BONY Podcast

In this episode, Tawhid takes us through his incredible journey—from growing up in Japan as a Bengali to moving to America and overcoming challenges, all the way to his current role as a Staff Software Engineer at IBM. Tune in, and be inspired.

Faizan Ahmed is the Co-founder and Head of Machine Learning for Headstarter , a large community of software engineers all around the Earth. The following is a conversation with Faizan, on his journey in tech, and his experience being a Desi in New York City. 

Nabeel is a Senior Product Manager at Amazon, as well as being a startup mentor, and a guest lecturer at Columbia Business School. In this episode, we get to see the Bengali side of Nabeel, as well as his career journey being a product manager.

Season 5 - Episode 12: Md Jabed Uddin, came in USA at a very early stage and lives in Astoria with his family.  He is also General Secretary of MoulviBazar District Society. He is a man from Moulvibazar and actively doing his social work. Now become well known for his social activities in NYC. As a General Secretary, Mr. Jabed Uddin is doing excellent job and trying to make AWS, a number one organ...

Season 5 - Episode 11: I feel like in my upbringing, alongside having to study really hard in school, I feel like there's this sort of nurturing care put into having some sort of artistic ability. Be it painting or singing or playing an instrument. For me, it was playing the violin. I grew up playing the violin since I was five years old. My mom would play the harmonium, and I have an uncle wh...

Season 5 - Episode 10: Even though sex education is such an everyday aspect of our life because it can impact a person from the moment that they're born to their death bed. Because it's such an everyday part of our lives, I thought it was really integral to only have this information in Bangla, because it's meant for aunties, it's meant for uncles, it's meant for our parents. I...

Season 5 - Episode 9: I have basically been past five and a half, almost six years in investing in emerging markets or frontier emerging models. And a lot of that time has been spent in the south Asia region. And as part of that obviously spent time in, in Bangladesh. Now, when I spend time with Nash is primarily been with public companies, investing for one of the largest investment funds folks i...

Season 5 - Episode 8: The diaspora club is more of a passion project for me. I kind of started it when I was in lockdown because I was on furlough, which meant that I wasn't working. So. I need to find something to do, and I didn't want to be doing fashion-related stuff. So I started drawing ethnically, uh, I think minorities, um, weld, cultured inspired imagery. Listen to the entire conve...

Season 5 - Episode 7: "I think the story of Bangladesh is still an uprising trend. If you look at the country specifically from a startup or a technology lens, if you look at countries like Singapore and other countries surrounding Bangladesh, what you notice is all the countries are on the same trajectory because of the younger population, digitization, and constant use of the internet. All...

Season 5 - Episode 6: It was January of this year that I just realized, wow, she's reading on her own. So it just kind of surprised us and I think every child is different when they're gonna learn, how to read, but we were lucky that it was a fun surprise. Even if it's just for 10 minutes, even if you just dedicate time every day, even when the baby is still in the womb until. When the...

Season 5 - Episode 5: I have never been in real estate. My background is in engineering, and I had managed very large multinationals industrial companies. A lot of my time was spent on building materials. However, very interestingly, through a friend, I was introduced to our founder-CEO, whose name is Aaron Levy. He lives in Austin, Texas, and he's an architect-designer. He's always had th...

Season 5 - Episode 4: Raad on startups, life, and philosophy. I think there's a common theme in my life where I just don't like being told what to do. And, I'm kind of a little bit of like a free thinker. Maybe that's sort of seeded the plants of like, not really ever being able to hold a steady job. I just, wasn't very good at showing up at one place at a specific time and doi...

Season 5 - Episode 3: Aysha Allow is an attorney who specializes in business law. She was inspired to open her own practice during the pandemic when she saw small businesses struggling, and also saw an uptick in new businesses opening. After some reflection she wanted to be of service to the people. She launched her business in January 2021, after practicing law for a few years in various sectors....

