We were lucky to catch up with Aesha Bhavsar and Samera Kathuria recently and have shared our conversation below.
Aesha, Samera, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?
At Unify Chai, we are a team of passionate high schoolers dedicated to amplifying the voices of advocates and change-makers. We have a shared commitment to social impact and empowerment, which we strive to amplify through interviewing South Asian female advocates all around the world. We were inspired to create this organization to inspire a new generation of passionate young women to change the world. We wish to amplify the voices of many minority change-makers who are making the world a better place, but don’t get the recognition they deserve.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
We are Aesha Bhavsar and Samera Kathuria, high school students and founders of the platform UnifyChai. We created this advocacy platform to interview and learn more about the stories of influential South Asian women. We provide virtual interviews along with recipes of snacks that these advocates eat with chai (symbolizing culture and unity). We are set apart from other platforms because we are not doing this for any personal profit, but rather to inspire others to make change. We are most proud of the diverse group of people we have been able to highlight in our platform, ranging from entrepreneurs to United Nations members. We want potential followers to know more about the diversity in South Asian culture and people.
How did you build your audience on social media?
We wanted to create a space dedicated to highlighting the stories of South Asian women who are making an impact globally on Instagram. We reached out to friends, family, and peers, encouraging them to follow our page and share it with others. Since many of us are already connected to communities where conversations about South Asian identity, culture, and women’s issues are taking place, this was a natural way to build an initial following. From there, it became about consistently creating and sharing content that stayed true to our mission.
We made sure to post regularly, keeping our followers updated on the latest interviews, upcoming projects, and behind-the-scenes moments. We were also really intentional about the kinds of posts we shared. Every post, whether it was a quote from one of the women we interviewed, a clip from a conversation, or even just an image tied to South Asian culture, was aligned with the larger narrative we wanted to tell. We wanted to not just post for the sake of it, but to create meaningful content that could resonate with our audience.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
One of the key factors that helped us build our reputation within the market was our willingness to take initiative and reach out to advocates in a formal, yet approachable manner. We weren’t afraid to connect with a wide range of advocates, and this openness allowed us to engage with individuals who aligned with our mission. Utilizing platforms like Instagram and email, we were able to cast a wide net and make connections across various networks. What truly strengthened our reputation, though, was our focus on maintaining those relationships. We made it a priority to stay in touch with the people we reached out to, fostering long-term connections that helped build trust and credibility within the community. By showing consistency and follow-through in our interactions, we were able to cultivate a strong network that contributed to our growing reputation in the market.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.unifychai.com
- Instagram: @unify.chai
- Youtube: @UnifyChai
