Today, we're thinking about thoughtful storytelling on social media and building global communities for women with Ashna Mankotia, known online as @ohmygoshna.
Outside of her day job as a Senior Product Manager, Ashna started sharing content on social media a few years ago about her life. She shares vlogs highlighting her day and lessons she's picked up along the way. After growing on social platforms, Ashna did the next huge thing – she listened to her community, one that was well craving community. And from her listening, she founded Saffron, a global membership community for women to make authentic friendships, create a life of intention, grow professionally and have some fun. It’s been less than a year since the launch and she already has members in Singapore, various parts of the US and, here at home, in Canada.
In today's episode, we discuss:
CONNECT WITH ASHNA
On TikTok and Instagram @ohmygoshna
Join Saffron at www.joinsaffron.com
Hosted by @kirstimcnabney
Find links, inspiration and updates on @thinkingaboutpodcast
This episode was edited by Amanda Wan of Wan Media
Today, we're thinking about thoughtful storytelling on social media and building global communities for women with Ashna Mankotia, known online as @ohmygoshna.
Outside of her day job as a Senior Product Manager, Ashna started sharing content on social media a few years ago about her life. She shares vlogs highlighting her day and lessons she's picked up along the way. After growing on social platforms, Ashna did the next huge thing – she listened to her community, one that was well craving community. And from her listening, she founded Saffron, a global membership community for women to make authentic friendships, create a life of intention, grow professionally and have some fun. It’s been less than a year since the launch and she already has members in Singapore, various parts of the US and, here at home, in Canada.
In today's episode, we discuss:
CONNECT WITH ASHNA
On TikTok and Instagram @ohmygoshna
Join Saffron at www.joinsaffron.com
Hosted by @kirstimcnabney
Find links, inspiration and updates on @thinkingaboutpodcast
This episode was edited by Amanda Wan of Wan Media
Welcome to the Thinking About podcast, your digital equivalent to late night chats with good friends to keep you thinking. I'm Kirsti, and together we'll join interesting people for deep, meaningful conversations that will help elevate our lives, leave us with actionable outcomes and keep us thinking for days to come. Hello and welcome back to the Thinking About podcast. My name is Kirsti, I am your host and I'm so excited that you're here. There are a lot of conversations around making friends as an adult right now. If I'm being completely honest, it hasn't always been a huge hurdle in my life, but I do very much understand why putting yourself out there to strangers is difficult and scary. Also, while we're spending increasing amounts of our lives online these days, it's hard to get out there and meet someone new. You hear this from the dating perspective a lot, but I also think it's true when it comes to friends. Long gone are the days when you're forced to befriend people born in the same year as you in class and sometimes your work friends you might just want them to say at work. That's why community has become such a buzzword and, honestly, we're all searching for connection when it comes up in almost every episode and whether it's online or offline. There's real magic when we're finding the right community and we get to experience it.
Kirsti McNabney:Ashna, known online as oh my Goshna, has developed community in more ways than one. Outside of her day job as a senior product manager, she started sharing content on social media a few years ago about her life. Her daily vlogs are full of inspirational moments, deep reflections, and leave me with constant reminders to find gratitude in my life, even in the mundane moments, which you'll hear some examples of in this episode. This is a weird thing to say, but to me, her videos feel like hugging a teddy bear. I mean that in the sense that they make me feel calm, grounded and safe. Her page is a space that I actually seek out to find content that fills my cup, and that's pretty special, considering the number of people that are on your For you page on a day-to-day basis to get to know someone that you're seeing online and actively search them out, which is something that has happened over quite a long time, and I think that we should dive into that in another episode, but I'm happy to say that is one of the accounts that I would very much recommend you go and watch all of the content from After growing on social platforms.
Kirsti McNabney:Ashna did the next huge thing. She listened to her community, one that was well craving community, and from her listening she founded Saffron, a global membership community for women to make authentic friendships, create a life of intention, grow professionally and have some fun. It's been less than a year since the launch and she already has members in Singapore, various parts of the US and here at home in Canada. I recently joined Saffron literally right after the call, and it is a very special place.
Kirsti McNabney:I've joined a lot of communities in my time and Saffron is one of the ones that it feels like it's worth it. It's worth the effort that you're putting in, it's worth the time that you spend with it, it's worth the money that you're paying. It's just something shifts when you join it and it feels like you're in a community. It feels like you're getting the sugar which you will understand when you hear the episode but it just feels so real and excitable. People greet you with thoughtful responses to your posts on Slack. They have in real life events that you feel welcome to going to, even though you're completely new, and the people that I've met so far are really cool. Plus, some of them even listen to the podcast already. So that is pretty much the coolest thing I could ask, and that is not the reason that I like it so much.
Kirsti McNabney:But it is a really special thing that that you can meet strangers who are like oh my gosh, I love that you're doing this, because there are a lot of people in real life that are not necessarily going to feel that way Not that it's about that, and I think that that's not been something that's faced me in a long time but to have that response from people that I don't know is really special. This is not a paid ad by any means. I just want you to know that the community that you're about to hear about on the podcast is a real deal and if you want to see it, if it's something for you, I have included the link below in the show notes so that you can check it out for yourself, or you can send me a message and I'm happy to tell you all the things I know so far.
Kirsti McNabney:I actually went for brunch on Saturday with someone that I met from the saffron community. Her name is Natalie. We had so much fun. We, like, talked about life, we talked about podcasting, we talked about doing things that you are afraid to do and like how it doesn't have to be this huge, scary thing that you're committing to forever. You can just try it, which is something that I've been having conversations about a lot lately. And then I finally found someone that I could talk about my new Bravo obsession with. So this is all to say that saffron community members are the full package, but it was just really special. It was really special to sit at a restaurant with someone that I had just met that I like really didn't chat with that much before. We had coffee, which ended up being breakfast, and we just had so much in common and so many things to discuss. So I think that because of the way that Asuna shares on social and the way that she's grown saffron, it's giving like very real connections for people that are like-minded and I think that that's really special and it's going to go places. So like, get in there early. That is my plug that she did not ask for, but that's the real deal on my thoughts on saffron. Anyways, let's go back to who this is really about.
Kirsti McNabney:Today, in our potentially last episode of the year, probably, you will get to hear all about how Ashna grew her TikTok community and the way that she looks at her art of creating vlogs through storytelling. There is no one that I'm seeing that does it better online. So I would recommend that you not only listen to the way that she approaches it, but also go and watch them, because I think that that will give you some really good view into why I love them so much and why I'm fangirling so hard. In this episode, you'll also hear how saffron came to be, why it's important and something that we're looking for, and how it's impacted Ashna's life. You'll hear how this incredible woman balances creating content, having a full-time job, balancing a global community that she's building, and did we mention that she's currently also planning a wedding, and perfectly timed for the end of the year, when we're thinking about what we can do for a fresh start in 2024. You're going to get some great advice on how to start the thing that you've been thinking about and why you should just start doing it, regardless of how scared you are or how you don't know if it's perfect, just do it. This episode is full of calming, smart energy much like her TikToks that I love so much and great advice for you to follow your dreams. I hope you enjoyed as much as I did. If you liked the episode, please do my favor and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or rate on Spotify. That would be the greatest holiday gift you could give me as a podcast host if you're willing to do that. It does so much to help us grow so that we can keep having amazing people on and building out this content for you. As always, you can find the links to connect with us and tell us what kept you thinking in the show notes.
Kirsti McNabney:Next week we'll be taking a little holiday break to enjoy some time with family and rest, but we will be back with a very big 2024. It has been on my mind a lot lately and I'm really excited about just bringing this thing even further. So, whether it's your first episode or you've been here all year, thank you so much for your support of the podcast. I will never be able to tell you how much it means to me to know that you're listening, to hear it from you, to hear that episodes have made you think and, like, gotten you through things. It's really the whole reason that I do this, and I'm so excited to make even more memories together through the podcast in 2024. I hope that you get some well-deserved rest this season. I hope that you get some time with family and friends. I hope that everything that you want comes true in 2024 and I'm looking forward to celebrating it together in the new year. Have a fabulous rest of your month, your day, your week, whatever it is that you're listening to this. Enjoy the holidays and we'll talk to you soon.
Kirsti McNabney:Welcome to the podcast. I am so excited you're here. I don't want to just like keep bringing up the fan girl in you, but like I'm such a big fan of the videos that you make because they, I think, what means the most to me is like how much they make me feel seen and it usually finds me the most on day. So like I really need the message that you're sharing. I'm very excited to dive into that. You're passionate about building community, which is something that I care so much about. I'm so excited to have you here. Ashna, can you tell us a bit about yourself really quickly?
Ashna Mankotia:Of course. So nice to be here, Kirsti. Thanks for having me and watching my TikToks. My name is Ashna. I like to think that my personal brand is just woman, south Asian woman who loves her life, living life, just kind of taking you through it all. I'm the founder of Safron, which is a global membership community for women, and I'm a content creator, like you mentioned, primarily vlogging on TikTok, and I'm also a senior product manager at a media company based in New York, and I just like to tell stories about my life and just enjoy life and all it has to offer.
Kirsti McNabney:I love it and I feel like if there's anyone that can balance all the things in the world because on top of all of that you're also planning a wedding my hat is off to you, because it is no joke to do all of the things that you're doing, let alone all at one time. So I'm very impressed by all that. I mean we'll dive into all of it, but it is called the Thinking About Podcast, so we start every episode asking what currently has you thinking, and it can be literally anything in the world.
Ashna Mankotia:Sure, I mean I'm thinking about a few things. I'm thinking about, like you mentioned, my wedding. It's happening next summer. I'm thinking about Palestine and what my responsibility is as someone with a platform to talk about it, but not to be performative or disingenuous. I'm thinking about my 2024 goals and how I don't want to set any measurable goals this year and just base it off vibes for once. That's what I'm thinking about.
Kirsti McNabney:I love it. I feel like that's so relatable to so many people, and I have been talking a lot about just going with the vibes in 2024. As a very goal oriented person, I am shocked that I feel this way, but like I'm also kind of happy about it. I'm like, wow, what is going to happen when I don't set something on January 1st and then we move on to the second? Do you feel pressure about having to talk online about your feelings about Palestine as the platform that you have?
Ashna Mankotia:I mean pressure, that's an interesting way to phrase it. I don't like this is just the first time I think I've seen kind of a demand to show solidarity in general, like from brands, from you know, people are asking it, from the people that they follow. I'm not, you know, I have an audience. I don't think I'm not Selena Gomez, I don't have like millions and millions of followers, but it's all relative, you know. So I have had one comment once was you know, why aren't you posting anything? And they just missed a few things that I had posted and they were like oh, thank you so much. And that's kind of thrown me off guard, the number of people that have said thank you and like really shown appreciation.
Ashna Mankotia:I'm kind of, yeah, truthfully, like also just I think, like a lot of people, embarrassed about how little I knew about Palestine before October 7th, and you know I'd heard about protests, about free Palestine. Of course I've heard those two words before, but I don't think I really knew what they meant until the last few weeks and I've just been, yeah, thinking about it a lot and just trying to. I think people with platforms have a responsibility of beyond making it about themselves, of, yes, I also am against murder and genocide. I think it goes one step further of like how can we amplify the voices of people who need them most when we have a lot of eyes and ears on us? So yeah, I'm just trying to think of a way to maybe it's a bit of pressure, but sometimes pressure is good Just has me thinking of like yeah, what's my responsibility right now? Like what's the best thing that I could do right now?
Kirsti McNabney:That's a very thoughtful approach and I feel like navigating the personal aspect of how you're feeling about it and then also the expectation of what other people are putting on you.
Ashna Mankotia:Yeah, and I think, like I have a lot of empathy for people who they could lose their livelihood 100%.
Kirsti McNabney:It's a complex topic. Thank you for that honest answer. Now we're gonna talk about TikTok. What a switch up. My favorite part about your TikTok is your storytelling. As I mentioned, you always have this way of just like making me feel so seen, and it's so thoughtful. Where did you pick that up? Is that something that you've always had, or is it something that has kind of gone as you explored the platform? Or is it just something that you have in your everyday life?
Ashna Mankotia:I have definitely been someone who's been very comfortable public speaking since a young age and I think being comfortable public speaking allows you to think about your audience and your presentation skills. So I've always been. I think when I work on communicating to people, I have always been kind of thinking from there and I always try to connect to them. But like, for example, you, my boyfriend, sometimes I tel this line like it's not wieght but something like that. It's just like a benzene and not really how it comes through. It's not like know, I've just got humans that doesn't understand it. Like it seems as interested as as the content Nowadays publishes and you can see thedar. So that's kind of one angle of it.
Ashna Mankotia:But really like storytelling as a skill through videos Something that I'm honestly to say like this is my art. It just allows so much more. I don't know a different view of eyes on it once you call your little TikTok videos art, but that's how I think about it. That's how I think about you know, telling stories and some of my blogs and what I want the end piece to be. So when I started to think about my TikTok as art, that's really when you know my art. That's when really, I think the storytelling element started to pick up and I've been thinking about and reflecting on what do I want people to feel after they watch it?
Ashna Mankotia:And what do I want people to think about? So that's how I kind of think about my storytelling.
Kirsti McNabney:I love it. I love the concept of it being art, because it really is like there's so much thought that goes into it, but the way that it's all presented. There are so many people that do vlogs, but you can somehow, in all of the ways that you do it, showcase what's happening in a day but, like make it philosophical and beautiful and show how you see the world, which I think is like the most beautiful part of us sharing our lives online. So I think that that's really cool that you see it in that way, because it is your creativity. Do you feel like, compared to where you started to now, having it be a creative outlet but like something that's picked up? Is there stress that's involved as you grown, or is it something that's still just feeling creative to you?
Ashna Mankotia:A little bit definitely like. I think when you're a person on social media, you're like you're a person creating anything. You're always looking at the numbers and seeing how that reflects. 2022 was my year of like explosive growth on TikTok, social media in general, and 2023 has just been my year of just kind of staying the same and staying kind of stagnant. But I think also my storytelling skills have evolved to a way, a lot stronger this year. So I feel it's still fun for me. For sure. I never want it to not be fun. I do sometimes, when I'm human and I, you know, I'm on social media like I want to see my social media grow, but I don't think I would ever compromise what I like to do in order to grow it. I think all I'm thinking is I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing and I think people like it will find me eventually 100%, and I feel like the fact that you continuously think about what it means to the person watching is so impactful.
Kirsti McNabney:I just had a whole conversation about what works well on social and like. That, I think, is what I always come back to is like how is this going to benefit other people? And you have such a good mix of like showing what's happening in your life would make it work for others. That, I think, is really cool, because you find a story in every day, essentially through your blog. Do you find that you have appreciated little things more in your life from this storytelling that you've picked up, or do you think that that was something you always saw?
Ashna Mankotia:I definitely, I think, appreciate it more like out loud.
Ashna Mankotia:I think I've always been someone who, you know, finds joy in like sitting down with a cup of coffee and just like reflecting on the day. Like that is kind of like I love. I love the little moments I've always have. But now when I think about vlogging a day, I always have like this bird's eye view of a day and it almost in some ways lets me be more present because I'm thinking about the story as it's being written and it does yeah, it does allow me to like appreciate those like little moments and what I've learned, I think, through storytelling and TikTok and I used to think that I can't make a TikTok on days that I'm not doing anything exciting. But really it's like being able to make emptying the dishwasher and just like talking about running out of milk in your cereal after you've poured it, like talking about these little moments that everyone also can relate to and experiences and just like this is real life, I think being able to make those interesting and telling stories of those days. That is where the magic is.
Kirsti McNabney:Yeah, I think it's like romanticizing the moments that are so relatable for other people. It's just like unmatched. I have not seen anyone doing it better than you, and I'm not just saying that because you're hearing it.
Ashna Mankotia:Thank you
Kirsti McNabney:Do you have any advice for someone who maybe wants to be starting on TikTok or even just in their day to day life of storytelling, on how to tell stories in a way that resonates with someone else and not just you?
Ashna Mankotia:Yeah, I mean, I think starting to post anything online just kind of requires starting. And I think so much about like the videos that I posted three years ago I don't know, I was just trying things Like I don't think they were meaningful in any way, but it's like writing or doing any sort of art form, like you're never going to love it at first and I think if you are waiting until you love it to post or to put something out there, you're going to be waiting forever. There's a balance, like you always want to kind of like what you post, but you don't have to be obsessed with or love it and think this is a masterpiece. So I think, as far as just in posting in general, putting yourself out there online, it just kind of requires like starting like a podcast, you know it just requires starting and putting yourself out there. But as far as like storytelling in general, I just I like to just think about really, you know, like putting yourself in the perspective of an audience at every single moment of the day.
Ashna Mankotia:So something that I try to work on in my vlogs is give my audience the like, acknowledge that they're intelligent, like I don't need to tell them everything that I'm doing as I'm doing it, like I don't have to over explain it. I think if you let your audience like recognize that they're intelligent and think about how they'll experience something and what do you want them to think about if they like, do you want them to feel real emotion? Do you want them to feel vulnerability? Do you want them to just like laugh? Do you want them to just see you thriving? I think you just think about what is your audience like looking at and just think about, I think, the stories that you want to tell. That's how I try to do it. I don't have, like, yeah, specific formula for any video. It's just I think this is a story I want to tell today and, you know, hopefully it's interesting enough that people watch the whole thing.
Kirsti McNabney:I love that. I think that it's important to note that, like there is no secret formula that works for everyone, that's the whole point, you know, and I love that you talked about just starting, because I think we get really stuck in our heads but, like you, can't really refine what you're doing until you do the first one, and I remember someone telling me that like your first podcast episode no one's ever going to be proud of.
Kirsti McNabney:I actually was, but I remember like so many people saying that and it was when I heard that that I was like, oh, maybe I will just start and like see what happens. And I have this theory that like your first is always going to be your worst. So like you might as well just keep going from there.
Ashna Mankotia:So I love that you that you talked about that.
Kirsti McNabney:I would say that when I need positivity online, you are one of the accounts that I look out for, because I feel like you present gratitude in a way that reminds me to think about the moments in my life, even when I have a boring day, what's happening, and also just like kindness. And so when you are doing the vlogging and you're thinking about the story that's happening, I wanna dive a little bit deeper into what that actually looks like in your head, because it's cool to hear that you're writing the story as you go. If you're sitting at a coffee with your friend, is there anything that pops into your head where you're like, oh, this is a moment that I should bring up later. And then how do you keep track of that?
Ashna Mankotia:A lot of it. I keep track in my head. Honestly, it's like there will be little moments that'll happen a lot of times when I'm alone that I'll think, okay, you know what this is like, a good piece that I'll bring into the vlog. So like, for example, recently I had a long stressful day or something and I had poured two types of cereal in a bowl and then I didn't have any milk. So then I had it with like water and like a splash of cream, and it was terrible.
Ashna Mankotia:And so I was just like I thought this was kind of funny and I was like let me just I think there's something interesting happening here. Let me just document this whole thing and then when I'm like reflecting back on the day and like looking at all the clips together, I'll think about sometimes I'll just not include anything that I thought originally, like I usually just record the entire day like little pieces of it, and then I will think about the story that I wanna tell on top of it. Sometimes, the story that I wanna tell during the day I'll just scrap as the vlog is being created. I just posted one on feeling burnt out and I thought vlog was gonna be something else. Totally. It was like a different message, just like this is what I did at home and hanging out with my mom. And then I was like this is actually how I feel, and I think I can layer this message on top of this visual.
Kirsti McNabney:I like that I also like that you take blogs out of being like, and then I did this, and then I did this, and then I did this, and you have a message that, like, somehow cohesively, always works so well with whatever's happening in your life. So the magic of what you're doing is working and I think that it has collected this collective of, like, very thoughtful humans in the world, which I love. And you have also created Saffron, which is, as you mentioned, a global membership community for women to make authentic friendships, create a life of intention, grow professionally and have fun. Is Saffron something that you saw for yourself before TikTok came along, or is it something that came kind of along the same lines as that?
Ashna Mankotia:I didn't. I never saw a Saffron specifically. I always saw me creating something and putting something out in the world and I've had so many little like side hustles that I've done. Saffron is the first thing that I think feels like it could move beyond just a little project I work on in the mornings and evenings. It was and it was definitely like inspired by so many signals from my community.
Ashna Mankotia:I'm very lucky where, like I don't know, 85% of my followers on my platforms are all women and I just felt like being a woman and just like womanhood was a big theme of my content and I got a lot of signals that people wanting to meet or have meetups or just like meet each other and every time I met someone on the street it just felt like such a real potential for a friend or connection.
Ashna Mankotia:So I kind of just it felt like a good idea. I did a few free little workshops, hang out sessions, virtually, and then Saffron just kind of happened and I just kind of threw it out there and asked people to pay for a membership fee for a membership community that didn't exist and over like 125 people did and then I was like, all right, let's there's interest, let's try this and then have been slowly just like trying to build it and I don't really, I think, explicitly advertise Saffron yet I'm still. I'm really trying to take it slowly and trying to understand what this is and how I can make sure it's like extremely valuable and useful and people feel like it's a value add to their lives. I love that.
Kirsti McNabney:It seems very well thought out and you can tell that you care about every step in it, at least from watching your blogs, which I know is like a very parasocial thing to say. But it does just feel like you are taking everything very logistically and going with what's working for the people that it matters to, and I think that that's really special. You talked on a blog that you meet with every person that's thinking about coming on to Saffron. Why is that so important to you to do that?
Ashna Mankotia:You know, the value of a community is every member in it, and something that I always am very like transparent about in these calls is, I say, the purpose of these calls. It's not a sales call and it's not an interview. It's really just like this is what the community is, this is what I can offer you and this is what I'm trying to do, what I'm trying to build. And if this sounds like good for you, then you know I would love for you to be part of it. But tell me what you're looking for in your life and if it feels like this is a fit for you, then I want you to join. And if it's not, then I don't want you to join and like be unhappy and I think that is and I'm very yeah, I say transparent like there are free Facebook groups that you can join that are about women connecting and if you maybe try that, if that feels like something that's a better fit for you, I just want Saffron to be this like very intentional place where people kind of understand that it's like yeah, it's an intentional community where people are really joining and committing to being part of it and they see the value of having connections from women everywhere. So that's really important to me to just make sure that every member knows that they are what Saffron is and I let yeah, and I'm transparent about what I can offer and what I can't like.
Ashna Mankotia:For example, sometimes people really really want in-person connections and for a lot of people in a lot of cities I'm like yeah, that's great, you're gonna find those friends. I had a member. I talked to a woman in Austin Texas and I was just like you know what? You're gonna be the first person from Austin Texas. I have a few members in Dallas, but if that's not close enough for you, then I can't give you like friends in your city right now. So maybe come back in a year. She said okay, I think that I'll think about it, but for right now I wanna make friends in Austin right now. So it's like I would rather she comes back later than join now and kind of be upset.
Kirsti McNabney:Yeah, that's really smart, because I just feel like there's so many memberships that you can just pay for online and then you can forget about it and you're like, oh, this is just something that comes off of my bill similar to my gym membership at times, but I think that when you give people the heads up, it like shows how much you care about it and how much you care about wanting people to utilize it, and I think that that's really cool. What does it feel like to have people from across the globe connecting through something that you're creating? Cause I feel like that's just the dream. I love that so much.
Ashna Mankotia:It's super cool. It's super, super cool. My favorites are when people from different cities connect that wouldn't have met or known each other otherwise. So there's a member based in Toronto who was in San Francisco for work and we have right now one member in San Francisco. So it was amazing because they both had dinner together and that's so cool. Like this member in San Francisco, she's super active on all the virtual components in the community online but of course, she doesn't have an in-person connection of people in her city, which there are a few people like that. So it was so nice that she got to have kind of the best of both worlds in that sense. And then, yeah, there's a member from Singapore who met up with a member in London and it's just crazy to me that these like global you know we're so young but they're starting to happen.
Ashna Mankotia:And, yeah, my job is I always tell everyone is like I'm here to make it as easy as possible for those connections to happen.
Ashna Mankotia:Like I describe community as something I've been saying is that we have so many relationships in our lives, like we have friends and family, colleagues and we have our romantic partner, but community is like really something that I think is a missing a lot and it's this idea that a lot of us probably wouldn't go to our neighbor's door and knock and ask for a cup of sugar, like and if you would, that's like quite a blessing, but I think it's really rare and the idea of Safran is just like hundreds of other women, you can knock on their door and ask for a cup of sugar, and it's a very different type of relationship that I think we just don't have in our lives. And my kind of metaphors I'm always saying I'm making it as easy as possible for those doors, for you to know where all the doors are, for you to knock on, who you wanna knock on and like. That is my mission and my purpose in the community.
Kirsti McNabney:I love that. Oh my gosh. I just think that there's so much that comes from people connecting, and I like that it has an in-person and a virtual aspect of it, and being able to find connections of people that care about the things that you care about and are excited about what's happening in your life, like I can't even tell you, it makes you feel so seen, it drives so much change in what you're doing. So I think that that's really special, that you're building it. What was it like the first time you met a Saffron person in real life?
Ashna Mankotia:So when I actually I launched Saffron, I was in New York for a few weeks. So I launched Saffron from New York. So the first group of Saffron members I met were New York based. So that was really cool. We went up for like a drink and it was just a group of people meeting and actually, no, you know, I met someone from Safran before I even launched Safran.
Ashna Mankotia:I was at Barry's boot camp and I met a member in Toronto who said Ashna, I'm like gonna be a Saffron member. I joined. So that was actually very exciting. That was like a really good validation that someone is excited she joined. She literally like paid a membership fee before meeting me in person. Like I don't you know, I always was very like I don't take that for granted, I don't take that trust for granted. But yeah, back to the New York. That was like a really really cool experience. I was like I think five-ish women who were free at the time. I like treated them all to a class in line. It was just so. It was like so cool. It was really fun. I think everyone. The outcome was kind of like this was more fun than we like expected and that's always a good thing.
Ashna Mankotia:Yeah, there was like also a member from Toronto who was visiting New York. So she came and she met a few of the New York people. So that was very cool. Also the first meeting I had to see that cross city connection to already happen, but it was really lovely. And I remember the first like we did a pretty big park hang in Toronto in June and it was like it was amazing, everyone just like really connected and just felt. It's hard to describe, but like when you're in a with a group of women and just like those vibes of how like seeing you felt, how connected, you felt, how safe you feel. It's so hard to describe but it's like such a good feeling.
