EP #79: Sarah Sukumaran - Former Nike Product Director Disrupting The Hypermasculine Sneaker Market With Her Female-Centric Brand Lilith

Sarah Sukumaran (@sarahsuku) is a former Nike Product Director who is now the CEO & Founder of Lilith NYC (@lilith.nyc), a female-centric sneaker brand looking to disrupt the hypermasculine multi-billion dollar sneaker market.She joins Ara on this week’s episode of #TheTamilCreator to discuss working for Nike before starting her own company, the future of manufacturing (ie. 3-D printing, etc.), seeing a a gap in female footwear and using her house down payment funds to kickstart the business, her first product being inspired by a bird that is almost extinct in the Philippines, missing out on the chance to decode the human genome, and so much more.Follow Sarah:- LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahsukumaran/) Timestamps00:19 - Sarah’s return from Portugal, recovery from COVID, and New York post-pandemic02:15 - Being obsessed with books, science, and basketball shoes from a young age04:32 - Her career path was never linear; MedTech, consulting, marketing, and more06:15 - The impact of education in Sarah’s career; the importance of time management08:04 - Will she ever pursue her love of science? Tamil dads and dictionaries09:43 - Having a strict dad, not getting to enjoy summer a kid, how she feels about it now11:51 - Leaving a tech career to work for Nike as Director of Product; what she learned16:01 - Nike waving her 18-month non-compete clause; operating with regret for 5 years18:01 - Financially planning for leaving Nike to pursue entrepreneurship full-time19:41 - The “entrepreneurial itch”; social commentary on her decision to start a business21:06 - How Sarah came up with Lilith NYC, and building something she could sell24:10 - Creating Lilith NYC’s first pair of shoes; starting with factories in China27:21 - Leaving China due to geopolitics, COVID, etc.28:49 - The future of manufacturing, current supply chain issues, and 3D printing30:41 - Rolling out a pre-order model in January of 2021 without even having a sample ready32:36 - Her marketing strategy to promote Lilith NYC; initially only having 300 followers35:19 - Expanding from selling sneakers to also selling clothing (hoodies, beanies, etc.)36:22 - Fundraising with plans to accelerate her business’ growth40:59 - Her ultimate brand vision for Lilith NYC; will it become a media company?42:33 - How Sarah found out about Founder Collective; what has been the impact?45:13 - Advice for her fellow female Tamil entrepreneurs45:30 - Advice she would give her 16-year-old self46:17 - The personal legacy that Sarah wants to be remembered for by friends and family46:38 - Creator Confessions51:22 - The Wrap UpIntro MusicProduced And Mixed By:- The Tamil Creator- YanchanWritten By:- Aravinthan Ehamparam- Yanchan Rajmohan     Support the show