Kc Rossi 0:00
My guest today is Anjalee Narenthiren. Anjalee is a speaker, Program Director at the startup dojo and host of the young printer podcast. Anjalee is an international VEX Robotics champion, having beat over 20,000 teams in two consecutive years. She also founded her first startup at age 15, which I think is absolutely incredible. You're going to love this episode because we talk about the young printer advantage that's helping ambitious teens change the world, how to overcome common stumbling blocks as a startup and confidence tips from a keynote speaker. Because Anjali has been invited to speak at the AI World Forum and at Google, so at this point, she has already been invited to speak to over 1000s of people to share her experiences. Please welcome Anjalee.
Kc Rossi 0:57
Are you ready to scale your business in a way that's aligned with your soul and profitable? I'm Kc Rossi, a business and leadership coach. I've been a full time entrepreneur for 30 years and love business. I help conscious leaders increase their impact and optimize their lives. Join me each week for tips and deep conversations on cultivating confidence, increasing your visibility, elevating your vibration, and leading with purpose without burning out. Let's go. Anjalee, welcome to the show.
Anjalee Narenthiren 1:33
Thank you so much for having me.
Kc Rossi 1:35
Yeah. I'm really excited to have you here. And I loved our time on your podcast, the Youngpreneur, and I was so struck by your insight and wisdom and just how to navigate an interview. So I'm really excited to turn the tables and have you on the other side. And one thing right off the bat that I would love to learn from you is what do you like about podcasting? What is it about the podcasting platform that lights you out?
Anjalee Narenthiren 2:06
That's a great question. And I think I might want to turn that back, turn that back on you. But for me, it's really about connecting with people, I love the opportunity to get to connect with people and hear the really authentic stories of all the amazing individuals we interviewed. So for me, I actually started my podcast during the peak of COVID. And as a really extroverted person, I was losing my mind, I was absolutely losing my mind in the house. You know, this is back when like everyone was at least where I live was freaking out. And we were all quarantining. So I was losing my mind. For me, the natural solution to that was like, I got to talk to people, I got to meet new people. So it started off as just conversations, which turned into recorded interviews. And that turned into the podcast, which has grown over the last couple of years. And we're now going to be publishing our 100th episode soon.
Kc Rossi 3:01
Congratulations. That's awesome. I love that. And I hope you're taking some time to celebrate the win. Because we far too often just focus on our to do list and our next episode. So how are you celebrating your 100th episode?
Anjalee Narenthiren 3:16
So we're running a really cool contest. You can check us out on Instagram when that goes up. And tune in for the details for that exciting contest.
Kc Rossi 3:29
Yeah, that's cool. Yeah, that's very, very fun. So I want to share with our listeners that you created your first startup at age 15. Because I think that that is awesome. And I'm wondering what sparked that entrepreneurial spirit?
Anjalee Narenthiren 3:47
Um, you know, I asked this, this sort of question to our guests a lot of the time because we also found We also feature a lot of founders, it's all harder when you know, the questions you ask, they're turned back on you. Funny enough. But I guess for me, what started that entrepreneurial spark, I guess. I've always been like, the kind of kid who just likes messing around with things in the net, and figuring out how things work. So that started with me being a total nerd growing up. So like, living at my Robotics Club, throughout my childhood. And, you know, spending like that. So like, at least 20 hours a week in high school. I just like being a nerd. So I just really love like, figuring out how things work and trying to figure out if I can make things better. So when I founded my first my first startup, it wasn't really from a place of like, oh, I want to build something. Oh, I know. I know what a startup isn't. I want to build a startup. It was more of like, I saw a problem. And as a really, as a person who just gets annoyed by like problems a lot. I was like, Okay, this one particularly annoys me and I really wanting to do something to fix it. So for me, it was access to tech education. Like I was super passionate about tech education at 15. I was realizing all my girlfriends were dropping out of it because they hadn't been exposed. So that organization I built up in high school was around exposing young kids to tech, in a similar way that I had the privilege of bird making, but making that more widespread. So we grew up an organization around that, we're able to impact over 1000 kids. And I had a really cool experience with that. And he taught me so much, so much more than anything. Personally, I think I learned in school, it taught me so much. But I also learned that starting startups is really hard. It's really valuable, but it's really hard. And school does not help students learn anything like practical in that sense. So that was, that's actually the segue into the current startup. Or the current startup, I work at startup dojo, where we help teens build ventures. So yeah, I guess we'll talk a bit more about that later on. But that is the whole story segway backstory behind where we're currently Yes,
Kc Rossi 6:08
I love that. And I am a true believer that being an entrepreneur and having that development. Drive is in our DNA. And so I love the fact that you had those basic pillars of seeing a problem and knowing how to fill the solution being net solution, being a change agent and having the Moxie to start something from nothing. Because I agree with you like, that is not an easy thing to just be looking at a white piece of paper, and have to create something, but not only create something, but have success and inspire others to do the same. So kudos to you. I love that. I love that you're on your how what, how many iterations? Is it now? Like, is it how many iterations have you had since 15? You're 19 Now, right?
