#19 Lakshmi Natarajan on Courage, Leading (Corporate) Teams Successfully, and Raising Your Kids to Become Global Citizens
"20 years from now, what are the things I would regret not doing?"
— Lakshmi Natarajan
Lakshmi Natarajan (travelplusthem.com) is an Indian-American corporate executive, entrepreneur, consultant, world traveler, advisory board member, and most importantly, a daughter, wife, and mother. Lakshmi has over 20 years of experience as a corporate executive and has worked in leadership positions across marketing, sales, strategy, and consulting with companies like American Express, Accenture, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Compass, and numerous clients in various industries.
She recently founded two businesses: Travel Plus Them, a coaching and education company focused on helping families raise global citizens, and Excelador, a business consulting and advisory firm. She has traveled to over 60 countries, over 30 with her young children. Lakshmi's motivation to build her businesses was born from her strengths, experiences, and life priorities. She reached a point where she was unable to give 100% to any aspect of her life—career, family, or herself.
This is something many people, especially mothers, can relate to—wondering if there is something better out there that integrates life values and priorities. Her insights on the path to entrepreneurship, family travel, and raising global citizens have been featured in New York Weekly, Los Angeles Wire, Miami Wire, and US Reporter.
Lakshmi believes in children experiencing and appreciating the world’s diversity and inspiring other moms on their journey to raising inclusive global citizens. She currently resides in Miami, FL with her husband and her 2 daughters.
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Timestamps:
00:00 — Intro
04:18 — Lakshmi’s unstoppable can-do attitude
14:25 — “When I was growing up, I was the only person looking like me.” … how Lakshmi built her confidence
24:56 — Qualities & skills that set Lakshmi apart in her corporate career
36:00 — How Lakshmi led a corporate sales team in the pharmaceutical industry
47:41 — Why Lakshmi made the shift from her corporate career into entrepreneurship
55:56 — “What has been your biggest challenge in transitioning into entrepreneurship?”
01:09:39 — What distinguishes a great mission from a ‘fake’ mission?
01:19:55 — TravelPlusThem’s mission to inspire parents and young children to raise global citizens and deepen engagement with the world
01:33:16 — Lessons learned from our episode — dealing with tech-hickups and staying pro.
People / Resources / Links Mentioned:
- Lakshmi’s episode with Donna Peters on 'The Me-Suite'
- US Reporter article featuring Lakshmi
- Emotional Intelligence* (EQ) by Daniel Goleman
- Trillion Dollar Coach* by Eric Schmidt / Jonathan Rosenberg / Alan Eagle
- Accenture
- Brendon Burchard
- Gary Vaynerchuk
- John Wooden
- Lakshmi’s Instagram: @travelplusthem
- Lakshmi’s Facebook: @travelplusthem
- Lakshmi’s website: travelplusthem.com
- Lakshmi's 1-Hour Travel Plus Them Special: “Around the World in 60 Minutes”
* Please note that I've started introducing affiliate links. If you're interested in the resources we covered and you want to support the podcast, please consider making your purchase through these links! Thank you!