Season 5 - Episode 2: Muntaha Qureshi is an event decorator in metro Detroit. She opened her business Bridal Insignia in 2014, first in Virginia and then later moving it to Michigan. Muntaha studied fashion design, and later worked in corporate offices in supply chain. Now her business combines both aspects of her professional experiences to serve couples who are looking for decoration services fo...

Season 5 - Episode 1: Introducing Sisters Humayra Bobby owner of Boubí Skin, Jahura Hobby owner of JHobby Makeup Studio, Tahura Holly owner of Festive Essentials, and Shakira Khanam Humayra Bobby, Jahura Hobby, and Tahura Holly are sisters who created their own businesses: skincare, professional makeup services and jewelry to provide community-based needs. Their sister Shakira Khanam helps all the...

Season 4 - Episode 25: "When I started this service, it was actually the beginning of the pandemic. By the time I actually started work on my startup was around September. That's when I officially launched the app. The reason I started this form of service is that I originally really want to deliver halal groceries to people's houses, especially in our South Asian community. This hala...

Season 4 - Episode 24: "It was an unexpected part of my life. At the time, I was working as a freelance journalist, and I was doing a lot of reporting for Vice. I happened to be in Bangladesh just for a couple of months, and I was living with my parents in Dhaka for Eid. Suddenly, the crisis just happened all of a sudden in August 2017. I started to see a lot of news stories about the crisis,...

Season 4 - Episode 23: Samia Rahman co-founded the business Pantried, an online platform to shop from local businesses in metro Detroit in 2017 with a group of friends. The business features many immigrant-owned mom-and-pop shops, creating equitable access to shopping local. Samia says many local businesses cater to specific items and foods which are inaccessible, or more readily available in stor...

Season 4 - Episode 22: I got into barbering during the summer of 2018. I was just stressed out at work, and when I came home, I didn't want to do anything. Nothing. I didn't want to commit to anything or go out at all. So I would just be on Instagram or on YouTube often. On Instagram, I'd see these barbers doing these amazing hair cuts and it was very therapeutic for me. A barber I wat...

Season 4 - Episode 21: So back in 2014, when we wanted to start the brand, it started as a poster company. So me and my friend Rafeh, started a poster company where we sold posters online, and we wanted to have a unique name. We were trying to figure something out and then Rafeh suggested "Gorur Ghash", which was his Instagram handle at the time. It doesn't make any sense and he just...

Season 4 - Episode 20: We need more people from Baruch, from NYU, from CUNY, from every level and depth of universities, backgrounds, and experiences to join government. Whether you are South Asian or first-generation, whatever your experiences may be, they are so important and hold great value. Now on the internet, anybody can search out to get a small glimpse and taste of what a job in a field s...

Season 4 - Episode 19: Tania Begum was inspired to become a pharmacist, following in her father's footsteps to serve the community in healthcare. In 2013 she and co-owner Mahbubur Motlib opened Community Rx Pharmacy in Warren, Michigan, to serve the growing Bangladeshi community and other diverse communities. "We don't have a Bengali-speaking pharmacy in this location… we want to be w...

Season 4 - Episode 18: I work in the aerospace industry and have a background in mechanical engineering. I believe that no one should be intimidated by engineering; from my experience, it is not as scary as others make it out to be. I have jobs where my manager did not even go to college, and they were doing just fine. I'm not saying one should pursue that route over going to college; all I am...

Season 4 - Episode 17: Introducing Mafruza Begum, owner of Mersiha Homecare Services LLC  Mafruza Begum is the owner of Mersiha Homecare Services LLC in Hamtramck, Michigan. She opened the business in 2014. She was inspired to open a homecare service after her father suffered from a stroke and was unable to find culturally sensitive and Bangla language homecare services for her father. She is one...

Season 4 - Episode 16: Tamanna Choudhury is the business owner of Bengali Nastha Michigan. Tamanna creates homemade treats such as frozen samosas, rolls, kabobs, to order chicken roast, and specializes in making wedding taals. Tamanna says she wanted to generate income at home while she cared for her young children. Although she began making snacks for several years, she launched her Facebook page...