Leaders of Today with Ziyaan Virji

Ziyaan Virji
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At 15, I went through a life-changing experience that led me to find purpose in creating social impact. I started "For The Menstruator" empowering over 20,000 people in 10 countries globally. This opened opportunities for me to serve with the biggest organisations in the world impacting over 500,000 people. I went on to share my story on some of the biggest platforms including TEDx, BBC and winning prestigious accolades like the Diana Award, Global Teen Leader and Future25U25. 6 years later, I want to extend my legacy by empowering young people to start their leadership journey today!

Episodes

  1. 05/18/2023

    The Untold Stories of Menstrual Health, Social Entrepreneurship and B Corp - Madeleine Shaw | E11 | Leaders of Today With Ziyaan Virji

    Starting her journey as a feminist leader at university in the 80s, Madeleine shares untold stories of over 30 years as an activist, social entrepreneur and author. She is famously known for her venture Aisle (previously known as Luna Pads), G day and her book The Greater Good. 0:00 - Episode Intro 1:58 - Childhood & growing up 4:00 - Mindset influence 6:15 - University Experience 8:00 - Traumatic experiences 10:30 - Taking action at a young age 13:20 - Getting into menstrual products & the world of menstruation18:54 - Break 1 20:05 - First Product Design 23:55 - Sharing with friends and family 25:15 - Convincing people to try 29:50 - Turning it into a business 35:15 - co-founder relationship38:02 - Break 2 38 :54 - Evolving the business & scaling 45:15 - Global impact & change 50:30 - The meaning of impact 56:52 - The Greater Good: Social Entrepreneurship for ordinary people who want to change the world 1:01:15 - Piece of advice & what does changing the world really mean? Subscribe to our newsletter for weekly resources, opportunities, and behind-the-scenes content: https://leaders-of-today.ck.page/c780a10061 Follow us on: Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/leadersoftodaypod/ Tiktok - https://www.tiktok.com/@leadersoftoday?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ziyaanvirji/

    1h 6m

  2. 04/07/2023

    How I Became A Professional Music Producer and DJ As A Student - Koji Aiken | E10 | Leaders of Today with Ziyaan Virji

    Growing up, Koji found his passion for entertaining from an early age through his father who used to be a juggler. But it was only until his summer before university where he found his love for music. In this episode, Koji shares his journey of he became a professional music producer, started his own event company - Kumo Vancouver and is now on a mission to build a platform for other artists to fulfil their dreams as a creative. 0:00 - Intro 1:34 - Dad inspiration & background 3:15 - Dancing in high school 5:04 - best friend growing up 7:15 - busking at a young age 10:45 - mindset going into university 14:00 - turning point in music 15:55 - keeping up the balancing act 17:35 - relationship with school 21:24 - break #1 22:30 - living in the nightlife 25:45 - maintaining a balanced lifestyle 29:33 - accountability and support system 32:30 - evolution of KUMO 36:44 - diving deeper into the growth journey 40:00 - learning about his why 42:35 - giving back 43:41 - break #2 44:20 - day in the life & inspirations 48:55 - comparing to others 51:00 - Vancouver music & party culture55:05 - building your brand 58:33 - building the community 1:00:50 - piece of advice 1:03:00 - outro Subscribe to our newsletter for weekly resources, opportunities, and behind-the-scenes content: https://leaders-of-today.ck.page/c780a10061 Follow us on: Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/leadersoftodaypod/ Tiktok - https://www.tiktok.com/@leadersoftoday?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ziyaanvirji/

    1h 4m

  3. 03/30/2023

    How I Wrote a Book, Spoke at the UN and Started A Nonprofit About Sex Education: Niyati Sharma | E09