Anjalee Narenthiren 6:57
Yeah, so I'm not running the venntro from high school anymore. But I guess I'm on business number two, which is startup dojo, yeah, um, and then, respectively, that's gone through a ton of iterations on the iterations, but it's gone through.
Kc Rossi 7:12
I love it. That's awesome. I was actually just listening to a snippet from JLo. And she was talking about like, one of her facial serums. And she's like, it took like 19 or 20 iterations for this serum to be able to, like, have the qualities to stick my name on it. So yes, I think being an entrepreneur, we have to be open to iterating. And then iterating again, and like Seth Godin talks about, we create something and we ship it, and then we get that market research from our clients. And then we create some iterations and reshape it. So that is a winner's mindset for sure. And I think that it prevents stagnation. I think one of the things I heard you say is that young people have an advantage because they are not limited to old mindsets and beliefs. I absolutely love that being a mindset coach myself, and I thought that it was just laced with a lot of wisdom. So I would love to hear more of your take on that.
Anjalee Narenthiren 8:08
Yeah, thank you so much for bringing bringing that up. I do love. I do love that point. And I do really, really believe it. I don't think my so the reason that I really believe that is because I don't think my story is very unique. I think, you know, it's interesting that I maybe like, was able to like go out and start that venture in high school. But I don't I don't think I wasn't unique in the sense that like, I'm the only kid that age who is passionate about problems and wants to solve them. I think most young people are really passionate about what's going on in our world, and do have a really deep desire to, you know, do more than just going to school and doing like, you know what society expects of them. Right? Like teenagers are, have all the capacity of adults, but they're treated like children. And, you know, I feel like for most young people that can be really frustrating that they know, they have so much untapped. unharnessed creativity and potential, but you don't really know what to do with it. There's nothing that gives you an outlet to do to do that sort of thing. So I'm really passionate about that. And I really believe in young people because, you know, there's so much potential, so much raw creativity, and most I think almost everyone has a really strong desire to do more. It's just really hard to find that support system. And also to the to the point about mindsets. Yeah, I totally I totally agree with that. Growing up I think you face challenges that influence how you see the world some of them for the better, some of them for the worse. So one of the one of the privileges of being young, is that you don't know what isn't possible. So you end up trying crazy things. And because you're you know, just oftentimes don't even have to do it. In my experience. It was like a naive With a that pushed me to make that leap by 50, because I was naive enough to do it, do something that maybe a lot of older people might have thought was impossible or unfeasible. I was able to begin this whole journey. And I've seen that same story with so many of the team printers we worked with. Were just young people. Because they don't know what is impossible, they go out and create it. But we have one student who was passionate about climate change. So she went out and taught herself about electronics and build a device to help help save, save water. At 14 years old. She, like, you know, imagine, I couldn't imagine a lot of adults going out and doing something as bold as that because they probably just crossed that out in their mind.
Kc Rossi 10:46
Oh, I love that. I love that story. And climate change seems like such a ginormous thing to tackle. And I love the fact that she was brave enough and had that moxie to just be like, Yes, I'm one person, and I can do it. And I can make a difference. So that's extremely inspirational. I think the other advantage that young entrepreneurs have is they are less having these limiting beliefs from all the decades of times when maybe they didn't challenge themselves, or they failed. And they're using old information to inform new decisions or being in the present moment. And so I love the fact that you have more of this. Confidence and Moxie. But I think the more to that is the taking action. Because what I see, I have seven nieces and nephews all under the age of like, 22. So I've been able to have this insight. And what I see is just this, you know, confidence and also being willing to fail, like being willing to try and not feel like you're a failure of flop just like idea one, two or three didn't work is that in your experience, as well with the people that you've mentored?
