Sometimes It Takes 8 Years

Since I was little girl, I always knew I wanted something of my own. Maybe part of it came from watching my mom build and rebuild her beauty salon wherever life took us. Sometimes it was a full-fledged setup, other times just a small room in the house. First, it was Serena Beauty Parlour.  Later, after my little sister was born, we renamed it Jane & Jadyn. My dad, on the other hand, worked for a Christian organisation for over a decade. He was Steady, Loyal and Consistent, Yet I never saw him get the recognition he deserved. I had both worlds in front of me, security and structure from him, and bold unapologetic creation from her.

At 16 in 2016, I lost my dad. That moment flipped my world upside down. Everyone assumed I’d follow the family tradition: engineering. After all, my dad was an engineer. So is my uncle. My grandfather had even served as Chief Engineer of Andhra Pradesh. And honestly? I was good at Math and Science. I scored over 85% in intermediate, and even joined EAMCET coaching on the way to secure my seat in a good engineering college.

Then came a fork in the road.

In 2017, I skipped my EAMCET exam to attend a visa interview for a NASA trip to the US. Looking back, I realise how reckless and foolish that decision was, I missed my entrance exam and didn’t get the visa either. Just like that, engineering was no longer an option, so I chose to study Business Administration instead. And with that, in 2017 I stepped into a new version of myself, one full of ideas, excitement, and experiments. I’d constantly come up with business ideas, pull a group together, hype everyone up, set up Zoom calls... but nothing ever stuck. The obsession would fizzle and the ideas would fade. 

In 2019, I got a chance to work at a startup. The founder hired me as Head of Content. At the time, I had a vague idea of what that meant, but nothing close to how the media world understands it. Thankfully, he took the time to teach me. That job became my training ground. I learned about strategy, storytelling, branding, and what it takes to build something from scratch. Eventually, things didn’t work out. I was made to feel like I wasn’t good enough. That feeling lingered. But instead of letting it define me, I let it drive me.

After completing my bachelor’s degree with a specialisation in marketing, I joined Amazon.com  as a customer service associate, taking calls for eight hours a day. It wasn’t what I truly wanted, but it’s what everyone around me was doing, and honestly, I didn’t make much of an effort to avoid it. I was earning money and enjoyed the independence that came with having my own. During this time I met someone who saw something in me, someone who reminded me of the power of believing in myself. With that encouragement, I began to create. At first, just for fun. But soon, I was experimenting, posting, sharing, and I slowly became a content creator. I started building a small community online, growing my Instagram, and beginning to understand content not just as a skill, but as a language. As a way to tell stories, build trust, and connect. Sometimes, all it takes is one person to say, “You’ve got this.”

In 2022, I moved to Aberdeen for my master’s in Marketing Management. Moving abroad was lonely. I had no network, no familiarity, no safety net. And suddenly, all the problems I thought were big back home… felt small. Survival became the focus, passing exams, working part-time jobs, finding a flat, making rent, and somehow squeezing in content on the side. I had ideas, sure, but entrepreneurship? It wasn’t even on the table. Not yet.

In 2023, I moved to Edinburgh for a new job, as a marketing executive at a skincare company. On Day One, I was handed a blank slate,  I’d be leading marketing for a fragrance brand that hadn’t launched yet. The learning curve was steep. But I was ready. During that time, I fell in love with the world of fragrance and deepened my skills in brand strategy, digital storytelling, and campaign building. I also became more embedded in Edinburgh’s creator space, hosting events, meeting founders, and navigating the media landscape. Slowly, I began to see a pattern.

There was a gap.

People like me, immigrants, outsiders, creatives of colour, were missing from the rooms where ideas were shaped and campaigns were launched. We come to a new country with big dreams, but the system isn’t built with us in mind. I realised that my path wasn’t just to fit in. It was to build something for people like us. 

Just as I started believing in myself again and found my confidence, life tested me. My knowledge, my skills, everything was questioned. I realised people had the power to manipulate me like a pawn. And eventually, that job came to an end. But something had changed. My hunger to build didn’t end with that job. In fact, it grew stronger. The more I was told I wasn’t good enough, the more I knew I was meant for something bigger and for the first time in a long time, I let that fire push me to take the leap, I started my own company.

Hometown Media, a community-driven creative agency that connects diverse creators with global brands. Built for people like me. For people who carry their cultures in their suitcases, who arrive in new places ready to create, to tell stories, to make their mark.

But the full story of Hometown Media?  That’s for another day.

For now, this is where I am. And I won’t pretend to have it all figured out, because I don’t. But if you never try, you’ll never know what’s waiting on the other side of fear and doubt. Yes, I’m scared to start this new journey. But like Miley Cyrus said, “Legends get scared, too.I’m scared right now, but the difference is, I’m doing it anyway.”