Vaishali Jha

I think my success has been mostly self-driven rather than parent pressure. I wanted to achieve something where I could be independent, where I don't have to rely on anybody else - that was my motivation in high school. I was also really ambitious and wanted to get recognition while serving humanity. Growing up in the Bay Area my entire life, I've been surrounded by so much innovation, with people as young as creating awesome startups, so it's really easy to be intimidated by others. But once you start going with your own project and you don't give up, it doesn't matter how long it takes - it's the results that get you there. I was also raised in a very religious household where we were always taught to serve others, and I was in Boy Scouts for Girls where I was a Star Scout, so I was always helping others and teaching life skills like good manners, accountability, and responsibility for taking actions. These values really instilled in me and motivated me to create my nonprofit because I was taught so much and I wanted to apply that to somewhere where I could really take action.

One of the best pieces of career advice Vaishali has received is to never let her age, gender, or experience level determine the size of her ambitions. She learned that meaningful impact comes from taking action, staying curious, and having the confidence to pursue opportunities even before feeling completely ready. That mindset has empowered her to lead, innovate, and create positive change while inspiring others to believe in their own potential.

I'd say take things slow and keep going, because there's always so much innovation out here in the Bay Area. People as young as creating awesome startups and everything, so it's really easy to be intimidated by others. But once you get started with your own project and you don't give up, it doesn't matter how long it takes - it's the results that get you there. I think women in these fields, there should be more representation. When you think about AI, you think about coding, and you think that it's mostly men doing coding. I feel like that's such a stereotype that we kind of want to break. I think it's changed a lot throughout the past 10 years and I'm really grateful for that, but with more representation in the startup industry, especially in power positions like leadership positions, we could actually make it more represented for women rather than having men create products for women.

I think for the startup industry, when I was launching my startup and trying to get funding and recognition, the main challenge is that when you think about AI and coding, you think that it's mostly men doing coding. I feel like that's such a stereotype that we kind of want to break. My team is actually all girls right now - we're all college students, so it's a woman-led startup. I think women in these fields, there should be more representation. I know that it's changed a lot throughout the past 10 years and I'm really grateful for that, but I think with more representation in the startup industry, especially in power positions like leadership positions, we could actually make it more represented for women rather than having men create products for women.

Service, compassion, empathy, accountability, responsibility, and helping others are the values most important to me. I grew up in a very religious household where we were always taught to serve others. I was also in Boy Scouts for Girls where I was a Star Scout, so I was always helping others and teaching life skills like good manners, accountability, and responsibility for taking actions. These values really instilled in me and motivated me to create my nonprofit because I was taught so much and I wanted to apply that to somewhere where I could really take action. My motivation has always been about doing something that shows social impact and serving humanity. When I heard my friend's story about going through the foster system and how they don't get enough supplies and face budget cuts, I was really heartbroken and wanted to help them in any way I could.