We recently connected with Pankti Doshi and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Pankti, thanks for joining us today. undefined
I discovered the spreading positivity and love is a quality of mine that I wish to embody in my day to day life, especially when interacting with those around me. As a genetic counselor by day, I carry myself with the empathy and compassion that is needed to facilitate complex health conversations; and as an event creator by night, I share this energy of building meaningful connection and community in a chaotic place like NYC.
In terms of innovation, I have been working to start my own genetics company to increase people’s access and awareness to genetic testing; as an event creator, I have co-founded a South Asian Music Festival, called Masala Mixtape, where he highlight and uplift South Asian talent through music.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Trained as a mathematician and biomedical engineer, I spent years working in the biomedical industry creating health products that can help patients. I wanted to get closer to the patient experience which led to pursue my Master’s in Genetic Counseling. Being in a role where I can empower individuals with their family health history, facilitate difficult medical conversations among families, and be an emotional support through convoluted decisions, is what fuels me in this career. I am excited to start my own genetics company that increases people’s awareness and access to genetic testing – especially within the South Asian community.
As an event creator by night, for the last 10 years, I have been organizing events for my community, always looking for ways to bring my friends together and create an inviting space for others to make new friends as well. I moved to NYC in 2020, and first got involved in promoting for a wide range of clubs, bars, and venues. That led me to establish my event company, which started by organizing elaborate personalized events for people in our community. I started to reflect on what I cared about the most and it was creating a place for South Asians to come together and celebrate their roots. This led to planning Rang Rave, NYC’s day and night holi experience. With the success of the event and the overwhelmingly positive feedback, my co-founders and I knew we had to come back with something bigger and better, that being Masala Mixtape, a south asian music festival. My goal is to uplift South Asian talent and creatives within the community through my platform.
We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.
Yes, for the past year, I focused on making my event creator business full-time, putting on 40 events. One of the biggest mindsets I kept was betting on myself, taking a risk, and learning how to push through setbacks. I welcome failure because I believe that’s the quickest and best way to learn – it’s when I have made mistakes, I developed skills of perseverance, determination, and confidence.
Some huge milestone for me is creating the following events: New York Fashion Week’s, The Silk Road; Rang Rave (South Asian Holi event), and Masala Mixtape in LA and NYC (South Asian Music Festival). I learned about event creation from inception to full operations and execution. There are a wide variety of factors that contribute to an event, from brainstorming and strategizing, deciding the scale of the event, who are the key players and audience target, decor, media, venue and location, ticketing, volunteers, and so much more.
Any advice for managing a team?
When managing a team, I think it’s important to take the time to listen and understand what each team member wants to focus on work-wise, how they want to make an impact, and allow them to play to their strengths. I genuinely believe each person has their own gift and talent, and it’s so key to recognize and praise that within the team members.
Contact Info:
