In partnership with
Namaste Brown Girl,
Spring energy is real. 🌸 Fresh starts, warmer intros, and cap tables slowly (but surely) expanding.
Welcome back to Brown Girls, Money Moves, your bi-weekly download on who’s building, backing, scaling, and getting in the right rooms the brown girl way. From Oscar-worthy product moments to founders turning culture into category-defining brands to the very real pathways to getting angel capital (hint: it’s closer than you think), this issue is all about proximity, power, and collective growth.
Here’s what’s inside:
🔥 Spicy money moves across Hollywood, private equity, beauty, CPG, and more
🍸 Brown girl founders pouring into male-dominated industries
💰 How to actually find angel investors (yes, your auntie might know someone)
🎙️ BGA Season 2 is coming… and this time, you’re part of the guest list
🤎 Gupshup: cultural shifts, founder stories, and conversations worth leaning into
Top up your chai, send that email, and let’s get into it. 👀
spicy money moves
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This week’s brown girl wins are coming in hot from every corner of culture, capital, and commerce. Brown girls aren’t waiting for permission - they’re taking up space and rewriting the narrative while they’re at it. Here’s who made the spiciest money moves this week.
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🎬 From artisan to A-list. Priya Ravindra’s Punar Towels landed in the Oscars gift bags, putting ethical luxury textiles, natural dyes, and handcrafted artistry straight into Hollywood’s inner circle. Casual.
🏆 Big deal energy. Geetanjali Kanwar, Principal at MKB, just won the 2026 PE Rising Woman Star Award after playing a key role in major platform investments and a flagship fundraise. We love a quiet powerhouse moment.
💄 Full circle. Diipa Khosla went from walking into Sephora with €23 to launching the first homegrown Indian beauty brand at Sephora US. Ayurveda, but now with global shelf space.
🎀 Brown girl Barbiecore. Leila Keshavjee’s Happy Pops just teamed up with Barbie for a “You Can Be Anything™” collab, dropping limited-edition Pink Lemonade pops featuring 25 career-themed dolls.
🍼 75 million changes later… Amrita Saigal’s clean diaper brand Kudos just made Inc.’s 2026 Female Founders 500 list, after rethinking a category that hadn’t evolved in decades. Because babies (and parents) deserve better.
We love celebrating brown girl wins ✨ Got a recent win, milestone, or shoutout you want us to know about? 📩 Submit your win by filling out this form and let the BGA community hype you up. 🤎
the brown girl founder’s club
This week, we’re raising a glass to South Asian women founders disrupting one of the most male-dominated industries, building brands rooted in culture, craft, and intention.
From Ayurvedic gins to Indian craft beer and Punjabi wine, they didn’t wait for a seat at the bar. They built the bottle. This is what it looks like when representation pours in.
Bunta Beer - Gunikka Kaur Ahuja
Dharma Gin - Emily Shah
Kismet Estate Winery - Manpreet and Neilam Dhaliwal
Learn more here.
angel investing 101
🔎 How to Find Angel Investors 🔎
Hey founders - let’s clear something up: investors aren’t hiding in some secret members-only club. Opportunities are often closer than you think.
Here’s where to start:
1. Start with your network (yes, your aunties and uncles too) 👩🏾🤝👩🏻
Talk to founders in your space → ask who backed them and how it happened
Ask your lawyer, accountant, or banker → they always know people with money
Mention what you’re building more often → opportunities don’t land in silence
Don’t underestimate friends + family → pitch the fam whatsapp group - desi networks run deep
2. Get in the right rooms (where both chai and capital are flowing) ☕️💰
Reach out to successful people in your niche → operators turned angels are everywhere
Look for mentors who invest → the best money comes with brains attached
Show up in the right rooms → events, dinners, communities (👀 hi, BGA)
🫖 Brown girl rule of thumb:
If an auntie says “I know someone…” Lean in. Follow up. Don’t overthink it. That’s how doors open.
BGA podcast
🎙️ Season 1 of the Brown Girls, Money Moves podcast was honest, unfiltered, and unapologetically desi.
We sat down with brown girl founders and the investors who bet on them. We unpacked what it really means to build, fundraise, and exit, all through a South Asian lens. 💅
And now… we’re coming back.
🌶️ Season 2 is launching this spring with new guests, a new name, a new look - and the same spicy mission.
This time, we want the BGA community in the room with us. We want to hear from you!
Let us know what South Asian female founder or investor you want us to feature next season.
Drop your suggestions here.
☕️ Missed Season 1? Listen here.
GUPSHUP
🤎 A brown girl redefining what “Made in India” actually means.
🏆 Forbes just named their top 250 living innovators in America, and four brown girls made the list.
🍛 What happens to culture when belonging isn’t guaranteed? Padma Lakshmi gets into it.
⚽️ The stories missing from sport media? They’re finally being told by Brown Girl Sport.
spread the love
💼Take your seat at the table. See what we’re up to in 2026.
🙋🏾♀️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 of a community of South Asian women 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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