29. Shereen Kassam - the corporate/comedy combination

02/09/19 • 32 min

Shereen Kassam defines herself as a corporate America addict, stand-up comedy lover, speaker of all things fun, podcasting enthusiast, improv teacher and shoe junkie. What a list! Shereen's dad wanted her to be a doctor, but she couldn't cope with the blood so instead, after her degree at Brown University, she became a strategy consultant, and now works in-house for Disney in Florida, where she grew up.

Shereen was a shy child, but tried stand-up for the first time after reluctantly escorting her drunk housemate to a comedy club. It's fair to say she's progressed quickly, winning multiple awards with her show, Funny Brown Girl, and performing worldwide from New York to Saigon. Shereen draws on her relationship with her South Asian Muslim parents, and is not afraid to mine material that others might be nervous of tackling. She is an honest, hilarious podcast guest and it was such a pleasure to chat to her!

In this episode we discuss:

Shereen's early life and how her career choices were shaped by conversations with her parents

Her career in strategy consulting and how her corporate life offers an unexpected degree of creativity

How she unexpectedly found stand up comedy and discovered the joy of being on stage

Her podcast, Creative Breakthrough, and the pleasure and satisfaction she draws from that

Her future aspirations for her career, succeeding in her goals and her aims in comedy

Where to find Shereen:

The Funny Brown Girl website: https://funnybrowngirl.com

The Creative Breakthrough podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/creative-breakthrough-jumpstart-your-creative-career/id1437082823

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

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shereenkassam/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/funnybrowngirl

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

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/shereenkassam

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/smashingceiling

Facebook: www.facebook.com/smashingtheceiling

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/naomi-mellor-171550150/

In this episode we discuss:

Shereen's early life and how her career choices were shaped by conversations with her parents

Her career in strategy consulting and how her corporate life offers an unexpected degree of creativity

How she unexpectedly found stand up comedy and discovered the joy of being on stage

Her podcast, Creative Breakthrough, and the pleasure and satisfaction she draws from that

Her future aspirations for her career, succeeding in her goals and her aims in comedy

Where to find Shereen:

The Funny Brown Girl website: https://funnybrowngirl.com

The Creative Breakthrough podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/creative-breakthrough-jumpstart-your-creative-career/id1437082823

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

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shereenkassam/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/funnybrowngirl

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

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/shereenkassam

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/smashingceiling

Facebook: www.facebook.com/smashingtheceiling

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/naomi-mellor-171550150/

Previous Episode

28. Kathryn Nicolai - yoga, sleep and bedtime stories

This week’s guest, Kathryn Nicolai, has a voice that soothes the soul, and since her podcast, Nothing Much Happens, launched in April 2018, she has gently encouraged more than two million people to snuggle into their duvet and fall asleep. When we were little, if you were lucky, I bet someone read to you to see you off to sleep, but remarkably, at some point we forget the pleasure that used to bring us, meaning that bedtime stories for adults are just not a ‘thing’, or they weren’t until now.

There clearly is a need though, as Kathryn’s podcast has become an international sensation. But before Nothing Much Happens, Kathryn was - and still is - a yoga instructor, and owns her own studio in Michigan. So today’s episode covers two areas really - firstly, how Kathryn found solace in yoga at a difficult time in her life, and how she started her own business at a relatively young age; secondly how the simple, perfect idea of bedtime stories for adults took shape in the form of Nothing Much Happens, and how trusting your gut can lead you down paths you never expected.

In this episode we discuss:

Kathryn's early life and her desire to be a writer from a young age

Studying Italian and Spanish at school and university, and never using either of them in her professional life!

How she found yoga as a respite from injury, exhaustion, anxiety and an eating disorder

Her early yoga teachers and the mentors she had in her yoga career

The growth of the yoga industry and how Kathryn has kept her business constant in a time of shifting trends

Starting a business at 25, and why a lack of fear means starting a business at a young age can be a positive move

How a good idea comes from having a lot of ideas, and moving forward with them if you think that's the right thing to do

Goat yoga!

The rise of women in yoga, including as teachers, from an ancient tradition of male leaders, and building a feminist angle into her yoga business

Where the idea for Nothing Much Happens came from and she went about launching the podcast

Finding a need, and filling it with something quality to build a successful business

Her evening pre-sleep routine

Whether the stories are autobiographical and where the ideas come from

The science of sleep

What's next for her - the book deal is on the horizon!

Where to find Kathryn:

The Nothing Much Happens website: https://www.nothingmuchhappens.com

Nothing Much Happens podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/nothing-much-happens-bedtime-stories-for-grown-ups/id1378040733?mt=2

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

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

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/smashingceiling

Facebook: www.facebook.com/smashingtheceiling

Next Episode

30. Gabby Edlin - on the fight against period poverty

The word ‘powerhouse’ is much overused these days, but it certainly applies to Gabby Edlin in the context of periods. She is a tour de force in the fight against period poverty as founder and CEO of Bloody Good Period, an enterprise that provides menstrual products for asylum seekers in the UK, and campaigns to change the conversation around women’s health and menstruation.

Gabby’s career trajectory to date is an interesting and inspiring one, and if we’re talking about forcing opening a door where only a chink of light shows, then she is the boss. Brought up in Manchester in a Jewish family, Gabby’s passion for social justice and women’s issues began early. In the interests of full disclosure, I should probably say that Gabby and I went to school together - I’m a couple of years older than her, and she is MUCH more creative than me, but we were both inspired by our favourite English teacher and share a deep love of our home city.

In this episode we discuss:

Gabby's early desire to be a fashion designer, her love of photography and how she pursued this via a Fine Art foundation course

Realising that photography was not for her, and switching to an academic degree in English Literature, History of Art and Fine Art despite not possessing the qualifications she needed

Working in museums and galleries, applying for her Masters degree and crowd-funding her studies before being awarded a scholarship

The idea for Bloody Good Period, working with asylum seekers at drop-in centres and what she has learned so far

The future of women's health, political policy around periods and education in the sphere

Where to find Gabby and Bloody Good Period:

Website: https://www.bloodygoodperiod.com

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

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shereenkassam/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/bloodygood__

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

Gabby's Masters: https://www.arts.ac.uk/subjects/business-and-management-and-science/postgraduate/ma-applied-imagination-in-the-creative-industries-csm

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/naomiemellor