Anjalee Narenthiren 11:56
150% 150% Yeah, I think that's, that's why I love what I do so much, because I just get to be surrounded by so much of that enthusiasm, and, and passion, where people like these really smart people are working on really, really hard problems, and they're falling on their faces a lot. But unlike what I'd probably see if I was working with older folks, or, or what I've seen when working with some older folks, all of the young people I work with, have that Moxie to get back up and not see it as a reflection onto themselves and really see it as this is just a learning learning point. This is just version one. And I mean, there are tons of factors that go into it, right, like not having lots of responsibilities to external, external forces in the world not having to take care of a family not I mean, you'd be more give. So not not saying that. That is not a like that is not valid. But I think young people have this really cool opportunity where we have the passion, we have the drive. And we also have the freedom of not being tied down to a lot of things. So failure is something that we're much more open to because of our mindsets, but because also because of our circumstance, and we have a really unique opportunity, you know, below the age of 2025, or whatever, to to really jump in and chase this freedom that we have. So that's what I'm that's another big reason of why I'm so excited about all of our, our startup founders and startup dojo.
Kc Rossi 13:29
Yeah, that's awesome. I feel like there's no better time to foster that and to create a business and to take a leap of faith, then now with all of our advanced technology, and you can really start a business on a shoestring. You know, and if you've got the passion, which really that passionate enthusiasm, which one you're really blessed to be around that natural energy. So that's amazing. Good for you that that's coming into your immediate surroundings, and to I really feel like skills can be learned. But the passion and the enthusiasm can't be taught, it can be caught. And so to be around people with that kind of energy, I feel like there's a special magic and a momentum that comes from that. So I love that you're doing that I love the work that you're doing with startup dojo, you mentioned one of the stumbling blocks for young printers is that support and direction and maybe being discredited because of their age? So I feel like you're filling this gap in such a beautiful way to say like, one you're not alone. Two, if I can do it, you can do it. And three, the sky's the limit, like let's go for it. So I would love it. If you could share an additional story you did touch on the one individual that went through Startup Dojo that had that really nice climate change connection, but I would love it if you could share another case study of somebody that's been through your program and what was that transformation like for them?
Anjalee Narenthiren 14:56
Yeah, I've had the privilege of working with some awesome awesome foundries all high school aged assets. So let me let me think of a good story. So I guess I can give you like an overview of some cool founders that we've had in our program. So we had one high school student who's, who's really passionate about education, very shy coming into the program, she's very, very keen on, like, soft on solving problems, and very, very keen on access to education. So this is at the beginning of COVID, she joined us, and she realized that COVID was having an unfair impact on the education of you know, most, a lot of a lot of kids, most kids, especially those that you know, weren't at super well funded schools, right? Because now they're being forced online, the schools they're at did not have the capacity to really deal with it properly. So lots of kids were just falling behind. And there was nothing they could do about it. Like across like entire schools, were seeing like big problems. So she was really passionate about that. And she wanted to figure out how she could help level the playing field by connecting students with one another, to unite, and, you know, come out of this stronger. So what she did was she built a peer to peer tutoring platform, but totally built it from scratch, like, you know, I was amazed at the like, she built everything, she built this really cool peer to peer tutoring platform, where all their students who understood topics can sign up, get volunteer hours. And then younger students could also sign up and get access to those mentors. So now you were having this information exchange from students totally free, where both sides are benefiting and learning a lot from the exchange. And we're also tackling that big issue that we were seeing, and especially coming out at COVID. So that was really cool. And now she's working with a national nonprofit to take that across the country. So it's very exciting to see that.
Kc Rossi 16:56
That's credible. I got the chills. I can think of many people right off the bat that that would be so helpful. And I feel like especially with the tweens and below, they really look up to the teenagers, they really listen to them. There's like this opening, and there's a I think a deeper respect, because there isn't such an age gap. And so I can see where that would be a beautiful match. That's amazing. I love that. That's awesome. And I think two, there was a lot of wisdom there in that development. Because during COVID. And during lockdown, we were all craving a sense of belonging and community. And so that really fills the emotional gap that was happening in the time in addition to the learning and educational exchange.
