Company: yhangry
Headcount: 12
Stage: Seed
Tell us your story
I grew up in Agra, a small city in India. My dad owned a business and my mother was a super clever straight A student. I left India for the US for my Computer Science undergrad at Columbia but actually ended up spending all of my time doing Bollywood Dance competitively. This really was my first start-up: 40 hour rehearsals, hiring and leading a team of 20 peers, choreography, fundraising, formations, lighting cues, creating a storyline, constantly filling out applications for dance competitions. It was a full on job and in hindsight great preparation for start-up life.
After leaving Columbia I got a job on the Trading Floor in New York. Unfortunately that didn’t last long as I soon ended up getting deported (!) I joke, but visa issues are still no laughing matter for immigrants in the US. I moved to London and spent a further 6 years on the Trading Floor at Barclays, managing risk assets of $500m. I loved it but always wanted to start something of my own. That journey has started with yhangry.
Tell us a story that has really resonated with you
OK, so there’s a lot I could say here. My top 3 favourite books (with the admission that I still have so much to learn) are ‘Shoe Dog’, ‘What It Takes’ and ‘The Alchemist’. I recently acquired a new favourite: ‘The Manifest’ by Roxie Nafousi, a London-based author. Although there are lots of books out there on the topic of making your life better (like ‘The Secret’ from a few years back), this book found me at the right time and in the right positive mindset.Â
The key learning that stuck with me is that high vibe attracts high vibe and low vibe attracts low vibe. So positive thoughts, optimism, giving generously and believing in your insane 10 year vision: all of this is high vibe and will attract high vibe back. Of course you need to put in the work and act on these thoughts but the power of staying in high vibe and believing in the magic it creates is pretty immense. I’ve always been a positive person, but inevitably there are those times when low vibe gets you. However, after reading this book a month ago I’m very conscious of my thoughts and constantly pull myself back to a high vibe. It’s like training a mental muscle, and its also a fun game!
I now have a 10yr vision of the grandest version of my life that I believe will play out: I'm healthier and I'm happier. And I’m genuinely so grateful that this book fell into my life.Â
What can't you stop thinking about?
yhangry!!! My purpose with yhangry is to help make chefs more money and in return allow customers to have insanely good food chef-led experiences, be they casual dinner parties or meals created by high-end Michelin-starred chefs.Â
There is really so much room for innovation, and more importantly change the lives of so many chefs out there. The journey has just begun really. I'm so grateful to be working on something like yhangry that fills me with a constant buzz of ideas. It consumes me in the best way possible and is always on my mind!
If I could tell you just one thing…
You can only connect the dots looking backwards. So you have to trust in something, be that karma, destiny, your gut, luck or something else. You have to trust that it will all work out and just keep going. Hope and optimism is infectious and can compound your efforts over time.Â
A little space for shout-outs
I have a few to mention. Michael Siebel, CEO of Y Combinator, a legend and our group partner. Michael radically changed the trajectory of our journey. Jack Tang, one of our investors and early Marketplace gurus that gave his time, perhaps a little bit too generously! This always left me suspicious…but in all seriousness I have such gratitude for his help. Ollie Locke, part of the original ‘Made In Chelsea’ cast who is an investor and an incredible help. A special mention to Google for Startups, Y Combinator and BBC’s Dragons Den - all these which helped yhangry massively.Â
If you could get a warm intro to anyone in the world, who would it be and why?
I would have to say Payal Kadakia, CEO & Co-Founder of ClassPass. Representation matters, and she was the first brown woman (who dances!) to build a billion-dollar company. I really respect that. I would love to be added to the brown women billion-dollar companies list one day.