RAW with Uma

RAW with UMA
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RAW with UMA is a podcast and living document of becoming unapologetically human. Hosted by leadership and reinvention strategist Uma Thana Balasingam, it features honest conversations with people redefining success, power, and self-trust in life’s messy middle. From Careerquakes™ to midlife transitions, this space explores the unspoken truths of identity, ambition, love, and meaning. This podcast doesn’t conclude, it holds space. Becoming yourself isn’t neat. It’s raw. And it’s real.

  1. Why Menopause Could Be The Best Thing That Happens to You

    3D AGO

    Why Menopause Could Be The Best Thing That Happens to You

    Menopause may have been the best thing to happen to her. In this episode, senior banking executive Sunday joins hosts Uma and Jingjin for one of the most disarmingly honest conversations the show has aired. Sunday talks about how menopause removed the social constraints that had been slowing her down, how parenting a daughter with ADHD rewrote the way she leads teams at one of the world's largest banks, and why investing in your boss relationship matters as much as the quality of your work. What’s more, you’ll end the episode with a set of frameworks on boundaries and standards that you can use starting right now! What You'll Learn Why menopause made Sunday more fearless in the boardroom and what she tells her team How Sunday's ADHD parenting diagnosis reframed what emotional regulation actually is The exact line Sunday draws between apologizing for your delivery and never apologizing for your standards The Dr. Becky Kennedy reframe Sunday now applies to her banking teams every day Sunday's three-part framework for building a boss relationship that actually advances your career Chapters 00:00 | Intro — Menopause as a Leadership Superpower 07:20 | Growing Up Filipino: Where Confidence Comes From 11:06 | Parenting a Child with ADHD 16:00 | Emotional Regulation Is the Real Leadership Skill 18:08 | Liked or Respected? 20:57 | When Uma Told Jingjin to Go to Therapy 24:39 | Never Apologize for Your Standards 27:04 | Women Love Everybody Except Themselves 29:57 | Top 3 Moves for Women Chasing Promotion 31:54 | How Much Vulnerability Is Too Much at Work 35:07 | The 50s Are the Best Career Years 36:23 | The Boundary Lesson Sunday Learned from a Parenting Book 39:38 | Why Great Work Alone Won't Get You Promoted 42:30 | Defining Success at 52 About Sunday  Sunday Domingo is a Corporate Banker based in Singapore with experience leading regional and global product management teams in the corporate and institutional banking sector. She works on developing and managing digital banking products focused on simplifying financial services and enhancing client experience. She has been involved in client engagement, product strategy, and cross-functional collaboration across international markets  Sunday on LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sundaydomingo   Raw With Uma Do you feel like you're working harder than everyone around you but still getting overlooked for the opportunities you deserve? Take the free Discover Your 2026 Visibility Stage assessment and find out what's actually standing between you and being seen. → https://form.jotform.com/252218729975470   Follow RAW with Uma:  📱 On Instagram →   https://instagram.com/rawwithuma  Follow Elevate Asia:  📱 On Instagram →    https://instagram.com/elevateasiaorg  💻 On LinkedIn →    https://www.linkedin.com/company/elevateasia   Follow Uma Thana & Jingjin Liu:  📱 Follow Uma on Instagram →  https://instagram.com/uma_raw 💻 Connect with Uma on LinkedIn →   https://www.linkedin.com/in/umathana 📱 Follow Jingjin on Instagram →     https://instagram.com/jingjin_liu   💻 Connect with Jingjin on LinkedIn →  https://www.linkedin.com/in/jingjin-liu     Listen on: 🎧 Apple Podcast →  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/raw-with-uma/id1821559768 🎧 Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/show/1R7vwGXeHLcJLsX8HjOX4e Share this episode with a woman who’s constantly being told to be “less difficult,” “more likable,” or “softer” just for being confident and direct. And if you’ve ever felt judged differently at work for speaking your mind, setting standards, or choosing yourself first, drop your experience in the comments. Please subscribe and leave a review. It helps more women find these conversations #SundayFoundingVoices #FoundingVoices #ElevateGroup #WomenInLeadership #WomenInBanking #Menopause #MenopauseAtWork #ADHD #EmotionalRegulation #WorkplaceBoundaries #LeadershipForWomen #CareerAdvice #WomenWhoLead #SeniorLeadership #SelfInvestment

