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

Palak, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What do you think it takes to be successful?

I feel like success is such a relative concept — not just in the sense that it is different things to different people, but also that it means very different things at different points in your life. I love when the definition evolves, because it means you have evolved.

Lately for me, feeling successful comes from experiences that give me a sense of expansion. That make me feel like I’m creatively fulfilled and “in flow”. I have realized it comes from being able to work on projects you really care about in spaces where you’re able to use your voice and still have room to be wrong and grow.

Beyond just hard work, I feel like creative industries demand a certain tenacity. The work goes through so many rounds of iterations and feedback. Being passionate about what you do is big, for sure. But being relentless makes a world of a difference.

More than anything, I feel like identifying your purpose and working toward it is always fulfilling. I became a Copywriter because I really, really love writing – I would do it even if nobody paid me any money for it. Having the world see your work is a great feeling, no doubt. But honestly to me, the work is its own reward. The rest is all nice-to-have.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Hi! My name is Palak and I’m a Copywriter — very obvious pieces of information, I know ha!

I always knew I wanted to be a writer in some capacity professionally. I originally went to school to study Mass Media thinking I wanted to do Journalism and discovered Copywriting on the way. It immediately felt like I had found my calling and I haven’t looked back since.

Straight out of college, I joined a team of writers at Terribly Tiny Tales — a celebrated microfiction platform in India. As their Content Lead for Brand Collaborations, I helped over 50 brands tell stories and inspire social conversations through branded content. It truly was a magical place to be at. It really helped me shape my voice as a writer and introduced me to a group of fierce, talented women who remain my best friends to this day.

My love affair with words took me around the world to work with some very talented people at shops like Droga5, Wieden+Kennedy, and most recently, YouTube Creative Studio in New York City. In my current role, I help create ad campaigns and write copy primarily for YouTube Shorts. I’ve had the opportunity to create campaigns featuring some of the biggest artists in music including Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, BTS and BLACKPINK.

At my core, I’m a little girl from Mumbai. Everyone is a dreamer in that city and it blows my mind that I get to live a life that’s beyond my wildest dreams. Honestly, I’m often pinching myself.

But I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunities I’ve had and do my best to pay it forward. In both my personal and professional capacities, I strive to support and uplift diverse creatives whose Imposter Syndromes need squashing.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I first moved to New York for Ad school and fell in love with the city. It really made me feel like something incredible was just around the corner and waiting to happen to me. I feel hard for that feeling of endless possibility and knew I saw myself living here for the long-ish haul.

Except, I graduated in June 2020 – straight into the pandemic. Plus, I am an international creative who’d need visa sponsorship. With most places on a hiring freeze, getting a job AND visa sponsorship felt like such a tall order. But I don’t know, there was something within me that really was asking me to keep pushing and take that leap of faith.

So I took it upon myself to really educate myself about immigration. My goal was to make employing me as easy as possible for people who wanted to work with me. I spoke to immigration lawyers and found out about alternative visa options I had no idea existed. I’d go into interviews with a plan Z.

I found out about a type of visa called an O1-B – to qualify for which I’d have to prove that I was a creative of “extraordinary ability”. What ensued was a six-month long process of submitting my work to every award show, reaching out to journalists and publications, and compiling all the results into (what turned into) a 700-page portfolio of evidence to support my case. It was probably the most anxiety-inducing experience of my life but in hindsight, so worth it.

Part of why it was so hard for me was having no precedent. I was the first one in my circle to do this. I was the guinea pig. Ever since, I try my best to share my experience with other creatives who are in a similar situation and help them not make the same mistakes I did. With time, we have all become a little community that’s always willing to help each other. It never really gets easier; but having a support system makes such a big difference.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

That there is no OFF button.

There’s really no way to go “Oop, I’m off the clock now, I’ll stop thinking about this till tomorrow.” If there’s one, I haven’t found it yet.

Every single creative I know has talked about how inspiration strikes at weird and often, very inconvenient times.

My Notes app is full of silly things like “red scarf puzzle” that I stepped out of the shower or woke up at 3am to write. Because ideas come on their own time and if I don’t write it down, they’ll go away to the farm upstate to live with all the other nice ideas.

It’s amazing and it’s really annoying.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.palakkapadia.com
• Instagram: @poetryandpostcards
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/palakkapadia
• Twitter: @palakkapadia_