Kirsti McNabney:Yeah, I totally agree. I had a event in June this year and like I hadn't done an in-person event in a while and there's like something so special about bringing community together. It just fires me up. I love it. Was there a moment that you were like I think this is gonna be like a pretty big thing that I should really invest in?
Ashna Mankotia:I don't know, I go through a lot like very transparently. I go through so many back and forths where, like sometimes, yeah, I have moments where I'm like Saffron is so meaningful, Saffron is like gonna be huge, like I'm gonna see my dream of having, like you know, a major presence and every major city and country. Like that's the dream and like I very much think that's possible. And then there's days where I'm like I don't know. Sometimes I see a comment or I see like doubts creep in or I say like is this just like?
Ashna Mankotia:a glorified Facebook group, like you know it's like yeah, I don't know for sure if it's my vision for this community will come true, like, but I know that I'm gonna try my best and I know that it is not a glorified Facebook group and I know that there's like real connections and like real value that I'm offering to people, and I think it takes time to be able to articulate what your value is. So I really really also appreciate the first kind of founding members who joined and we're just kind of open to trying things and trying it out. So that's helped me also figure out what the value of Saffron is. So, yeah, to just directly answer the question, I do have moments, a lot of moments, like after some events, after meeting some members in person, after seeing members connect from Singapore and London, I'm like this could really be something.
Ashna Mankotia:When I get some messages back about how Saffron is really meaningful to them. It hasn't been like all sunshine and rainbows. You know what I mean. There's a lot of doubts. There's been moments that things that happened that I've questioned myself for sure, and I think that's just the reality of like building anything and putting it out in the world.
Kirsti McNabney:Yes, that's what I was gonna say too. There are so many moments that you're like what am I even doing?
Kirsti McNabney:But, I think once you get to see what other people are getting from it, it's also like you're in that refining phase, like we were talking about from TikTok. It's like you just refine as you go. And then I think that there's also fear as a good driver for growth, which sounds kind of cheesy, but that's what I'm trying to tell myself lately is like the moments that are scary and you're like what am I even doing? They become so much more meaningful once you keep going. So I think that's good and I personally I'm glad that you're doing it, so that's great. How do you feel like your TikTok content, creation and art has driven Saffron and supported the global aspect of the community, or do you think that they're kind of two separate things?
Ashna Mankotia:I mean, yeah, every Saffron member has found out about it through TikTok or through my social media. I mean, I haven't done any other advertising, which is awesome, so that is kind of I think it. You know, we buy things from people or causes that we like and in this case, I think years of building and sharing myself on social media gave people some trust in me. I don't think I wouldn't saffron couldn't exist without a social media for me in the way that I built it. So I think I will continue to use, you know, my TikTok as a platform to not just even just like advertise for the sake of growing, but it's like this is a part of my life. This is something that I'm trying to build and I've shared. Like, here's a real highs and lows of trying to build something.
Kirsti McNabney:Yeah, I think the fact that you're building in public essentially is really cool and it's nice to see and I just feel like there's so much trust in it. That goes into to being excited about the fact that you're building something and like getting to watch the journey. That it's just awesome. I love it and it's so cool and I love that it's bringing you people from across the world. I think that that's such a big differentiator between a lot of other memberships is like you actually get to do both. You get to have the people in your community and be out in the world traveling and like come across another one.
Ashna Mankotia:I like that it's just not about your career. Like I think there's a career- based networks and they're awesome, like it's great to have a place where you can connect to people and other women or just other people in your industry professionally, like there's totally a space for that. I just felt like there wasn't a space for the interest. The interest is friendship and it's just like building friends and hanging out and we have career related discussions and that happens because that's like a part of life, but we also talk about so many other things, so that is my favorite part of it. It's not about like this is a running community you can join, or like an improv club you can join to make friends. Like those things are awesome, but sometimes, like the root of it is we just want to make friends. That's what's the point of staff runners.
Kirsti McNabney:And you get to show up with your whole self, like you don't have to be all the other pieces. You don't have to be like the pulled together one or the one who, just like, wants to stay in bed today. You can be all of it.
Ashna Mankotia:Yeah, like I mean, there's a lot of members like not everyone leads with their nine to five, which I think is great.
Kirsti McNabney:I love that. That's so awesome. Do you think that your career has helped with this building as well?
Ashna Mankotia:Oh yeah, oh yeah, 100%. I could have never launched Saffron without everything I've learned through product management. I've worked in startups and like small teams and just having to be scrappy and figure things out. It teaches you a lot. I have essentially like built little startup companies in my career and then now I took that knowledge and have done it for myself.
Kirsti McNabney:That's the coolest thing ever. I love it. I'm so impressed, as I mentioned at the beginning, that you have so many facets and like still keep all the balls in the air, and I'm sure that's not always easy. But just to remind people, a full-time job building Saffron, sharing on TikTok and planning a wedding and that's not even like your own personal things that are happening in your life. How do you organize it all and keep things moving?
Ashna Mankotia:Sure, I mean I don't have like any magical tools besides like a very heavily color-coded calendar and I take it one week at a time. I feel like my life is just like running upstairs and if I look down I will trip. So I just keep going and I think I can manage it. Right now it's hard. Some weeks I think I've really felt my first little bit of like burnout, but largely I think I can manage everything happily and still have like a social life and a life with my partner and like things are good.
