Aishwarya Balaji - Speaker, Founder, Investor

Speaking

Talks built from operating experience, not theory.

Her talks draw on a decade in startups and venture capital, a consumer brand co-founded from scratch, and a creator audience built first-hand.

Signature talk

Mindful leadership & founder wellbeing

Burnout, imposter syndrome and the inner patterns that stall otherwise capable founders - and the somatic tools (EFT tapping, meditation, parts work) that interrupt them. Available as a talk or an interactive workshop with live tapping.

Signature talk

New media, AI & the creator economy

What the shift to creator-led media means for brands, platforms and investors - from her work in new media VC and creator partnerships at Mercurius Media Capital.

Signature talk

Building consumer brands in public

Co-founding A Fresh Sip and the rise of the sober-curious movement: emerging consumer trends, community-first GTM, and what CPG founders get wrong.

Signature talk

Women & the South Asian diaspora in tech

Fundraising, pattern-breaking and building as a woman of color in venture and startups - a talk she has delivered on stages from Harvard to SXSW.

Selected stages

Notable stages.

XDC Tech, New York CityHost
SXSW - ASAN Founders Panel, AustinPanelist
SF Tech Week - "The Mindful Founder: AI + Human Intelligence"Speaker
TEDxFordhamUniversity - "Living in a Trustless Society"Speaker
Harvard BOLD Conference - startup panelPanelist
NY EdTech Week + US Dept of Education blockchain workshopCo-host
NBC Universal EDGE Demo DayPitch judge

Work together

Two ways to bring Aishwarya to your audience.

Speaking & workshops

For conferences, companies and communities that want the tech-meets-creator crossover on stage: keynotes and panels on her signature topics, plus hands-on workshops.

Keynotes & panels - the four signature topics above
Workshops - live EFT tapping, meditation and pattern-interrupt sessions
Moderation & hosting - founder and investor rooms, dinners and summits

Book me to speak

Social, partnerships & campaigns

For wellness, consumer, AI and creator-economy brands that want creator fluency with operator rigor - she has sat on the brand side as co-founder of A Fresh Sip, and invests in the space too.

Sponsored content & UGC - TikTok, Instagram, Threads
Campaigns & ambassadorships - wellness, consumer, AI and creator-economy brands
Event partnerships - Sip Shops-style IRL experiences and founder communities

Partner with me

Audience

A growing, cross-platform audience.

Where she shows up today - and who is listening. Figures are current counts as of November 2026.

Instagram

@theaish

5,565

followers (Nov 2026). Wellness, EFT and founder-life content; story highlights include EFT Sessions and the Hot Cocoa Tour.

TikTok

@the_aish

1.8K

followers (Nov 2026). Somatic healing and startup content; top video 66K views (Oct 2025). Audience 60% female, 60.5% US, core 25-44.

/in/theaish

3,527

followers (Nov 2026). Founder, VC and tech audience - 24% NYC metro, 12% founders, seniority skew "Senior".

Also on Threads (@theaish, 1,119 followers, Nov 2026). Brand-side experience: co-founder of A Fresh Sip (@takeafreshsip, 5,064 followers, Nov 2026).

About

Founder, investor, practitioner.

Aishwarya Balaji is a 2x founder and investor who spent a decade in startups and venture capital - including 37 Angels and NexGen Venture Partners - and currently works in new media VC and creator partnerships at Mercurius Media Capital.

She co-founded A Fresh Sip, a non-alcoholic beverage marketplace riding the sober-curious movement, covered by Business Insider, Axios and Yahoo Finance. Her first-person essay on leaving a "dream job" ran in Business Insider.

A TEDx speaker and longtime yoga and meditation practitioner, she now brings somatic work - EFT tapping, meditation, Reiki and parts work - to founders and high performers through Pattern Interrupted.

Aishwarya