EP #134: Meena Kothandaraman - Experience Strategist At twig+fish, Graduate Lecturer & Proud Canadian Bostonian

EP #135: Siva Balakrishnan - Indian-Based Entrepreneur (Founder of Vserve Ebusiness Solutions) & Angel Investor

Siva Balakrishnan is the Indian-based Founder Of Vserve Ebusiness Solutions ( @vserveebusiness [https://www.instagram.com/vserveebusiness/] ) and Angel Investor with the Mumbai Angels Network. He joins Ara on this episode of #TheTamilCreator [https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/thetamilcreator/] to discuss how observing the scarcity mindset around him while growing up in India taught him to come up with solutions on the fly, why your first customer is always buying you as the founder (not the product/service), the state of AI being more probabilistic that deterministic at the moment, finding value in failing fast, living by the belief that the journey is the reward, and so much more. Follow Siva: - LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/siva-balakrishnan-38216b1/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/siva-balakrishnan-38216b1/])    Timestamps 00:19: Ara introduces this week’s guest, Siva Balakrishnan 00:49: How growing up in India shaped Siva’s solution-oriented mindset 03:02: Early entrepreneurship; being a mechanical engineer, outsourcing a web developer gig 05:01: Seeing a gap and capitalizing to launch Vserve; hiring a browsing centre 06:37: The evolution of Vserve; from what it was to what it is 08:21: How entrepreneurs can secure a first customer and find their niche 10:59: Balancing offering white glove customer service while being cost competitive 14:10: Maintaining company culture as the CEO of a distributor outsource workforce 17:28: Siva’s view on AI now and looking forward 21:25: What’s the next phase of life after 20 years into his journey? 23:11: How Siva decides what he is willing to put money behind as an angel investor 25:43: Other South Indian Tamil entrepreneurs making waves 26:56: The role Siva’s family plays in the choices he makes 28:48: The importance of failing fast; a past learning lesson from his journey 30:37: Advice he would give his 16-year-old self 31:47: The personal legacy he wants to be remembered for and the value of compounding 36:51: Creator Confessions 49:02: The Wrap Up   Intro Music Produced And Mixed By: - The Tamil Creator - Yanchan Written By: - Aravinthan Ehamparam - Yanchan Rajmohan     Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1659394/support]

EP #134: Meena Kothandaraman - Experience Strategist At twig+fish, Graduate Lecturer & Proud Canadian Bostonian

Meena Kothandaraman ( @meena_ko [https://www.instagram.com/meena_ko/?hl=en] ) is an Experience Strategist at twig+fish, UX Expert, a long-time graduate lecturer at Bentley University ( @bentleyu [https://www.instagram.com/bentleyu/?hl=en] ) and a proud Canadian Bostonian. She joins Ara on this episode of #TheTamilCreator [https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/thetamilcreator/?hl=en] to discuss growing up in Ottawa with Indian-Tamil roots, how she enhances users experiences and the importance of connecting to peoples’ stories, how her & her business partner came up with the twig+fish name, why the education system needs to change, her creative endeavours (a children’s book and cooking show), and so much more. Follow Meena: - LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/meenakothandaraman/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/meenakothandaraman/])     Timestamps 00:19: Ara introduces this week’s guest, Meena Kothandaraman 00:40: Meena speaks on her early childhood; the impact of her parents 03:29: Indian-Tamils and Sri-Lankan Tamils 05:09: Moving from Canada to the United States for education 06:40: Meena speaks on her siblings 08:02: What her parents did to strengthen Meena’s bond with her siblings 09:22: How she named her company and designation 14:40: Why she chose her career field; the rise of UX 18:22: Should you follow your passion or something you’re good at? 21:54: Balancing her entrepreneurial efforts and lecturing at Bentley University 25:51: Do both roles go hand-in-hand to bolster her credibility? 29:18: Meena explains the ‘NCredible Framework’ 32:07: Writing 10 children’s books and hosting a cooking show 39:29: Innately being an adventurer; wanting to try different things 40:17: Advice she would give her 16-year-old self 41:33: The legacy she wants to be remembered for by friends and family 42:42: Creator Confessions 55:57: Advice for Tamil creators 58:39: The Wrap Up Intro Music Produced And Mixed By: - The Tamil Creator - Yanchan Written By: - Aravinthan Ehamparam - Yanchan Rajmohan     Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1659394/support]

