An Interview With Eden Gold
They are taking into account their greater impact. Young adults are particularly aware of the current social and climate situation and many feel an obligation to play their part. Whether we look at social enterprises formed by young adults or activists like Greta Thunberg, it is clear that young adults do not feel that age is a barrier and recognise that they need to look after the world they will end up adopting and building for future generations.
In a world rapidly changing through technology, societal norms, and global challenges, a new generation of leaders is emerging. Ambitious young adults are not just aiming for traditional markers of success; they are redefining what it means to be successful. Beyond the corporate ladder and financial milestones, they prioritize impact, sustainability, and personal fulfillment. They are entrepreneurs, activists, scientists, and artists who are shaping the future with innovative ideas and actions. As part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Shreya Chand.
Shreya Chand is the Founder of Dare Digital, a results-driven digital agency empowered by their purpose of “helping business owners dare to dream bigger for their business”. Through her agency, Shreya aims to turn the overwhelm that small business owners experience with business growth, into clarity and simplicity using her unique approach which combines consumer psychology, data analysis and proven systems to create new levels of income for her clients through social media platforms. In alignment with the business’s vision to inspire a global community of current and future business owners to realise their full potential by making business growth easier and more achievable, Dare Digital contributes to local programmes and non-profits that centre around cultivating the next generation of entrepreneurs.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dive into our discussion about redefining success, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share with us the backstory about what brought you to your specific career path?
Thank you for this opportunity. Entrepreneurship was always an area that interested me but it was a path that I intended to go down at a later stage of my professional career, after I had some corporate experience under my belt, as I figured it would make the transition smoother. Although I did not pursue this interest academically, I took opportunities to stay connected to it by attending professional events and talks from founders. Eventually, I got the chance to go along to a business visit at a venture capital through a university program. Being exposed to an environment where I got to learn about several start-ups the firm invested in and the work they were doing really motivated me to rethink my career path. Long story short, I gave myself a year to pursue Dare Digital and now here I am.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?
Early on in Dare Digital’s journey when I was trying to establish a customer base and prove my offering, I decided to try out cold-calling. Although it was not as effective for me as it is for other people, I got an interesting story out of it in that I coincidentally ended up getting a call back from the Head of Sales for a national bank here in New Zealand. It turned out that one of the businesses I called had not updated their contact information and accidentally had his wife’s number noted down, who I had originally called. After I found out who he was following the call, I felt like I missed an opportunity to ask him about sales, which I was new to and an area of improvement for me. I decided to reach out to him on LinkedIn and because I had spoken to him, even if it was for a brief moment, I was able to get some really good advice that I still use to this day. The cold-calling process also helped me build confidence in my service as it reinforced the idea that traditional client acquisition techniques can be time-consuming and unpredictable, which contrasts the technique that Dare Digital utilises.
You are a successful individual. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
The three character traits that I would say were most instrumental to getting me to this point are a willingness to learn, self-belief and resilience. At least when starting out, a business owner is required to wear all the hats so there is a lot of learning that takes place and I had to be able to embrace the fact that I was a newcomer. I knew that the only way to progress from this position was either by gaining experience or learning, so I became committed to learning something new every day as it was the factor that I was in my control. Especially in the industry I am currently in, the digital landscape is constantly changing so it is important to be able unlearn what may not be working anymore and adapt to what is. No matter what stage you are at, I feel that there is always something you can learn. In fact, it was Steve Jobs that said; “there is always one more thing to learn”.
To be successful in any capacity, I believe that self-belief is an important trait to have because if you don’t believe in your own ability or potential, then it is unlikely that you will put in the work to get to where you want to be as your limiting thoughts and negative perspective on failure will hold you back. Though this is a trait I continue to work on, I had enough self-belief at the beginning of the journey to get started which is where a lot of people get stuck. You may have to “fake it until you make it” initially but once you start getting results and proving to yourself that you are capable, your confidence will grow and when you display confidence in your offering in negotiations or sales calls, it will take the question out of your customer’s mind as well.
As a business owner, obstacles and setbacks are inevitable. Along with having the self-belief that you can make it past that hurdle, there is a certain amount of resilience that you need to have. It’s not only about having the ability to get through the tough time, but bouncing back from it with optimism, that the challenge or change provides an opportunity to grow and prepare for future scenarios.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview about how ambitious young adults are redefining success. How would you define success?
That’s a good question and one that really made me think. When you hear the word “success”, it is typically associated with a certain level of wealth or the achievement of a tangible goal. You may have even heard the saying; “success is about how far you got from where you started” — it defines success as what you have achieved between a beginning and an end point. Even when doing my research on what success is so I could better answer this question for your readers and myself, all the advice focuses on providing a pragmatic approach to how you can get to your desired outcome, whether it be through discipline and taking action, or a change in mindset.
