Supendra Chandrakumar (@supendra) is the founder behind the viral #LoveMyCityProject and one of Toronto's most recognizable digital storytellers.

He joins Ara on this episode of #TheTamilCreator to discuss how he spent nearly a decade building content creation from a passion into a career, the mindset shifts required to bet on yourself, collaborating with Google Pixel, navigating AI as a creator, balancing authenticity with growth, representing the Tamil community, and why he has made it his mission to share Toronto's story with the world.

If you've ever wondered what it really takes to build a personal brand, create content consistently, or turn a side passion into something bigger, this episode is for you.

Follow Supendra:
- Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/supendra/)

Timestamps

00:19 — Ara introduces this week’s guest, Supendra Chandrakumar
01:00 — Supendra speaks on being born in Toronto and his life’s progression to this point
02:37 — An inflexion point; turning content creation from his passion to a career
08:38 — Staying motivated to keep going; internal validation versus external validation
12:05 — How he balances creating content that is authentic but still “algorithm-friendly”
13:28 — Supendra’s view on AI as a content creator; threat or opportunity?
16:01 — Choosing to “throw more eggs” into his entrepreneurial endeavour
17:31 — His most exciting opportunity; partnering with Google Pixel
19:17 — Assumptions people make about his content/life and what his family thinks
23:50 — His wife being a key factor in Supendra’s decision to pursue content creation
26:14 — Toronto’s biggest strength, insecurity, and what it wants the world to know?
29:55 — Where he sees himself personally and professionally over the next few years
31:19 — How connected does Supendra feel to the Tamil diaspora?
33:06 — Advice he would give his 16-year-old self
34:18 — The personal legacy he wants to be remembered for by friends/family
35:00 — Creator Confessions
41:30 — The Wrap Up

Intro Music

Produced And Mixed By:
- The Tamil Creator
- Yanchan

Written By:
- Aravinthan Ehamparam
- Yanchan Rajmohan

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Michele Peter ( @missionswithmcmichie ) is a host, public speaker, @amazingracecda contestant & woman of faith.

She joins Ara on this episode of #TheTamilCreator to discuss how she found her calling as a social worker, the stories behind her appearances on various TV shows (Family Feud Canada, Amazing Race Canada, etc.), meeting Lily Singh ( @lilly ) and being dubbed her doppelgänger, how she finds healing in entertaining others, her unwavering Christian faith, and so much more.

Follow Michele:
- Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/missionswithmcmichie/)

Timestamps

00:19 — Ara introduces this week’s guest, Michele Peter
01:37 — Formative years; being born in France, facing racism in Canada, etc.
09:28 — Seeking a career where she could help others & leverage her passion for art
14:04 — Being forced to make an audition video that would change her life
18:23 — The most difficult moment she faced on Amazing Race Canada
20:40 — Facing inner thoughts / cultural considerations while being on reality TV
25:03 — Meeting Lily Singh; being called her doppelgänger
28:53 — Her experience with Family Feud Canada
32:25 — Has Michele ever bombed on stage?
36:32 — Embracing her Christian faith; learning to express it via social media
41:23 — Being an outgoing / expressive Tamil woman; the cultural stigmas
44:04 — What success looks like to Michele, even if no one is clapping
47:08 — Advice she would give her 16-year-old self
48:50 — The personal legacy she wants to be remembered for by friends / family
50:29 — Creator Confessions
01:05:15 — The Wrap Up

Intro Music

Produced And Mixed By:
- The Tamil Creator
- Yanchan

Written By:
- Aravinthan Ehamparam
- Yanchan Rajmohan

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Siva Balakrishnan is the Indian-based Founder Of Vserve Ebusiness Solutions ( @vserveebusiness ) and Angel Investor with the Mumbai Angels Network.

He joins Ara on this episode of #TheTamilCreator to discuss how observing the scarcity mindset around him while growing up in India taught him to come up with solutions on the fly, why your first customer is always buying you as the founder (not the product/service), the state of AI being more probabilistic that deterministic at the moment, finding value in failing fast, living by the belief that the journey is the reward, and so much more.

Follow Siva:
- LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/siva-balakrishnan-38216b1/)

Timestamps

00:19: Ara introduces this week’s guest, Siva Balakrishnan
00:49: How growing up in India shaped Siva’s solution-oriented mindset
03:02: Early entrepreneurship; being a mechanical engineer, outsourcing a web developer gig
05:01: Seeing a gap and capitalizing to launch Vserve; hiring a browsing centre
06:37: The evolution of Vserve; from what it was to what it is
08:21: How entrepreneurs can secure a first customer and find their niche
10:59: Balancing offering white glove customer service while being cost competitive
14:10: Maintaining company culture as the CEO of a distributor outsource workforce
17:28: Siva’s view on AI now and looking forward
21:25: What’s the next phase of life after 20 years into his journey?
23:11: How Siva decides what he is willing to put money behind as an angel investor
25:43: Other South Indian Tamil entrepreneurs making waves
26:56: The role Siva’s family plays in the choices he makes
28:48: The importance of failing fast; a past learning lesson from his journey
30:37: Advice he would give his 16-year-old self
31:47: The personal legacy he wants to be remembered for and the value of compounding
36:51: Creator Confessions
49:02: The Wrap Up

