From an MNC techie to Sheroes champion

Anupama Dalmia, 38 years old woman have done Computer Engineering from Pune University and MBA in Systems and Finance from Nirma University, Ahmedabad. She worked at Infosys as a consultant for six and half years before resigning to pursue her passions and chalk a completely different career path. Today, she is a 30-time award winning blogger, author, social influencer, serial entrepreneur, creative writing mentor and choreographer.

She runs three start-ups, "Beyond the Box", "Tingle Your Taste Buds" and "Rhythms & Beats", and also have owns a non-profit called "Building Bridges Foundation" which works closely with women to help them grow and learn. Anupama is a Sheroes Champion and Amazon approved influencer. She is also the Advisory Board Member at Tribal Connect and STEM Baala, and a mentor at LAJA and Humans of Safe Places. She shared some experiences in her journey with "The Hans India".

Tell us about your journey and what made you to resign?

Over the years, I have discovered multiple facets to me. Some have been revelations and some made me introspect to understand myself better. But this happened only after I changed gears in the journey of my life. I resigned from a lucrative corporate job at Infosys to set out on a path of discovery and finding the space where I could feel at home.

Being an MBA in Systems and Finance and a B.E. degree holder in Computer Engineering, I joined my dream company Infosys as a Consultant in May 2006. While I enjoyed my stint there and enriched myself in many ways, the hectic schedules and the feeling of being away from my passion drove me to a point when I decided to call it quits.

As a Business Intelligence Senior Consultant, in August 2011 I was chosen to represent my practice at SAP World Tour, Melbourne and delivered a presentation on SAP HANA at the event. I received appreciation from all quarters for taking on such a crucial task and living up to the expectations of the Senior Management.

Tell us about your start-ups and reason for starting.

My mother says that I always had entrepreneurial streaks in me. I always loved taking initiatives and doing my own thing. So, I guess this was a natural progression for me after resigning.

Beyond the Box

I turned to professional writing in February 2016. I was always good with kids and loved being around them. I feel life is a never-ending journey of self-discovery. A casual attempt at exploring mentoring in May 2017 turned out to be a life changing experience for me. Urged by a close friend, I conducted a 3-day creative writing summer workshop for 25 kids. During the span of those three days, I realized that kids are unwittingly forced to imagine and express themselves by adults in conformist ways which curbs their imagination. There was an instant connection established between the kids and me, and creativity and happiness thrived all around.

That is when I decided to provide children an environment where they can express without being judged and bloom to their full potential at their own comfortable pace. This led to regular classes and soon I began to get invited by schools, communities and corporates for conducting workshops on creative writing and communication. When horizons started expanding in this space, it was time to make it streamlined and that is how 'Beyond the Box' took birth in January 2019.

Tingle Your Taste Buds

Cooking has always been my Mom's passion and it's due to her I realized that cooking is an art which needs knowledge and nurturing like any other art form. She always fostered a dream to open her own restaurant because she loves watching people enjoy a delicious meal. But with all her energies focused on doing more than her best for the family, her dream remains unfulfilled.

When I resigned from my job, it hit me how Mom could never do the things she was passionate about and along with following my own passions, I wanted to support her in pursuing hers. That is when we launched "Tingle Your Taste Buds" which is our way of preserving and passing Indian culinary art to food connoisseurs in the world. This is also my humble attempt at drawing my Mom closer to her dream! Our mission is to make the process of cooking simple for people because we believe there is a chef within all of us.

Today, TYTB website is an award-winning portal and we have also released our cookery book. I feel so proud of my Mom who became an entrepreneur at an age when most retire. She learnt a lot of things with dedication as she was not tech-savvy earlier. While she takes care of all the content as she is the chief chef, I handle all the operational, technical and marketing related aspects of the venture.

Rhythms & Beats

Dance is an intrinsic part of me. I always say that out of my many facets, what I identify with the most is dancing. It does to me what nothing else can. When I dance, I feel connected to my soul. I am a trained classical dancer and also did a workshop at Shiamak Davar's Institute, and have been constantly learning new forms and styles of dance. When I resigned, I was very sure that I wanted to get into this field professionally. Rhythms & Beats came into existence then. It is a dance enterprise and we are into dance workshops and events choreography. I have conducted one of its kind public dance events in Hyderabad city too.

What are the challenges you faced in your journey?

Of course, like every entrepreneur, I faced challenges too in my journey. But more than the day-to-day challenges, what was difficult for me was time management. Because I am into multiple lines of work, it was hard at the beginning till I figured out how I should be handling this for efficiency. Also, I am a mother to a small kid, and this was another huge challenge. I have written so many blogs on the phone with her in my lap. I have had many sleepless nights. I was told by some that I should forget about my career for at least ten years but I am glad I realised pretty soon that for being a good mother, I do not need to give all the 24 hours to my child. I learnt to shed the motherhood guilt which comes from societal conditioning and our own internal conflicts and barriers. My daughter is my priority and my work is important too because it adds value to my being and gives me happiness. Today, my daughter is my biggest cheerleader and supports me immensely in her own little ways.

During the initial days, I also faced the challenge of being taken seriously. When I resigned, many thought it was a foolish decision and some even felt that I just wanted to pass my time before having a baby. But I ignored the naysayers and instead, focused on the people who were there for me. I just kept going for myself with the thought that if I do not work towards fulfilling my dreams then who will? Today, the same people say they are proud of me. People change with time and situation, and hence they should not come between our decisions.

Who has been your biggest strength throughout your journey?

I have always had a great support system, be it family or friends. My parents have taken care of my daughter for hours during situations when I had a deliverable or an important event. My friends in my society are that village that I am blessed with. They have been there for me whenever I needed their help or support. My tribe of writers and influencers have given me immense love and respect, and all my readers/followers give me so much encouragement. Above all, my husband has been a great support without whom I would not have been where I am today. He was the one who pushed me to get into the field of writing and has helped me in many ways for all my ventures and endeavours.