Ashna Mankotia:One is I'm just like very passionate about these things I'm doing and I also just know it's not forever. Like I'm doing four jobs right now. I don't see a world where soon I'll be doing all four. I think it'll go down to three and then it'll go down to two and that's kind of how I can keep going. It's like a long distance relationship is sustainable when you know the end date. This is four jobs is sustainable when you know it's not forever.
Kirsti McNabney:When you know you have a wedding date next June? Yeah, what do you do to like? Or, if you do, what do you do to like? Check out, because you're sharing your life on the internet. You're meeting with people before and after your job. You're going to your job. You also have a life and, as you mentioned, a partner that, like you're, you're building a good relationship with. You have a good relationship with that. You're continuing. Is there anything that you do to like? Actually slow down ever?
Ashna Mankotia:Yeah, I honestly think one of the most impressive things about me is like how good I am at chilling, despite all the things that I'm doing. Like I have never been someone who has felt apologetic for rest. I've never been someone who is like it's so hard for me to take some time off Like I feel so guilty for not working. I don't really feel guilty for not working. I kind of feel sorry for people who do.
Ashna Mankotia:Honestly, I think millennial culture rhetoric is changing a bit where maybe not, this is not even a millennial thing, but just like this general hustle culture thing is shifting a little bit where I think it's like not as cool anymore to be like I never take any days off.
Ashna Mankotia:I know there's some personalities who genuinely like I get it like I'm teasing, but like there are people who I think really genuinely have a hard time taking rest. That's not to say that there are moments when I feel like I have a long to-do list and there's not moments I'm not like sometimes thinking about a little when I'm relaxing, but largely I do all the things that I want to do because I'm trying to build a wonderful life. I will not stop living my wonderful life in an effort to chase a more wonderful life. You know what I mean? I think it's kind of like people who save 99% of their income for later. I can save, I can build for the future, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to spend joy now. So that's how I kind of think about it.
Kirsti McNabney:I like that. I think a lot about how, because I used to. Well, I still am not great at resting, but I used to be one of the people that you're very much describing. And I think a lot lately about the actual journey that I'm on, rather than an end game, so that I can enjoy it as I go, because if we get to the end, you're not going to be satisfied, I mean, if you didn't enjoy it the whole time. Well, not the whole time. There's highs and lows, obviously, but you try to enjoy all the little parts, like the lack of milk in your cereal event. I think that that's an important piece. Do you have advice for someone who wants to build something whether it's one of the many things that you're doing, or just like, has an idea and wants to put it out there? But it's really scary.
Ashna Mankotia:Yeah, I think it's like you, just - you have to just start. I think you have to rip the bandaid off and you can start slowly. Like, something that I have also come to terms with is I do a lot of things and that means that I don't do everything. A plus. I probably am operating on my best days. Everything is like at A minus. Sometimes things fall to a B plus. If I was just doing two things, I could probably do two things at an A plus level, but I'm okay with this period of my life where I'm just kind of balancing things.
Ashna Mankotia:So, that being said, I think it's like you don't have to chase your dreams, but you can kind of like flirt with them, you can jog toward them, you can start to chip away at them. I think it's this idea of like you want to be. For example, you're scared of posting on online content. What if you just started making videos and they're private? You started the act. You want to write stories, but you're scared they're going to be bad. I'd say why don't you write five stories and don't share them with, like only your friends, or share them anonymously online? You can start everything that you want to do slowly If you're fearful of achieving something or getting somewhere or doing something. It's like you're also. It's scary to do it, but you're also living in fear now of not doing it.
Ashna Mankotia:So just like live in the other fear of doing it Like you know, just jump. It's scary, but it's also scary to be at the edge of the cliff. So just pick which scary you want to be, and it's like. That's just how I think about it. You're actually not making, you're not changing that much.
Kirsti McNabney:No, you're doing what you're thinking about rather than just thinking about it, and that has a much higher payoff potential than just considering it forever.
Kirsti McNabney:I think that that's so smart. I'm going a little bit backwards to the Saffron conversation, but I was thinking about your own relationships. Did you feel like you had a need for these kinds of friendships outside of the career, the TikTok, your relationship, your family, all of those pieces? Because I think that there's such a strong thing to be said about people who see a need in their own life and create it into something for other people. I think that's really magical and very kind and like can translate into something really big. So I wanted to know what your thoughts were on your own life and your own friendships pre-Saffron.
Ashna Mankotia:Yeah, I mean I especially like, I think, that community piece I really felt like I missed and I wanted. So I am the only Canadian that works for my company. Like all my colleagues are also Americans, so I also don't have any like work relationships in the city, in the country. So, beyond, like the friends that I have, you know that's that's all I have in Toronto period and I don't have any family in Canada. All my family's in the US and in India.
Ashna Mankotia:So I mean I have grown up always being like missing family and just like wanting to be surrounded by people as a child.
Ashna Mankotia:So then now as an adult, especially like just living in this remote world, I definitely felt like there was, there was an opportunity for me and people like me to just be a part of something.
Ashna Mankotia:I think it's really nice to just be part of a community and feel like you belong to something and know that it doesn't mean like you have to go to every monthly dinner or you have to like reach out and go to the X events or do. It's just it's really nice to also just feel like the option is there and those connections are there and if you know, that door is there to knock on. So I, when I created Saffron, I always thought I was creating it for other people and it's really surprised me how much like my own. It's just something I didn't think about. Like it's how much like the friendships that I have made and you know the people I've been able to connect with and next year I'm going to travel to you know some cities and meet, like Saffron, members, which it feels really exciting and I didn't, I didn't foresee that, I didn't predict that, so that's been really nice.