Anjalee Narenthiren 17:42
Yeah, yeah. I mean, I think it's so cool just to see these, these ideas come up. And I mean, I've experienced it with the businesses I've built, but watching other people also build businesses. I've seen this over and over again, where you try to solve one problem. And a lot of the time you have positive, if you're really like, if you really care about you know, helping people and solving that problem. A lot of the time, there are positive externalities, where you're actually solving some other problems, too. And I think it's so cool to see that process that you mentioned.
Kc Rossi 18:12
Yeah, that's the beauty of the positive ripple effect. And I feel like it just can keep on going. And it's contagious. It's like a circle of happiness, you know, where it's just like, you inspire me, I get the chills. I go and tell 10 people, they're inspired. And it just like, continues to go on. Now, earlier. Anjali, we talked a little bit about Moxie. And I know you were invited to be a keynote speaker at the AI world and the Google forum, which hats off to you that absolutely takes a lot of moxie. And I'm wondering if you have any confidence tips for the listeners?
Anjalee Narenthiren 18:47
That's a great, that's a great, great question. Let me think about that. Um, for me, I was never someone who is a natural speaker. And I guess at first when I was invited to do all these speaking events, I was I was so scared. I was terrified. Like, the first big thing I did was at Google. They invited me to come to like their headquarters, and give a talk at like this big robotics workshop, about my experience as a girl in STEM. And also, like, you know, we'd won the international VEX Robotics tournament that year. So I was sharing about that. And I was really scared. I didn't, I felt I felt a lot of imposter syndrome. First of all. Second of all, I was like, you know, I'm a kid. Why? Why does anyone want to listen to me? Like your executives, big shots from Google in the audience who are trying to listen to me and I'm, I'm a 15 year old kid, and I don't feel like they know anything. Now you asked me to speak. Like, that's terrifying. I don't feel like I should be here. So yeah, I definitely I'm not someone who naturally had that like confidence of like, yeah, I got this. It was definitely really really scary. Super, super scary. So I'm gonna, I guess I'll take you through like how I personally got through that big hurdle, which was my first big speaking event and getting over all the imposter syndrome and fear that came came with that. And I think the secret is that I don't think I really got over it. It wasn't like I was preparing. And all of a sudden, I wasn't scared one day, I was scared, I was scared the entire time, the entire time, I was preparing a lot of those fears, a lot of those feelings stuck with me through the process. But it was really about, I think this is a similar idea with being a founder, it was really about acknowledging the fear, letting myself feel it, but then being like, that's okay, I'm still going to try anyways. Like, at the end of the day, what is the worst that can happen? Right? Like, I'm scared, that's okay. I'm going to let myself feel that fear. I'm just going to try my best. I'm going to try my best. And then repeating that to myself throughout the process. were times I wanted to quit. Yeah, for sure. There are times I wanted to just call in and say I don't want to do it. Yeah, for sure. But I guess like that kind of mantra. And that kind of attitude, going through the process made sure I stuck with it. And I was able to do it. And once I done that first big speaking event I had I had confidence from sticking with it. And it wasn't perfect and 100% wasn't perfect. I think I walked up with like, you know, my color all messed up. And some of that to fix my color before I went up stage because I was that nervous. Like it was not perfect at all. But because I'd done that first really scary thing. Now, when I've asked you to do the next speaking event, I had a higher level of confidence, a higher baseline. And I think that's what it's about. It's about being okay with being scared more than you can imagine, doing the thing, and then just accept that and understanding that once you get through it, you're going to be stronger and better. And that's what that will increase your baseline confidence. And just keep on keep on keepin on that lets you build it.