    After going on exchange in Belgium, Niyati realized the importance of Sex Education for youth and the lack of it India - her home country. This inspired her to start her own nonprofit that has empowered over 29,000+ people in India. Niyati's work has been featured and recognized on various platforms like Forbes India, NDTV, TheGuardian and more. She is an author of her own book 'Under the Carpet' and was recently invited to speak in New York at the United Nations Headquarters. 0:00 - Intro 1:15. - childhood story 4:13 - growing up and moving a lot 5:42 - relationship with brother 7:20 - exchange in Belgium 10:00 - should you do summer programs? 12:37 - mindset shift in Belgium 14:00 - mindset coming back to reality 15:55 - the idea for the organization and bringing it to life 19:10 - riding the momentum 22:30 - building a team and the leadership component 27:42 - diving into Pratisandhi 30:35 - Sex Ed in India & schools 34:40 - younger men and masculinity 40:31 - experience of writing a book 45:22 - early on struggles as a non-profit 51:00 - what keeps you going? 54:33 - opportunities from her journey 1:01:00 - piece of advice Subscribe to our newsletter for weekly resources, opportunities, and behind-the-scenes content: https://leaders-of-today.ck.page/c780a10061 Follow us on: Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/leadersoftodaypod/ Tiktok - https://www.tiktok.com/@leadersoftoday?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ziyaanvirji/

    1h 3m

  4. 03/21/2023

    How I Became An All-Star Canadian Basketball Player - Kamar Burke (KB) | EO8 | Leaders of Today with Ziyaan Virji

    Starting his career as a Basketball player, Kamar Burke (also known as KB) shares with us how he played for the Moncton Miracles and the All-Star team of the National Basketball League of Canada (NBL). He also shares how he transitioned his career from starting his own academy, to working as a videographer for famous artists like French Montana, Massari and Tory Lanez and eventually co-founding his own media company Joybox. Subscribe to our newsletter for weekly resources, opportunities, and behind-the-scenes content: https://leaders-of-today.ck.page/c780a10061 Follow us on: Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/leadersoftodaypod/ Tiktok - https://www.tiktok.com/@leadersoftoday?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ziyaanvirji/

    56 min

  5. 03/12/2023

    How I Started An Award-Winning Non Profit Organization at 15 - Vedanshi Vala | EO7 | Leaders of Today with Ziyaan Virji

    Starting her journey when she was only 15, Vedanshi shares her story of how she started her non-profit organization - Bolt Safety to create safer and more equitable communities around the world! Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro 1:00 - background and childhood 2:00 - moving to Canada 3:50 - family life 5:35 - earlier school life 7:00 - BOLT inception 9:50 - continuing after a loss 12:00 - finding your cofounders 14:10 - expanding BOLT 16:38 - think like an entrepreneur 18:28 - what is an “entrepreneur” 19:56 - break #1 20:17 - founder & ceo - solo person & fake it till you make it 23:15 - integrity & work ethic 25:30 - leadership style 27:35 - building meaningful relationships 29:33 - taking BOLT to the next step 31:18 - what is SAFEHUBS 33:33 - how can we all be allies 36:47 - securing funding 38:30 - selling bracelets to make $ 40:06 - break #2 41:26 - taking care of one’s self 43:45 - setting priorities 45:55 - dealing with expectations 48:15 - what do awards mean to you? 50:22 - relationship with her sister 53:00 - project LIGHTNING 56:40 - being proud of your culture 58:30 - piece of advice If you enjoyed this episode, make sure you subscribe to our channel to help us elevate our mission! Subscribe to our newsletter for weekly resources, opportunities, and behind-the-scenes content: https://leaders-of-today.ck.page/c780a10061 Follow us on: Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/leadersoftodaypod/ Tiktok - https://www.tiktok.com/@leadersoftoday?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ziyaanvirji/ Vedanshi Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vedanshivala/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vedanshivala/

    1h 1m

  6. 03/02/2023

    Derek Kesseler: The Untold Stories of Big Brother & Being a Social Media Influencer | E06 | Leaders of Today with Ziyaan Virji

