If you told me ten years ago that I’d be running my own consulting business, I probably wouldn’t have believed you.
I came to the U.S. from India on an F1 visa, focused on education, stability, and building a career that felt expansive.
Being a solopreneur was never part of the dream.
A steady paycheck and a decent title at a reputable company was the goal.
I built my career inside companies like Stripe, Plaid, Mercury and Gusto (joining very early when most of these companies were just starting out), helping build risk and compliance systems from the ground up, scaling teams, and leading global functions.
On paper, everything made sense - titles, compensation and scope grew, and for a while so did I.
But life has a way of turning things on their head quickly.
The inflection point
After joining a tiny startup FigureHR as VP of Operations, my husband and I were navigating fertility challenges and multiple miscarriages.
Soon after stepping back from work, I became pregnant, but the pregnancy itself was extremely difficult. I was diagnosed with hyperemesis gravidarum and later gestational diabetes, spending months in and out of hospitals.
It was one of the most humbling seasons of my life.
When my son arrived, everything recalibrated.
I returned to tech, joining Mercury and leading risk program management and financial crimes; but by then the internal shift had already happened.
I had built the career and proven myself. But I no longer wanted my life structured around work.
I wanted autonomy, not just financially, but emotionally. I wanted to be there for my son.
Why consulting made sense
Consulting wasn’t a dramatic leap. It was a logical extension of everything I had already built.
I had:
Deep pattern recognition from scaling companies
Judgment earned through real operational decisions
Experience designing systems, not just executing tasks
Team growth strategies through building out multiple functions
And most importantly, I understood the problems founders and operators were facing because I had lived inside them for years.
Consulting allowed me to package that experience differently.
Instead of being embedded in one company, I could:
Work across several
Solve high-leverage problems
Work during my peak productive windows
Design my time intentionally
Within two years, I generated over $2M in consulting revenue (through cash and equity - pro tip: consultants can structure compensation to receive equity too).
But more importantly, I built a business that supports my life instead of consuming it.
We moved our family to Lisbon, Portugal, I work fewer hours (max 4 days/week), and I choose when I sprint and when I rest.
Why consulting is becoming the default
I don’t think consulting is just a “side option” anymore. I think it’s becoming a more normal way of working, especially in tech.
A lot has changed in the last few years:
1/ Hiring is slower and more cautious.
Early-stage companies don’t always want to add headcount for a problem that’s urgent but temporary. They’d rather bring in experienced help for 8-12 weeks, solve it, and move on.
2/ The work companies need is often specialized.
There are moments where a founder doesn’t need a full-time hire, they need judgment. Someone who has already seen the pattern and can help them avoid expensive mistakes.
3/ Fractional leadership is no longer unusual.
More companies are comfortable with fractional roles because it gives them senior-level support without the cost and commitment of a full-time executive.
And if you structure your work thoughtfully, consulting can also be a real wealth-building lever. Not because it’s “easy,” but because you can combine high-margin cash flow with equity when it makes sense.
The bigger point is this:
Companies have always and will always have problems; the way they buy solutions is changing.
In this changing market, experienced operators have more leverage than they realize.
Why consulting makes sense right now
I think more women and moms, especially in tech and corporate, are sitting at an inflection point.
They’ve built:
credibility
expertise
leadership muscle
experience
But they’re questioning:
the pace
the structure
the tradeoffs
Consulting offers an alternative that isn’t often presented clearly. So I want to be clear here, consulting is NOT easier or passive, it requires real ownership.
But it offers autonomy in a way traditional roles rarely do. And more importantly, you don’t have to quit your job to explore it.
You can start small, with two hours a week. I have seen how six weeks of focused two-hour deep thinking sessions can unlock real momentum for consultants in the making.
Why I built The Right Turn
I built my course ecosystem because I kept seeing the same pattern - women who were deeply capable, but stuck in indecision.
They almost always felt under confident, overwhelmed and lacked a structured way to think about consulting:
What would I sell?
Who would hire me?
What would I charge?
Is now the right time?
So I built resources for each stage:
A free starting guide for early clarity
Foundations for structured decision-making
Deep Dive for execution
Intensive for acceleration
Not everyone needs all of them. But everyone needs a starting point.
If you’re in the “thinking” phase
If consulting has crossed your mind but you’re unsure where to begin, I made something for you.
You can download the free guide here:
Guide link
It walks through:
Whether consulting fits your life
How to think about your area of expertise
How to package your experience
A practical way to start alongside your job
If you want deeper structure beyond that, Foundations is designed for exactly that stage.
Closing
Consulting isn’t the right move for everyone.
But for women who’ve built real expertise and want more autonomy over how they use it - this can be a powerful turning point.
If that’s a thought you’ve been sitting with, you’re in the right place. Welcome!