Priti Ambani: Love letter to my new co-founder

Now this is one piece of news I've been waiting to share for a while now and officially now I can. I am very excited to welcome Priti Ambani as Co-founder and COO of  The Next Billion.

Photo: Priti supporting our #raisingthenextbillion campaign.          Crowdsourcing Week Singapore April 2015. 

I met Priti two years ago when we first started and we're still called Mums Mean Business. She miraculously found out about the the company and reached out. I say miraculously because we've grown purely through word of mouth with zero marketing budget. And to this day it remains the same. She so believed in our mission and vision that she invited me to speak at Crowdsourcing Week in Copenhagen, and then the following year in Singapore to share our two cents with others. Needless to say that we hit if off on all fronts. We found common grounds as mothers, as passionate advocates of female entrepreneurship, as champions for more diversity in business, as huge believers in the power of the collaborative  and crowd-economy to effect real change in the world.

Photo: Priti's Skype message.  

Priti once sent me a Skype message very late one evening with these simple words: "The Next Billion will be my legacy to my kids". What Priti didn't know is that I was having one of those days when it's all just too much. Too much sacrifice, too much risks, too little time for the family, for me. As I said, it was one of those days. I knew at that moment that I had finally found my co-founder. I knew right then that she got it and more than got it, she shared my big vision. But what I loved the most about what she wrote was that her motivation remained personal to her - it was for her kids. Just as Mums Mean Business had been for me when we first launched and still is - driven by a need to contribute to a better world for my daughter. And the best, most efficient way I believe we can all achieve such a world is by investing in and accelerating women's economic potential. I know Priti believes what I believe and I believe what she believes. In many ways we are so similar yet complementary:  I talk too much. She, not so much. I am slightly more emotional. I love that she is more tempered. I am a big picture/ideas person, a longterm strategic thinker. She is a methodical organizer, an inspiring pragmatic who figures out the knots and bolts of how to make it work, how to get us there and keep us lean. After all she is an Engineer. I was born in The Democratic Republic of Congo, Priti in India. I love the irony that we both come from countries where women are deprived of the very economic opportunities that we both have been lucky enough to enjoy. The very economic opportunities we want to enable at The Next Billion.  

Finding a co-founder is much like trying to find the perfect life partner. You have to kiss a lot of frogs to find your Prince Charming. Sometimes you think you've found the one only to be unexpectedly blindsided, heartbroken and disappointed. And sometimes it's you who shatters hearts. There's always to sides to every story right! But the quest never ceases to be boring. It makes for a worthwhile journey, it makes you smarter, wiser. All this to say, I couldn't be prouder, happier and more honoured to welcome Priti as Co-founder and COO. Only time will tell if we end up bickering like an old couple or whether we fail or succeed at this insanely big dream we have. As my favourite African quote states (and sorry for those who've heard this quote from me more times than I am willing to admit, it really is one of my favourites).

"If you want to go fast go it alone. If you want to go far go it together."

So I am thrilled to no longer be alone and I look forward to going further together with you Priti. This is my love letter to you. Thank you for believing!

https://crowdsourcingweek.com/priti-ambani-csw2-next-billion/?platform=hootsuite