If this is your definition of success then that is great and more power to you, but the issue I personally see with this is that most people may not ever reach a level of wealth/goal/end point/desired outcome, whatever you want to call it, that they will be satisfied with. There is always more money to be made, a bigger goal to achieve and it is rare to find someone who does not desire more when they get what they initially hoped for, so it a never-ending chase for success. When I think of success, I see it not as an achievement or destination but rather, as a feeling because at the end of the day, the goals we want to achieve are in search of something bigger. Reaching a specific financial figure provides security and self-confidence, and wanting to help your family or build one of your own provides feelings of pride and connection. For me, achieving the goals we set out is the pathway to success but isn’t success in itself.
To answer your question, how I define success at this time in a broad sense can be broken down into two large parts; freedom and fulfillment. To elaborate, freedom to me means having the luxury to live comfortably, without rigidity on how I spend my time. It means that I am open to explore new opportunities and experiences that I feel align with me. Fulfilment is about engaging in and prioritising the things that are meaningful to me, which are my relationships, my passions and the impact that I make on others.
How do you incorporate social responsibility and sustainability into your definition of success?
The ability to make an impact on something bigger than me is a large part of the fulfillment aspect of my definition of success. I personally believe that because we share this planet with other people, we have a responsibility to help others when we can. To get slightly more philosophical, the only ways we will survive on earth after our existence is by how we are remembered, which is through the relationships we cultivate, and what we did or in other words, how we made a difference which is why it is important to me.
Nowadays, when topics like climate change and global warming are becoming more frequently discussed due to the changes we are seeing, I think that sustainability is something that everyone should acknowledge and more specifically, think about in terms of how we can all make sustainable changes in our day-to-day lives.
Can you describe a moment or decision that significantly redirected your path toward leadership?
The moment that ultimately redirected my path towards starting a business like I touched on earlier, was the business visit to a venture capital. However, there were other contributing factors that augmented the desire to follow through with the decision. One was my interest in entrepreneurship, and another was the opportunity and potential that I saw in the idea. Additionally, I had this persistent and unnerving feeling at the time about the stage I was at in my life and I felt like this decision could provide a challenge which excited me.
What role do mentorship and community play in shaping your approach to leadership and success?
Community but especially mentorship, has been huge in my shaping my outlook and approach. Being at university, I was surrounded by people who intended to go down the “traditional” path and at the time, that included me. What initially shifted my perception of success at that stage was coming across online figures and communities who went down a more “unconventional” route. Since I started this journey though, I have spent a lot of my time learning and one of the ways I have done so was through mentorship. In fact, mentorship is where I have allocated the majority of my resources. The way that I see it is that I get to learn from individuals or groups who have gone down a similar path to me and have already made the mistakes and learned the lessons, giving me the knowledge that I would have taken me years to obtain. Through these mentors, I have also been exposed to what another version of success could look like and one that makes more sense to me.
In what ways do you think your generation’s view of success differs from previous generations?
This is a difficult one because how one defines success is personal and differs depending on each individual situation so I can only speak for myself and from my own perspective. In saying that, I think that in general terms, one of the most distinct ways that my generation’s view of success differs from previous generation’s is the comparative lack of importance placed on material success. There is no denying that everyone’s (despite what generation they are a part of) definition of success encompasses some sort of financial aspect but I would argue that for my generation, it is not as high on the list as other factors like happiness or fulfillment.
Let me explain using a personal example — when I look at my own background as an Indian born and raised in New Zealand whose grandparents emigrated from Fiji, success for my grandparents, under my assumption, initially was about financial progression and material possessions, and for good reasons; because it meant a nice house, a car and a good education for their children. In other words, security, stability and a better quality of life — all things that they felt they could not achieve at the same level in their home country.
Coming from a place of privilege in that I am able to strive for more without having to worry my basic needs, my definition of success, as you can tell, is a bit more abstract and focused on enjoyment and purpose. This is a trend I feel is reflected globally as well, with a large shift towards prioritizing a work-life balance, mental health and investing in side-hustles not only as another avenue of income, but as a way of creative expression and pursuing hobbies.
Interestingly enough, when I think about the cause of the distinction, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs seems to make sense. If you are unfamiliar with it, it is a popular framework that categories what motivates humans into five different needs. It is portrayed in a pyramid with physiological needs at the bottom, which are what is required to survive like food, water, air, and self-actualisation at the top, which is the pursuit to reaching your full potential. Why this is relevant is it seems the overall economic condition that the generation grew up in is closely related to their view of success. Security and stability very much fit into the basic needs of physiological and safety needs according to the diagram. For my parent’s generation, who grew up in a slightly better economic condition, success for them was about achieving more which aligns with the cognitive needs, summarised as love and belonging, and esteem needs. My opinion of my generation’s general view of success can be associated to self-actualisation.
