The Woman Who Said No to the Checklist with Rajyalakshmi Kola

What does it look like to build a thriving company in a male-dominated industry, stay grounded in your identity, and still make time to dance?Rajyalakshmi Kola — co-founder of Sunworks Energy, IIT Madras and Virginia Tech alumna, and a force in India's renewable energy sector — joins Portraits of Strength for a conversation that is equal parts grounding and inspiring. With over 12 years of experience and more than 1,400 megawatts of solar capacity delivered, Rajyalakshmi has built something remarkable — not just professionally, but personally.In this episode, we explore:The woman behind the work. Rajyalakshmi traces her roots to her grandmother — a doctor, Red Cross volunteer, and MLC who was working until the age of 80, back when that was virtually unheard of for a woman. Growing up with that model of strength shaped everything.Navigating a male-dominated path — from day one. The gender ratio didn't start at the boardroom. It started at IIT prep, where women made up less than 10% of her class. Rajyalakshmi shares how she got used to being the only woman in the room long before she co-founded a company — and how that prepared her for the moments that would have rattled someone else.The assumption that almost made her walk away from a client. A prospective client once opened a call by asking which of her partners was her husband. She stayed composed through that half-hour conversation — and then called her partners the moment she hung up. What happened next says everything about her character and her team.Why she came back to India. After graduating from Virginia Tech around 2009–10, Rajyalakshmi tried to find work in the US in her field. When the opportunities didn't materialize, she made a deliberate choice: travel, see the country she'd been living in, and leave with no regrets. Then she went home and built something extraordinary.Leadership lessons from scaling to 100 people. The math and engineering were never the hard part. People management was. From delaying a necessary firing for six months to learning how to build a culture that holds at scale, Rajyalakshmi is honest about what they got wrong and how they course-corrected.The proudest moment she almost dismissed. When four board members from a company — each independently reaching out through their own networks — all came back with the same name: hers. She called it small. We disagree.Dance as a lifeline. Rajyalakshmi has been dancing since she was two and a half years old. Bharatanatyam, contemporary, hip hop, belly dance — she has trained in them all. After a 25-year gap, she picked Bharatanatyam back up during COVID, starting from scratch alongside six-year-olds. She performs regularly with a small troupe in Hyderabad and dances at weddings when asked. No hesitation.CrossFit as the foundation. What started as a way to become a stronger dancer became a non-negotiable daily ritual. She does her own programming, meets her crew every morning on a terrace in Hyderabad, and credits the discipline of movement with pulling her out of the most anxious period of her professional life.Advice for South Asian women caught between expectation and ambition. Stop explaining yourself to people who aren't listening. Find the path of least resistance, move forward, and stop waiting for permission that was never yours to need.Connect with Portraits of Strength 📺 YouTube | 🎙️ Spotify 📸 Instagram: @portraits.of.strength.podcastPortraits of Strength is proudly supported by our Founding Sponsor - Sri Krishna Jewellers.