This Friday, I’m kicking off Season 11 of the Womenpreneur Asia podcast with my solo episode.
In most seasons, it opens with a guest interview. In this season, I open with mine because after 155 episodes across 10 seasons, I’ve come to a realization.
My podcast has grown to become something bigger than I had ever imagined. It is now a media platform that I leverage to grow the visibility and credibility of everyday entrepreneurial women across Asia.
And when the podcast grows, everyone grows.
Conversations That Cross Borders
When I first started, it was simple. All I wanted was to interview a woman in business, hear her story and ask for her insights. After all, we don’t need to learn everything by doing. Sometimes we can learn by listening to what others have tried and experienced.
When I began five years ago, it was an idea.
Today, the podcast is reaching listeners in 23 countries.
I have spoken to inspiring Asian women with entrepreneurial insights and candour (and many whom I call my friends!).
Today, women are delighted and honoured when I invite them to be on my show.
And more importantly, the stories are travelling further than I ever imagined. And when one woman’s story is amplified, it doesn’t just impact her—it expands what’s possible for others listening. I have heard this over and over again from my listeners – they find such joy and pleasure in hearing another woman’s story recounted with genuine warmth and honesty.
But it is also part of the work that I continue to pursue. It is ingrained in my belief that visibility creates credibility and credibility opens doors. Sometimes you don’t even know that door existed!
If you’re doing work that matters, the right partners will find you. It happened to me in the past year because our missions are aligned and our values matched. Even I had to go beyond my comfort zone – step out and speak up and keep speaking up – for the mission to resonate with the right people, partners and platforms.
Through partnerships with platforms across the region—and even beyond—our guests are being seen, heard and recognised in new spaces. I am constantly amazed that what started as a podcast is now part of a larger ecosystem that revolves around entrepreneurship, storytelling and Asian women’s empowerment.
Why I Chose to Open This Season Myself
Season 11 begins with me because it has been a while since the last season and I wanted to welcome you back—not just to a new lineup of episodes, but to a new chapter.
This season is rooted in two things which I keep coming back to:
Gratitude — for how far this journey has come and for every guest, listener and supporter along the way. Yes, you!
Boldness — because I know now that this platform can do more, reach more and be more in ways that are rooted in real experiences and learning.
The Women You’ll Hear This Season
This season, you’ll hear from women across the region—from Hong Kong to India, from Vietnam to Singapore and the Philippines and beyond.
They are founders who bet on their dreams like Audrey Phoon of Eastside who believe that Asians should have agency over their own stories (my beliefs exactly!).
They are entrepreneurs like Stacie Phyo who are building something they wished they had when they started their business.
They are women like Marinel de Jesus who left her public prosecutor career in Washington DC to champion the voices of Peruvian porters and empower Nepali women to lead treks.
They are women like Anissa Safia who had a stroke and thought she was going to die and leave her children without a mother. That stroke forced her to rethink her life. She decided she was going to spend more time with her family, not slogging 12-hour days in the corporate world. As a stay-at-home mum, she discovered she enjoyed writing books and became an author and began her book publishing company!
Their stories deserve to travel.
Some of my favourite moments this season?
They happen after the recording ends and when the conversation keeps going and the stories go deeper. For instance, I had to jump back into a recording with Anissa Safia because I wanted her to share the story of Auntie Eva, her best friend’s mother. Auntie Eva is Anissa’s inspiration for her book about single mothers.
These are not just interviews; to me, they are connections, reflections and shared journeys.
What Changed for Me
Somewhere along the way, something shifted. I no longer see myself as just a podcast host.
I see my role as being part of a larger voice—a regional voice for Asian women entrepreneurs.
And that shift didn’t come from me alone. It came from the resonance and the responses and messages I kept getting from women.
From the stories shared back to me by listeners and guests. This work matters even more now in Season 11 because I’ve always believed: We cannot model what we cannot see.
And this podcast is my contribution to changing that.
An Invitation
If you’ve been listening from the start—thank you.
If you’re new here, welcome.
Season 11 is not just something to listen to.
Because every story you hear has the potential to spark something in you.
An idea. A mission, A decision. A bold next step. And the audacity to try.
It’s something to be part of. (And I am starting a community on InnovNation – my partner’s platform – so join me there. Again, it’s a bold step for me as I never thought about bringing a community together but life has a strange way of working things out.)
I am unsure if I ever shared this but I was moved when I heard a speech by a Hawaiian female politician about having the audacity to try. This was during a welcome dinner in Oahu, Hawaii organized for the participants of the Changing Faces program (I was one of the participants). Her words spoke to me in ways I cannot describe. The audacity to try.
——–
🎧 New episodes air every Friday 5pm, starting this week.
If you’d like to go deeper—behind the scenes, reflections, and stories beyond the episodes—I invite you to join my email list.