Top Entrepreneur Anjula Acharia: The #1 Skill That Makes People Say YES (Use THIS Strategy to Turn One Conversation Into Multiple Opportunities)
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
iHeartPodcasts
4.7 • 30.5K Ratings
🗓️ 6 May 2026
⏱️ 86 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Jay sits down with trailblazing entrepreneur and investor Anjula Acharia to explore what it really takes to turn pain into purpose. Anjula opens up about her early experiences with bullying and feeling like she never quite fit in, and how those moments ended up shaping her rather than breaking her. Growing up between different worlds, Anjula unknowingly developed the superpower that would define her career: the ability to see what others miss and connect things that seem completely separate. What once felt like isolation became intuition, and what once felt like rejection became a powerful redirection toward a life of impact and influence.
Together, Jay and Anjula explore the side of success we rarely see. Beyond the headlines of billion-dollar brands and global icons is a journey shaped by failure, self-doubt, and constant reinvention. Anjula opens up about a time when she lost everything at once, her business, her marriage, and her sense of identity, and how hitting rock bottom became a turning point rather than an ending. She shares that success is not about having a clear plan, but about trusting your instincts, listening closely, and having the courage to grow. Anjula’s story is a powerful reminder that the moments that feel like everything is falling apart are often the ones quietly setting us up for something greater.
In this episode you'll learn:
How to Turn Rejection Into Your Greatest Advantage
How to Build Confidence When You Don’t Fit In
How to Network Even When You Have Nothing to Offer
How to Become a Connector People Value
How to Pitch Ideas That Actually Get Attention
How to Attract Mentors Without Asking Directly
How to Trust Your Instincts in Uncertain Moments
How to Reinvent Yourself After Hitting Rock Bottom
You don’t need to have everything figured out to move forward, you just need the willingness to keep going, especially when things don’t make sense yet.
With Love and Gratitude,
Jay Shetty
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What We Discuss:
00:00 Intro
03:30 Overcoming Childhood Bullying
07:24 Turning Difference Into Your Superpower
10:52 The Unexpected Rise in Podcasting
14:17 Is Networking Actually Important?
17:00 The Power of Connecting People
18:50 How to Network With Confidence
18:50 The Networking Shift That Changes Everything
22:27 What Great Mentorship Actually Looks Like
24:12 Who Deserves Your Time and Guidance
26:00 The Skill of Trusting Your Own Instincts
32:06 How to Make Anyone Say Yes
37:54 The Bet That Brought a Global Star to Hollywood
41:27 The Moment You Stop Trying to Belong
43:55 Turning Culture Into Global Influence
46:05 Saying What You Mean So People Actually Listen
48:40 What’s Really Changing in Film Right Now
51:01 Why Bumble Was More Than Just a Bet
52:12 The Unexpected Rise of AI Influencers
55:39 Using AI to Multiply Your Impact
56:45 The Hidden Reason Most Businesses Collapse
58:13 Starting Over Without Fear
01:00:18 Staying Steady When Everyone Doubts You
01:03:58 The Comeback Mindset After Failure
01:22:15 Anjula on Final Five
Episode Resources:
Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/anjula_acharia/
LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/anjula-acharia-206735
X | https://x.com/anjulaacharia
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is an I-Heart podcast guaranteed human. |
| 0:05.1 | This old rhetoric of you got to do one thing and you've got to have one goal and you've got to be focused on it. |
| 0:10.1 | That's the biggest lie ever. |
| 0:12.9 | What's a business skill everyone should master if they want to be successful? |
| 0:17.0 | You have to read the room. You have to see what's going on around you. |
| 0:20.0 | The biggest issue that I see young people in business, they think everything is one way. It's not a one way conversation ever. |
| 0:31.3 | Hey everyone, welcome back to On Purpose, the place you come to become happier, healthier and more healed. Today's guest on On Purpose is the one and only Angela Acharya, |
| 0:41.6 | trailblazing entrepreneur, investor and cultural powerhouse |
| 0:45.1 | who's helped shape global careers and billion-dollar brands. |
| 0:49.3 | Anjula is the founder of A-Series investments and early investor in companies like Bumble and Class Pass and the long-time manager of Priyanka Chopra Jonas. And behind all of this, she is a dear, dear friend who I'm so grateful to welcome onto the show. Please welcome to On Purpose, and Jula Acharya. And it is so great to have you here. Oh my God, it's so good to be here. We met for the first time |
| 1:11.6 | around eight years ago when I first moved to LA actually and one of the people that you've |
| 1:16.5 | mentored and your dear friend and now my dear friend as well, Paiol Kadakia, we met through her. |
| 1:22.5 | And honestly, the amount you've done for founders, for female founders, for artists, for our community, |
| 1:32.3 | for South Asians all over the world and beyond that is amazing. And we're so grateful to you. |
| 1:38.1 | And I know so many people who whenever your name comes up and it's like, oh, yeah, she helped me with |
| 1:42.1 | this and I'm always discovering new people you've helped with stuff. |
| 1:46.0 | And so I just want to say, you know, from me and on behalf of all of our friends, just how grateful we are to you. And you totally deserve to be here. And I'm grateful and happy that you're here. Oh, my God. Thank you. Well, I mean, I just want to tell this quick story that when I first met you, I was super skeptical. |
| 2:01.7 | And then you |
| 2:03.1 | did something so dramatic in my life without me even knowing it, which was my sister, who |
| 2:09.1 | rest in peace died a few years ago, struggled through multiple sclerosis and then died of cancer. |
| 2:14.2 | She never got to talk to you and I really wish she'd had and that's my one regret that we |
| 2:18.0 | never got to FaceTime with you. But she literally told me that she wouldn't have made it through |
... |
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