IT'S OFFICIAL: I Have a Superpower...
(drumroll) and it's resilience!
If you’ve been here before, you know that this Substack was born out of pure boredom. I got laid off, and took to writing (again), because even after all the hours I spent applying to - thousands of - jobs, I still had too much spare time. Busy girlies can relate.
That was in 2023. In 2024, I got laid off AGAIN. Keep reading, because this will get spicy.
Safe to say, I never want to work at a start-up again.
This year’s market is a lot worse than last year’s, but I have more experience, and am very focused / intentional in my search. What does that mean, you ask? It means I’m in my sixth month of unemployment and nothing has worked out yet. I ALMOST landed a job at TikTok though. Can you believe that? Man, it was my dream job! But it meant, I’d have to move to Seattle, and in hindsight, I don’t think I was ready to skedaddle out of the big apple just yet.
Over the next few weeks, I struggled with what to do differently in my job search, who to reach out to for support (asking for help is a big weakness in my world), and how to keep myself motivated. I didn’t have much to write about, so this Substack wasn’t going to cut it. I did a lot of soul searching to reconnect with the version of myself who was confident, inspired, and constantly on the move—the girl I was at 21.
That’s when I decided to revisit my graduation project from undergrad:
THE ROSTER RADIO (formerly)
The Roster Radio was India’s first ‘Inside Fashion’ podcast. In 2019 - a time when podcasts were audio-only, and certainly not nearly as popular in India - I recorded interviews with only my iPhone (and high hopes). I was in my final year of college, cold-calling and DM-ing the who’s who of the industry to set up meetings and share my vision with them. They all said yes—all 20 of them. Can you imagine what a win that help like to a fourth year student in college?
I loved that project like there was no tomorrow—I poured myself into it! I won the ‘Best Graduation Project’ Award, graduated top of my class (much to the dismay of my faculty), and kinda dropped the ball on this dream passion project. Priorities shifted to building my career as a Brand Marketer, and as time went on, Roster Radio all but ceased to exist.
Cut to 2024:
I realized, my biggest loss through navigating this layoff was, learning to go about my days without the people I worked with, the external vendors I dialed in with every week, and the ambassador community I was building for the brand. Nothing brings me joy, inspiration, and perspective like community does.
🥁🥁🥁Roster Radio is back🥁🥁🥁
This time, I’m taking it a step further with LIVE events in New York City. The Roster Radio Podcast is now Roster Radio (plain and simple), the events are Roster Radio LIVE, and this cute lil Substack is Roster Radio JOURNAL.
We just finished re-branding!
My incredibly talented designer bestie, Anmol Gupta, worked out a new identity that reminds me of many a books I’ve devoured between last year and now. To give you a peek, I thought I’d share some of the artworks we toyed with before landing on the final art. Pick your favorite below, because it might pop back up in a JOURNAL post!
I’ll skip the rest of the boring details, because frankly, the most fun part of this is bringing people together. Next week, I’m announcing the first-ever ROSTER RADIO LIVE EVENT.
If you’re based in New York City and into / curious about the business of Beauty, comment on this post with your email to get pre-sale tickets delivered to your inbox.🎟🍸
More information to follow in my next Substack. Stay tuned, “dearest readers.”