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TVC: So today is May 3rd, 2023. TVC: My name is Teresa and I'll be talking with Tanaz Choudhury, the CEO and TVC: president of Tanches Global Management Inc, an IT company. TVC: First, thank you so much for spending some time with us today.

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TVC: First, I just want to get into your early life and your background. TVC: So could you describe for us like, when and where you were born? TC: Sure. Thanks, Teresa. TC: I was born in Bombay, India, which is now called Mumbai,

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TC: and I was born into a Farsi family in a smaller TC: suburb of Bombay called Bandra. TVC: Could you describe the—kind of like the household and environment you grew up in and TVC: also, like, the nature of your parents work and how that influenced you?

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TC: Absolutely. So growing up, I grew up in a small TC: family unit, which is my parents, my brother, and I. TC: My grandmother was a very, very strong influence in my life TC: for the first, earlier part of my childhood.

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TC: And she did help a lot in raising me, helping me create TC: thoughts that have shaped me into who I am, even today. TC: So I'm–I'm actually a combination of generational TC: growth in my upbringing.

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TC: And we grew up in a–in a very close-knit family, TC: right? So my parents and my brother and I were rather close TC: just because it was always the four of us. TC: And my grandmum was, like I said, a stronger influence when she was around.

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TC: She didn't live with us, so it was a little bit different that way. TC: But a lovely, lovely person. TC: I had a fairly, I would say, TC: normalized childhood growing up from the family

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TC: unit. TC: From the school side of it, yes, there was a little bit of TC: bullying and things like that. TC: That, you know, is much of a focus these days.

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TC: But when I was growing up, we just had to kind of, you know, TC: take it in our stride, create the resilience and move on. TC: And I think that has lent to a lot of the grit that I see TC: myself having in multiple situations that are not favorable, at

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TC: times, towards me. TC: So I–I think my early childhood TC: and my adolescent years have actually TC: shaped a lot of the character that I–that I present and represent in

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TC: myself even today. TVC: I think it's great that you were able to develop that kind of grit. TVC: Was that a value that your parents emphasized? TVC: Or, like, in general, what were some values that your parents or your grandmother kind of

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TVC: like really influenced you on? TC: Sure. So I'll start with my parents, then I'll move on to my TC: grandparents. My parents were very disciplined people and we had a very TC: regimented growing up.

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TC: And the reason for that is because both my parents worked. TC: My mum and my dad had to be somewhere at a certain time, and I was TC: also—I went to a convent school and that also imbibed in me TC: the necessity to be on time and in time with things we did.

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TC: So time was a very essential element, rather respected TC: while growing up. So that's one of the character traits that I have developed is TC: punctuality and the respect for time and timelines. TC: And I think that was–that was very important.

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TC: Also the discipline, the–the rigor of having a TC: timetable and then following it, the necessity of picking up projects TC: and completing them. If we started something, we always completed it. TC: At least that was what was required or expected.

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TC: You know, my–my parents also gave me a very important TC: lesson and I would say particularly my dad and I'll give you a TC: story to share why I say this, right? TC: So, my dad and my mum both worked for the Central Bank in India

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TC: and one day, my dad was the head TC: cashier for one of the branches at the Central Bank in India. TC: Everybody knew him rather well and he's a fun, jovial person. TC: Growing up, I just remember he was always the life of the party.

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TC: When he entered, everybody started having fun, and that's one of my TC: fondest memories of him. TC: I try to emulate that when I show up at parties. TC: So, you know, it's funny how much of your parents you become and how much of your

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TC: childhood, you know, kind of stays with you through your life. TC: You try to shake it off between your 20s and 30s. TC: 40s it starts creeping back, and 50s it's here to stay again, right, and we become our TC: parents. But—so I remember this instance and this–this character

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TC: trait is honesty, right. TC: And this is how my dad taught me this and this has stayed with me forever. TC: And I have shared this with my children and I hope that this guides them when they have a TC: moral or an ethical thought that is not favorable to the one they

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TC: should be having. TC: So he comes home one day and my father always took the train, TC: but that evening he came home in a taxi and I was TC: completely surprised.

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TC: And he came home with one of the guards at the bank who was a TC: Gurkha with a huge double-barreled rifle. TC: And, you know, as kids, we just ran down to greet him to see what was going TC: on. And he walks up into the house with a huge blue gunny

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TC: bag. And this bag is like—it-it's from the floor. TC: It's almost as tall as we were, my brother and I. TC: And we were just, like, stunned because everybody in India knows that that's a TC: money bag. And when the banks and things like that, before

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TC: days—before the actual—I–I think even in the armored cars, these were the TC: gunny—these were the–the money bags that were actually kept with money that was being TC: transported. He brings that home and we're stunned. TC: He brings it home and empties it on the coffee table and starts kind of

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TC: stacking and counting, and the guard's watching the door. TC: The doors are locked for the first time all the way at 6 o'clock in the evening, which TC: never really happened in my house because everybody knew everybody in the building we TC: lived and we were very kind of close growing up with our neighbors, too.

