Podcast: 2 minutes with Anu Shah

Anu provides some (literally) rapid-fire insights into her interests, her passions, and her journey to where she is today.

Q&A with Anu Shah

What book(s) or movie(s) do you highly recommend? Why?

Principles by Ray Dalio
Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg
The Lessons of History by Will and Ariel Durant
The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene

What’s on your playlist?

Billie Eilish
Coldplay
Tender

What is your go-to coffee/tea order?

Black coffee

What re-energizes you?

Heart-to-heart, after a long grueling day, with my Pappa and my friends (Kesha and Kiran)

Tell us about the hobbies or interests you’ve cultivated.

The jobs I have held in the past made me very mechanical and robotic in some sense. It was very imperative to have a very practical, pragmatic, and mathematical approach to thrive in those environments. I always felt as if that took away my very human side, my emotional side away from me. So in order for me to feel connected to my emotions and human side, I volunteer a lot. Volunteering with refugees gave me a very deep and different perspective on the reality of life.

In the past I would take 2 to 3 months off every year and work with Congolese and Burundi refugees in Rwanda and Syrian refugees in Lebanon. I predominantly work with UNHCR in Africa to develop and implement vocational training programs in the refugee camps. In 2017, I volunteered with Inkomoko (a nonprofit based in Rwanda) to mentor entrepreneurs in Kigali. Since 2018, I have served on the leadership committee of American India Foundation in New York. My role there is more geared toward fundraising for social initiatives such as increasing awareness around education of girls and reducing the infant mortality rate in India.

How do you deal with hardship?

Failures and hardships are inevitable in life. There have been times that finances were tight and I had to struggle for even a pack of bread. Hardships, failures, setbacks can be very emotionally taxing. I have never denied, distracted, or suppressed my emotions there. I have always expressed it—in words, in tears, in actions. But once I am done expressing it, embracing it, and acknowledging it, I would go back and work. I simply never give up until the worst comes to pass. And believe me it does!

The three qualities that got me to where I am today.

Determination
Hard work
Perseverance

How do you interpret your success? Your failures?

Success and failure is what you think of in your head. I have never considered a financial loss, a missed goal, or a rejection as a failure. Neither have I considered a fancy job title, a multimillion-dollar exit, awards, or honors as a success. I measure the worth of my being through the impact I have had on the world and society at large. For instance, I have given 100% of the proceeds (in excess of $7 million) from the sale of my start-ups to charity. A large part of those funds will be utilized for a refugee rehabilitation program in Africa. The impact that this initiative will have on the life of a child, a new mother, and an aspiring young man in the refugee camp is a success. At present I live frugally, on a meager salary in New York City. To some this is silly, impractical, and non-enterprising. To me this is satisfaction and peace. And this is success.

How did A.T. Kearney prepare you for your career?

At A.T. Kearney, I acquired a few very important skill sets to survive my time as an entrepreneur and C-level executive:

Communication
Stakeholder management
Money management
Structured approach to problem solving
Team building

Is there a person at A.T. Kearney who had a profound impact on your professional or personal life?

I worked very closely on many proposals and projects with Farhan Mirza, who was a principal at the firm then. Farhan’s integrity, authenticity, and work ethic have had a profound impact on my career after A.T. Kearney. I have always seen Farhan choose ethics and morals over business gains. I have seen him being a tough leader who does not forget humility and compassion. Under the leadership of Farhan in 2014 as part of the firm-building initiative I started the “Feed a Labour” initiative. As part of this initiative, A.T. Kearney staff would provide iftar meals during Ramadan to hundreds of workers in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. We also worked on initiatives of providing vocational training support for the Syrian refugees in Lebanon and orphans in the Middle East. I am thankful to Farhan for showing me early on in my career how to continue to create an impact in whatever small capacity we can.

What change would you like to see in your industry?

I believe the tech sector is at the brink of a new phase in its quest for diversity and inclusion in the industry. The industry is past the window dressing stage and now it’s time to talk about the accountability, consequences, promotions, and retentions. In other words, how can the sector stop being inhospitable to women, minorities, and non-engineers? While the D&I movement has gained a lot of traction in the past few years, very little has been done to address the gap. Companies are seeing this as a PR crisis and strategy. It’s not operationally imperative for them so they don’t see a need to change. Large tech companies still serve as a boy’s network, they don’t walk the talk around D&I. The one thing that could be changed as we evolve is the tech interview process and assessing our hiring processes to understand when and how we can improve the opportunities in creating greater pathways for diverse populations.

What is an interesting trend you’ve observed in your industry?

Artificial Intelligence or AI/automation has already received a lot of buzz in recent years, but it continues to be a trend to watch because its effects on how we live, work, and play are only in the early stages. AI, which is only one part of what we refer to broadly as automation, is a hot topic because of potential job loss. Experts say automation will eliminate 73 million jobs by 2030. However, AI pundits predict that the sector will add 23 million more jobs by 2025. Jobs will be created in development, programming, testing, support, and maintenance to name a few.

Within AI the top 5 trends will be:

The rise of AI-enabled chips
Convergence of IoT and AI at the edge
Interoperability between neural networks
Automated DevOps through AIOps
Automated machine learning-based solutions

How do you drive purposeful innovation?

Consider the factors that lead to successful idea generation and implementation. These include sensitivity to the market, dissatisfaction with the status quo, persistence and willingness to take risks, a focus on shared goals (which leads to discipline in a team of innovators), and the trust and cohesion of free flow of ideas. Purpose, I will argue, strengthens all of this.

What brings you joy?

A long conversation with my Pappa, a loud laughter with my friends, a tight hug, and a genuine interest.

When was the last time you felt real joy at work?

I have always found joy in creating something new that drives change and impacts people’s life in some ways. Fortunately, in the role of an entrepreneur or a co-founder it is part of my job 24/7 to create a product and then keep recreating, revamping, and redesigning the product to drive the highest impact. Every time we go through the cycles of product reiterations and deliver something that improves customer satisfaction, it gives me immense joy. And trust me that is pretty much every day in the life of an entrepreneur.

To your question—when was the last time I felt joy? Well pretty much every day, all day!

Do you find joy a key pillar for business success? (Check out our podcast series if you haven’t.)

100%, yes.

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