyderabad-born, who went on to launch one company after another is now an entrepreneur of repute. “I realised that my passion lay in creating businesses that add genuine value to our society, through creativity and new culture,” says Samarth, in an exclusive chat with Global Indian. At 25, Samarth founded his own real estate company, Trojan Realty, which focussed on premium boutique projects. At 30, he founded India’s first official Bollywood-based indoor experience museum, House of Stars with license partners like Dharma Productions, Fox Films, Mukta Arts, and Zee Music to name a few.

Samarth founded his own real estate company, Trojan Realty, which focussed on premium boutique projects. At 30, he founded India’s first official Bollywood-based indoor experience museum, House of Stars with license partners like Dharma Productions, Fox Films, Mukta Arts, and Zee Music to name a few. “I was ecstatic about the possibility of having our own Tussaud’s type indoor entertainment centre. We have our own in-house 3D scanning and printing capabilities. So all the statues, sets, and costumes are exact replicas of the iconic scenes,” explains the entrepreneur, who currently owns five companies that dabble in jewellery, real estate, Indoor entertainment, and e-learning.

Shifting passions

After growing and automating his other businesses, Samarth has now founded his latest venture — The Designer’s Class — a premium digital education platform focusing on various verticals in the design industry and Boheim, which is all about premium real estate. He says The Designer’s Class is a journey that spans over a decade and a half but has seen fruition only in the last couple of years. “I found the design education in India a little archaic, outdated, and expensive which led to the birth of this company,” he points out.

Design was always considered a field that required practical practice in real time, anything virtual hadn’t been attempted before. “We give direct access to our students to learn from stalwarts of the industry and make the content, relevant, engaging, affordable, and accessible,” explains the Co-founder and CEO of the company. A start in general keeps you on your toes, especially in the initial years, which is both exciting and exhausting, feels the entrepreneur. “Today, we are at a point where all systems are in place, and our different revenue streams have begun contributing in good measure, even as we continue to optimise our execution.”

Entrepreneur | Samarth Bajaj | Global Indian

Samarth went to three schools — Gitanjali, Chirec, and Hyderabad Public School, which he says contributed immensely to what he has achieved today. His father Suresh Bajaj runs Shiv Shakti Constructions, a real estate company while his mother Bunty Bajaj owns a Jewellery company – Krsala. “My father is my rock. He is the most patient, mentally strong, and resilient person I’ve ever known. My mother is an enigma, an exceptional woman, who challenged the patriarchal society most nonchalantly,” says the entrepreneur about his parents. His sister Miheeka is married to Tollywood actor Rana Daggubati. Samarth’s wife Sasha is from Mumbai.

At school, Samarth was every bit of a sportsman, indulging in almost every sport. He was part of the choir team too, who sang in the choir in concert with legends like Lata Mangeshkar and AR Rehman. One of his favourite school memories was when he played Prof. Higgins in the play Pygmalion by Tennessee Williams. “That moment I realised that I had the aptitude to become an actor,” recalls Samarth.

Bitten by the acting bug

Come 2005, Samarth left for the US after getting admission to USC. He had even applied for an Italian student visa but dropped the idea as the logistics seemed a bit hectic. “I hated my first few months in America. LA also wasn’t a commute-friendly city and to make matters worse, USC was in the heart of the Ghetto. You needed a car to move around, which I didn’t have in the beginning. It was a whole new world, which felt lonely and daunting,” says Samarth of his initial days in the US.

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It was only after he made a few close friends and got accustomed to life there that he started enjoying college, which eventually turned out to be the best four years of his life. Being at USC also was an experience like no other for this Hyderabadi. “It taught me to be responsible, make new friends, and interact with people from varied cultures. It made me a bit of a hustler,” smiles Samarth.

The young entrepreneur, along with other students, was once taken to Mexico to research the facilities and businesses on which they were doing a case study. “Our entrepreneurship class made us make comprehensive business plans, in which I came up with an entire serviced apartment business model before the concept had even existed in India,” says Samarth, who was the committee member of Southern California Indo Americans for two years and held the position of internal chair. He was also a part of the USC’s official Bollywood dance troop called Anjaane.

Entrepreneur | Samarth Bajaj | Global Indian

Names like Will Ferrell, George Lucas, and so many more prominent Hollywood personalities were a part of the USC alumni which got Samarth excited, as he was keen on becoming an actor. While the entrepreneur was at the university, American filmmaker George Lucas donated $300 million for setting up a new film school at USC. As soon as he graduated from USC in May 2009, Samarth flew straight to Mumbai, as he got a position as an Assistant Director in a Hindi film Aisha which had already gone into pre-production by the time he landed.

“I was supposed to stay back in LA for a little longer (after graduation) and attend the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute, to train further in acting, but I did not want to miss this (Aisha) opportunity and returned,” he says.

Building an empire

However, it was just a short stint for Samarth as the film had taken a short break from pre-production as they were reworking a few things. “That’s when I started working in the family business, while also auditioning and attempting to make a career in acting simultaneously” informs Samarth, who also did a short stint with Indian theatre director Barry John in Mumbai.

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Auditioning was a humbling process for him. “You face rejection and failure constantly and you have no option but to just deal with it. It makes you pretty thick-skinned,” he smiles. The entrepreneur then realised that business interested him. “I liked coming up with new ideas and strategies and seeing them come to life,” he says.

Back then, Samarth’s business training was happening mostly in his mother’s Jewellery company, Krsala. Simultaneously, he was also learning the ropes of real estate from his father. But building a brand was something he learned with his mother.

Although the acting bug had fully loosened its grip on Samarth, he still decided to give it a year to it. He assisted one more film under Indian film director Farah Khan after which he went to New York for a short course in acting at Lee Strasberg, where he did shoot a few short films that gained a fair amount of critical acclaim in the New York college circles. “Shortly after returning to India though, I realised that I wasn’t cut out to pursue acting as a career choice anymore and immersed myself fully in business,” says the entrepreneur, who then started taking over the reins of the family businesses while endeavouring into my his ventures like Trojan Realty, House of Stars among others.

Entrepreneur | Samarth Bajaj | Global Indian

Real estate was one industry that always caught his fancy. “If I wasn’t so taken in by acting, I strongly believe that I would’ve pursued a degree in architecture. It’s creatively satisfying,” says Samarth, for whom Trojan Realty was his version of a boutique experiential living brand. Between House of Stars and Trojan Realty, Samarth had started a Jewellery e-commerce business called Jewellery Bazaar. But this venture failed to perform. “It made me a mature entrepreneur. I understood the mistakes I made,” informs Samarth.

The show must go on

Ask him about his future plans, and the entrepreneur quips, “Currently all my focus is on The Designers Class and Boheim, which is a culmination of everything that I wanted to do in real estate,” informs Samarth. Under Boheim, Samarth is currently executing three projects, one in Hyderabad and two in Goa. “We are actively looking to expand our presence in these two cities predominantly.”

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Samarth continues to be an avid cinema lover. “I follow the medium not just from a content consumption perspective, but also enthusiastically track the business that different films do across industries,” says Samarth, who likes to paint and write poetry whenever he gets time. He is also attempting to write a script of his own.

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