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TC: And so we just—my brother and I were just thrilled. TC: We were like, "Oh my gosh, we're rich, we're rich. TC: We're super rich." You know, we'd never seen so much money before. TC: And then my father has counted everything.

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TC: He makes notes of everything. TC: He signs it. TC: The Gurkha stamps it with his fingerprints because not all of them are learned (?) TC: Enough. So he didn't have a signature.

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TC: He actually had a thumbprint that he put on it. TC: And then they folded a piece of paper, put it in with the bag, lock the bag up again the TC: way it was supposed to be, and took it into the bedroom. TC: And that night, that—and, you know, he was really stressed out.

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TC: And my father used to put us to sleep. TC: And that night I asked him, I said, you know—after our–our night TC: prayers, I said, you know, "Why can't we keep the money? TC: Finders, keepers, right?

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TC: Why do we have to return it? TC: Why do you have to return it?" And all evening he tried to explain to me TC: how it was the right thing to do. TC: It was honesty.

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TC: It was important that people did that, and I–I–I still wasn't getting it, TC: right. So that evening, after the prayers, when he sat me down and I asked him the same TC: question for probably the 20th time that evening, he looked me in the eye and he TC: said, "I only have one question." And

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TC: then he said, "What if I was TC: the cashier that forgot the bag at the bank ? TC: Would you want the other cashier to bring it the TC: next day? Or would you rather he keep it?" And that

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TC: was a beautiful way of getting honesty explained. TC: And even today, I always try to put myself in a TC: position where I could think for a moment and see, hey, what would TC: the other person do?

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TC: If I was the other person, what would I want them to do for me? TC: So I—a lot of what I do is controlled TC: by these lessons and these character traits accumulated. TC: And like I said—so that's the kind of family I grew up in.

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TC: This is who my parents were, and very, very strong importance TC: on education in my–in my family. TC: My grandmother was a very strong proponent of education. TC: My father, my mother—my mother's extremely educated for

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TC: her time and place. TC: And I just was expected to follow in that lineage TC: of strong women with a strong education to back it up. TC: So I think one of the strongest things my family could have given me is the

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TC: ability to have that education as my go-to at any TC: stage of life. TC: So by qualifications, I'm a research chemist. TC: I speak seven languages like you researched.

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TC: I worked in international finance. TC: I own my own technology company. TC: I'm a serial entrepreneur, so I also own a couple of design companies. TC: And I do a lot of investments.

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TC: And I like being an entrepreneur, but I absolutely love TC: the concept and the delivery that you can have in your TC: life if you really formally educate yourself. TC: Education is very, very important.

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TC: So my life's tenants have been education and entrepreneurship, TC: and I think it's really important for people to realize TC: that a lot of children these days, right, they say, "Oh, I'm never going to use what TC: I'm studying. H-How–how is chemistry going to help me if I want to be a data

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TC: scientist? How is, you know, physics going to help me if I want to TC: be a clothing designer? TC: It's not going to help me." But the truth is that the institution of TC: education and the thought of education is to go

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TC: to a place to learn how to learn. TC: Right? It's not what you're learning. TC: It's learning how to learn something. TC: And I think that's genuinely the deliverable that universities and

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TC: schools promise. TC: And I think if we changed our perspective and looked at this correctly, you'd TC: realize how much of an important concept education TC: is. Not only personally or professionally for

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TC: one person, but globally for an entire race. TVC: Yeah. So I think you made a great point about education. TVC: I guess, like, how did that influence you when you started college? TVC: And like, where did you go to school too?

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TVC: And like, yeah, I guess tying—with all that in mind, the importance of TVC: education, how did that influence you during school? TC: Sure. So for—like I said, a greater influence in my TC: life was my grandmother, because she had actually—she's the smartest person I know

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TC: who never went to school a day in her life. TC: But she knew the importance of education. TC: She tried to learn different things from different people because I think she TC: truly believed in, again, the art of learning.

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TC: And that's important. TC: Personally, I went to school in a convent school all the way through TC: high school, and then I moved into the Bombay University TC: collegiate structure.

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TC: I am a research chemist, as you know, by qualifications, and TC: I–I graduated with 16 units of chemistry. TC: So basically a chemistry—a B.S. TC: in chemistry with a specialization in preparations of drugs and dyes is

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TC: how my graduation came to fruition. TC: I–I personally think that I've always TC: had a zest for learning, which is why I picked up the languages and learnt them, even TC: though it–it–it wasn't a requirement.

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TC: It was something that I took onus of, I enjoyed. TC: I thought it unlocked parts of my brain that I didn't TC: previously kind of feel the fire with. TC: And so it was nice because it opened my mind to a global

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TC: concept of living, right, versus just a very TC: tunnel-visioned, singular concept of, "Hey, I've grown up in this environment, this TC: society, and this is where I'm going to pursue all TC: my talents and interests," right?

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TC: And so education, I think, opened my mind and kind TC: of, accumulation of knowledge gave me the confidence that I TC: needed to go out there and kind of make something of TC: myself.