Kirsti McNabney:That's so beautiful. I love that. Do you have any tips for someone that might be joining a community but maybe nervous about knocking on the door the first time? So once you've joined, how can you start to like, get intertwined with it?
Ashna Mankotia:Yeah, I mean, I think that definitely depends on the community that you join for. Speaking for Saffron, I always say that you know Saffron is one of those things where you'll get out of it as much as you put into it. However, you know this is not a like that thing is required and we're all adults and life is busy. So I really just kind of tell people to just give yourself really, like the year you've paid for a year of membership, like commit to the year and just let yourself slowly figure out how, what those connections are going to be and like allow yourself to make them slowly. I do as much. I do as much as I can to make that easy as possible. So, for example, like you know, we have an introductions channel where you introduce yourself. We do we're doing a birthday card exchange next year. We're doing potentially a group trip next year. We have a career channel and a travel channel where you can talk about your trips and you can ask for recommendations and putting together like a dinner party club thing where I'll match you up with two random people and you can make dinner together in someone's home.
Ashna Mankotia:So I think it's just like at least for a saffron and like the other communities, see where you can participate in things and kind of just raise your hand when it, when it makes sense. And I always say that. You know, my job in saffron is that I am like giving you the key to a really cool room full of really cool women. It's like this party and my job is I'm trying to make sure that the decor is really nice, music is good, there's punch, there's a punch bowl and a great little charcuterie board going and you know there's music and like the lighting is great and there's games that you can play, and but it's still up to you to go go to the games and introduce yourself to someone. So I think, look for communities where people have made it easy for you to make those connections and then really, you know, latch on to those things and then try to reach out to people and figure out what rituals you can connect with. That's so cool.
Kirsti McNabney:I feel like you're just building a neighborhood of friendships.
Ashna Mankotia:Yeah kind of
Kirsti McNabney:You can look for sugar, you can go to a party it's going to be so great either way. So I think that the tip here is that joining Saffron is the answer that I'm hearing overall. I think so. Okay. Time for every episode questions. First and foremost, we love a recommendation. What are you reading, listening to or loving lately that we should check out?
Ashna Mankotia:I have been obsessed with the podcast Maintenance Phase. Have you heard of it?
Kirsti McNabney:I actually just started listening, like last week, because you're the third person to recommend it!
Ashna Mankotia:Yeah, it's so good.
Kirsti McNabney:It is.
Ashna Mankotia:I have not been this excited about a podcast and so long I just I love it, I love, I love everything that I'm learning. I love just like how it has made me question my relationship with my own body and what it means for me to define myself as healthy, and it's so good. It really makes me think and it makes me laugh. And those are my two favorite things that I would like content to do.
Kirsti McNabney:I love that, apparently, one of the hosts of Maintenance Space also hosts a podcast called Books that Could Kill or something like that.
Ashna Mankotia:Oh yeah, yeah, and apparently it's really good, I want to check that one out.
Kirsti McNabney:That's like next on my list, but right now I'm deep diving into Maintenance Space. What is your favorite thing about yourself?
Ashna Mankotia:That I am not afraid to try, and I'm not afraid to try publicly and just let people know that I'm trying something.
Kirsti McNabney:I love that. That's a thing that people can't do all the time, and so I think that that's one of my favorite answers I've ever heard. Who is someone that keeps you thinking?
Ashna Mankotia:The On Canada Project Instagram account is really good. They speak about a lot of like really good issues and I really like reading their content and just like keeping up with them. I recommend.
Kirsti McNabney:I agree. They're an excellent source. What is the best advice you've ever received?
Ashna Mankotia:So I don't know if this is the best advice I've ever received, but every time I get this question, for some reason, this advice pops up. I was in London and on a candle so I'm like to our strap spot I saw the phrase wherever you are, be all there. I love that. I just think about that all the time, about just like being present wherever I am. I think about it all the time. I'm sure I've gotten so much great advice, but that always pops up first.
Kirsti McNabney:I feel like you really personify that advice online and that's really nice. I always leave what you're doing to, or what video I see of yours thinking about something, and I think that that's like the most you could ask for from a content creator. So I appreciate all that you put out in the world. Final question when can people find you? How can they join Saffron or follow you? Tell us all the things. This is your moment.
Ashna Mankotia:Yes, I am, oh my gosh. Now on every social platform, just the word oh my gosh spelled out with an N-A at the end, and you can go to joinsaffroncom to learn more about it, and I am excited to hear from you.
Kirsti McNabney:Thank you so much. Thank you for sharing your wisdom and your thoughts and the beautiful things that you're building, and I hope that we all join this community, because it sounds like it's going to be a big deal for people and I think that that's really important. Thank you so much for listening to this week's episode of the Thinking About Podcast. I hope it got you thinking and keeps you thinking for days to come. If the episode inspired you, excited you or gave you something to think about, please feel free to send it to a loved one or a friend, and if you really loved it, you can leave us a rating or review. Wherever you get your podcast, it helps the show grow, it helps us tell our guests how important they are to you and, of course, it lets you help me know what keeps you thinking so we can bring on amazing guests. Thanks again for tuning in and we'll see you next week.