Hey Reader

Wow, where do I begin?

Even as it feels like the rest of the world is slowing down with the holiday season, I’ve been ramping up on so many fronts, hardly catching my breath— from scaling our firm and preparing for Davos, to my podcast, Billion Dollar Moves.

And it’s times like this that I’m truly owning the phrase “there is no perfect time”; in the words of Nigerian author, Ijeoma Umebinyuo:

This brings me to today’s reflections from the Billion Dollar Moves episode that just dropped:

where I take a slightly different turn with a guest who does not fit my typical profile of a high-flying founder or funder deeply rooted in the venture ecosystem, but in so many ways, is a 'Billion Dollar Mover & Shaker' in her own right.

You’d want to read on.

I first heard Gola’s beautiful voice, and her soul being truly demonstrated through her song when she sang at the Vital Voices Gala in Washington DC to bring light to the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement in Iran.

The feminist you know is deep within me, was completely moved, and I was further moved when I learned more about her story:

Born in Isfahan, Iran, Gola knew early on that her voice was her gift, and music came naturally to her. While she performed music for her family and loved how she could lift others around her through her songs, very quickly she learned the harsh reality that in Iran, it is the law that female solo singers are not allowed to release songs or perform publicly in the country.

A series of attempts for her voice to be heard, led her to being told by the 'Ministry of Direction' (read: censorship body) in Iran that:

Gola decided enough was enough, and that she needed to live in her truth.

This of course, came at a hefty cost: being exiled from the only place she knew to be home, and risk being arrested, or at worst, being killed. There was no turning back.

What does it take to make that choice?

To believe so deeply in something beyond yourself that you’re willing to make that choice?

I needed to know.

In this episode, Gola shares her story on how her first-hand experiences of life under the oppressive Iranian Regime shaped her as a fearless, international women’s rights advocate. Fighting everyday to have her voice heard, Gola shows us what pushing boundaries and true bravery means; and how at the edge of your deepest fear could lay your greatest potential.

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