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TVC: So were those—so I saw that you can speak French, German, Hindi, TVC: Urdu, Marathi. Was that through the university, or like through classes, or how TVC: did that kind of start? TC: So the beauty about a culturally rich place like India, where I was

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TC: born, is the fact that you are surrounded by, you TC: know, a melting pot of languages and cultures around you, just like you are in TC: America, right? TC: And I think that is such a privilege compared to some of the other countries that may

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TC: or may not have a similar environment to offer, right? TC: When I went to school, my first language was English. TC: My mother tongue is Gujarati. TC: So right off the bat, these two were in the bag.

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TC: The national language in India is Hindi, which is why, obviously, it is TC: a required language. TC: The state language in my state was Marathi, which TC: is why now I know English, Gujarati, Hindi and Marathi, right.

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TC: And then you pick up certain languages. TC: I actually took a year of Sanskrit, too, in school. TC: And so you–you pick up languages. TC: When I reached eighth grade, I had an opportunity to pick French as one of the

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TC: subjects, and I did that. TC: So that's how French got introduced into my language structure. TC: And then I–I loved the–the–the thought of TC: the language German really kind of intrigued me.

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TC: And that is because German is one of the few languages, even though it's written in TC: Roman script, has actually got a lot of roots in the TC: Sanskrit kind of lineage, right? TC: And so that was very intriguing to me.

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TC: So I picked that up. TC: I was just telling someone, I've had the opportunity of living many lives in one life, TC: right? I've done—everything I wanted to do, I've had an TC: opportunity to at least try, to date.

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TC: And yes, there are things on my bucket list, but I've crossed off quite a few of them TC: as well. So I'm–I'm genuinely privileged that I have the opportunity to TC: do that and I've created the environment for myself to live TC: within.

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TVC: That's amazing. So right after college, like, what kind of TVC: work did you immediately go into? TC: So, you know, it's not all—it's not TC: all champagne and roses.

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TC: Right? So my life did take a very strong turn when I was in TC: college and my mum TC: had–had to get operated on her spine. TC: And that turned into a little bit of a nightmare

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TC: because it was–it was a medical issue TC: that was, you know, due to negligence. TC: She—it just got worse. TC: And–and she was in hospital for almost

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TC: just over a year, I think, at that point. TC: And I did not have at that minute the privilege of just continuing my TC: education. I've al—I'd just taken a setback in my TC: education because apparently, even though I was a merit student, which

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TC: means 90 percentile, and not only (?) I still didn't get admission TC: into medical school, which was my dream at that time. TC: And my focus entirely in life was to–to go in the field TC: of medicine, to be a doctor of sort, you know?

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TC: And I couldn't pursue that because in 12th grade TC: my—apparently my papers were eaten by the cow TC: in India. And it wasn't, TC: "Oh, the dog ate my homework" excuse.

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TC: It actually was an issue. TC: And so I had just taken that huge setback because of TC: that. My grades were just whatever was put in at that TC: time because there was no fighting the government, even though there

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TC: were tremendous lawsuits filed and things like that, it just–just wasn't at TC: the progressive state that things are today and things are in this country. TC: At that time, I did not have the privilege of that and I did not have the privilege of time TC: on my side.

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TC: So that's what led me to–to go into chemistry TC: as my major, is because I didn't have an option, and these were the TC: only available options and I had to pick one that I was going to be good at versus one I TC: liked because I didn't get what I liked.

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TC: And so I just come off of that setback. TC: And then my mum had a medical issue and my–my father TC: was, at that moment, the only earning member of the family. TC: And we had kind of depleted a lot of our savings as a

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TC: family. And so the onus as the older child at that moment was TC: on me to take up a job and contribute back to the family resources. TC: So I took up a job with an airline and I started flying for an airline. TC: That was my very first job, was that as a flight attendant

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TC: or an air hostess, as we were called then for a TC: private charter airline. TC: And I did that for about a year and a half before TC: I left and came to America.

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TC: So I came to America under very unique circumstances. TC: And—but this was my–my story thus TC: far. TVC: So, I guess with your move to the US, how did that happen?

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TVC: And also, like, was your family immigrating with you or, like, could you just describe TVC: the general process for you and how that felt? TC: I don't know if you're ready for this one, Teresa, but brace yourself. TC: So all along, I had a best friend who then became a little

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TC: bit more than just a best friend, and his name is TC: Chesley, and he's Roman Catholic and I'm a Zoroastrian. TC: So at the age of 21, I decided that TC: I was going to run away from home with $103 and

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TC: come to the United States of America and marry Chesley. TC: And that is exactly what I did. TC: And that's where the name [TC: The name.] Tanches Global Management comes from. TC: It's for Tanaz and Chesley.

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TVC: Wow. So your family was not with you, I assume? TVC: [laughs] TC: They were not with me and they were not happy with me for a while before TC: they realized that we had come and set up and tried to

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TC: do things the right way around. TC: And let me share something cool with you. TC: So this is where the story of Tanches TC: began, on the steps of Bombay University.

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TC: Almost 35 years ago. TVC: That's very interesting. TVC: [laughs] So when you first moved— TC: Didn't expect that, did ya?