EP #133: Siv Sivasamy - UK-Based Co-Founder Of The Mayfair Collective

Sivathasan “Siv” Sivasamy ( @siv.sivasamy [https://www.instagram.com/siv.sivasamy/] ) is the New Business Director at Charles Square as well as the UK-Based Co-Founder Of The Mayfair Collective, a trusted circle of family office advisors that builds business relationships with purpose. He joins Ara on this week’s episode of #TheTamilCreator [https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/thetamilcreator/] to drop countless gems while discussing arranged marriages, why the Mayfair Collective was created, why modern day relationships are like microwave meals, how boredom can actually be a gift, the “let them” theory, having always been able to connect with people/how it naturally led him his career path, and so much more. Follow Siv: - LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sivasamy/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sivasamy/])     Timestamps 00:19 - Ara introduces this week’s guest, Siv Sivasamy 01:20 - Siv’s formative childhood years; from Sri Lanka to the UK 05:50 - Do arranged marriages have more longevity? 08:13 - Why he chose an arranged marriage 11:16 - Modern day relationship dynamics 13:49 - How the age of abundance leads to shallow perspectives 15:08 - Is boredom a gift? 16:37 - Men struggling to have deeper conversations/a loneliness epidemic 20:34 - Andrew Tate, Adolf Hitler, Donald Trump, Nigel Farage, etc. 26:44 - Losing the fine art of debate and why you can’t force people to change 30:01 - How he ended up with Charles Square, what he does, and more 40:25 - Mayfair Collective; what it is, how it works, and Ara gets rejected 47:51 - Siv hangs up on Ara and calls back? 51:41 - Creator Confessions 1:00:32 - The Wrap Up Intro Music Produced And Mixed By: - The Tamil Creator - Yanchan Written By: - Aravinthan Ehamparam - Yanchan Rajmohan       Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1659394/support]

EP #132: Sujatha Sivarajah - Intrapreneur & Vice President at McKesson Canada

Sujatha Sivarajah ( @sujatha_sivarajah [https://www.instagram.com/sujatha_sivarajah/] ) is the Vice President of Strategic Execution & Operational Excellence for McKesson Canada ( @mckessoncanada [https://www.instagram.com/mckessoncanada/] ). She joins Ara on this week’s episode of #TheTamilCreator [https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/thetamilcreator/] to discuss the significant impact of her parents while she was growing up, being a part of a graduating class that comprised only 10% females, building teams at multiple companies including LifeLabs and Sanofi, being a woman of colour in a male-dominated field, the importance of building a solid foundation, her fascination with history, and so much more. Follow Sujatha: - LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sujatha-sivarajah-p-eng-80897a9/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sujatha-sivarajah-p-eng-80897a9/])    Timestamps 00:19 - Ara introduces this week’s guest, Sujatha Sivarajah 00:43 - Sujatha speaks on her upbringing; Jaffna, Ohio, Nigeria 02:19 - Sujatha’s dad being her mentor; advice for parents 06:08 - Being a woman of colour in a male-dominated field (Electrical Engineering) 9:52 - Her time at Ford during a recession in Canada; and then LifeLabs 17:11 - Leaving LifeLabs after 7 years to build another team; this time at Sanofi 21:10 - What is pharmaceutical manufacturing? 22:23 - Was the lack of pharmaceutical manufacturing during the pandemic true? 24:17 - What McKesson does, and what her role here is 26:13 - What Sujatha hopes to accomplish during her tenure at McKesson 27:34 - Her view on work-life balance 29:19 - Parkinson’s Law - work expands to the time allotted for it 30:35 - How she secured her roles; never saying “no” 40:24 - What she would have done in another life; anthropology or archaeology 42:13 - Advice she would give her 16-year-old self 44:02 - The legacy she wants to be remembered for by friends and family 45:25 - Creator Confessions 53:19 - The Wrap Up  Intro Music Produced And Mixed By: - The Tamil Creator - Yanchan Written By: - Aravinthan Ehamparam - Yanchan Rajmohan      Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1659394/support]

EP #131: Arunan Arulampalam - Mayor of Hartford (Connecticut)

Arunan Arulampalam ( @mayorarunan ) is the Mayor of Hartford (Connecticut). He joins Ara on this week’s episode of #TheTamilCreator to discuss South Asian representation slowly growing in the politics, his parents’ belief that “no one would vote for someone with the last name, Arulampalam” because of the world they inherited and overcoming these underdog odds, being the CEO of a non-profit before running for mayor, his passion for Hartford, the importance of faith and family in keeping him rooted, and so much more. Follow Arunan: - Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/mayorarunan/ [https://www.instagram.com/mayorarunan/])    Timestamps 00:19 - Ara introduces this week’s guest, Arunan Arulampalam 01:22 - Arunan’s thoughts on how the 2025 US Elections played out 03:34 - Arunan speaks on his childhood years; not realizing he’d end up in politics 06:43 - Politics being less openly discussed in today’s world 07:09 - College, love, career, and family; Atlanta, LA, and Hartford 08:43 - Why he loves Hartford; why you should visit 10:16 - Being the CEO of a non-profit before running for mayor 12:00 - His path to becoming mayor; beating the odds as an underdog 15:47 - What he wants to accomplish during his time as mayor 17:51 - His day-to-day as mayor; navigating a lack of time 19:28 - How he manages his energy through work and familiar priorities 21:20 - Family and faith dictating his decisions; staying humble 23:35 - His biggest learning lessons since becoming mayor 27:18 - What’s the Tamil-community like in Hartford? 29:25 - Advice he would give his 16-year-old self 30:17 - The legacy he wants to be remembered for by friends and family 30:51 - Creator Confessions 35:36 - The Wrap Up Intro Music Produced And Mixed By: - The Tamil Creator - Yanchan Written By: - Aravinthan Ehamparam - Yanchan Rajmohan     Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1659394/support]