Mango Bites 🥭

🏏💻 Hit Sixes on Saturday, Vibe Code on Thursday

Author

Shaunak Kulkarni
July 11, 2025

If you’re new here, welcome to Mango Bites - a newsletter featuring the best South Asian professional events happening in NYC. Reply and say hi!

A Weird Week on WhatsApp… 🪦📉

If you're in Mango's WhatsApp community, you've probably seen the nonsense going on lately - we’ve been infiltrated by bots peddling shady stock tips. Absolute clownery.

That said, I’ve been genuinely blown away by how the community has responded. From thoughtful suggestions like locking down the groups, to hilarious ideas like spamming the scammers back (honestly my favorite), the energy has been fire. Above all, it's been heartening to see how much people care - jumping in to report messages, express support, and help keep this space strong.

Something else magical happened on Whatsapp: the community organized an event themselves. A chat about no-code tools spiraled into a plan to meet up IRL for a casual roundtable - folks sharing what tools they're using, what they're building, and getting live feedback and ideas. We loved it, and we’re now helping make it official.

So, two awesome events coming up in the coming weeks:

🏏 Mango Pickup Cricket - Saturday, July 19
We’re hitting the field again for a chill pickup cricket game. Played with this crew a few weeks ago and had an absolute blast. A bunch of sixes may or may not have been hit. It’s nearly full, but you can express interest by signing up in case spots open up.

💻 No-Code Coffee Roundtable - Thursday, July 24
Bring your favorite tools, your coolest no-code projects, and any blockers you're facing. This one’s gonna be a casual, post-work evening coffee chat with fellow builders. Created by the Mango community, for the Mango community.

Lastly — if you're not yet in the WhatsApp group and want in on the chaos (and good stuff), reply to this email with your phone number. We’ve temporarily disabled the open-access link while we clean things up and roll out a better system.

Onward 🥭

Upcoming Mango Events 🎇

Register at the links below! 

The Scene 🪔

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

Date

Event

Link

7/12

Keepin’ It Desi

Here

7/13

Gulaabi Hour

Here

7/17

SABANY: Appallate Litigation Panel

Here

7/26

Delivering Lunch to Homebound Seniors

Here

7/26

Masala Mixtape (use code “mangofam” for a discount!)

Here

8/1

Laughing Lassi

Here

Cool Desis Doing Cool Things 🐘

Highlighting people in our community making strides in diverse fields!

Shivam Desai is an operator who worked across partnerships and capital markets at high-growth fintech startups that went public, completed the Schwarzman Scholars program at Tsinghua University in Beijing, and built a digital audience of over 60,000 across platforms — with his sights now set on 100K. Follow him on Instagram.

Why do you do what you do?
I’ve been betting on the India story for exactly a decade. In 2015, I went on a study immersion that took me to parts of India I’d never seen — Chennai, Bangalore, Delhi — and it completely shifted my perspective. That curiosity turned into something deeper. 

In 2017, during my senior year of undergrad, I went back to write my thesis on the Impact of Internet Access and Social Media on Indian Millennials. I traveled to almost every major city interviewing young Indians in universities, restaurants, malls — trying to understand this massive, young, and digitally connected generation. 

Today, I focus on three main areas:

  1. CorridorX – building technical pods for U.S. startups through a curated network of top-tier tech providers in India, offering white-glove, semi-managed delivery in just 3–4 weeks.

  2. India Venture Access (Corridor Capital) – working with an established fund manager to democratize access to India’s startup ecosystem via a fund-of-funds and directs

  3. Events & Content – creating experiences and storytelling that elevate founders, investors, and the broader U.S.-India startup corridor. 

The vision is to build the most robust Tri-State x India Venture/Startup Corridor.

What does your Desi identity mean to you, and how has it influenced your journey?
I grew up in rural America as one of only two Indian kids in my town, and for much of my early life, I had a complicated — even resentful — relationship with my Desi identity. I often felt like an outsider and tried to distance myself from my roots. That began to shift in 2015 and 2017, when I traveled across India. It was during those trips that I finally connected with the culture, people, and stories I had once pushed away. 

What advice do you have for those entering your field?
Everyone looks for their personal north star, and I think I’ve found mine. Find your rhythm, hit your stride, and things will fall into place.

Shivam’s favs 🌟 
🎬 Bollywood Movie: Main Hoon Na
🍛 Desi Eats: Kerala Cuisine, any type of ghee roast
🌶️ NYC Restaurant: Ippudo

Meme Bazaar 👳🏽‍♀️

Random Stuff 💃

  • Mango Resume Drop - if you’re looking to make a career switch!

  • Love what Mango is doing? 🥭 Buy us a coffee - any support would go a long way and let us keep hosting events!

  • 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!