Mango NYC

Honored to be part of the South Asians in Startups panel with Mango NYC last week! While South Asians have a strong presence in entrepreneurship, we don’t always have spaces to connect, share, and uplift each other. This panel was a powerful reminder of how much representation, mentorship, and community matter. Shoutout to my brilliant co-panelists Bharath Krishnamoorthy, Vinny Pujji, and Nihal Mehta for the incredible insights and to everyone who joined the conversation. Let’s keep making space for more South Asian founders to thrive! ??

?????? ?????????????? ???????????? gathered this year at the Maha Kumbh Mela - a Hindu pilgrimage festival held every 12 years in India. With a crowd this massive, brands had a unique opportunity to contribute meaningfully. The Mango NYC team looked into how some stepped up (s/o Goutami!!): ?? Amazon turned packaging waste into upcycled beds for resting pilgrims. ?? Reckitt's Dettol launched a large-scale hygiene initiative, training 1,500 sanitation workers. ?? Eveready Industries India Ltd provided 5,000 siren torches and 13,000 LED lights to improve safety. ? Blinkit set up delivery hubs for essentials like pooja items and personal care products. ?? Nestle India's Maggi created meal stations and distributed 12,000 blankets to sanitation workers. ?? ITC Limited's Mangaldeep used 3D AR to bring sacred rituals to people worldwide. A smart mix of utility, safety, and convenience. Which stood out to you the most? Information Sources: afaqs! and Storyboard18 #KumbhMela #MarketingWithImpact #MahaKumbh2025

Extremely excited to host some awesome people! Grab your tickets before they're out - newsletter subscribers can use MANGO20P for a discount!

Thank you Samosa Capital and American Indian Foundation for an incredible event!

Open Role at Mango Alert! ???? 2024 was an incredible inaugural year for Mango—hosting nearly 20 unique events, growing to 1,500 newsletter subscribers, and bringing together NYC’s vibrant Desi professional ecosystem. Personally, it’s been a year full of connection, growth, and smiles— like in this pic. ?? As we gear up for an exciting 2025 with tons of cool initiatives planned, I’m looking to bring on a core team member/partner to support Mango’s growth and help execute on some big ideas. If you’re passionate about building community, creating impact, and making amazing things happen, I’d love to meet you! What’s in it for you? In this role, you’ll host meaningful events that bring NYC’s South Asian ecosystem together, work on exciting new initiatives, collaborate with an engaged community (65% newsletter open rate!), and gain exposure to an incredible network of people. You’ll also have the chance to brainstorm creative ways to add value and leave a lasting impact on this thriving community. What I’m looking for: ? Experience with product design, branding, and/or content and social media ? Active involvement in NYC’s tech and/or South Asian ecosystem ? A knack for building or growing communities ? A fun, energetic, and creative personality If this sounds like you - or someone amazing you know - DM me or tag them below! ??

Happy Holidays from Mango NYC! ??? This festive season, we’re celebrating the unique joy and reflections that come with being South Asian during the holidays. Here's to honoring traditions, embracing new ones, and finding meaning in it all. ????

We're hosting a happy hour for engineers next week! Join to debug your week over a cold one, unwind, and meet fellow builders in the city (maybe even your future co-founder ??) ?? December 11th, 6-8 PM ?? East Village (Location for Attendees) RSVP here - https://lu.ma/8w5c93hl

Just ate dinner with random people. We all learned nothing about each other. ?? It was perfect.???? Before dinner, we were all given a prompt to read and questions to think about. And we were put in a group chat on text and weren't given the names of each other. We were instructed that if we got there early, we were not to speak to each other. So, we got there and the wonderful organizer and mastermind behind the dinner (Shaunak Kulkarni from Mango NYC) led the discussion. We discussed the prompt that we all read and answered the questions that were in the prompt. The most beautiful part: every single person had the same level of authority and power as the next. I didn't know who anyone was or their job or career path. So, I took everyone's opinion at face value. Without any knowledge of who they were or their life experiences or their professional expertise. And it was beautiful. I could've been talking to the founder of a massive startup or a VC investor or a chef or a content creator. I didn't know and nobody did. At the end of the dinner, we all revealed ourselves and our roles. But not until we had a full discussion of a specific prompt. I tip my hat to the man behind this brilliant dinner - Shaunak Kulkarni. A true king ?? Was a pleasure to be with yall for dinner! Sanjit Chakravarty Adil Bhatia Tanvi Vartak Aanchal Ramani

