Mango Bites 🥭

What a World Cup we’re having, amirite? 🏏

While I’m praying for India to knock Australia out as you’re reading this, excited to share that I’m hosting a dinner for South Asian investors next week!

Spots are limited so sign up here ASAP! Connect with peers investing in promising new sectors, share insights on market trends, and uncover potential collaboration opportunities. While I’m expecting the crowd to skew towards venture, all investors are welcome!

Also, if you haven’t yet - please follow Mango on Instagram and LinkedIn - your support would mean the world and would help grow this community! 🥭 

Upcoming Mango Events 🎇

Register on the links below!

• Desi Investor Dinner (7/2) - For investors looking to build network with other Desi investors

• South Asians in Product HH (7/25) - Pretty self-explanatory lol - come through if you work in product management, product analytics, or an adjacent field

• Mango x TechWalk (8/14) - A mid-day walk through Central Park with incredible Desi co-hosts!

The Scene 🪔

Other South Asian events I’m keeping an eye on in the city

Cool Desis Doing Cool Thing 🐘

Highlighting people in our community making strides in diverse fields!

Ramita Ravi is the Co-Founder & Co-CEO of Artswrk, a platform connecting artists to work. Artswrk was inspired by 7+ years as a professional dancer & choreographer - Ramita has choreographed for Coachella, Miss America, The Hollywood Bowl, and was one of the first South Asians on So You Think You Can Dance and The Radio City Rockettes Christmas Spectacular. She also spent several years designing & scaling products for early-stage companies backed by 25M, YC, a16z and more. 

Why do you do what you do?
I graduated from UPenn with a degree in Health & Business and plans to submatriculate into Penn’s Master of Public Health program. But, on the day of my graduation - I flew to LA to be on So You Think You Can Dance. All of a sudden, I gave up my ~stable path~ and jumped head first into the entertainment industry. While I got to pursue my dreams and work across TV, Film, Theater - there is an inherent lack of stability in the arts. No matter how much you’ve “made it,” artists don’t have a consistent salary, don’t get benefits, and often don’t know where their next paycheck is coming from. For example after Radio City, one the most profitable shows in NYC, almost every artist goes on unemployment. My co-founder and I built Artswrk to shatter the starving artist stigma. Our platform helps artists connect with side jobs, earn consistent income, and access essential benefits. We do this by providing a $110B market of fragmented small business with smart tools to source, hire, and pay artists in the modern era.

What does your Desi identity mean to you, and how has it influenced your journey?
If you’ve seen the show “Dance Moms” I grew up dancing in that specific town with very few POC, let alone South Asians, around me. I’ve always cared deeply about representation and I made it my mission to create space for South Asians to feel like they could belong. But as I pursued this path, I realized that actually one of the biggest blockers to representation is stability. It’s a huge financial risk to pursue your dreams, and people don’t really talk about that. I want to ultimately help build a world where anyone can take the risk to do what they love and feel like they can find stability in that path.

What advice do you have for those entering your field?
If the path doesn’t exist, create it. And surround yourself with people who get you and inspire you! Whether it’s being the only one that looks like me in a room or building tech for an old broken market, I have found myself to be an anomaly in almost every space I’m in. But instead of allowing those challenges to feel unsurmountable, I’ve tried to reframe them as opportunities to take up space and create a path that is unique to me. If you feel like an anomaly, you’re probably onto something epic, and I’m cheering you on!!!

Ramita’s favs 🌟 
🎬 Bollywood Movie: Mujse Dosti Karoge 😭
🍛 Desi Eat: Bhel Puri
🌶️ NYC Restaurant: Laut

Meme Bazaar 👳🏽‍♀️

Random Stuff 💃

• Want to sponsor an event or host something with me? Get in touch!!

• Have a friend who’d want to be on this newsletter? Sign up for Mango Bites here!!