    45 min
  2. What Your Eyes Reveal About Your Health

    MAY 2

    What Your Eyes Reveal About Your Health

    As an ophthalmologist, Claudine kept noticing something that her patients' other doctors were missing. The retina doesn't lie - systemic disease shows up there first. She'd refer patients for follow-up and watch nothing happen. So she went and studied functional and anti-aging medicine herself, and built Asia Wellness from that frustration. In this conversation with Uma and Jingjin, Claudine unpacks what women's longevity actually looks like, and it's not what most of us were told. The research that established most of what we know about nutrition and exercise was done almost entirely on men. Intermittent fasting, low-calorie diets, and chronic cardio - all of them misfire for women, especially in perimenopause. What actually works: resistance training, sleep first, tracking your own data, and a microbiome you can feel. The episode closes with a hard reframe: women over 35 aren't breaking down. They're recalibrating. 00:00 | Your Eye Doctor Sees Your Heart Disease First — Claudine's Origin Story 06:54 | The One Number That Predicts How Long You'll Live (VO2 Max) 08:29 | Why Everything You Know About Fasting Is Wrong for Women 12:33 | Start Here: HRV, Food Journalling, and the Tracking Habit 17:56 | The 3-Step Longevity Playbook Any Busy Woman Can Follow 21:51 | What to Ask Your Doctor: Microbiome, Diet, and Hidden Inflammation 25:21 | Women's Health Is a Generational Investment, Not a Personal Choice 28:12 | Why Cardio Is Making You Store Fat — And What to Do Instead 34:31 | The Wine Collector's Honest Answer: The 80/20 Rule on Alcohol 36:20 | Hormones, HRT, and the Perimenopause Questions Nobody Asks 40:14 | You're Not Breaking Down — You're Recalibrating Clinics & Practices Asia Wellness - https://asiawellness.com.sg Paragon - https://paragonmedical.com.sg Tools & Tests Oura Ring — HRV and sleep tracking HRV (Heart Rate Variability) — biometric tracking for stress and recovery VO2 Max testing — gold-standard longevity biomarker Food journaling — first-step tracking recommendation Microbiome testing — gut health assessment; recommended by Claudine Elimination diet — referenced as a diagnostic tool About Claudine Claudine is an eye surgeon and longevity specialist who founded Asian Longevity after years of detecting systemic disease in her surgical patients' retinas - and growing frustrated that nobody was treating the root cause. She now practices functional and anti-aging medicine, working with women to build personalised longevity protocols grounded in biomarker testing, lifestyle optimisation, and hormonal health. She is affiliated with Paragon [VERIFY]. Claudine on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/claudine-e-pang-8516a780   Asian Longevity website: https://asialongevity.com.sg Raw With Uma Do you feel like you're working harder than everyone around you but still getting overlooked for the opportunities you deserve? Take the free Discover Your 2026 Visibility Stage assessment and find out what's actually standing between you and being seen. → https://form.jotform.com/252218729975470   Follow RAW with Uma:  📱 On Instagram →   https://instagram.com/rawwithuma  Follow Elevate Asia:  📱 On Instagram →    https://instagram.com/elevateasiaorg  💻 On LinkedIn →    https://www.linkedin.com/company/elevateasia   Follow Uma Thana & Jingjin Liu:  📱 Follow Uma on Instagram →  https://instagram.com/uma_raw 💻 Connect with Uma on LinkedIn →   https://www.linkedin.com/in/umathana 📱 Follow Jingjin on Instagram →     https://instagram.com/jingjin_liu   💻 Connect with Jingjin on LinkedIn →  https://www.linkedin.com/in/jingjin-liu     Listen on: 🎧 Apple Podcast →  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/raw-with-uma/id1821559768 🎧 Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/show/1R7vwGXeHLcJLsX8HjOX4e Share this episode with a woman who’s struggling with decisions around her health, energy, or daily routine. And if you’ve experienced changes in your body, hormones, or identity—drop your story in the comments.