Based on your experience and research, can you please share “5 Ways Ambitious Young Adults Are Redefining Success?”
1. They are taking responsibility of their earning potential. Young adults are no longer relying on just their salaries to support their lives, but rather creating other sources of income for themselves. I remember hearing that you need to have six or seven sources of income to become a millionaire and young adults seem to be taking that quote onboard, with around 70% of Generation Z having a side hustle of their own. For those focused on a corporate career, job-hopping seems to be a way for young adults to increase their salary at a quicker rate than those who stay loyal to one company.
2. They are taking into account their greater impact. Young adults are particularly aware of the current social and climate situation and many feel an obligation to play their part. Whether we look at social enterprises formed by young adults or activists like Greta Thunberg, it is clear that young adults do not feel that age is a barrier and recognise that they need to look after the world they will end up adopting and building for future generations.
3. They are setting boundaries to allow for what’s important to them. A video that went viral a month or so ago explaining how a worker refused to attend a meeting outside of the standard 9am to 5pm because of a personal commitment is what comes to mind. Where previously working overtime and compliance was almost expected, young adults are highlighting the importance of work-life balance. They are championing the idea that work does not have to be all-encompassing, and that is just another area of life that is not more or less significant than another.
4. They are living for the present as much as they are saving for retirement. Young adults are learning from the regrets that older generations who spent a lot of their earlier years saving up and building some financial stability, have about not allowing for travel and exploration when they were younger. They highly value experiences; in fact, for some, it is a priority and there are statistics and data to show the perceived importance of it, especially over tangible products.
5. They are using being “digital natives” to their advantage. Young adults nowadays have grown up with technology and the internet so it is safe to say that they know their way around it. Solely looking at social media, it has provided many opportunities for its users — my business would not exist without it. Platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube have given rise to content creators, and young adults are able to use these platforms to showcase their creativity, have a more direct line to brands and companies they like, and incentives like the TikTok creator fund allows for some to earn a living from it.
How do you navigate the challenges of innovation and change while staying true to your values and vision for success?
Change is inevitable whether it be in business or life. In regards to business, innovation is what helps us to keep up with change and stay relevant amongst your competitors. To answer the question through the lens of business, what has helped me, was getting very clear on the values and vision that I wanted Dare Digital to stand for and would therefore, assist us in achieving success. As it may be evident from Dare Digital’s purpose and vision, we look to partner with ambitious people with an openness to our process or simply trying something different. We can only hold this expectation to others, if we have those for ourselves. I feel that in valuing ambition and open-mindedness, we attract those familiar and comfortable with change, which mitigates the challenge surrounding resistance from future employees. To add, online advertising is very volatile in that we have to be able to keep up with the digital consumer trends in each of the locations and niches that are relevant to our work in order to provide results, so testing and innovation is crucial. In not only the delivery of our services, but internally as well, our values and vision act as a reference point in regards to the decision-making around the innovations and changes that we utilise and adopt.
Speaking from a more personal standpoint, it has been about reframing the negative connotation concerning change into a more positive one. I think the phrase goes; “the only constant in life is change”. Considering that, I believe it is important to approach change in general with acceptance, an open mind and as an opportunity. The values you hold and your vision for success do not have to stay the same and may evolve over time. In my opinion, change can serve as a catalyst for you to reflect on the values and vision for success you hold and adapt them, if you choose to.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
To stay on topic, it would be to spend some time, even if it is five minutes, reflecting on your definition of success and what would make you happy, removing all outside factors that could influence your decision like money or other’s opinions. There are many people out there who have a default definition of what success means or one that conforms to a societal definition. We spend so much of our lives in pursuit of success; when we do not even know what that means for ourselves, it can leave us confused or trying to pleasing other people’s expectations. I think the world would be a happier place if we were all progressing towards what truly mattered to us.
How can our readers further follow you online?
If you want to follow my journey towards success and see how I actively pursue it, you can follow my agency Dare Digital on Facebook and Instagram. If your readers have any questions or want to connect, they can do so on LinkedIn — I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic and speak to like-minded individuals 🙂
Thank you for the time you spent sharing these fantastic insights. We wish you only continued success in your great work!
About The Interviewer: Eden Gold, is a youth speaker, keynote speaker, founder of the online program Life After High School, and host of the Real Life Adulting Podcast. Being America’s rising force for positive change, Eden is a catalyst for change in shaping the future of education. With a lifelong mission of impacting the lives of 1 billion young adults, Eden serves as a practical guide, aiding young adults in honing their self-confidence, challenging societal conventions, and crafting a strategic roadmap towards the fulfilling lives they envision.
Do you need a dynamic speaker, or want to learn more about Eden’s programs? Click here: https://bit.ly/EdenGold
Future Leaders: Shreya Chand Of Dare Digital On How Ambitious Young Adults Are Redefining Success was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.