Meet Sanaa Himani | Social Enterprise Founder & Fintech Startup Team Lead

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sanaa Himani and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sanaa, can you tell us more about your background and the role it’s played in shaping who you are today?
I’m 2nd generation Indian American woman, born and raised in New York – my parents emigrated from Mumbai, India in the 80s. I’ve also been brought up as Ismaili, a minority sect of Islam, and furthermore Islam is a minority religion amongst Indians. I guess you can say I’m a minority in several different ways.

All my life, I’ve tried really hard to fit my identity neatly into a box, and like many children of immigrants, I’ve been unsuccessful. This “failure” is at the core of who I am; it’s been the driving force behind my greatest periods of personal development, it’s pushed me to launch a business, and it’s helped me figure out my purpose early on in life.

The best thing about partly identifying with multiple communities is the high level of empathy it’s given me. I’m in tune to cultural differences because I’ve learned how to translate and adapt having had to constantly bridge the gaps. Empathy is my superpower now, and I leverage it to authentically connect with others. This is the key factor behind any success I’ve had thus far.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I am the founder of shaicollective.com, an e-commerce platform to discover contemporary South Asian accessories & home decor, hand-crafted by artisans. I take immense pride in the fact that SHAI is a social enterprise that supports the South Asian handworker economy, and incredibly excited to continue to inspire others to embrace their culture and define their identity on their terms.

I think it’s really important to be transparent about how I was able to launch SHAI off the ground – I had a lot of help. Aside from a supportive network, my parents helped pay for my tuition and living expenses while I was working on launching the company. I recently took on a second full-time job so I can continue to scale SHAI without taking outside investment, but getting the website off the ground would have obviously been much more difficult had I not had that initial financial support. It’s still very much a privilege to be able to pursue entrepreneurship today, and through my second job, I’m trying to fight this inequity by making funding more accessible.

In terms of lessons, I’ve learned that I can leverage my weaknesses and turn them into my greatest strengths. I used to think my empathy made me a “weak” person, but it’s the thing that will help me make my impact on the world. I’d encourage everyone to reflect on their insecurities and try to reframe them as something positive.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I live in NYC so I would take them to Eataly for the infamous Prime Rib Sandwich (I wrote an essay on this sandwich once, I’m not kidding – that’s how good it is), drinks at Sake Bar Decibel, a gritty little underground speakeasy in the East Village, and then probably the Metropolitan Museum of Art because it’s a classic and I’ll never tire of visiting it.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Everything I have, I owe to my parents. I’m so lucky to have had their support every step of the way, and I don’t take it for grated as I know that many others do not have this same luxury. They inspire me daily with their endless love, strong values, and commitment to giving back.

Website: www.shaicollective.com

Instagram: @shaicollective and @sanaahimani

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sanaahimani

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sanaahimani

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SHAIcollective