The Next Gen: Why Navya Naveli Nanda, Ananya Birla Want To Do It All

Amidst the cacophony of modern society, a new wave of young achievers is forging a path of clarity illuminated by passion and creativity. Two such dreams, singer-industrialist Ananya Birla and activist-content creator Navya Naveli Nanda, recently opened up about entrepreneurship and philanthropy in today's rapid digital era. At ABP Network's 'Ideas of India' Summit on February 23, the duo shared their journey on a panel called 'The Next Gen: A Different Vibe', which was moderated by Shaili Chopra, founder of SheThePeople and Gytree. 

With an evident glimmer of enthusiasm in their eyes, Nanda and Birla shared their stories as young women entrepreneurs making it big in the vast leadership community. The duo also described how they are carving a niche path for themselves, distinct from the prestigious family names they carry.

On Being Creative Young Entrepreneurs 

Nanda and Birla talked about their career journies, describing how they struck a balance between their artistic pursuits and businesses. Owning the stage, the young women represented the fresh zeal that today's youth possesses in wanting to be omnipresent in every possible opportunity. 

Navya Nanda kickstarted the conversation by talking about her podcast, 'What The Hell Navya', featuring mom Shweta Bachchan-Nanda and grandmother Jaya Bachchan. She expressed, "There's so much that we've learned about each other over the last two seasons. It's always very unfiltered and opinionated if you know the three of us. We wanted to keep it as organic as we could." The 26-year-old also founded many non-profit organisations aimed at closing the gender gap in the workforce and healthcare. 

Ananya Birla talked about her musical career, which started with small gigs in pubs and cafes during her college days in the UK, helping her through some difficult mental health days. As for entrepreneurship, she founded the microfinancing firm Svatantra when she was just 17 years old and is also a big name in the luxury e-commerce landscape.

Speaking about how she finds the balance between the two distinct careers, the 29-year-old shared, "There is a lot of business in music, and there's a lot of creativity in business. So there is a bit of synergy between the two. It's just that I have to show up differently and sometimes I need to adjust my brain. Even though both sides are very me, they are different parts of me and that's what I'm still learning to do."

The duo also discussed what it is like being born into eminent business families, sharing their experiences on keeping the 'silver spoon' polished. Nanda shared, "I don't think I would be where I am if I didn't belong to the family that I came from. I got given a lot of opportunities at a very young age that most other girls my age don't get. For me, it's always been important to use those opportunities to the best of my abilities."

Cut Yourself Some Slack

In the contemporary era, there is no end to overflowing opportunities, as the whole world is at the tip of our fingers. Yet, the youth sometimes find themselves lost in the chaos, feeling a sense of inadequacy. Despite their vibrant profiles, Nanda and Birla too feel the same and discussed their experience with comparison and overwhelm. 

Nanda shared, "The environment that we live in today is very competitive, especially for young people. There are so many of us who are striving for the same job, trying to get into the same college, trying to start the same businesses... Though you could be doing well in your life, there's this constant sense of comparison, 'Am I doing enough? Am I working hard enough? Am I successful enough?'"

Resonating with the idea of comparison, Birla opened up, "This whole thing of comparison is a huge problem and I'm surely still learning how to not do that. I think a lot of it comes from self-love, which is so important. As soon as you understand more of yourself and become more comfortable in your own skin, that negative self-talk sort of starts reducing... We should probably rest more. We have to always individually be conscious of ourselves and keep a tab on what we are doing. We have to cut outselves some slack."