Namaste, Brown Girl.
It’s the first week of summer—and we’re bringing the heat. ☀️🔥
Welcome back to Brown Girls, Money Moves—the brown girl business newsletter written by brown girls, for brown girls.
Whether you’re poolside with a coconut water or catching up between back-to-back Zooms, we’ve got your summer reading covered. This edition, we’re shining a light on brown girls making waves across industries and continents.
👟 Nike’s first global collab with an Indian designer
📈 South Asian women reshaping the future of finance
💍 And the ultimate roundup of brown girl brands for desi wedding season
Grab your iced chai. Let’s get into it. ☕️
Brown girls on global lists, doing global collabs, and rewriting the future of finance.
🏆 Awards season is upon us—and brown girls aren’t just attending, they’re collecting trophies. Shoutout to the Gen Z South Asian trailblazers on Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe.
💼 A record number of South Asian women just made Barron’s 100 Most Influential Women in U.S. Finance list—executives, investors, analysts, policymakers. TL;DR: they’re not breaking the glass ceiling, they’re redesigning the building.
✨ Forbes Midas List: 10 women investors made the cut, and just one was South Asian—Reshma Sohoni. A queen, yes. But also a reminder that BGA’s mission to amplify more South Asian women to write checks is not just necessary—it’s non-negotiable.
👟 NorBlack NorWhite x Nike: the first global Nike collab with an Indian designer just dropped, and it’s as iconic as it sounds. Rooted in the ancient practice of bandhani and made for women on the move—this one’s a win for culture, couture, and cardio.
🥻👗 It’s wedding season. Which means - you need outfits for the haldi, the mehndi, the sangeet, the ceremony, the reception, and the post-wedding hangover chai run. Whether you’re attending a desi wedding or a Western affair, these brown girl clothing brands have you covered.
community spotlight
🌿 Turning tradition into sustainable tableware—meet Pallavi Pande, the founder of Dtocs.
What began as a nostalgic childhood memory of eating meals on banana leaves in India became the seed for something bigger — a sustainable tableware brand with a global impact. When she immigrated to the United States, Pallavi witnessed firsthand the extent to which Americans rely upon disposable plates and dinnerware, and knew she wanted to create a better solution.
✨ Her mission?
To make sustainability simple, stylish, and accessible—one palm leaf plate at a time.
As a Portland-based entrepreneur, Pallavi launched Dtocs to bring her childhood traditions into modern homes and events, offering eco-friendly, single-use tableware made from naturally shed palm leaves. But Dtocs is more than a product—it’s a purpose-driven movement.
From rescuing leaves that would otherwise be wasted to empowering women artisans and supporting education initiatives both in India and Portland, today, Pallavi has grown Dtocs into a multimillion-dollar business that gives back 1% of its proceeds to the majority-female workforce who manufactures Dtocs’ products back in India.
Her story is one of cultural pride, entrepreneurial grit, and a beautiful example of how tradition can spark innovation—and global change. 🌍✨
📩 Got a brown girl product or small business you love?
meet the BGA collective
Meet Bhavya Kashyap 👋🏽
Bhavya is an engineering leader, founder, advisor, and angel investor who’s spent her career thriving in high-impact roles at some of the world’s biggest tech companies.
Whether she’s building large-scale consumer features or improving internal platforms, Bhavya loves bringing clarity to complex, ambiguous problems—balancing technical depth with real user impact.
A little more about Bhavya 🙋🏾♀️
📍 Based in San Francisco
👩🏽💻 Currently leading engineering for the Deals & Offers platform at Chime, helping users discover curated savings and perks
💼 Formerly in product and engineering roles at Facebook, Microsoft, and Amazon
🪄 Founder of Oat Productivity, a line of personal planners focused on self-development
🎨 Outside of work, you’ll find her making art, producing music, writing essays—and even moderating r/DCcomics, the largest unofficial DC Comics community.
Learn more about Bhavya’s angel investing journey - Angel Investing as a First-Gen Brown Girl: How I Got Started and What I’ve Learned
“For me, becoming an angel investor has been about more than power or status. At its core, it’s about participation. About not waiting for someone else to create the world I want to live in. It’s about putting a small stake behind what I believe in, even if the check is small, even if I am still figuring it out.”
We’re building a collective of South Asian women like Bhavya who want to invest with intention and back the next generation of brown girl founders.
Whether you’re a seasoned investor, just curious, or done waiting for permission - this space is for you. ✨ Explore our BGA Memberships to learn how to get started.
bhar’s picks
💰 Check out this hot take from South Asian investor Manica Blain, who asked the two questions everyone should be asking about Rhode’s $600M acquisition:
What did investors actually put in—and what was the real cash-on-cash return?
Who played the pressure card that got ELF back to the table so fast?
A masterclass in deal-making and narrative strategy.
It’s one thing to go viral. It’s another to close a $600M exit with your foot still on the gas. More women at the cap table, please—and more South Asian women asking the smart, strategic questions behind the scenes.
👛 We asked Bhar to unpack her summer essentials—and surprise surprise, it’s filled with brown girl products for the ultimate spicy brown girl summer.
💁♀️To dive deeper into the stories of brown girl founders make sure to subscribe to our Youtube where we’ll be posting in-depth convos with South Asian women every week.
call to action
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📩 Got a brown girl product or small business you love? Submit their info.
🙋🏾♀️ We love celebrating brown girl founders who are building bold, brilliant, and inspiring companies. Got something in the works or looking to raise soon? We’d love to hear from you.
🫱🏽🫲🏾 If you’re looking to get your brand, product or service in front an engaged community of South Asian female professionals who love to uplift, invest, and support each other—this is your sign. Reach out to learn more about our sponsored content opportunities.
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