There are two things I have come to believe from all my experiences:

1. Being the underdog makes you work harder.
2. You always end up where you are supposed to be.

I have always felt like the underdog, the one others thought had great potential but who was never going to be the “best.” In my formative years, I attended Stuyvesant High School with 700 of the brightest NYC students. I realized quickly I was never going to be No. 1 (or even in the top 10%).

I wanted to be a doctor, so I took every single bio-anatomy course. But when you graduate from a specialized school, competition is fierce; the “average” students often don’t get into their dream colleges and are forced to pivot. However, trying to prove I was worthy and distinguishing myself in other ways got me invited to the international leadership program run by the Louis Jonas August Foundation one summer and a job at the U.N. in Switzerland the next. Those experiences eventually afforded me the privilege of receiving the JPMorgan Chase Smart Start Scholarship, a full ride and paid internship through college.

At home, my immigrant parents, who had worked hard to own small businesses, were exploring real estate by purchasing the properties where their businesses were located. They encouraged me to take the JPMorgan Chase opportunity for all the “real world” experience it would provide.

Afterward, I went to New York Law School. At that time, being a South Asian female in law school automatically made me an outlier, and my desire to prove I could do as well as my peers was a strong driving factor.

My side hustle—being a South Asian television show host and radio jockey—helped me develop other aspects of my personality. I began to see that my greatest asset was my ability to synthesize my experiences to help me grow as a person and in my career. What I learned at home about real estate coupled with my legal education and my desire to prove I was capable helped me land at Akerman, where I broadened my real estate, finance, and legal skills.

Eventually, I married and moved to Bahrain and London, where I went in-house at a Shariah-compliant investment firm. Once again, I felt like the underdog: a woman in a culture, country, and industry that was still male-led and quite conservative. A few months later, the firm filed for bankruptcy protection in New York courts, and as a New York attorney, I had an opportunity to make a significant impact and drive the restructuring process. I was able to shift preconceived notions among those who had a harder time accepting a female in my role. Ultimately, the executive team grew to champion women like me who could lead change in the region.

During the pandemic, I changed and grew so much, but I still had the desire to prove myself and add value wherever I would go next. That next place was real estate.

I am not sure if Sharestates found me or I found it, but I do know it felt a little bit like me—an underdog: a private lender and a proprietary fintech platform with immense promise.

But, the team at Sharestates, like me, has real industry experience, integrity, and a strong desire to win. As the underdog, I have always believed I can shift preconceived notions and create value. Sharestates is the same, changing the perception about private lenders and creating value in unconventional ways. That all goes to say, my high school career plans may not have worked out, but I ended up right where I belong, working with a diligent and creative team that is shaping the intersection of fintech, fractional investing, and private lending.