Meet Komal Shah Kapoor, Ph.D. | CEO, SpeakerPost

We had the good fortune of connecting with Komal Shah Kapoor, Ph.D. and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Komal, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
I am originally from India. I came to this country in my 20s for graduate school at Wayne State University in Michigan. The support I received from the college faculty changed my life. I loved the independence and opportunities that the US offered and chose to make America home.

The first ten years were really tough but then it got easier. I applied and was granted a Green Card as part of EB-1, an employment-based category available to foreign nationals who demonstrate extraordinary ability in their field. In the last 20 years, I worked and played in academic, corporate, freelance and entrepreneurial circles in New York.

When I moved to Los Angeles six years ago, I had the privilege of teaching young minds at a few local colleges. Many of my students were first-generation and the first in their families to go to college. I noticed the eagerness of students to learn and to meet people from interesting careers, but also the unfortunate lack of mentorship and financial support at the university level.

So a few years ago, I founded SpeakerPost, a social-good volunteer focused marketplace that connects educators with industry professionals for guest speaking in college classrooms. The online platform is now a 500+ member global community, with like minded folks who care about students and about giving back.

Mentorship in graduate school played a big role in helping me get to where I am today. SpeakerPost is my contribution to academia and my way of paying it forward.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Entrepreneurship is a difficult journey. You have to be willing to work in isolation and to take risks. You have to be prepared to fail and fall before you can succeed. You may need alternative income sources to grow and sustain your business, progress may be slow but it will happen. The rewards are sweet but you have to be patient.

What sets me apart is my passion and persistence. I am a girl on a mission, and dare I say, vision! I do truly believe that I can make a difference and leave my mark on this world. Finding and bringing together a community that believes in the power of social good is what I am most proud of in 2022. Building partnerships with youth organizations, universities and corporations and launching SpeakerPost’s ‘Why We Give’ e-magazine are two of the many things I am looking forward to in 2023.

My company is self-funded. I continue to teach at local universities to keep the lights on at SpeakerPost. As luck has it, I enjoy that too! While volunteerism is the focus of my business, I have learned that you have to make money to do good. I have had to come up with creative ways to make that happen! I have also learned that you need to put yourself out there to be noticed, to be visible and to be top of mind.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I am an avid blogger and often write about “Los Angeles Things To Do” on my lifestyle blog, Green Sea Shells. Here are my family travel and vegetarian food recommendations:

Day 1: Hollywood
Breakfast: The Butcher, The Baker, The Cappuccino Maker, (cool coffee designs)
Lunch: Pick up at Zhengyalov Hutz (Armenian food)
Dinner: Bulan Thai Vegetarian Kitchen
Dessert: Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream

Drive to Griffith Park and hike up to see the Hollywood sign. In the afternoon, walk around Chinese Theater, find public art, Hollywood Walk of Fame, buy Emma Chamberlain’s coffee at EREWHON

Day 2: Santa Monica
Breakfast: Tartine and sidecar doughnuts
Lunch: Flower Child or JINYA (when it reopens)
Dinner: Uovo (Flies their pasta from Bologna, Italy)
Dessert: Sweet Rose Creamery

Bike on the strand, get your bike from Perry’s Cafe Bike Rentals. Spend the afternoon at the Santa Monica Third Street Promenade, Pier. Adulting at Wally’s for wine

Day 3: Malibu
Breakfast at OLLO
Lunch: Casual Thai at Cholada
Early Dinner: Malibu Farm Restaurant (farm to table)
Sundowners at Geoffrey’s
Dessert: Le Cafe De La Plage Malibu

Spend the day at Zuma Beach. Watch the surfer dudes, drive around Pepperdine University and Malibu Lagoon, sunset at the *very* Instagrammable El Matador State Beach

Day 4: Malibu
Breakfast: Urth Caffe
Lunch: Quick bites at Eataly counters
Dinner: Spice Affair (upscale, Indian)
Dessert: Mashti Malone (Persian ice cream on La Brea)

Morning at the Greystone Mansion and Gardens. Spend the afternoon on Rodeo Drive, catch an exhibition if they have one, pick up Laduree macarons (pick me up afternoon snack?)

Day 5: Venice
Breakfast: Superba Food and Bread, Groundworks Coffee
Lunch: Cafe Gratitude
Dinner: Butchers Daughter or Felix Trattoria (fancy, hard to reserve), or Margot in Culver City (spectacular cocktails)
Dessert: Wanderlust Creamery

Skate Park at the beach. Check out Venice canals and shopping at Abbott Kinney in the afternoon / evening

Day 6: DTLA
Breakfast: Eggslut
Lunch: Un Solo Sol
Dinner: Otium (celebrity chef)
Dessert: Sari Sari store (Filipino, get a pie!)

Late morning walk around Union Station, Olvera Street, drive through ChinaTown, Walt Disney Concert Hall, go to the Last BookStore. Drive through Little Tokyo, Arts District and end with visiting The Broad museum

Day 7: Mid City / Fairfax
Breakfast: Republique
Lunch: Lalibela (Ethiopian)
Dinner: The Original Farmers Market
Dessert: Bennett’s (try Scott’s Cabernet Sauvignon sorbet)

Three hours at Petersen Automotive Museum, afternoon at LACMA, and evening at the Grove!

Check out my blog at:
https://www.greenseashells.com/post/local-attractions-vegetarian-food-suggestions-for-tourists-visiting-los-angeles-ca

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Shout out to the SpeakerPost community of members who believe in my mission to touch student lives everywhere!

Website: https://www.speakerpost.com

Other: Blog: https://www.greenseashells.com