You became a single mother at a young age after leaving an arranged marriage—what gave you the courage to walk that path?
It was my daughter who gave me the courage. The minute I saw her, I knew I had to leave to give her a better life. Before her, I did not have that courage. I tried leaving a couple of times but it was unsuccessful. When I made the decision, I was lucky enough to have my family support me. Back then, not a lot of women had the option to leave nor a family that would support them. It was considered a dishonor to your family if you were divorced.
Describe some of the biggest challenges you faced as a single mom building a business—and how you overcame them.
There were so many! One of the biggest challenges was making sure my daughter didn’t feel like I was neglecting her while working two jobs. I overcame it by waking up very early and going to bed late to get work done so that I could spend every waking minute with her. I also had to explain to her that I had to work hard to make sure we had a better life together. She was so understanding and never gave me a hard time. She, in turn, became one of the hardest working women I know. She went to NYU and graduated with her undergrad and masters in 4 years while being at the top of her class. Can you tell that I am a proud mom???