    45 min
  3. The Career Break That Changed Everything

    APR 18

    The Career Break That Changed Everything

    She walked back into the workforce after five years at home, marched into Merrill Lynch without a client list, and proposed the following deal: If I'm successful, you pay me. If I'm not, you don't. They gave her the job. Evonne Tan is a wealth management professional who now advises some of Asia's wealthiest families. She spent 27 years in finance across multiple countries, including a 5-year career break to raise her children, returning with a demotion. In this conversation with Uma and Jingjin, she unpacks everything nobody tells you about stepping away and coming back: why demanding a guaranteed return keeps you trapped, why "you can have it all" just needs a time qualifier, and why what goes on your life CV matters as much as your career CV. In This Episode 00:00 | Does the System Really Allow Women to Pause? 02:23 | From Deutsche Bank VP to Starting Over in Wealth Management 04:29 | Why Accepting a Demotion Is Actually a Power Move 04:58 | You Can Have It All — Just Not at the Same Time 09:23 | Finding Your North Star When You Don't Have Clarity 13:05 | "Pay Me Nothing — I'm Variable Cost": The Merrill Lynch Pitch 14:39 | Cultural Expectations and the Courage to Defy Them 17:16 | Enjoy the Flowers on the Road — Evonne's Philosophy of Life 20:51 | "I Have Two Hands, Two Feet, a Degree — I'll Be Fine" 23:35 | The Life CV: How to Reframe a Career Gap on Your Resume 27:59 | The Double Guilt of Working Mothers 30:12 | How the Break Transformed Evonne — She Left a Girl, Came Back Wiser 31:04 | Supportive Spouse, Finances, and Acknowledging Privilege 35:32 | "It's Our Money" — Financial Agency During a Career Break 37:57 | Invest in Yourself — The One Thing Nobody Can Take Away 38:59 | Energy Management and Compartmentalizing Your Brain Evonne is a senior wealth management professional based in Singapore who advises some of Asia's most prominent families. She spent 17 years building her career in financial markets — including heading the FX desk at Deutsche Bank in Hong Kong — before taking a 5-year career break to raise her children. She re-entered the workforce in a deliberate pivot to wealth management, accepting a demotion to associate director to build a new client base from scratch. In 2021, Business Times named her one of the most prominent hires when Barclays Private Bank returned to Singapore. She is a mentor at FWA (Financial Women's Association). Evonne on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evonne-tan-27a8663b Raw With Uma Do you feel like you're working harder than everyone around you but still getting overlooked for the opportunities you deserve? Take the free Discover Your 2026 Visibility Stage assessment and find out what's actually standing between you and being seen. → https://form.jotform.com/252218729975470   Follow RAW with Uma:  📱 On Instagram → https://instagram.com/rawwithuma    Follow Elevate Asia:  📱 On Instagram → https://instagram.com/elevateasiaorg    💻 On LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/company/elevateasia Follow Uma Thana & Jingjin Liu:  📱 Follow Uma on Instagram → https://instagram.com/uma__raw    💻 Connect with Uma on LinkedIn →  https://www.linkedin.com/in/umathana    📱 Follow Jingjin on Instagram →   https://instagram.com/jingjin_liu    💻 Connect with Jingjin on LinkedIn →  www.linkedin.com/in/jingjin-liu    Listen on: 🎧 Apple Podcast →  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/raw-with-uma/id1821559768 🎧 Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/show/1R7vwGXeHLcJLsX8HjOX4e Share this episode with a woman who’s struggling with decisions around a career break. And if you have your own story about navigating motherhood, health, or identity in the workplace, drop it in the comments. Please subscribe and leave a review. It helps more women find these conversations. #careerbreak, #RawWithUma, #womeninfinance, #worklifebalance, #MerrillLynch, #FWASingapore, #womenentrepreneurship, #Elevatewomen

