Meet Stuti Shah | Content Creator

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

Hi Stuti, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I started Stutilicious as a Fashion and Lifestyle Blog in 2017. The idea came to me because one day I was looking for a skincare product on a social platform and I looked at the particular brand’s images of the skincare shots, the models, the influencers and there was not a single person on the brand page that I connected to. Someone that I can relate to.

I still remember how shocked I was that night. At that time there were not many Indian influencers in the industry that I could relate to. I wanted to change that. I also searched a lot of the fashion brands, some big one’s and none of them has a brown face on their feed.

That’s when I decided I will start my own blog. Share my own journey with the audience that is looking for someone who looks like them. I wanted to change the Instagram feed by making the brown girl visible. Someone that is refreshing to see other than the usual models.

To be honest, I never thought of myself as somebody who could influence. But, I quickly realized that we all can be influencers if we want to be one. Back in college, all my friends use to come to me for skincare, fashion and beauty advice. I use to love watching youtube videos and would always think, how some of the YouTubers are so different than what i looked like. I wanted more authenticity, and more relatibility. That is why i started the business.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I have a full-time job in a Medical Device Firm/ Pharmaceutical Industry. I am a Regulatory Affairs Manager. (legal space)

I am proud of myself to be able to balance my personal life, my full-time career as a leader in a corporate space, and grow my business as a content creator. I am really happy about how far I have come and how I am truly able to manifest my vision.

It was not easy at all, in fact, it was far from being easy. As I said before, I am an immigrant. I came to the US when I was 18. When I came here, I did not have any guidance and what to do when it comes to my career. It’s funny, but in the Indian community, everybody either wants to be a Doctor, Engineer, or Pharmacist. No offense to anybody who wants to be one. I always knew it wasn’t for me. I was not interested in any of it. I wanted to do something else. I was always interested in the Healthcare space. Therefore I did my bachelor’s and master’s in Biotechnology and Regulatory affairs.

I did not have any guidance when I first joined college. What to do in school, when it comes to choosing a major, who to consult, nothing!. I had to figure it out on my own.

After graduating even in my career I have faced a lot of rejections and failures. Being a woman in the corporate world is not easy. What i have learned from my challenges is: to trust in the power of failure. I was fired from a job once, because my manager did not get along with me or I have done a lot of the work behind the scenes, without getting the credit. But I stuck with it. I did not let those failures define me. I have learned that when it comes to failures, you have two choices, 1)
to grow from it or 2) to vent about it and not learn from it. I always choose to take it in a positive way and take my failures and rejections as an opportunity to grow. Taking risk and getting out of your comfort zone is way better than then fear of failure.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
OOO thats a good question.

I love the breweries and Wineries around Atlanta.

Fav Breweries:

Bold Monk, Sweet Water, Monday Night

Fav Wineries :
Chateau Elan, Fainting Goats

Places to Eat: Barcelona Wine bar, Rumi’s Kitchen, West Egg Cafe, Ponce City Market, Iberian pig, Storico Fresco, Anticos Pizza, Varuni Napoli Pizza, Avalon area.

Fun places: painted pin is a great spot for hanging out and some food, mud fire pottery is also another spot to have a great date night learning some pottery.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My mom deserves a shout-out in my story. My parents, both of them have always taught me to pursue my dreams. As an immigrant child, I have seen my parents struggle and move to a new country when they were in their 40s. It’s far from easy. What I have learned from that is, if they can get out of their comfort zone to give their kids the life they desire, I can get out of my comfort zone to live the life and pursue the dreams I envision.

My parents have been a great source of encouragement. I really appreciate how my parents are unlike any other conventional Indian Parents. From my childhood days, they taught me to be independent and to always speak up for what I believe in.

If it wasn’t for my mom, I wouldn’t be where I am today. One simple example of that is, Back in the day, in India, not everyone goes to English-speaking schools. Because it is expensive and it was not the norm, My parents were not poor or anything, we had a great life full of all the comforts. But, since it was not the norm, my whole family was against my mom sending me to English-speaking school. My mom was the only one, who stood up for me, fought for me, and stood her ground that i will only study in an English speaking school. She saw the vision of us coming to the US in the future. How easy it will be for me, to adapt to the culture and learn the lifestyle here if I knew English fluently. Therefore when I actually moved to the US, it was not a hard transition for me when it came to language barriers.

My mom is a boss lady. She raised me and my sister, use to take care of all our finances back in India for my dad’s business, and now has her own business, she is a travel agent and I look up to her.

Website: http://stutilicious.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stutilicious/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLNf0suFHnai99ktYBU3rHQ/about