Meet Sumana Palle | Storyteller

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sumana Palle and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sumana, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
For me, the decision to pursue a creative career was long and tortured. I majored in Business Administration not because I wanted to but because it was a pragmatic choice expected of me, a child of immigrants. I tried to go down that traditional route, working at Amazon and in tech for about five years after college but I was absolutely miserable. The toxic work environment at Amazon gave me anxiety and health issues I’m still coping with today. While I eventually moved onto much better tech companies to work at, I still didn’t feel like myself. I finally decided to act on my passions during COVID. When lockdown first hit, the looming fear of death at any moment spurred an existential crisis and I realized I had to make a lot of changes in my life. I quit my job and pursued a rural development fellowship in India, working for a year and a half with tribal farmers in a remote desert region. The satisfaction and happiness that brought changed my life – I realized that an extremely fulfilling life doing what I was passionate about was possible. From there, it was like a dam broke – all the things I have been passionate about went from hobbies I dismissed to potential livelihoods and things I could do all the time. I haven’t looked back since.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I approach marketing and creating an online presence a little differently as I consider myself a storyteller above all else. The marketing industry and all the industries it encapsulates (social media, content creation, etc.) can become a little clinical, with a ton of numbers and statistics on engagement and trends, with a focus on what can grab the most attention. I see marketing as an extension of storytelling, which is why I call myself a storyteller. Creating a brand identity, establishing an online presence, creating content – when you view all these things as telling your story, they become human and warm, an extension of yourself.

I focus on the poignancy of the story we’re trying to tell. The idea isn’t to generate the most engagement but to be authentic and genuine in the message we’re trying to share. When you’re authentic, the connection with your audience is more powerful and rewarding. The way we are consuming is shifting everywhere: just look at slow fashion and slow travel, the responses to fast fashion and mass tourism in an increasingly cluttered, loud, and overwhelming world. I approach marketing in the same way: instead of bombarding an audience, crafting and curating a meaningful identity can make all the difference.

In addition to helping people, brands, and nonprofits tell their stories online via website design and content creation, I also use writing and film photography to capture my travels. To continue the theme of being slow and intentional, my writing is mostly long-form personal essays with religious surrealism. I take an embarrassingly long time to finish an essay, mostly because I pore over every word (I took 1.5 years to write an essay about moving to India for the rural development fellowship) but I’m okay with that. My film photography attempts to capture the magic of the people and places I encounter and, like my writing, I like the belabored process of developing film, which forces you to curate your work and devote yourself to finding the right frame.

How I got to where I am was not easy at all. Much of what I know, software, programs, design, etc., was self-taught. I had to be proactive and strategic since I had not gone to school for creative arts or design. But it’s also been extraordinarily rewarding – everything I achieve is something I can point to and say, “I did that! Because I can do anything I set my mind to!”

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
For food, we would definitely have to stop at Vinh Loi Tofu at least a few times. It’s vegan Vietnamese food and the best part is that the owner will make you something off-menu if you ask for a recommendation or tell him what you like. So delicious!

As a book nerd, I would also definitely take them to The Last Bookshop to spend a few hours while in DTLA. We would also definitely day drink at one of the many rooftop bars in DTLA.

Little Tokyo is one of my favorite spots in LA, with lots of amazing boba places, cheap restaurants, and some good shopping. Bae in particular is a little kitschy Instagram place but has great ube ice cream, which would go great with a mochi donut from any pastry shop nearby.

For going out, we would head to Silver Lake for some comedy shows or a fun night of drinking and dancing. The Virgil or The Roger Room are great spots.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
There are so many people to thank because it really takes a village! My crew in Detroit – Jubek, Julie, Kari, and other ladies in our entrepreneur group: we all started our own small businesses around the same time and have been leaning on each other for support and guidance. Other good friends who provided the push I needed to actually start earning money for the things I was doing for free, Janu and Sheetal. Friends from SBI’s Youth for India rural development program, who are too many to list on here, but who have all supported me profoundly. Lastly and perhaps most importantly, my sister, Sneha, who inspires me and is my voice of reason and sanity.

Website: https://www.sumanapalle.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sumana_____/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sumanapalle/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sumana_____

Image Credits
Primary profile photo by Jerusaliem Gebraziabher. Other photos of me by Jenifer Nguyen, Ganpath Lohar, and Janu Mukundan. All film photos and websites by me.