    45 min

  4. APR 4 ·  BONUS

    She Was Pregnant With Twins and Still Got the CMO Job

    RAW with Uma

    58 min

  5. MAR 22 ·  BONUS

    What 300 Days on the Road Did to Her Body

    What if the pain you spent 30 years being told was in your head was silently taking over your body, and you kept outperforming everyone in the room anyway? In this raw, honest conversation, Uma Thana and Jingjin Liu sit down with Amy Kunrojpanya, a global executive who has led teams across more than ten countries, navigated 20 years of infertility, raised three children in four years after 40, and managed all of it while traveling over 300 days a year. Amy opens up about living with stage four endometriosis that went undiagnosed for three decades, being told repeatedly that her chronic pain was in her head, and the emergency surgery in Thailand that changed everything, just before her 40th birthday. This is a story about what it costs to wear professional armor, and what it means to finally put it down. Amy takes us through the real price of saying yes to everything, the spine surgery she walked out of and straight onto a business flight, the maternity leaves where she never truly switched off, the boundaries she set but didn't enforce, and the moment a team member told her that her jumping in was robbing them of the chance to grow. She reflects on the difference between setting a boundary and enforcing one, why motherhood didn't dim her ambition but sharpened it, and how she learned that what got her here will not get her there. Amy also talks about how women are given feedback on style while men are given feedback on skill, and exactly what to say when your manager tells you to smile more. In this episode you'll find: [00:00] Introduction: Three kids in four years after 40 [03:40] What endometriosis actually is [07:44] Outworking, outperforming: the price of never saying no [10:31] Modern female founders rewriting the rules on boundaries [13:09] "Setting a boundary is self-love. Enforcing it is self-respect." [16:22] Why organizations plan for maternity cover but forget the reentry [17:25] Traveling 300+ days a year with a newborn: the logistics of breast milk across borders [23:54] The pull between career and family [32:53] Practical tools for reentry [36:52] High-performing cultures: owning your role, having honest conversations [42:09] Transitioning from doer to leader [44:40] Women get feedback on style. Men get feedback on skill. [46:10] How to respond when told to "smile more" [49:08] "The best is still ahead of me", and what that really means Do you feel like you're working harder than everyone around you but still getting overlooked for the opportunities you deserve? Take the free Discover Your 2026 Visibility Stage assessment and find out what's actually standing between you and being seen. → https://form.jotform.com/252218729975470 Follow RAW with Uma: 📱 On Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/rawwithuma/ Follow Elevate Asia: 📱 On Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/elevateasiaorg/ 💻 On LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/company/elevateasia/ Follow Uma Thana & Jingjin Liu: 📱 Follow Uma on Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/uma__raw/ 💻 Connect with Uma on LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/umathana/ 📱 Follow Jingjin on Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/jingjin_liu/ 💻 Connect with Jingjin on LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jingjin-liu/ Listen on: 🎧 Apple Podcast → https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/raw-with-uma/ 🎧 Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/show/1R7vwGXeHLcJLsX8HjOX4e?si=f11a165e6efd445d Find Amy here: LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/amykunrojpanya/ Share this episode with a woman who has ever apologized for being pregnant, hidden her pain at work, or felt like she had to choose between ambition and everything else. And if you have your own story about navigating motherhood, health, or identity in the workplace, drop it in the comments. Please subscribe and leave a review. It helps more women find these conversations. #Endometriosis #WorkingMothers #WomenInLeadership #Boundaries #Infertility #Leadership #Ambition #RAWWithUma

    53 min

  6. MAR 9 ·  BONUS

    He Died for Six Minutes and It Changed Everything

    RAW with Uma

    47 min

  7. FEB 21

    Reinventing Myself at 46 (and Never Looking Back)

