As we celebrate Neythri’s fourth anniversary, it’s time to pause and reflect on the remarkable journey we’ve embarked upon together. Over the past four years, Neythri has evolved, thrived, and left an indelible mark on the lives of its members and beyond.
In this reflection blog, we’ll delve into the highlights, milestones, and significant moments throughout our four-year journey. From humble beginnings to becoming a vibrant hub of connection and collaboration, each step of this journey has been filled with growth, resilience, and the unwavering support of our members.
Join us as we chat with Neythri co-founders Mythili Sankaran, Chitra Nayak & Sruthi Ramaswami and reminisce on the milestones achieved, the friendships forged, and the collective impact.
Looking back over the past four years, what inspired you to create Neythri?
Mythili: I believe we are products of both our environment and experiences. The aspiration to create this platform springs from my own professional experiences and challenges. I spent 20+ years working in corporate & startups where I was usually the only female and woman of color in the room. As a first-time female entrepreneur and woman of color, I experienced the frustrations of raising my series A funding round when a funder who looked like me was nowhere in sight. These experiences shaped my understanding of the specific challenges I became interested in addressing directly – an untapped opportunity at the intersection of my professional and personal network. Neythri represents the power of South Asian women coming together, collaborating and ultimately supporting and celebrating one another’ s professional journeys. And when Chitra and Sruthi shared my passion for creating this network and agreed to embark on this journey, Neythri became a reality!
How has Neythri evolved and grown since its inception, both in terms of membership and engagement?
Mythili: Our global membership has grown steadily in the past four years to 2,900+ members with diverse representation across industry, functional areas and years of experience. 2023 saw us engaging more members than ever before, interacting in virtual and live events. Our programs and events continue to evolve and focus on helping foster deeper connections among the senior women leaders in our Leadership Circle. Our flagship programs like Board Readiness and Salons continue to garner acclaim and active engagement from senior leaders. We continue to hold events for our broader community to meet and network in our “Cocktails & Connections” format, to learn from experts on workshops such as “Developing a Leadership Mindset,” and through speakers on a wide series of topics such as financial literacy and artificial intelligence. We regularly survey and seek feedback from our members to iterate and evolve our programs and event offerings to meet member needs.
Can you share some key milestones and achievements that you would want to call out?
Sruthi: There are so many! In 2023 we crossed 2,900 members, expanded our Board Readiness and Salon programs, launched Industry Roundtables in Healthcare, Social Impact, Go-to-Market, and Boards, and created the Neythri Advisor Network, a shared directory of 100+ Leadership & Founding Circle members designed to enable connections amongst each other. A few special moments that will stick with me are our annual International Women’s Day fireside chats with incredible South Asian women leaders. We’ve had the tremendous honor of hosting Yamini Rangan (CEO, HubSpot), Indra Nooyi (Former CEO, Pepsi), Rooshy Roy (Co-Founder & CEO, Aavrani), and more.
What has been the most rewarding aspect of creating and nurturing this networking community for you personally?
Chitra: For me, co-creating and growing Neythri has always been about give-back; however, in addition to the amazing tales our members tell of how they benefit from our community, I have been so gratified and rewarded by deep, authentic relationships I have been able to build personally with so many. As someone aptly said, “Neythri feels like home”.
Sruthi: Seeing the big and small successes our Neythri members have experienced by meeting others in our community is so rewarding. Members have joined boards, found roles, formed close friendships, negotiated salaries, been accountability partners, and a whole lot more through Neythri. I can say that Neythri has personally been a huge support system for me and I can’t imagine life without it!
In what ways have the community members contributed to shaping the community’s identity and purpose over the years?
Chitra: We relied on an astounding 100+ women in our Neythri community in the first 3 years to shape all aspects of Neythri. Right from the start, skilled leaders worked to develop the brand identity and the design principles. And then our community members created our programming, whether it was the Neythri Salon playbook, or our stellar Board Readiness program, our Board Candidate databook or our social impact events, to name a few. Neythri volunteers led the way, working with each other to strategize, plan, execute, and deliver the high-quality programming Neythri has become known for. And today, our Leadership Circle members continue to lead our Salons, our Industry Roundtables, and our Board programs, as well as provide advice and support to others in the community through our Advisor Network, for which we are deeply grateful. We really could not have done it without this group.
Can you highlight a few success stories or significant moments that stand out in Neythri’s history?
Chitra:We find it deeply gratifying to hear about how Neythri enables our South Asian female community to rise to greater heights. We have women who are beginning to serve on boards after participating in our Board Readiness program. We hear stories of women finding their leadership roles based on referrals and relationships made at Neythri. We learn that some women gain the confidence from others at Neythri to ask for that well-deserved promotion and to negotiate to successfully recognize their true worth when they take on new roles. These are just a few examples of the wonderfulness that is Neythri. As one woman said, “It’s the golf course we never had”.
Looking forward, what aspirations do you have for Neythri in the coming years?
Chitra: For me, I hope that Neythri is able to grow in global markets to be able to deliver amazing support, learning, and relationships to more South Asian professional women in more countries. The need is deep, and we are just starting.
Sruthi: One of the initiatives I’m excited about this year is launching a pilot young professionals membership. We have always focused on supporting a cross-generational community at Neythri, and I’m excited about this opportunity to create a deeper community among young professionals. I also hope we can augment our current foundation by creating more local, in-person experiences over time in multiple geographies within the U.S. and globally.
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