We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Vishnupriya Anant. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Vishnupriya below.

Alright, Vishnupriya thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

I moved to the US in November’21 and after living/working in 5 countries. It has always been exciting journey for us and this new adventure was a welcome relief after Covid restrictions. Once we landed in Tampa, I was amazed to see the opportunities that abound in US. We moved due to my husband’s work and I have always been lucky to find opportunities for me to grow my career but this move had something else in store for me. After trying to find a suitable opportunity for over 8 months I was not getting anywhere. It was disheartening but at the same time it continued to strengthen my resolve to make things happen. This is what lead to my starting Vedic International,

My company serves as a platform to support entrepreneurs in US, South Asia and South East Asia to access what other regions have to offer. In my conversation with multiple stakeholders, it was clear how the east presented itself with the volume and North America with the value and how the smaller organizations struggle to get a foot hold due to lack of knowledge or a trusted partner that can help them grow. This is where we come in. We serve as a bridge to enable businesses to take advantage of what is on offer and present a suite of options for upcoming or established businesses looking to grow. To start, our focus is on art and handicrafts as we very strongly believe that by supporting artists we can have a lasting impact on both the geographies and improve people to people contact.

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

I am a compliance professional and have worked in financial services for over 10 years with stock exchanges, law firms, fintech startup and investment banks. Beside my work, I am a trained singer in Indian classical music and my tryst in art forms and music started at a very young age. Over the years I have learnt different artforms while I continued on my professional journey. When we moved to the US, while I was looking for opportunities for myself, I got interested in the challenges that small businesses like artists and producers of handicrafts face in US of not being able to harness the opportunities that the emerging economies present and at the same time the lack of information that the US artists/businesses have about the opportunity that the sheer volume of the emerging economies present.
Having visibility to both sides of the opportunity it was a natural progression for me to move forward and enable it. We are starting small with the intention to fail fast, iterate and learn to move faster forward. For the same I have started an Etsy shop (Www.etsy.com/shop/earringsnearme) to understand the market and the trends here. As part of my company, Vedic International (www.onevedic.com) , I am working to move more mainstream and support the artists and small businesses in both the geographies.
As part of Vedic International, we provide services like market access, access to investments, revenue stream identification and creator services for businesses. Also, we have been working to create a network of mentors to support small businesses across multiple challenges as they grow. This includes professionals that have deep experience in marketing, sales, operations and supply chain, investment decisions etc. The intention is to have a full eco-system to support businesses and have the right guidance available to succeed in their endeavors.
We are confident that we can create a difference in the lives of multiple artists, entrepreneurs and small businesses in the coming future.

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

I have had a good career and opportunity to work with some of the best people in the industry across India, Singapore and Malaysia. Having experience across a few different setups like stock exchanges, law firms and fintech companies and a pretty decent educational background with two bachelor and two master’s equivalent degrees from India and UK, I was confident that I would be able to continue my journey as a legal/compliance professional when we moved to US.

But, life had a different journey in store for me. When EAD was authorized, I started to look for opportunity across the domains I was confident of making a change and started to give interviews. Over 8 months, I applied to over 200 opportunities and interviewed for no less than 20 I had my fair share of highs. The only challenge was that I kept getting refusal from all quarters. I was prepared for challenges but this started to put me in a dilemma on what was that I am doing wrong. Two of the potential employers expressed concern on the longevity of my stay in the US and them having to recruit again if my husband got transferred . This was a genuine concern as I we have moved quiet a bit but this was never a deterrent in my career so far. I started to network with multiple people to understand what I can do differently to move ahead. My husband, Anant, kept trying on his end to resolve whatever was possible to support my career journey and kept encouraging me to do my best.

To keep myself engaged and motivated, I started to engage in art which has been my happy place for years. At the same time started to read on the challenges that artists and small businesses face especially in accessing new markets and weave together a plan on what can I do to make it happen. Me, or anyone in my immediate family has never done business and that sense of venturing the unknown was daunting. When I shared this idea to Anant, not only was he supportive but super charged my journey. My parents and In laws have been my guiding light and their love helped me overcome challenges every time . I started to put together the business plan and over next few months I started to experiment with what needs to be done. The first step is to engage myself to understand the challenges first hand and that lead me to start an Etsy shop and it has been an experience.

The true story of resilience is in the making now as I start to structure Vedic International towards the vision and I hope to share more to the readers in the coming months/years.
Also, to add on, after I started my business, I got an opportunity at a very prestigious investment banking firm. I am amazed at the culture at my new workplace and how they are encouraging women to go beyond and make a mark.

Have you ever had to pivot?

We, as a family, had taken a decision a few years back to maximize the opportunities that life presents to us. One way to make that happen is that we have to continuously unlearn and learn back as we pivot and move around. So far I have been blessed to have lived in 5 and worked in 4 countries and experience different cultures and perspectives.

I started my career in India with the largest stock exchanges in the country and one of the largest in the world. I met some of the best business minds and got to learn incessantly which kept me grounded and develop the foundation on which I stand today. With the move to Singapore, I got the opportunity to work with a law firm and was the first employee of their corporate secretarial services. Getting the opportunity to build a team from scratch and start something new was something I had never done before and I cannot thank enough my seniors who entrusted this responsibility to me with freedom and guidance. I was leadership up close and I still reach out to the founder of the firm for guidance. Their knowledge and humility made a lasting impact on me. When we moved to Malaysia, our daughter had turned one and we navigated parenthood, country change and career change for me at the same time. In Malaysia, I got to work with our friends on a fintech start up that worked on providing factoring services to small and medium enterprises before the company was acquired and we moved to the US.

Even though it sounds very glamorous, there are multiple challenges that came along with it. Each time we moved countries, it is a fresh start where we have to start from zero and build fast. I had to pivot in my career 4 times so far and each time it has been an experience that I will not trade for anything else. Not only has it made me resilient but given me such an amazing exposure that no training program in an organization could have provided me. I am much more culturally adaptable, open to ideas and problems from multiple perspectives and establish a network across geographies that is irreplaceable. Each of the pivot helped me explore the unknown facets of my personal and professional self and made me who I am today      

Contact Info:

• Website: www.onevedic.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pen_paper_and_vishnupriya/
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/vpacs
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/storieswithaarna
• Other: www.etsy.com/shop/earringsnearme