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TVC: Yeah. Unexpected. TVC: When you first moved to the US, like, what kind of work did you guys do? TVC: When—you've mentioned you tried to do things like the right way after the US? TC: Yes. So I was a finalist for Miss India and Miss Universe

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TC: Pageant. And so, I had an opportunity TC: to pick up some modeling contracts at that time. TC: And I also worked a little bit. TC: I did different jobs.

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TC: I worked in a travel agency, I worked in that. TC: I worked in a brokerage firm in a trading firm. TC: And then finally in—Chesley TC: decided that he—Chesley loved technology the whole time

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TC: through. And I loved numbers and business. TC: So he decided that it would be a good idea if TC: we came up with a technology company together TC: and kind of, you know, started our foray

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TC: for Tanches, which is something which we wanted to do, as you can see, since TC: we were 16, 17 years old. TC: And so we decided to pursue that. TC: So the picture you saw was on the steps of Bombay University around

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TC: 19—9—89? TC: 89, 90. TC: And we incorporated in the state of Texas in 1998. TC: So we are now a 25-year-old Texas corporation.

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TVC: Where–where did you first move to? TVC: Was that Texas or another place? TC: No. I first came to New York and then I lived in TC: New York, Philadelphia, Florida, and Houston.

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TVC: That's a lot of places [laughs]. TVC: So when you first came to the US, did you have any culture shocks or TVC: things you had to, like, really adjust to when you first got here? TC: So actually I'm from Bombay, so it's not much of a culture shock because I grew up

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TC: rather Westernized. TC: I'm also a Parsi Zoroastrian, so the privilege of birth had given me the right TC: to education and the right to a lot of the family TC: structure in a more Westernized

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TC: format rather than more of an Indianized format. TC: So like I said, that was just by privilege of birth. TC: I had very little to do with that. TC: But having said that, it—there wasn't a culture shock of America.

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TC: I did love the concept of having a country that was TC: so global that it was everyone's, TC: including mine, and that was an amazing feeling. TC: And I really wish that the deci—the indecisiveness and the

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TC: segregations we are seeing today can go back to that country, can go TC: back to that, you know, combined whole, that global TC: one place, right. TC: And to me, it was more of a romanticism of America

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TC: versus a culture shock of America. TC: So, the biggest TC: shock I had was when I came to Texas and everybody spoke really slowly and TC: I just couldn't understand that.

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TC: I was like, why does everybody talk like that? TC: Is it because of me or is it because of them? TC: You know? And so figuring that out was a little bit of a–a TC: funny story there.

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TC: But other than that, I–I think I've seen plenty of high rises. TC: I've again come from a very strongly Westernized background. TC: So there wasn't a tremendous amount of culture shock for me, to be honest with you. TC: One of the luckier ones that didn't really face that bias much.

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TVC: My other question too is like, what appealed to you about, like, TVC: entrepreneurship? You mentioned being really into numbers and business, like, TVC: was that always there before college or like after? TVC: Or how did that start to happen for you?

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TC: So. It was again, like I said, you know, there are certain things TC: that when Chesley and I first got here, we appreciated about TC: America. Right? It's the–it's the privilege of opportunity. TC: And I know that because of my education and because of the knowledge I

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TC: have, I could literally put in work and TC: earn and become whoever I wanted to in this country. TC: And that really guided that and fueled that entrepreneurial TC: spirit in us.

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TC: And we both felt like if we were not bound by our—limited by TC: how much we could work, we could work as much as we wanted to get TC: whatever we wanted to get. TC: I think that fueled a lot of our kind of entrepreneurial

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TC: fire. And both of us had a similar mindset. TC: We both wanted to create something that was a legacy TC: for us at that time. TC: And then eventually, if we ever had a family, that would be the legacy we wanted to

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TC: leave behind. We wanted to show that we were the quintessential TC: American dream, right, happening in reality. TC: And that's what drove us, allowed us to wake up every TC: day. There were days when you're an entrepreneur that things don't go right, and

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TC: there are days when you live off of rice and red beans, right? TC: But then again, you know, what makes you get up from that fetal position TC: crying the next day is the fact that you feel like TC: it's going to get better.

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TC: You're going to be able to do it. TC: You're in control of your fate or destiny to a certain extent. TC: And that if you put in the work, you could reap the rewards for it. TC: And so that drove us every single day.

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TC: And everything that you see we've created has been an effort based off TC: of those thoughts, those feelings, that gumption. TVC: That's incredible. TVC: And also reminds me of the grit you mentioned developing during your early school

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TVC: as well. [TC: Yes.] Could you describe the work your company does for TVC: its clients? TC: Absolutely. So I'm very, very, very proud to say that TC: Tanches Global Management, Inc.

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TC: today is a 25-year-old Texas corporation. TC: We are a fully certified hub with the state of Texas. TC: We do a lot of work for small to mid-sized businesses, but we also do a lot TC: of work in the government and enterprise space.

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TC: And some of our clients are actually the State Department TC: of Texas and their multiple units under them. TC: A number of cities, police departments, law enforcement units, school TC: districts are who we service in terms of all of their

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TC: technology needs, whether it be hardware, software services, TC: cybersecurity, BCDR solutions, which is business continuity, disaster TC: recovery solutions. TC: We are the ones watching their back.

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TC: We're the ones watching and working with them closely to TC: create an impactful kind of TC: barrier for technology and what—rather, a–a barrier TC: against rogue technologies in cybersecurity in

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TC: kind of future-proofing their existing technology solutions and helping them create TC: and design, you know, infrastructure planning and future-proofing TC: technology for, you know, the next few years to come. TC: So we work rather actively in this space.

00:29:34.020 - 00:29:52.650

TC: We work very actively with some of our enterprise clients, which include TC: global names like Mitsubishi and Chick-fil-A. TC: So those are my clients and I'm very, very proud to say TC: that 100% of all of our clients, whether they're

00:29:52.950 - 00:30:07.830

TC: in the commercial space, in the government space, or in the small to TC: mid-sized business space, are all a product, a result, TC: of referrals only. TC: We do not have a sales team going out there smiling and dialing.

00:30:07.830 - 00:30:22.920

TC: Each client has been referred by somebody else who was a client, and that's how we've TC: built our business, one client at a time. TC: 100% of my business is insourced, which means I only use American TC: workers for all of my business.

00:30:23.040 - 00:30:40.770

TC: And I believe that it is very important for us TC: to live and grow the community that we are a part of. TC: I think that is imperative that we give an opportunity to our next TC: generation here so that they can grow, flourish and create

00:30:40.770 - 00:30:54.670

TC: dreams for themselves, just like Chesley and I did for us. TVC: How many—like, in terms of numbers, how many employees do you guys have? TVC: You said it's been like 25 years. TVC: [TC: Yes.] Has your company grown since then?

00:30:56.530 - 00:31:07.180

TC: So in technology, it's a little bit different. TC: It's not on the numbers of employees, it's the amount of projects that TC: we're able to deliver. TC: So we're a small, lean team.

00:31:07.180 - 00:31:24.010

TC: We're just about ten employees at this time. TC: And the reason for that is because we work with a lot of contractors. TC: We like to bring in those that are refined at their job and doing what they TC: do best. So we bring in the experts for the jobs and for the projects at

00:31:24.040 - 00:31:38.360

TC: hand. TVC: What kind of, like, qualifications do you look for when you're hiring these—or, TVC: contractors—working with these contractors? TC: So that's a really unique question, right?

00:31:38.360 - 00:31:54.720

TC: And nothing you've asked me thus far has been straightforward. TC: So even my hiring process is not a simple yes or no answer. TC: Just to tell you—just coming from the background we TC: do, and giving, you know,

00:31:55.020 - 00:32:09.300

TC: credit to the concept of grit and resilience , we TC: look for people who have a good attitude. TC: I can always teach them something or have help them gain a TC: certification if they are the right candidate.

00:32:10.080 - 00:32:22.710

TC: So the right candidate to me is the person that comes in with the right attitude, the TC: right character. TC: I told you character is really important to me. TC: You know, it's like (?), you either have it or you don't, you know?

00:32:22.710 - 00:32:36.210

TC: So I feel like it's really important. TC: And for the right person, we've made exceptions on our hiring processes, TC: and that has paid off rather well. TC: So I feel like attitude eats aptitude for lunch

00:32:36.630 - 00:32:49.480

TC: every day. And so in my candidates, of course they have to come in with a TC: sense of, you know, aptitude. TC: But the attitude is what I am truly looking for TC: first.

00:32:52.190 - 00:33:07.190

TVC: You mentioned that you guys work a bit in, like, business continuity and disaster TVC: recovery. Could you give me an example on, like, what that would look like? TC: Absolutely. So in 2017, when Hurricane Harvey happened, we TC: had a police department.

00:33:07.190 - 00:33:23.060

TC: I cannot discuss names for obvious reasons, but we had an entire police TC: department that was getting flooded and they had to move their emergency TC: equipment and be on the fly. TC: And so—while, simultaneously, the 911 calls at a different

00:33:23.060 - 00:33:36.220

TC: city were getting dropped because of an overload of TC: 911 calls on the system. TC: And so we were able to come in and do business continuity TC: during the disaster, right.

00:33:36.220 - 00:33:51.710

TC: So business continuity during disaster recovery is what we TC: brought into focus here. TC: My team was able to flip over the network TC: of the police department into an EOC, which is emergency operations

00:33:51.810 - 00:34:10.640

TC: center, on the fly and remotely, while the storm was TC: actually happening, while the PD was actually flooding. TC: On the other hand, I had a consultant who was able to—he TC: was actually on the road to Dallas with his pregnant wife, he was evacuating.

