TED Talk Ideas
Idea #1: Beyond Yourself (Increasing Youth Involvement)
In high school, many of my peers were motivated by attaining high grades and qualifying their success through quantitative data. However, by watching TED Talks and reading case studies about social impact leaders, I realized that this was not enough. After conducting research and diving deeper about the most pressing issues that our world encounters, I realized we have a far greater responsibility than just attending school everyday. I am a true believer in going “beyond yourself”, the ability to become self-aware and educate others, and not being intrinsically motivated by merely numbers. The idea of increasing youth involvement in humanitarian work is what I want to be known for as a leader. This ties into my leadership as I would empower and inspire my peers to find the intersection between their passion and a social cause.
Idea #2 Female Underrepresentation in the Finance Industry
Female-founded companies have been on an ever-growing rise. However, female-founded companies are not receiving sufficient funding from VCs. 3% of the global venture dollar was funneled toward women-teams; this represents the wide disparity between funding to female entrepreneurs to male counterparts. Gender bias and inequality have been existing in the workplace for many years, however, although many firms have initiated strategies to diversify their employees, the VC industry still has a lack of women. This issue may be due to the male-dominated nature of the VC industry, however, while studies indicate that men relate more to their other males, this is not a fair proposal to female-founders.
Beyond being an entrepreneur, I hope to evolve away from being a traditional, e-commerce jewelry brand to a more socially driven, community-minded brand that strives to create an inclusive community where women are able to share their stories and feel inspired to take on male-dominated roles in the finance industry. Working within a male-dominated jewelry ecosystem, I’ve dealt with many obstacles. Through educating about female underrepresentation in the finance industry, I hope to provide an outlet and create this inclusive, network of women that will inspire each other to lead.
Idea #3: Ignorance is Synonymous to Being Part of the Problem
My culture has led me to value serving my community in all aspects, from the communal storytelling roots of Kathak, the Indian classical dance I practice, to the principles of Jainism, to the philanthropic work I became involved with during my summers in Jaipur, India. Growing up seeing my grandfather conducting daily acts of compassion and committing himself to Jaipur Foot, an organization I now am committed to as well, inspired and fostered my own values and ethics. During my high school summers, I started volunteering at the Jaipur Foot Headquarters, building close and special connections with patients and developing a passion for civic engagement and an acute understanding of global suffering. Developing a passion and educating myself about global suffering was not enough for me. I knew I had a civil duty to act upon it.
I began to raise awareness by speaking at the United Nations: Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities and Jaipur Foot Seminar to advocate for people with disabilities. I gave several speeches at the Consulate of India in New York about the process of the one-day transformation: crawling in the organization to being fitted a prosthetic limb and running out the next day. I expanded my organization to 9 chapters in India and the US, sponsoring 250 prosthetic limbs for the disabled in 34 countries. I shared my experience of communicating with a 9-year old girl named Geeta, who had lost her limbs in a train accident due to the poor traffic safety regulations in India. Despite India’s lack of accommodation for people with disabilities, Geeta was discouraged to attend school because other students in her class used to make fun of her because of her disability. I did not want this story to multiply and transpire to other girls, Geeta’s age. I had to take action. I reached out to the organization and funded a prosthetic limb for Geeta. After this, she returned to school and practiced Indian Classical dance. I embraced the power of conviction. I took a stand. It was no longer about living in The Measurement World, as The Art of Possibility suggests, it was about living in The Possibility World, committing myself to a small act of compassion to transform someone’s life. I was no longer a part of the problem, but rather a person committed to serving mankind.
