Since starting her professional journey in 1995, Rama Tadepalli has worked across 10 industries , from telecommunication and banking to retail. The learning curve was steep and laid the foundation for her entrepreneurial journey with Mintoak, which she co-founded in 2017. But the early days at her first job, as a management trainee, were turbulent. “The culture was bad and people were disrespected. I approached a senior who asked me, are you running away from a situation or running towards an opportunity? He told me that if I wanted to make a change, I would need to do it myself,” recalls Tadepalli, 53, chief product officer at fintech company Mintoak.
That experience taught her to take responsibility for her own destiny. In a few months, she found herself in a department where she was the only woman. “Things have changed today, but I feel we are still far from the true spirit of equality. One still has to deal with unconscious bias, since the social and cultural fabric inherently supports male dominance,” she adds.
She talks to Lounge about why mentors need to be active listeners and the influence pets have had on her life. Edited excerpts:
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As a mentor, you need to guide them through the decision-making process and not make the decision for them. Mentors have to be active listeners, patient and not just offer templated solutions.
It is important to focus on clarity of purpose and be highly resilient, since an entrepreneur’s journey is fraught with uncertainty. There is also the need to team up with people who have the same value system and share the same ideology, but have distinct skills so that the sum of parts can be greater than the whole.
A tad chaotic, but mostly organised thanks to my furry kids. Two adorable Indie dogs have adopted me. I prefer to walk them on my own at least once. I find it very therapeutic. Then, I feed my street furry friends and neighbourhood cats.
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Monday Motivation is a series in which business leaders and creative individuals discuss their mentors and their work ethics.
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