Speaking at the ACE NextGen Annual Conference as a South Asian AAPI Entrepreneur
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I had an incredible experience at this year’s ACE NextGen Annual Conference, where I had the pleasure of speaking alongside industry leaders John Victoria and Adeel Afshar and meeting with other entrepreneurs, like myself. As a female South Asian business founder, I was excited to inspire and share my journey.
Here's a little about ACE NexGen:
They are a vibrant community that serves as a platform for AAPI entrepreneurs to forge lifelong relationships with like-minded individuals who embrace our core values to be community oriented, authentic, generous, humble, and possessing a growth mindset in their pursuit of excellence.
They aspire to become the accelerator of AAPI entrepreneurship, and they recognize that achieving this goal hinges on the generous support of our sponsors.
During my talk, I shared something close to my heart: the struggles and setbacks I’ve faced on my entrepreneurial journey as a business start up and talked about how to start a business in the beauty space. Success doesn’t come easy, and I’ve had my fair share of failures. But through it all, there are two key lessons I'd like to share that's helping me stay true to my business purpose.
Resilience is everything.
Sometimes things get tough, and you have to pull yourself up, even when you’re not sure what’s next. That’s when you have to dig deep and ask yourself, “What’s my next move?”
Your network is your net worth.
The people I connected with five years ago at a conference are some of the same people I’m working with today—or they’re recommending others to me. Building strong relationships is crucial to long-term success.
So, be intentional about what you want. Be greedy with your goals. Know what you’re after and go out and get it.
And remember, with persistence and the right connections, you’ve got everything you need to succeed. Entrepreneurship can be hard but it's all worth it when your dream becomes a reality.
Here’s to your continued growth and resilience!
Samreen