#009: From Corporate Climb to Impact-Driven Entrepreneurship - Building Diverse, Innovative & Inclusive Tech Teams with Sharmin Reehman

In this episode in English, I’m joined by Sharmin Reehman — CEO and Founder of Elev8te — a company dedicated to building partnerships that drive a more diverse, innovative, and inclusive tech industry. Sharmin is also the City Leader for Founders Live Singapore, where she regularly hosts free pitching competitions for founders.Half Indian and half Iranian, Sharmin has called Singapore home for the past 16 years. Drawing on nearly two decades of experience across banking, consulting, and government — and her bold transition into entrepreneurship — she shares candid lessons on failure, neurodiversity (including ADHD and dyslexia), and building companies that genuinely align withlife goals. We also dive into why diversity, innovation, and inclusion in tech matters.* TIMESTAMPS:00:00 Introduction to Choose Work 01:00 Meet Sharmin Reehman and why diversity, innovation, and inclusion in tech matter02:00 Sharmin’s career journey across banking, consulting, government, and entrepreneurship03:00 Core career lessons: mentors, neurodiversity as strength, and falling forward06:00 Shifting from proving yourself to making an impact and delivering value 09:00 Navigating bias, identity, and being an outcast in male-dominated environments13:00 From corporate roles to founding Elev8te and embracing entrepreneurship14:18 The steep learning curve—and fulfillment—of building something from scratch16:46 Purpose, impact, and why entrepreneurship feels different from corporate work22:00 Flexibility, productivity, and designing work around energy—not hours23:30 The loneliness of entrepreneurship and how to cope with it25:00 Building support systems and finding validation beyond titles and salary36:00 Neurodiversity, ADHD, dyslexia, and big-picture thinking41:55 How diversity fuels innovation—and why inclusion sustains it43:16 Diversity, innovation and inclusion to build high-performance teams49:43 Five-year vision: learning, travel, wellness, and global impact52:54 Where to find Sharmin and how to connect*Support the podcast:- If you enjoy Choose Work, you can support it with a small voluntarycontribution (even the price of a coffee) via Buy Me a Coffee: buymeacoffee.com/choosework*For show notes, please visit heididelanghe.com/podcastFor feedback or suggestions for topics or guests, email me at [email protected] Contact Heidi - Leadership Coach • Expert inGiftedness • Mindfulness Teacher:- Book a free discovery call at heididelanghe.com/contact- Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/heididelanghe- Instagram: instagram.com/heididelanghe.coaching/