00:34:10.640 - 00:34:30.150

TC: And he was able to pull over and build a virtual call center so TC: 911 and 311 calls wouldn't–wouldn't get dropped TC: from the system, and they were able to build and mitigate the TC: risk of having these dropped calls by building a 311 call

00:34:30.150 - 00:34:42.710

TC: center on the fly for that city so they could absorb citizen calls and see what was TC: going on. TVC: Wow, I didn't even realize how much IT would play into like the TVC: hurricane, but—

00:34:42.710 - 00:34:55.940

TC: Absolutely. TC: Even in the pandemic, right? TC: People when they talk about 2020 and they talk about the global pandemic, TC: they have not realized that technology—actually, we were the first

00:34:55.940 - 00:35:10.460

TC: responders of technology. TC: When people had to connect remotely from home because work had to go on for certain TC: things, the–the–the TC: technology and the infrastructure was

00:35:10.460 - 00:35:28.880

TC: what helped support people and citizens while they TC: were working from home, what kept them secure with those connections, what kept TC: the work running, what kept these cities moving TC: despite of the fact that there was nobody on the road.

00:35:28.880 - 00:35:47.330

TC: We were the first responders of technology and for technology TC: for the citizens at that time. TVC: You mentioned, like, helping out the next generation with your work. TVC: And I saw you also support organizations like the India Culture Center,

00:35:47.960 - 00:36:03.980

TVC: Alliance for Multicultural Refugee Services and other organizations. TVC: What kind of involvement do you have and, like, what made you interested or TVC: have a desire to support them? TC: So like I told you, I–I have lived many lives in one life.

00:36:03.990 - 00:36:18.960

TC: One of the important character traits that my grandmother developed in me was that of TC: service. And she always told me that–that by giving back was the TC: fastest way to receive. TC: And that couldn't be more true in my life than anybody

00:36:18.960 - 00:36:37.390

TC: else's. I have been involved in social service just because of the TC: privilege of being—or, rather, having her as my grandmother. TC: And I've always been in focus with the–with the thought process of TC: having, you know, a–a social-civic mindset, right?

00:36:37.390 - 00:36:50.690

TC: And it's been a very important character trait for me TC: is to serve others. TC: So I've served in multiple capacities with multiple organizations since TC: I'm seven years old.

00:36:50.690 - 00:37:04.120

TC: In America, I've been on different boards and commissions all the way from nonprofits TC: to chambers of commerce. TC: And I've worked very actively—again, like I said, entrepreneurship and TC: education are important to me.

00:37:04.120 - 00:37:22.240

TC: So I've done a lot of things that involve these two aspects. TC: And, you know, I've been a speaker for Microsoft. TC: I've been a speaker for the greater Houston area, for the school districts. TC: I have been a part of the Junior League—I'm sorry, junior

00:37:22.240 - 00:37:41.050

TC: achievement and speaking for kids, you know, from TC: inner-city schools, girls in technology, women in technology, girls in coding, TC: understanding STEM–STEM-related conversations. TC: I've just—I've–I've truly felt like you have to be able to

00:37:41.050 - 00:37:56.440

TC: bring a certain value, a contribution to your TC: social environment. TC: And I recently spoke on a topic where I said, you know, your TC: net worth depends a lot on your network, right?

00:37:57.130 - 00:38:15.940

TC: So the network that you have will govern a lot of your net worth, TC: not just monetarily, but even as a person. TC: Something cool about me here is the fact that I am one of the TC: only citizens' firefighters and I was president of

00:38:15.940 - 00:38:31.900

TC: Class 2 for Houston Fire Academy and Citizens TC: Police Academy Alumni, and I was Class 33 for TC: Houston Police Department. TC: I'm one of the only people in America who became a citizens' volunteer

00:38:31.930 - 00:38:48.190

TC: before I became a citizen of this country. TC: So it's–it's rather cool. TC: And I think Houston Chronicle did a story on me years ago, about TC: 12 hours after my police academy graduation, I was sworn

00:38:48.190 - 00:39:01.930

TC: in as a citizen. TC: So that was literally a–a matter of 7 o'clock in the evening, graduation; TC: 7 o'clock in the morning, swearing-in ceremony. TC: And so, I–I just feel like it's really important for us to

00:39:01.930 - 00:39:19.510

TC: be social-civically active. TC: It's important for the next generation to look at that and find their place, and find TC: their space, and contribute, and give back, you know, and I TC: think the sense of service over the years has depleted quite a bit

00:39:19.510 - 00:39:34.950

TC: because people are always looking at, "What's in it for me?" And I think TC: that defeats the whole purpose of the fact that it is a social service. TC: It's a service, right? TC: It's not compensation that you have to look back for.

