South Asian Trailblazers

Masoom Minawala: India's Original Influencer on Authenticity in the Age of AI, Motherhood & Why India Is Undervalued | South Asian Trailblazers

May 20, 2026

Simi speaks with Masoom Minawala — one of India's pioneering influencers. Masoom bet her career on the internet at 17, starting her fashion blog Miss Style Fiesta in 2010, a decade before the world knew what an influencer was. She became the first Indian content creator to walk at Milan Fashion Week, a fixture on the Cannes red carpet, and has collaborated with over 500 brands, including Louis Vuitton, Dior, and Hermès. She also launched the #SupportIndianDesigners movement that generate...

South Asians in Sephora — Diipa Büller-Khosla, Lisa Mattam, Nisha Phatak, Rooshy Roy (Live Panel)

May 07, 2026

In a first-ever live multi-founder panel from South Asian Trailblazers, Simi Shah sits with 4 South Asian beauty founders at the vanguard of South Asian-inspired beauty: Diipa Büller Khosla (indē wild), Rooshy Roy (Aavrani), Nisha Phatak (Lion Pose), and Lisa Mattam (Sahajan).The conversation was born from a single line. When Rooshy returned to Trailblazers to announce Aavrani's acquisition, Simi asked about whether the dynamics with other founders were collaborative or competitive. Her ...

Raj Shamani: On Building the #1 Podcast in India and Soon, the World

April 10, 2026

Simi speaks with Raj Shamani — India's #1 podcaster, ranked #25 in the world — in a special live-recorded episode in New York City. Across 540+ episodes, 15 million subscribers, 400 million annual views, the Host of Figuring Out, Raj Shamani, has interviewed Bill Gates, President of France Emmanuel Macron, Aamir Khan, MS Dhoni, MrBeast, Vijay Mallya, and several other notable figures. Raj speaks primarily in English with moments of Hindi throughout — subtitles on YouTube.But here's ...