Intro Music

Produced And Mixed By:
- The Tamil Creator
- Yanchan

Written By:
- Aravinthan Ehamparam
- Yanchan Rajmohan

Support the show

Meena Kothandaraman ( @meena_ko ) is an Experience Strategist at twig+fish, UX Expert, a long-time graduate lecturer at Bentley University ( @bentleyu ) and a proud Canadian Bostonian.

She joins Ara on this episode of #TheTamilCreator to discuss growing up in Ottawa with Indian-Tamil roots, how she enhances users experiences and the importance of connecting to peoples’ stories, how her & her business partner came up with the twig+fish name, why the education system needs to change, her creative endeavours (a children’s book and cooking show), and so much more.

Follow Meena:
- LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/meenakothandaraman/)

Timestamps

00:19: Ara introduces this week’s guest, Meena Kothandaraman
00:40: Meena speaks on her early childhood; the impact of her parents
03:29: Indian-Tamils and Sri-Lankan Tamils
05:09: Moving from Canada to the United States for education
06:40: Meena speaks on her siblings
08:02: What her parents did to strengthen Meena’s bond with her siblings
09:22: How she named her company and designation
14:40: Why she chose her career field; the rise of UX
18:22: Should you follow your passion or something you’re good at?
21:54: Balancing her entrepreneurial efforts and lecturing at Bentley University
25:51: Do both roles go hand-in-hand to bolster her credibility?
29:18: Meena explains the ‘NCredible Framework’
32:07: Writing 10 children’s books and hosting a cooking show
39:29: Innately being an adventurer; wanting to try different things
40:17: Advice she would give her 16-year-old self
41:33: The legacy she wants to be remembered for by friends and family
42:42: Creator Confessions
55:57: Advice for Tamil creators
58:39: The Wrap Up

Intro Music

Produced And Mixed By:
- The Tamil Creator
- Yanchan

Written By:
- Aravinthan Ehamparam
- Yanchan Rajmohan

Support the show

Sivathasan “Siv” Sivasamy ( @siv.sivasamy ) is the New Business Director at Charles Square as well as the UK-Based Co-Founder Of The Mayfair Collective, a trusted circle of family office advisors that builds business relationships with purpose.

He joins Ara on this week’s episode of #TheTamilCreator to drop countless gems while discussing arranged marriages, why the Mayfair Collective was created, why modern day relationships are like microwave meals, how boredom can actually be a gift, the “let them” theory, having always been able to connect with people/how it naturally led him his career path, and so much more.

Follow Siv:
- LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sivasamy/)

Timestamps

00:19 - Ara introduces this week’s guest, Siv Sivasamy
01:20 - Siv’s formative childhood years; from Sri Lanka to the UK
05:50 - Do arranged marriages have more longevity?
08:13 - Why he chose an arranged marriage
11:16 - Modern day relationship dynamics
13:49 - How the age of abundance leads to shallow perspectives
15:08 - Is boredom a gift?
16:37 - Men struggling to have deeper conversations/a loneliness epidemic
20:34 - Andrew Tate, Adolf Hitler, Donald Trump, Nigel Farage, etc.
26:44 - Losing the fine art of debate and why you can’t force people to change
30:01 - How he ended up with Charles Square, what he does, and more
40:25 - Mayfair Collective; what it is, how it works, and Ara gets rejected
47:51 - Siv hangs up on Ara and calls back?
51:41 - Creator Confessions
1:00:32 - The Wrap Up

Intro Music

Produced And Mixed By:
- The Tamil Creator
- Yanchan

Written By:
- Aravinthan Ehamparam
- Yanchan Rajmohan

Support the show

Sujatha Sivarajah ( @sujatha_sivarajah ) is the Vice President of Strategic Execution & Operational Excellence for McKesson Canada ( @mckessoncanada ).

She joins Ara on this week’s episode of #TheTamilCreator to discuss the significant impact of her parents while she was growing up, being a part of a graduating class that comprised only 10% females, building teams at multiple companies including LifeLabs and Sanofi, being a woman of colour in a male-dominated field, the importance of building a solid foundation, her fascination with history, and so much more.