00:39:35.310 - 00:39:52.320

TC: So I'm–I'm–I'm a big ardent believer in social civic TC: activities, volunteerism. TC: I've done all of that. I've sat on multiple boards and commissions, like I said, and TC: given back wherever I could to this great country and great community that

00:39:52.320 - 00:40:08.600

TC: has given so much to me. TVC: I saw, actually, how you were also featured on Brown Girl TVC: magazine in 2015. TVC: Do you feel, like, a responsibility to kind of represent your community on a larger

00:40:08.600 - 00:40:24.410

TVC: scale, whether that's due to your ethnic background, or being, like, a woman in tech, TVC: or, like, as an entrepreneur? TC: Absolutely. All of the above. TC: So one of the greater responsibilities I have is

00:40:24.440 - 00:40:43.040

TC: being a woman, you know, representing women, representing girls. TC: This is, again, a privilege that I've been bestowed by birth. TC: I was born a woman, and I believe in women and girls and technology. TC: I believe that if women own half the sky, they should own half the

00:40:43.280 - 00:40:57.080

TC: decisions made. TC: They should have half a seat at the table. TC: And I feel like it's really, really, really important that women TC: and girls take that, and absorb

00:40:57.080 - 00:41:11.270

TC: that for a minute so they can understand their place. TC: So I feel it is integral to represent women, because I am one, TC: and girls. TC: I feel it is integral to represent women of color

00:41:11.960 - 00:41:27.020

TC: because I was brown when I was born, I'm brown today, and TC: when I pass away, I'll still be brown. TC: And the color of my skin should not determine the level of my TC: intelligence or my emotional quotient.

00:41:27.260 - 00:41:42.990

TC: My EQ and my IQ are not dependent on the color of my TC: skin, where I was born, how TC: old I am. TC: The experience factor may have certain level of age

00:41:42.990 - 00:41:55.400

TC: kind of alliance. TC: But other than that, it is really important for people to understand and TC: respect the value that we bring to the table as TC: a human being.

00:41:55.410 - 00:42:11.760

TC: I believe very strongly in the human element. TC: I think each one of us has a common thread, and I think TC: diversity actually, genuinely creates value. TC: So I have—I am very proud to say that

00:42:11.760 - 00:42:26.400

TC: I am one of the founding members of something called TC: the ILN, or, you know, TC: it–it–it is the Inclusive Leadership Network. TC: I am a part of the DNI Initiative in Technology.

00:42:27.450 - 00:42:43.530

TC: I have been a speaker for multiple girls and women in technology TC: initiatives. I–I–I genuinely feel like if I can TC: inspire—so this is the starfish route (?), right? TC: For me, I just want to inspire one other person.

00:42:45.570 - 00:43:01.000

TC: And if they can go around and do the same, I have achieved my TC: goal. TVC: Yeah. I think that's really great. TVC: I think, too, you also have a lot of diversity in your experiences as well,

00:43:01.570 - 00:43:15.910

TVC: on top of just like your passion for this representation. TVC: I think that's really interesting. TVC: I saw you even had, like, a clothing line. TVC: Could you talk a little bit about that and your influences for that clothing line

00:43:15.940 - 00:43:31.630

TVC: too? TC: Absolutely. So the influence for that was 110% TC: my grandmum. She was quite a ham, really loved good fashion, TC: loved the concept of, again, you know, fashion

00:43:32.500 - 00:43:48.400

TC: and modeling and designers and TC: good—you know, good apparel, good, you know, a good TC: lifestyle, as such. TC: Right. We all deserve to create what we consider a

00:43:48.400 - 00:44:01.700

TC: good lifestyle. TC: And that could mean anything because the range depends on who you are, where you're TC: coming from and where you want to be. TC: So it is not—you can't measure that by somebody else's

00:44:01.730 - 00:44:16.850

TC: yardstick. The yardstick has to be yours. TC: So she was a very strong influencing factor. TC: And I started the clothing line in 2010 when she passed TC: away, and I had it for quite a few years till it kind of—I realized I was burning the

00:44:16.850 - 00:44:35.960

TC: candle at both ends, but it did extremely well, it was very successful TC: . And I feel like that gave me that TC: kind of je ne sais quoi, the facet of going from TC: being in STEM to being in STEAM, which is science,

00:44:36.590 - 00:44:52.250

TC: technology, engineering, arts, mathematics, right? TC: So I feel like I'm fueled by STEAM. TC: So I have a very decent right and left side of the brain. TC: And so the creativity from what that brought about

00:44:53.000 - 00:45:09.920

TC: helped fuel and kind of TC: helped fill that side of the brain, you know, it's the right and left sides of the TC: brain. And I felt like my creativity and my logic were an equal balance, TC: and that made me a complete person.

00:45:09.920 - 00:45:27.590

TC: So I still enjoy very much looking at things that TC: are all things beautiful, right? TC: It's just, you know—a thing of beauty is, you know, TC: really something that stays with you, whether it's just a beautiful

00:45:27.590 - 00:45:46.280

TC: sunset or somebody in a–in a well-tailored dress TC: or somebody who's created an art piece or somebody TC: who can be creative enough to create their own TC: concept of art and put it in a format that can

00:45:46.460 - 00:46:02.540

TC: be appreciated by many. TVC: Was that influenced by your time in for in—like, the beauty pageants you had TVC: mentioned earlier? I saw you had won the India Queen pageant and Miss India pageant. TVC: Did that kind of play a factor in wanting to do fashion?