Today marks one year since I started Mango NYC. While I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I first thought of hosting a Tech Week event last October, the journey since has been nothing short of magical. Looking back, it’s been amazing to witness Mango’s impact on NYC's South Asian community, but also on myself. 13 events, 2,000 registrants and 1,300 newsletter subscribers later, Mango has done so much for me: ?? Taught me to take shots and try new things - whether experimenting with event formats, newsletter tactics, or even stepping out of my comfort zone by posting short-form video content or even this on LinkedIn ?? Forced me to be scrappy, from building relations with NYC venues to host us, to getting creative with sourcing help from unexpected sources (s/o Sahaj Bhandari) ?? Introduced me to amazing community builders, entrepreneurs, business owners who helped bring some of these events to life - Serena Advani, Neal Patel, Christine Farrier Rosemin, Hidden Grounds Coffee ?? Gave me the awesome opportunity to witness and support the earliest days of a startup that’s going to do great things (always cheering you on HelpAR Inc Ishita Agrawal) ?? Perhaps most importantly, connected me with incredible people, several of whom I’m lucky to now call friends While I’m by no means an expert in any of this and recognize that we’re only getting started in realizing our goal of supporting South Asian ambition in New York, here are a few things I’ve learned over the past year that I thought were worth sharing: 1?? Magical chain reactions start just by “putting yourself out there”—attending events, saying hi to someone new, or even commenting on a LinkedIn post (there’s a personal story here!). At Mango events, I’ve seen friendships form, people get interviews, co-founders meet. That career- or life-changing moment is just one action away 2?? The only guaranteed way to see no progress is by not trying. There are endless ways to rationalize NOT doing something, and every successful person or venture could’ve easily talked themselves out of it. Make the leap, regardless of how silly it feels. Worst case it doesn’t work 3?? This one’s cheesy, but do good without expecting anything in return. Not only will it eventually come back in ways you didn’t expect, more importantly, it makes you happier, more fulfilled, and is just the human thing to do Mango is just getting started, and I can’t wait to keep serving this community and build spaces in NYC that support South Asian ambition in all its forms. If you haven’t yet, check us out! And if you have any thoughts or suggestions, comments and my DMs are always open ????

Last week, I brought together 6 amazing South Asians for dinner, each on diverse yet promising career/life paths, but had one rule - you can't let the others know what you did for work! Through Mango NYC, I’ve had the privilege of meeting incredible people, and noticed a recurring theme in our community around a desire for intimate, high-quality gatherings that foster genuine relationships. So, I tried something new: no introductions, no assumptions based on titles, just real conversations. I invited six people from various backgrounds without revealing who else would attend. Everyone received a discussion topic and article beforehand, and the first 30 minutes of dinner were spent debating it. Afterward, they could guess each other’s professions. Last week's topic was Amazon's latest RTO mandate and its impact on the future of work. Some highlights - - In-person work is simply superior when it comes to productivity, collaboration, mentorship, and early-career development - Economic value creation shouldn't be the sole measure of a country's or society's progress - Globally distributed workforces, enabled by post-pandemic shifts, continue to challenge the notion of a fully in-person team - The concept of work is evolving and will see a continued shift from a time-based to an output-based structure - Several other hot takes that I'm going to keep off LinkedIn ?? This was a blast, and I'm turning this into a monthly Mango event. If you'd like to join an upcoming one, DM me or comment below!