Description

The challenge of our day seems to be finding time to squeeze in all the things we want to do. 

This week, we speak with Deepti Sharma. Deepti is a busy entrepreneur, mother of two, and an activist for small businesses and working mothers. Eight years ago, she started a company called Food to Eat that connects companies with immigrant, women, and minority-owned food businesses for team meals. 

We talk to Deepti about how she manages to find time for everything: her company, her family, and all of her passions. 

We also discuss:

• What it was like to grow up in a traditional Hindu family in Flushing,
• Why Deepti decided to start a company over going to law school, 

• How she’s discovered the importance of advocating for herself and others as a woman of color, and 

• Why we need more Asian American political participation 


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Relevant Links Mentioned in the Show:

• Deepti’s company, Food to Eat 

• Deepti’s post on paying it forward 

• I Made Your Food, an ongoing social campaign that focuses on telling the personal stories of local food vendors that FoodtoEat 
works with 

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Deepti’s bio: A lifelong entrepreneur, Deepti is the CEO and Founder of FoodtoEat, a community-minded catering concierge service. She started FoodtoEat in 2011 to connect immigrant, women and minority-owned food vendors to opportunities for growth - ultimately helping them strengthen their own business skills. FoodtoEat helps businesses feed employees great food and build stronger & more diverse work cultures. She is also a Co-Founder of Bikky, a platform solving customer engagement for restaurants.

As a mother and small business owner, Deepti is a vocal advocate for policies that benefit these communities. She served on the Board for the Business Center for New Americans, and writes about how companies can modernize motherhood in the workplace. She also mentors female entrepreneurs as part of the NYC Mayor’s WENYC initiative.

Deepti is a World Economic Forum Global Shaper, a Forbes 30 Under 30 alumnae, and an avid runner. She lives in Queens with her husband (Abhinav Kapur) and two children (Zubin & Chetan).

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Contact Info: Deepti’s email is deepti@foodtoeat.com. Follow her on Instagram for an unvarnished glimpse of her parental life: @deeptinyc  

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As mentioned in the episode, we want to give a shout-out to a few Asian American female-owned businesses worth supporting:

• The Cosmos, a fast-growing community for Asian women creators, entrepreneurs, freelancers, and artists to flourish and thrive. 

• Rise, a talent community and platform that connects industry-leading women with the world’s most innovative and forward-thinking companies. They're currently in private beta, but you can register on their site.

• Slant’d, a magazine celebrating #AsianAmerican identity. Submit a story idea for Issue 3 here. 

Big thanks to our audio editor, Molly Schulson! Check out her personalized audio story collection: tellmystoryaudio.com. 

If you have a personal story that you’d like to share, email hello@gorocktheboat.com, and sign up for newsletter updates at gorocktheboat.com.