00:46:03.710 - 00:46:21.920

TC: No, actually, I liked fashion a long time before TC: I ever ended up in a pageant. TC: And I just, you know—like, the saying, you know, "A thing of TC: beauty is joy forever." I-It—I was raised with that concept,

00:46:21.920 - 00:46:39.680

TC: so it was not foreign to me, it was not something that I came up with. TC: I just found myself appreciating good things from a TC: very, very young age, and I–I felt TC: like it was a privilege to be able to own or partake in some of

00:46:39.680 - 00:46:57.570

TC: that. TVC: What were some, I guess, takeaways from your beauty pageant experiences? TC: I—that's a really nice question. TC: And I can say for me, for me, you

00:46:57.570 - 00:47:12.130

TC: know, the concept of "don't judge a book by the cover," TC: is not entirely true. TC: Because all of us deep down inside have to like the book we pick up TC: before we start reading it.

00:47:12.220 - 00:47:30.790

TC: So it sounds great when you put it on paper, but in TC: actuality, only books that speak to you that you see, TC: or the cover that speaks to you, is the one you'll pick up first. TC: So I feel like my takeaway from that is, be presentable.

00:47:31.750 - 00:47:45.640

TC: And it doesn't mean designer clothes or fashion or TC: makeup. It just means be presentable. TC: Be attractive to yourself. TC: Right? Would you pick you?

00:47:45.640 - 00:48:01.450

TC: If you would pick you, then yes, you can expect somebody else TC: to also want to get to know you better. TC: So I feel it's really important in life, you know, to dress for TC: where you want to be versus where you are.

00:48:02.050 - 00:48:17.060

TC: You can never be overdressed or overeducated, in TC: most circumstances is what my generation grew up with. TC: Of course, Mark Zuckerberg completely changed that, right, with his grey TC: hoodie and jeans.

00:48:17.270 - 00:48:36.490

TC: But then again, I feel like when you dress up for an occasion, you are TC: respecting the occasion, the host, the environment, TC: and the people that you haven't even met till you get there. TC: So I see dressing up and showing up as a form of respect.

00:48:39.050 - 00:48:54.840

TVC: I also was interested in, too, what other hobbies or interests you have TVC: outside of work as of right now? TVC: Any other, like, side projects or things you wanted to talk about? TC: Absolutely. I have plenty of hobbies like you —like

00:48:55.830 - 00:49:12.090

TC: I mentioned, you know, I do the most random things ever, and I am TC: genuinely grateful that I have an opportunity to do that. TC: I—I like dec—I like flower decorations as a hobby. TC: I like reading very much.

00:49:13.230 - 00:49:27.270

TC: Recently, during the pandemic, I started watching a lot more TV. TC: I used to not watch that much TV, and then I realized when I finished TC: Netflix that I actually like watching TV. TC: I liked movies.

00:49:28.580 - 00:49:42.510

TC: I love window shopping. TC: I love shopping, too. TC: I love sitting and watching, people-watching. TC: I love watching those interactions.

00:49:43.230 - 00:50:01.580

TC: One of the weird hobbies I have is—I travel a lot in my business, TC: So when I travel it–it–it isn't—I don't TC: know if it's fair to call it a hobby, but I love to sit and watch interactions and TC: how the social anthropology of how people behave on

00:50:01.580 - 00:50:09.250

TC: airports, right. TC: I enjoy watching that. TC: I like painting. TC: I like drawing.

00:50:09.260 - 00:50:23.330

TC: I like writing. TC: I–I–I used to write a lot of poems and short stories. TC: I, you know—I used to write for newspapers at one TC: point of time and magazines and things like that as well.

00:50:23.330 - 00:50:33.500

TC: So I–I have a tremendous amount of hobbies. TC: I just have to find the time. TC: I love traveling. TC: I just have to find the time to do all of that.

00:50:34.010 - 00:50:48.980

TC: And I think from where I'm sitting right now, looking back, TC: I've had a decent amount of balance between my work TC: life and the hobbies. TC: So I can truly say I'm a work-hard-play-hard person.

00:50:52.110 - 00:51:08.160

TVC: To close off our interview, I wanted to ask, how do you see yourself in 5 or TVC: 10 years from now? TC: I see myself a lot grayer. TC: I also see myself a lot more

00:51:08.190 - 00:51:20.460

TC: accomplished than I am even today. TC: And the reason for that is because hard work doesn't scare me. TC: I was raised on grit. TC: So what's stopping me?

00:51:22.520 - 00:51:39.850

TC: So I see myself more successful in TC: pretty much every sense of the word than I am today. TC: In five years, I hope that we can catch up again. TC: And you can see me there too.

00:51:43.060 - 00:51:59.820

TVC: Those are all my questions for the interview. TVC: Is there anything else you'd like to add or any final remarks you have? TC: Yeah, I would just like to tell any person watching TC: this. If I can do it, you can do

00:51:59.820 - 00:52:19.890

TC: it. And so the only TC: person stopping you from doing whatever it is that you want to do TC: is you. Don't stop you. TVC: It's been great getting to talk to you and learn about your experiences.

00:52:20.250 - 00:52:28.660

TVC: Thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to talk, and I hope you have a great TVC: afternoon and week. TVC: I'll go ahead and stop the recording. TC: Thank you.