Leadership Journeys [71] - Shakun Sethi - "You need to be you because if you're not being you, how will you make things work?"

This is the Leadership Journey series on the Choosing Leadership Podcast.

I believe we all have a lot to learn from each other's stories - of where we started, where we are now, and our successes and struggles on the way. With this series of interviews, my attempt is to give leaders an opportunity to share their stories and for all of us to learn from their generous sharing. If you know a leader whom you would like to see celebrated on the show, please send me a message on LinkedIn with their name.

In this open and honest conversation, Shakun her personal story of living in the Netherlands and how that led her to start a company in an otherwise taboo industry. We also spoke about what gives her the confidence and grounding to lead her team, as well as the importance of slowing down and establishing clear boundaries.

You can find Shakun at the below links

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/sethishakun/
• https://twitter.com/SethiShakun

In the interview, Shakun shares

• One of the problem I had when I was starting my company was that it was difficult for me to go into an sex store and look around while asking questions.
• I lost a lot of friends when I started my company because I come from a culture where talking about sex openly is a taboo
• Demand is completely, nullified. Everybody has a demand, everybody wants it.
• Due to the nature of my company, we started facing problems like banks would not allow us to have a bank account, PayPal and Stripe flagged us too.
• Starting a company in an otherwise taboo industry led to the realization that this is not something bad or wrong, and then internally you feel okay, you feel more confident, you feel more open while otherwise.
• After my 12 or 13 hours shift when I lie down in the bed, I have a smile on my face. I know that, we are onto something big and what we are building is like we are in a position to make it.