Twenty-five years of entrepreneurial spirit in one Twenty-five years of entrepreneurial spirit in one unforgettable night. This weekend at the TIE San Diego 25th Anniversary Gala, I had the honor of presenting my book #TheMirrorEffect in an evening packed with remarkable South Asian leaders who've shaped this ecosystem in profound ways such as Jai Bhagat , Pradeep Khosla and Anil Keswani, MD. What struck me? The room was filled with founders, investors, and mentors all showing up for each other. Entrepreneurship thrives when we share what we’ve learned and open doors together. Grateful to be part of this incredible community. #TiESanDiego #Entrepreneurship #SanDiego #TheMirrorEffect
There’s something magical about being back at Ha There’s something magical about being back at Harvard Medical School—where I did my residency decades ago—but this time speaking to the next generation of biotech leaders with the Harvard Biotech Club and Nucleate. The brilliant students and young professionals who filled the room—both in-person and virtually—were asking questions I didn’t think about early in my career: How do I find my path? How do I lead differently? How do I bridge rigorous science with transformational business impact? Their courage to ask these hard questions reminds me why this work matters. The future of biotech is about breakthrough leadership. Huge thanks to Dongyi Zhao-Seehus (Harvard Biotech Club) and Heer Joisher (Nucleate) for organizing this powerful evening, our sponsors Vazyme and Finnegan Henderson, Denise Main, Ph.D., Wanzhen Li, and my incredible teammates Rhea Sahu, PhD, Nindya N. Utami, MD, Xiangdong Liu, and Isabella Cardona Barber. What questions would you ask about transitioning from academia to industry leadership?
It took me decades of leading in biotech to realiz It took me decades of leading in biotech to realize this: I was getting older without growing up—accumulating achievements while still trying to prove I belonged. For years, I normalized microaggressions, thinking suffering was strength. Real transformation requires internal work that makes you unbreakable. The Mirror Effect happened when I finally learned to have my own back. When I stopped seeking external validation and started trusting my brilliance. I wrote this book to be your mirror—to show you the leader you already are beneath layers of doubt. As Maya reminds us: “You alone are enough. You have nothing to prove to anybody.” You are powerful beyond measure. Now it’s time to live like you believe it.
Thrilled to be featured in Lauren Rees’s “Lead Thrilled to be featured in Lauren Rees’s “Leading Her Way” series! Lauren and I talked about my journey from medicine to biotech entrepreneurship: a path that wasn’t linear and required me to listen to my internal compass when it told me being a physician wasn’t my end goal. I didn’t see mirrors early in my career. There weren’t many women on the walls of my medical school. In my residency program, none of my program directors were women or people of color. I didn’t see myself reflected in the leaders at these institutions, so leadership wasn’t even on my radar. And when I finally figured out that I could be at the helm of an organization—when I saw what was possible and when others affirmed my potential—everything changed. That’s why the Mirror Effect became so important to me. I wanted to do that for others. In this interview, we explore: - How my values, built from personal loss, spiritual exploration, and a focus on patients, guide how I build companies and teams - Why the Biotech CEO Sisterhood has been transformative for its 430+ members and for me personally - How female leadership is evolving from needing to be “perfect” to showing up as authentic, fierce, and brilliant - The practical approach behind “The Mirror Effect” and why I created a workbook to make it actionable Thank you, Lauren, for creating this platform and for the thoughtful conversation. Read the full interview: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/lauren-rees-5b837219a_leading-her-way-sheila-gujrathi-activity-7381327541912936448-1Knk/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAC6vC9wBv4BDc3X3o8NIHo_Avd_ziBwEV5c And if you’re interested in exploring these themes further, “The Mirror Effect” is available for pre-order. Link in bio.