The Power of Bringing Diversity into Your Community

We all have to eat! Deepti Sharma has a new take on how to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to have their food voice heard. In 2011, Deepti founded FoodtoEat, a community-minded catering concierge service that connects immigrant, women and minority-owned food vendors to growth opportunities. She saw an area of need and has worked tirelessly to provide an equitable solution.

Deepti shares the impetus for creating FoodtoEat as well as the process she followed to move from helping food trucks reach more audiences to facilitating relationships between restaurants and corporate catering needs. Her work has helped New Americans build stronger business skills and fostered a more diverse work culture.

Her background is in political science and she is an advocate for policies that benefit small business owners and immigrant entrepreneurship. She also focuses on gender equity in the small business space. After taking stock of the number of companies founded and owned by men, she began to take a greater interest in helping women to build and foster their own businesses. She also shares what she thinks is the best way for women to help other women business owners.

All of her work has not gone unrecognized. Deepti is a World Economic Forum Global Shaper and a Forbes 30 Under 30 alumnus. Her insights into small business and diversity in the community are amazing. From the way she’s built her team to the plans she has for the future of FoodtoEat, Deepti is a wealth of knowledge about entrepreneurship and advocacy. Listen in to learn more ways that you can impact your community by harnessing the power of diversity and inclusion.

Show Notes:

• [02:06] There’s power in bringing diversity to your community. Learn more with Deepti Sharma.
• [03:30] Deepti shares a bit about her background and what drove her to create FoodtoEat.
• [08:39] Learn about the challenges Deepti felt in pivoting from food truck supplier to corporate catering.
• [14:53] What is Deepti’s philosophy on team creation and nurturing?
• [17:24] How can women help one another in fostering equity in the workplace?
• [20:06] Deepti divulges the things she’s learned about herself while building her business.
• [24:37] Has her team been able to tap into her resilience? 
• [27:25] Learn how Deepti manages her time between being a mom and wife, a business owner, and a woman.
• [31:42] Deepti shares her best advice for staying resilient in building your business.
• [33:19] Connect with Deepti.

Links and Resources:

• Deepti’s Website
  
• Deepti on Instagram
  
• Deepti on Twitter
• FoodtoEat
• FoodtoEat on Instagram
  
• FoodtoEat on Twitter
• I Made Your Food campaign

Episode’s Sponsor: Empowered Women Event - December 5th, 2019. Get your ticket here: http://bit.ly/empowereddec5