    Growing up in a small town in Canada, Derek shares his story of how he became a finalist in Canada’s most-watched reality TV show (Big Brother Canada) and his journey of how he became a full-time social media content creator. 0:00 - Intro 1:03 - Growing up in a small town 2:50 - Small-town living shaping who you are as a person 3:35 - Being a people pleaser 6:15 - Working in the construction & oil industry 7:30 - hating my job 8:30 - the sum of your closest 5 people 10:00 - moving out and taking that next step 12:20 - big mindset shift 17:00 - relationship with best friend 20:35 - break 22:15 - transitioning into business and reality tv 26:30 - starting first business 33:30 - getting into Big Brother Canada 37:00 - Big Brother experience 46:00 - break #2 47:15 - impact of Big Brother 50:10 - day to day life 56:50 - maintaining success 58:40 - working on mental wellbeing 1:03:25 - toxic masculinity 1:05:06 - understanding your why 1:10:00 - piece of advice If you enjoyed this episode, make sure you subscribe to our channel to help us elevate our mission! Subscribe to our newsletter for weekly resources, opportunities, and behind-the-scenes content: https://leaders-of-today.ck.page/c780a10061 Follow us on: Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/leadersoftodaypod/ Tiktok - https://www.tiktok.com/@leadersoftoday?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ziyaanvirji/ Derek Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/derekjacobkesseler/ Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@derekjkess

    1h 13m

  7. 02/24/2023

    Michelle Kwok: How I Co-Founded (and Sold) my First Startup by 23 | EO5 | Leaders of Today with Ziyaan Virji

    On Michelle’s 8th birthday, when she was asked what she wanted to be when she grew up, she said “she wanted to change the world and do something positive”. Naturally, she was given three options “a doctor, a lawyer, or an accountant”. After trying everything, Michelle spent her teenage years pursuing being a doctor. In high school, Michelle would spend her summer at research labs which led her to pursue a pre-med degree at Western University. Going to university across the country have Michelle a chance to have her “first sense of real freedom and exploration”. This led her to explore her other passions as a digital marketer, content creator, and other business projects and opportunities. She continued saying “YES” to every opportunity in university which led her to work with major brands like Headspace, Bumble, Disney, Nike, Raptors, and more. After receiving a message from her brother and receiving an acceptance email from NEXT 36, Michelle decided to switch paths. She switched her degree, graduated early, and moved to Toronto for this accelerator program. This is where she met her roommate Ravina (who eventually became her co-founder) and started FLIK -  a platform to connect female founders with female students looking for work experience. Fast forward 2 years after, FLIK has gone on to help over 15,000 people in over 70 countries around the world. Given the demand for the platform (especially during COVID), FLIK eventually got acquired by Rumor Avenue. For her work, Michelle has won numerous awards including BC Business 30 Under 30, YWCA Women of Distinction and Conversationa - LIST GenZ Honoree. Michelle is currently building a new start-up Bonfire a space to share meaningful moments globally every day. 0:00 - Intro 1:20 - growing up and being pushed at a young age 3:00 - what do you want to be when older? 7:00 - exploring entrepreneurship 9:05 - path to present Michelle 11:45 - relationship with parents 15:05 - all-girls high school and her experience 18:15 - exploring other interests 25:40 - switching away from medicine 32:00 - reflecting on her decision 34:00 - Next36 experience + FLIK 38:40 - Starting FLIK 43:00 - relationship with co-founder 45:30 - impact on people 48:00 - advice to young women 49:30 - men’s role 52:00 - FLIK business model 53:15 - FLIK exit 57:45 - post-FLIK 1:02:00 - new venture 1:05:00 - advice to young people If you enjoyed this episode, make sure you subscribe to our channel to help us elevate our mission! Subscribe to our newsletter for weekly resources, opportunities, and behind-the-scenes content: https://leaders-of-today.ck.page/c780a10061 Michelle: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michellebkwok/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellebkwok/ Follow us on: Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/leadersoftodaypod/ Tiktok - https://www.tiktok.com/@leadersoftoday?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ziyaanvirji/

    1h 9m

  8. 02/16/2023

    Teon Gibbs: From Playing at Church in Africa to one of Canada's Most Well Known Voices | EO4 | Leaders of Today with Ziyaan Virji