    What happens when reinvention unlocks parts of yourself you forgot existed? In this intimate episode, I'm pulling back the curtain on the unexpected gifts that came from leaving corporate, the creative side I buried for decades, the writing that evolved into magazine columns and a book deal, and the coffee shop moment when I realized I never want to go back. I share how I rediscovered my joy of writing (from LinkedIn posts to Her World magazine to the front page of the national newspaper), the beauty pageant at 25 that planted the seed for democratizing knowledge, and why I built Lean In Singapore while still working my corporate job. Plus: the profound question my multiple-CEO mentor couldn't answer himself, how to pivot careers strategically when you feel misaligned, and why I have a death clock on my phone planning to live until 95. This is about uncovering who you actually are when you stop performing who you thought you should be. In this episode you'll find: [00:00] Rediscovering the joy of writing I buried for decades [02:00] The coffee shop moment: I don't want to go back to corporate [04:34] How a beauty pageant at 25 shaped my mission forever [05:48] The question my CEO mentor asked (but couldn't answer himself) [06:50] Why you should test your passion parallel to your corporate job [07:36] Feeling misaligned? How to pivot careers strategically [11:36] The African woman who wanted to cook: proof anyone can start [13:23] I have a death clock on my phone, here's why 📱 Follow RAW with Uma on Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/rawwithuma 📱 Follow Uma on Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/uma__raw/ 💻 Connect with Uma on LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/umathana Listen on: 🎧 Apple Podcast → https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/raw-with-uma/ 🎧 Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/show/1R7vwGXeHLcJLsX8HjOX4e?si=f11a165e6efd445d Got a Careerquake story or question about reinvention, side projects, or rediscovering creativity? Drop it in the comments—it may show up in a future episode. If this resonated, please subscribe and share it with someone who's quietly wondering what else is possible. #Careerquake #Reinvention #CorporateToEntrepreneur #CareerTransition #CareerChange

    16 min

  8. FEB 6

    We Spent $100,000 on a Business No One Wanted

    What happens when you spend a year building the wrong business? In this raw episode, I'm pulling back the curtain on Year 1 of entrepreneurship, the part nobody posts about on LinkedIn. The pivots, the money lost, the arrogance that cost us everything, and the humbling moment when we realized our "perfect" business model wasn't working. I share the story of building The Elevate Group with my partner Jingjin, how we spent a whole year (and a lot of money) on a private network that nobody wanted, and the signs we ignored because we were too invested to walk away. Plus: the toothpaste story that exposed my entire relationship with money, the entrepreneurship myths I believed (and paid for), and why the most underrated skill isn't hustle, it's people. In this episode you'll find: [00:00] How the idea for The Elevate Group started [03:31] Meeting my business partner Jingjin and trusting my gut [04:54] The arrogance that cost us a year and thousands of dollars [06:15] The hardest part: walking away from something you invested in [09:35] What we pivoted to and how Year 2 is different [10:33] The entrepreneurship myth: "I'll only work 3 days a week" [11:49] The most underrated skill (Steven Bartlett agrees) [13:18] Corporate failure vs entrepreneurship failure [19:53] My relationship with money and the toothpaste moment [21:47] The Ikigai exercise and Chris Do's life-changing question 📱 Follow RAW with Uma on Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/rawwithuma 📱 Follow Uma on Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/uma__raw/ 💻 Connect with Uma on LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/umathana Listen on: 🎧Apple Podcast → https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/raw-with-uma/ 🎧Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/show/1R7vwGXeHLcJLsX8HjOX4e?si=f11a165e6efd445d Got a Careerquake story or question about pivoting, failing, or starting over? Drop it in the comments—it may show up in a future episode. If this resonated, please subscribe and share it with someone who's building something messy and beautiful. #Careerquake #Entrepreneur #Entrepreneurship #StartupJourney #Pivot #CorporateToEntrepreneur #RawWithUma

    25 min
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About

RAW with UMA is a podcast and living document of becoming unapologetically human. Hosted by leadership and reinvention strategist Uma Thana Balasingam, it features honest conversations with people redefining success, power, and self-trust in life’s messy middle. From Careerquakes™ to midlife transitions, this space explores the unspoken truths of identity, ambition, love, and meaning. This podcast doesn’t conclude, it holds space. Becoming yourself isn’t neat. It’s raw. And it’s real.

Information

  • Creator
    RAW with UMA
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    25
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © RAW with UMA
  • Show Website
    RAW with Uma