How a Daughter of Immigrants Raised $500,000 for Her Startup | Indian Women Abroad | Tala Thrive

In this episode of Indian Women Abroad, Tala Thrive founder Sonia Kaurah shares her journey growing up as a Malaysian-Australian woman with Indian heritage, navigating identity, racism, mental health challenges, and entrepreneurship. Sonia opens up about being the child of divorced parents, never feeling fully Indian, fully Malaysian or fully Australian, experiencing racism after moving to Scandinavia, and struggling to find a therapist who understood the unique challenges faced by women of colour and children of immigrants. She also shares how those experiences inspired her to launch Tala Thrive, a startup focused on culturally responsive mental health support, and how she raised more than $500,000 through crowdfunding to bring her vision to life. In this conversation, we discuss: • Growing up with Indian/Malaysian heritage in Australia • Being the child of divorced parents • Identity struggles and belonging • Racism and living in Scandinavia • Mental health in immigrant families • Why culturally competent therapy matters • Building Tala Thrive • Raising $500,000 through crowdfunding • The realities of being a woman founder • Challenges faced by founders from migrant backgrounds • Representation in startups and venture capital • Lessons from entrepreneurship Whether you're navigating life between cultures, building a startup, dealing with identity challenges, or looking for inspiration as a woman founder, Sonia's story is one that will resonate. Subscribe for more conversations with Indian women building careers, businesses and lives around the world. Subscribe to the Indian Women Abroad newsletter: https://share.hsforms.com/1vwOOwYhnQk... If you liked this podcast, don't forget to like, comment, share and subscribe and follow us on our socials:   / indianwomenabroad     / indian-women-abroad     / indianwomenabroad     / indianwomenabroad   Or stream on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/24kS... #IndianWomenAbroad #WomenFounders #IndianDiaspora