    Growing up, Teon Gibbs had to move around a lot every couple years from Botswana, South Africa, Angola, UK and eventually Canada. He was first introduced to music and hip hop when he would listen to his brother's CD's when he was away from home. As he moved around a lot, Teon built strong connections and felt consistency in his life through music. He was even actively involved in Church while playing guitar and the bass. This helped him find a sense of community at the time as well as taught him a lot about performing in front of an audience.    Teon eventually moved to Kelowna, BC in Canada where he initially had to compromise a lot to fit into his community. Initially, he even stopped releasing hip hop music and was playing in India alternative bands to cater for his community.   As Teon settled in to Canada, he would work a full time job at Shaw Communications and Shopify during the day and then make music until 2-3 am at night. This went for a couple years until he eventually decided to do music full time. This came with lots of challenges and uncertainty.   It's been 3 years since he quit his job. He is now Canada's most well known artists being a trailblazer in the industry. From selling out shows to working with Grammy Award winning producers to releasing multiple albums, Teon is continuing to raise the bar and reach heights never seen before. In addition to his show-stopping performances, what sets him apart his ability to take risks with his art. Complex UK has stated that Teon's work has “hit on a fusion sound that has been sorely under-explored" as he continues to always push the boundaries of genre and innovation. Exclaim! has described Teon as having a natural ability to blend serious themes with soulful tracks, delivering a thoughtfulness that sets him apart from many of his contemporaries.   If you enjoyed this episode, make sure you follow our channel and leave a review to help us elevate our mission!   Subscribe to our newsletter for weekly resources, opportunities and behind the scenes content: https://leaders-of-today.ck.page/c780a10061   Teon:  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teongibbs100/  Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@teongibbs?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc Follow us on:  Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/leadersoftodaypod/  Tiktok - https://www.tiktok.com/@leadersoftoday?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc  Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ziyaanvirji/

    50 min

  9. 01/31/2023

    Harpo Mander: Growing Up In Surrey, 5x Fest, Imposter Syndrome, Body Positivity and more! | E03 | Leaders of Today with Ziyaan Virji

    Harpo Mander is a visionary, thought leader, community builder, storyteller, and cultural producer. Her mission is to be the vessel through which one experience's love. She is a brown girl who adores being a brown girl and is navigating and unpacking her brown girl guilt, while continuously exploring what a world without that guilt looks like for herself and her didis.   Growing up in Surrey, BC in an immigrant South Asian family, Harpo always wanted to be part of something bigger than herself. As she navigated her identity during her university years at Simon Fraser University and McGill, she was able to embrace her identity as a second generation Canadian.   When she came back to Surrey, she had an opportunity to start her famously known podcast and online community - 'Brown Girl Guilt', being a voice for so many South Asian women and girl in North America. Brown Girl Guilt is the unique and nuanced experience of brown girls and women that is shaped by the expectations to adhere to stark gender roles, familial expectations, and cultural norms. The podcast is archive of her spiciest and softest stories as a brown girl. All the stories in the archive are momentous, authentic, vulnerable and have long desired to be told.   As she grew her impact in her community and a stint in Radio, Harpo had a full circle moment when she received an offer for her dream job. She was invited to be the manager of Vancouver International Bhangra Celebration Society (VIBC), where she used to volunteer growing up. They are famously known for hosting the 5x Festival - Canada's Largest South Asian Youth Event.   Harpo is a beacon of hope and a role model for youth in her community. She continues to break societal expectations, standing up for an equal and just world while also empowering others through her journey. For her efforts, she was awarded Surrey's Top 25 under 25 2021. If you enjoyed this episode, make sure you leave a review to help us elevate our mission! Subscribe to our newsletter for weekly resources, opportunities and behind the scenes content: https://leaders-of-today.ck.page/c780a10061 Harpo: Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/itsharpo/ TikTok -  https://www.tiktok.com/@itsharpo?lang=en Follow us on: Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/leadersoftodaypod/ Tiktok - https://www.tiktok.com/@leadersoftoday?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ziyaanvirji/

