MENTOR SPOTLIGHT: DEVANSHI GARG SAREEN
I’ve always been an entrepreneur since the age of 8 where I directed plays with my cousins and went door-to-door selling tickets. Or at the age of 11 where I started a cookie business baking and selling chocolate chip cookies to my American and Canadian school friends while living in India. But I lost my way for a little while and tried on other careers that seemed more prestigious to me at the time. My first deep “knowing” stemmed from my dissatisfaction with my first job in strategy and management consulting.
Tell us about your venture/work!
Motif is my 3rd start-up. We are building a clean, evidence-backed skincare company that is uncomplicated, enjoyable and made to work.
How do you navigate the space of being a founder and also being a POC/women/non-binary person?
It’s a belief we have in innovation thinking – often solving for the part, solves for the whole. For example, when we create a ramp on the street to accommodate the needs of the differently abled, we may have wheelchair access in mind but we end up providing better access to a mom with a stroller, an older lady with a grocery cart, a kid with a scooter. I am a person of color, yes, but I also have been pregnant, I also have sensitive skin and in solving for all these needs, I have no doubt I am creating skincare that is better for both people of color and for everyone. I have grown up around the world, living in India as part of the majority and living in Iran, the UK, New Zealand and the US being part of the minority. I believe it is this extensive life experience that fuels my empathy, my ability to contain multiple points of view and helps me focus more on what unites us than what really sets us apart.
What advice do you have for early-stage impact entrepreneurs about using their time, relationships, and opportunities at The New School to prepare for this kind of career?
Keep moving forward. Sometimes we think we will find the answers in stillness but the truth is, answers are a life-force and they’re found in the beauty of serendipity and in movement. There was a time when I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do and what my “calling” was. I had to move, talk to people and try different things to find that answer.
Click to Learn More: motifskincare.com