Kc Rossi 21:54
Oh my gosh, I love that so much. You had tons of wisdom packed in that. And so just to rewind and break it down, what I'm hearing is perspective, really stepping back and saying like, wait a second, you know, like, it's gonna be fine. Like, you know, I'm not gonna die if I do this, like getting perspective. And then really tapping into your mindset and a mantra of really continuing to say, like, I got this, I can do this, like, what's the worst that's gonna happen, I'm going to do it anyway, feel the fear and do it anyway. And then taking imperfect action. That's huge. And I think that that's also something that we all need to hear. Because perfectionism really does hold us back. It keeps us in stagnation and overthinking, and it also prevents us from sharing our gifts with the world. So I love that you're talking about taking imperfect action. And I think the biggest piece of wisdom that you just shared in that is the fact that competence comes from action, you are not going to improve the skill because I believe that competence can be learned by thinking and not doing and quitting and preventing yourself from feeling the fear and doing it any way. So that is the biggest biggest takeaway is committing to taking imperfect action, but underscoring the word action. So Wow, amazing. I love it. How can people learn more about the startup dojo, and on Julie's world?
Anjalee Narenthiren 23:18
Check us out at www.mystartupdojo.com. We have a really, thanks to some awesome partners, we have a really, really cool scholarship program going on. So if you are a high school student, if you know any high school students who are really ambitious Grady have that kind of Moxie, we've been talking about, please encourage them to apply for the program. It's really cool. And on top of all the educational content, and everything, printers get connected with really amazing luminaries, like we're talking like CEOs of multi million dollar companies, and so much more academics from what I like the best schools in the country, from the best business schools in the country, sharing their knowledge and their wisdom with with our team partners. So really, the best possible batch of mentors, we make them accessible to all of our team printers, and you know, all of us, and it's really cool to see you know, all the SAS or pastine printers have been able to, to accomplish from being invited to pitch on Dragon's Den, which is like the Canadian version of Shark Tank to, you know, creating a lot of impact across the country. So learning how to build financial freedom for yourself and like build a team and then build a business where you're actually having income come in. So huge breath of really cool things our team printers have been able to do. And I highly encourage anyone who's interested who has that kind of Moxie, that ambition to do more, to please check us out and take advantage of that opportunity. Really free, just apply.
Kc Rossi 24:50
That's incredible. I will make sure to put that link in the show notes so people can easily find you if they're resonating with this message which I don't know how they can't be I know that my listeners are absolutely going to catch a spark of inspiration from you today. So thank you. And one last bit, if you wanted to leave some bright light wisdom, what would you like to share today with our listeners?
Anjalee Narenthiren 25:16
I think I just want to really hit home on that message. From our discussion on confidence. I think that applies to confidence and also every other skill, any skill you want, I think it's going to be built through action. And understanding that the fear you feel in maybe pursuing that skill is just a part of the process. And in order to get to the other side, you just need to do the thing. Be okay with the fear, feel the fear, feel all the unpleasant feelings that come with doing something hard, because that's the point. Like, that's how you grow, you need to do the, you need to feel that fear field that fueled the uncomfortableness to get to the other side, and slowly level up the confidence level up, you know, the public speaking level of whatever skill it is you want to build. So I really want to just highlight that and keep encouraging everyone to just, you know, go what do you do? What scares you do what makes you uncomfortable? Because that's how you go.
Kc Rossi 26:13
Yeah. Ah, Spoken like a true sage. That was absolutely a tweetable. Thank you so much. It was really a pleasure to see you again. Anjalee, and I hope that we can cross paths again in the very near future.
Anjalee Narenthiren 26:26
Me too. Thank you so much for having me on the podcast. I love having you on the podcast. And I'm so excited. I got to also speak to your listeners.
Kc Rossi 26:36
Yeah, I appreciate it. Until next time, breathe joy.
Kc Rossi 26:40
I hope you enjoy today's episode with Angelique. I love getting a fresh perspective, from the younger generation. I feel that many times we can get stuck in our own patterns and really become stuck in a rut. And it is amazing how you can burst out of that by getting inspiration from the younger generation that just has a different lens that they live their world through. So she was a perfect example of somebody that feels the fear and does it anyway, we can absolutely learn from that.
Kc Rossi 27:13
Okay, if you love this episode, head on over to www.lovethepodcast.com/brilliance because I love to see your ratings and review. Molly see one from the US says five stars, "Actionable info, no fluff here. I love how Kc always asks for and gives practical tips and examples." Molly, thank you so much for taking the time. I'm actually hearing that more and more how direct I am. So I'm thinking that that's a good thing based on your feedback. I really appreciate you taking the time to share and I would love it if you could take the time to share your feedback at www.lovethepodcast.com/brilliance. Thank you!