    56 min

  10. 01/24/2023

    Sam Park: From Dropping Out of School Twice to Working with The Fastest Growing Social Media Network | E02 | Leaders of Today with Ziyaan Virji

    Sam Park moved to Canada when he was 7 and grew up in a single parent family with his mum and two sisters in Vancouver. When he first moved, he lived in a 380sq ft one-bedroom apartment with his family of 4. His early days growing up really seeded the ambition and passion for him to live a life where he can take care of the ones that he loves. In grade 11, Sam was first introduced to entrepreneurship by his friend but that was not the first time he knew about business. He actually despised business given that his dad went bankrupt and lost everything at an early age. Instead of going to school, Sam decided to his entrepreneurship journey. He started multiple media companies including CrunchMedia, InstinctX and more. He would also document his journey on Linkedin - allowing him to expand his network and grow his personal brand. At some point, Sam almost even worked with his role models at the time - Garyvee who tweeted his resume after how impressed he was by his efforts. As part of his journey, Sam was also selected to be part of Canada’s most prestigious entrepreneurship programs in Canada including being part of the first batch of League of Innovators (LOI) and Next 36. These experiences really gave Sam the toolkit to grow as an entrepreneur. At this point, he also made enough money to buy his mum her first house which was his biggest team growing up. But it was only until the end of 2019, when Sam was at his mum’s hair salon, where a customer asked him about TikTok where Joybox was born. With his co-founder Kamar Burke (KB), Sam grew Joybox with short-form content to garner millions of views across the platform. Just like any service-based company, it was difficult for that to results in recurring revenue given it was the early days of TikTok. This led to an incident, where they were at the verge of quitting and were left with only $4000 in their bank account. Sam decided to split that with KB and they decided to give it one final shot. Joybox ended up getting multiple clients and eventually got acquired by Gamelancer - the fastest and largest growing social networks in the gaming space garnering over 1.8 billion monthly views across their platforms. Sam now splits his time serving as the CEO of JoyBox, while also helping to grow the Gamelancer network as the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). Subscribe to our newsletter for weekly resources, opportunities and behind the scenes content: https://leaders-of-today.ck.page/c780a10061 Sam: Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/imsampark/ Linkedin -  https://www.linkedin.com/in/imsampark/ Follow us on: Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/leadersoftodaypod/ Tiktok - https://www.tiktok.com/@leadersoftoday?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ziyaanvirji/

    58 min

  11. 01/14/2023

    Ziyaan Virji [UNTOLD]- From losing 3 weeks of his life to impacting 500,000 around the world! | E01 | Leaders of Today Podcast

    After losing 3 weeks of his life as a result of dengue fever, Ziyaan turned his life around. He went on a journey of finding purpose that led him to start his own nonprofit at 15 that went to impact 1000s of people around the world. This episode features stories Ziyaan has never shared before and dives into what really shaped him and how any person can find purpose and change their own lives.    Subscribe to our newsletter for weekly updates, opportunities and behind the scenes insights: leadersoftodaypod.com

    31 min

  12. SEASON 1, EPISODE 1 TRAILER

    We are not only Leaders of Tomorrow, but We are Leaders of Today

    Tomorrow never comes. That's what my grade 3 teacher used to say when I used to submit my homework late. But what does that really mean? This is a podcast for any young person that has a new idea, a passion, a purpose to not wait until tomorrow but start their leadership journey today.

    1 min

Trailer

About

At 15, I went through a life-changing experience that led me to find purpose in creating social impact. I started "For The Menstruator" empowering over 20,000 people in 10 countries globally. This opened opportunities for me to serve with the biggest organisations in the world impacting over 500,000 people. I went on to share my story on some of the biggest platforms including TEDx, BBC and winning prestigious accolades like the Diana Award, Global Teen Leader and Future25U25. 6 years later, I want to extend my legacy by empowering young people to start their leadership journey today!

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