Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kruti Chaliawala. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Kruti thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

Rudra Recommends is a combination of two things and yet entails other meanings. The combination being (ru) from (Kruti) and (dra) from (Deependra), it also is one of the names of a deity in the Hindu scripture meaning ‘the roarer’. As we combine a skillset from different backgrounds and have gained the knowledge and experience in helping people it translates to ‘Recommends’. Kruti is passionate about teaching and Deependra is passionate about helping people with historical research combines the mission of our business to consult and help people with their needs.

Kruti, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Rudra Recommends is a joint venture by me and my husband (Deependra Dehariya).

I came to the US in 2010 when I was only 18 years old. Never traveled anywhere or sat in a plane. I am from a western state in India where it was a big deal for an only female child to travel to an unknown country by herself and achieve something. At that time, I aimed to finish my dual bachelor’s and get a job in a government agency and make my father proud…….. Fast forward to 2021; I am still getting the education as a doctoral student. I haven’t been able to reach the goal of settling in the US, and now, I could never make my father proud because he passed away in 2020 amidst all the chaos, and I did not get to see him one last time or be part of any rituals. So now you might be wondering what I have been doing for the past ten years. How is it possible that I am not yet settled or have made a living for myself?

These are the things I did to make my place in the US:

– Earned 2 Bachelors – Forensic Science and Criminal Justice. After graduation tried to find a job in a government agency, but the administration was not hiring any international students, and hence, had to skip Plan B of continuing education in psychology.
– Earned MA in Forensic Psychology. Landed a teaching job. Fell in love with the teaching job and thought that life is settled. But, the administration decided not to process the extension for the EAD (Employment Authorization Document) on time and had to leave the country.
– I came back in 2019 with my husband to do MSc in Health Promotion Sciences while being an adjunct faculty.
– I finished my MSc (Honors) in May 2021 and started my Ph.D. in Health Education in August 2021.

Although my husband and I have multiple skill sets, we fail at getting customers because of various reasons such as us being still international students, lack of exposure, lack of recommendations, etc. Many business owners start a business or a consulting firm once they have worked somewhere and built a clientele. We have started from scratch which is considered bold in the business industry.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I came to the US in 2010 to pursue undergraduate studies. Since 2010, there have been multiple pit stops where I had to show my resilience and get tougher with each experience. Before I came to the US, I fixed housing for myself with a landlady as my university did not have any availability on campus. But after reaching my destination, the landlady refused to provide me with my promised apartment. She refused the mere fact of having a conversation with me. I was all alone and not sure what to do. I called my father and asked him to take me home as people in the US are bad. He taught me the first lesson of resilience. He became my strength and asked me to keep moving forward. I was able to get housing on campus in 15 days and had to spend those days with one of my father’s friends’ relatives. After I finished my undergrad, I was hoping to get a job in the desired field but due to my international student status, I was not hired. I was forced to start graduate school in order to live in the US. After finishing my graduate school, I found a teaching job but the administration was changing and I was unable to get an authorization card to work. I was forced to leave the US but came back to do another graduate degree within a year. Through all these years, I kept trying to get into Ph.D. school and when I did, my father passed away and I was unable to share this with him. Throughout my journey, I had to show resilience which is still ongoing because the struggle has not diminished. This business is a hope to spread the word about the struggles an international student goes through in an alien environment.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

The initial capital accumulated to start this business is the tough decision to choose whether to keep on saving the money for future investment or to spend it during a time when COVID-19 was prevalent. We accumulated our 2 years of savings to get the LLC registered and acquire the ITIN number which may not seem costly but the opportunity cost is very high for international students living on very minimum pay and triple the expense of college fees.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.rudracommends.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rudra_recommends/?utm_medium=copy_link
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Rudra-Recommends-LLC/100073621610496/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rudrarecommends
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/rudra-recommends-cincinnati