Saakshi left a corporate job that didn't fulfil her, took a solo trip to McLeodganj that changed everything, and became a digital nomad travelling the world. Then she lost her father — and built a travel company in his memory. Today she runs The Original Travel Company with her husband, curating trips for 50+ travellers — mother-daughter groups, solo seniors, couples — at a time when most travel brands build only for the young. We talk about grief, reinvention, building a business with your spouse, and her message to every married daughter trying to do right by her parents.

🎙️ The Woman Next Door — real, honest conversations with remarkable Indian women.

▶️ Watch on YouTube: @thewomannextdoortalks

📸 @thewomannextdoortalks

She didn't set out to be a founder. She set out to solve a problem nobody else was solving.

Meenakshi grew up in Mandsaur — small town- father who ran a tent business. She studied hard, got into a top MBA, spent 10 years learning the startup ecosystem from the inside — Myntra, PharmEasy, ShopClues, Reliance Retail. And then one dinner table conversation changed everything.

Nobody was building bags for women. While women happen to be the primary consumer of bags.

That gap became Nori — a bags to baggage brand built for women who have hard earned money and deserve something that is both fun and functional.

In this episode we talk about:

The Accidental Entrepreneur — zero plans, zero ideas and how it all came together anyway.

The Insight — from Ladybird cycles to Scooty Peps to 40 million Indian women now flying and buying their own luggage.

The Fundraise — 30-35 rejections, why each one kept her going for almost 6 months and how she finally closed $350,000 in pre-seed funding.

Being Taken Seriously — how preparedness beats confidence every single time in any boardroom.

The Questions Nobody Asks Men — family planning, managing a home, in-laws. Yes they asked. Here's how she answered.

Two Founders Under One Roof — what it's really like when both partners are building something simultaneously.

"Selling anything is a statistical inevitability. If you knock enough doors — one will open." — Meenakshi

Instagram:

Follow us: @thewomannextdoortalksFollow Meenakshi @meenakshi.v1790 & Nori @mynori.com_

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She was never scared of life itself. Just the small things.

My ex-flatmate Urvashi and I go back to our Bombay days — Wai Wai noodles, cheese slices, green chillies, red wine and very questionable life decisions. 😄

Between then and now she has become one of the most multidimensional, self aware and unapologetically herself women I know.

From a lonely childhood in Lucknow to NIFT to pivoting to PR, moving to Bombay at 21 with ₹25,000 and a lie on her resume — Urvashi has always figured it out herself.

Today she manages three Instagram pages, practices Reiki and Vipassana, has scuba dived despite being terrified and chooses to spend time with her parents out of love — not obligation.

We talk about courage, self discovery, inner work, travel, content creation and what it actually takes to become your own favourite person.

"Travel shapes my curiosity. Pain pushes me inward. Meditation makes me self aware. Content creation communicates it all outward."

If you want to pick up the ukulele instead of the promotion — this one's for you. 🌸