Episode Details

From Finance to Fame: Lekshmi Sreedharan's Canadian Chronicles | Diasporaa Podcast Episode 38 In this episode of Diasporaa, host Aditya Mehta sits down with Lekshmi Sreedharan, a banking professional originally from Trivandrum, Kerala, who moved to Toronto, Canada in 2021. Lekshmi shares her experiences of adapting to a new culture, challenges she faced, and how she continued her career in the capital markets. She also discusses her journey in beauty pageants, including her titles of Miss India World Universal 2025 and Canada Business Elites Top 40 Under 40. Lekshmi offers insights into the multicultural environment of Toronto, the process of making new friends, and the differences in work culture between India and Canada. Additionally, she touches on her advocacy for child education and cancer awareness, and her future aspirations. The episode concludes with nostalgic memories from her childhood in Kerala, highlighting cultural sounds and smells that still resonate with her. List of Resources: Bangalore: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bengaluru Miss World Universal: https://www.pageantplanet.com/event/miss-ms-world-universal-2025 Rita Gangwani: http://www.ritagangwani.com/ Trivandrum: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thiruvananthapuram About the Podcast: Diasporaa was Aditya's third startup based in Vancouver, BC. It focused on helping new immigrants in Canada find their feet, get off to a running start and ease their assimilation into Canadian life. A big part of the platform were conversations, community and support. Though the startup stopped growing once Aditya moved to Seattle, WA - it remained alive in the form of several discussion groups and online communities. Now, Diasporaa has been resurrected in the form of a podcast focused on uncovering and sharing interesting immigrant stories from the South Asian diaspora. It is available on YouTube, all major podcast platforms such as Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, etc. and is also broadcast as a radio show on Alternative Talk 1150 AM and 98.9 FM HD Channel 3 on Wednesdays from 2-3pm PST. About Aditya Mehta: Aditya is a Bombay boy who has lived in Austin, Los Angeles, Washington DC, and Vancouver before making it to his current home in Seattle. He has degrees in marketing, urban planning, real estate and strategy but has spent his career in financial services, social media and now real estate - mostly as an entrepreneur and partly as an employee at Amazon. He balances Indian, Canadian and American culture, loves helping those who are new to North America and looks forward to the interesting stories that his interview guests bring each week. When not podcasting, he is helping his wife Prachi build her pharmaceutical business or hanging out with his son Arjun. Connect with Diasporaa: -Instagram: @diasporaapodcast -YouTube: https://linke.to/dspyoutube -Bio Link: linke.to/diasporaa -Listen on Spotify: https://linke.to/dspspotify -Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://linke.to/dspapple -Diasporaa Podcast on KKNW Alternative Talk Radio: https://linke.to/kknw1150