Follow Sujatha:
- LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sujatha-sivarajah-p-eng-80897a9/)

Timestamps

00:19 - Ara introduces this week’s guest, Sujatha Sivarajah
00:43 - Sujatha speaks on her upbringing; Jaffna, Ohio, Nigeria
02:19 - Sujatha’s dad being her mentor; advice for parents
06:08 - Being a woman of colour in a male-dominated field (Electrical Engineering)
9:52 - Her time at Ford during a recession in Canada; and then LifeLabs
17:11 - Leaving LifeLabs after 7 years to build another team; this time at Sanofi
21:10 - What is pharmaceutical manufacturing?
22:23 - Was the lack of pharmaceutical manufacturing during the pandemic true?
24:17 - What McKesson does, and what her role here is
26:13 - What Sujatha hopes to accomplish during her tenure at McKesson
27:34 - Her view on work-life balance
29:19 - Parkinson’s Law - work expands to the time allotted for it
30:35 - How she secured her roles; never saying “no”
40:24 - What she would have done in another life; anthropology or archaeology
42:13 - Advice she would give her 16-year-old self
44:02 - The legacy she wants to be remembered for by friends and family
45:25 - Creator Confessions
53:19 - The Wrap Up

Intro Music

Produced And Mixed By:
- The Tamil Creator
- Yanchan

Written By:
- Aravinthan Ehamparam
- Yanchan Rajmohan

Support the show

Arunan Arulampalam ( @mayorarunan ) is the Mayor of Hartford (Connecticut).

He joins Ara on this week’s episode of #TheTamilCreator to discuss South Asian representation slowly growing in the politics, his parents’ belief that “no one would vote for someone with the last name, Arulampalam” because of the world they inherited and overcoming these underdog odds, being the CEO of a non-profit before running for mayor, his passion for Hartford, the importance of faith and family in keeping him rooted, and so much more.

Follow Arunan:
- Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/mayorarunan/)

Timestamps

00:19 - Ara introduces this week’s guest, Arunan Arulampalam
01:22 - Arunan’s thoughts on how the 2025 US Elections played out
03:34 - Arunan speaks on his childhood years; not realizing he’d end up in politics
06:43 - Politics being less openly discussed in today’s world
07:09 - College, love, career, and family; Atlanta, LA, and Hartford
08:43 - Why he loves Hartford; why you should visit
10:16 - Being the CEO of a non-profit before running for mayor
12:00 - His path to becoming mayor; beating the odds as an underdog
15:47 - What he wants to accomplish during his time as mayor
17:51 - His day-to-day as mayor; navigating a lack of time
19:28 - How he manages his energy through work and familiar priorities
21:20 - Family and faith dictating his decisions; staying humble
23:35 - His biggest learning lessons since becoming mayor
27:18 - What’s the Tamil-community like in Hartford?
29:25 - Advice he would give his 16-year-old self
30:17 - The legacy he wants to be remembered for by friends and family
30:51 - Creator Confessions
35:36 - The Wrap Up

Intro Music

Produced And Mixed By:
- The Tamil Creator
- Yanchan

Written By:
- Aravinthan Ehamparam
- Yanchan Rajmohan

Support the show

Khamshajiny “Kamzy” Gunaratnam ( @kamzy_gunaratnam ) is a Member of Parliament in Norway and former Deputy Mayor of Oslo.

She joins Ara on this week’s episode of #TheTamilCreator to discuss how she got recruited into politics, being elected (at a time) as the youngest Deputy Mayor in Oslo’s history, why taxes are a good thing for the collective, what she hopes to achieve in the next few years (minimizing domestic violence and securing abortion rights for women), the impact of Utøya (the 2011 Norway attacks) on her personally including losing her best friend, the benefit of her individuality as a Tamil girl while growing up, how Helen Keller’s biography showed her she has no room to complain, and so much more.

Follow Kamzy:
- Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/kamzy_gunaratnam/)

Timestamps

00:19 - Ara introduces this week’s guest, Khamshajiny Gunaratnam
01:09 - Kamzy’s early years; being shy before becoming a part of a Tamil Youth Organization
02:49 - The process of being a new immigrant in Norway; then versus now
05:27 - The Tamil community within Norway’s population of only 5,000,000 people
07:59 - How she became Deputy of Mayor at such a young age and why she got selected
10:57 - Shaping the vision and ambition for Oslo’s population of 700,000 people
14:33 - The radicalization of Norway/the country’s ability to positively leverage tax money
21:19 - Utøya ; losing her best friend and re-thinking her career in politics
25:16 - The motivation behind the Utøya shooter
26:15 - Hoping to minimize domestic violence/help women obtain abortion rights
30:59 - The biggest learning session she’s experienced in the past three to five years;
35:12 - Advice she would give her 16-year-old self
37:38 - The personal legacy she wants to be remembered for by friends and family
39:33 - Creator Confessions
47:12 - The Wrap Up

Intro Music

Produced And Mixed By:
- The Tamil Creator
- Yanchan

Written By:
- Aravinthan Ehamparam
- Yanchan Rajmohan

Support the show