The leap is scary but regret is scarier. You don’t need to have it all figured out. Just listen to your heart and start. Purpose will hold you safely and carry you forward when you trust yourself.
Shilpa Ajwani was just a teenager when her childhood dream of becoming a doctor came to a halt. A family exigency meant she had to pivot quickly, giving up medicine to pursue economics instead. At the time, it felt like a failure. But that unexpected turn taught her one of life’s biggest lessons: adaptability.
As she immersed herself in economics, she found new passion and purpose. She went on to become President of her college’s Economics Association and began a journey that would eventually lead her to the very top of the corporate world. By 38, Shilpa had become Managing Director at a global company.
But even as she thrived professionally, another shift was brewing. In her mid-forties, at the height of her career, she made a bold move. She stepped away from her corporate role to start her own strategy and leadership consulting firm, Unomantra. It was her way of moving, as she puts it, “from success to significance.”
Leaving the safety and prestige of the corporate world after 25 years wasn’t easy. “The biggest challenge,” she recalls, “was letting go of the halo of my corporate identity and starting as a complete newbie in a lesser-known, riskier space.” But Shilpa grounded herself in what mattered most: her purpose and values. They became the compass for her business, her decisions, and her leadership.
Her inspiration? The many purpose-led entrepreneurs and leaders she had encountered, people with vision and heart who held themselves back due to a lack of strategy or confidence. “Helping them amplify their influence and thrive, that’s what energises me every day,” she says.
Shilpa has never been afraid of hard truths. Earlier in her career, a senior leader once told her she was an excellent No. 2, but didn’t have it in her to lead. Instead of shrinking, she sharpened her leadership abilities. Years later, she was named “CEO of the Year”, a quiet but powerful answer to that judgment.
Like many women, Shilpa has faced impostor syndrome. But she’s learned to reframe it. “Now, whenever I feel like an imposter, I know I’m entering a space where I’m meant to grow into my better version.”
Success, for her, isn’t about titles or external validation anymore. It’s about the freedom to live in alignment with her purpose, her values, and her vision. “I don’t chase balance, I seek alignment,” she says. Whether it’s her personal growth, professional work, or pay-it-forward efforts, everything she does connects back to that core.
To young women afraid to leap, she offers this wisdom:
“The leap is scary but regret is scarier. You don’t need to have it all figured out. Just listen to your heart and start. Purpose will hold you safely and carry you forward when you trust yourself.”
Shilpa Ajwani’s journey is a reminder that even when life doesn’t go to plan, you can still create something extraordinary—when you lead with clarity, and live with courage.
