From Mirzapur to unicorn and beyond — I joined Cars24 with no offer letter, no pay, and turned chaos into scale. Now I run Pawfect Chefs, a pet care company. We don’t blitzscale, we slow-cook success — one handwritten label at a time. Single, never-married mother by choice, I juggle pitch decks and playground slides. Courage is showing up anyway — chai in hand, sleeves rolled. Manika Tandon is a bold tech leader and entrepreneur driven by grit, empathy, and innovation. An IT engineer with an MBA in Strategy & Marketing, she built a strong foundation at Accenture, Sapient, Wipro, and Cognizant before joining Cars24 as a founding member. There, she played a key role in scaling the company to unicorn status, eventually becoming CEO of one of its verticals. Today, she leads an AI-powered pet care startup that blends technology with deep personalization, reshaping how pets are cared for in India. A single mother by choice, Manika challenges stereotypes and builds businesses with heart and resilience. She proves that the extraordinary isn’t about privilege—it’s about showing up, staying in the game, and building with intent. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx
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- 2:37Awakening Festac Town | Benita-Maria Kelechi Opara (rialena_tm) | TEDxFestac TownFestac Town hosted a global Arts and Cultural Festival in 1977 which brought nations together to celebrate culture and diversity. This talk is a reminder of that history and a clarion call to every one affiliated with Festac Town to remember and celebrate their roots and the rich culture they possess. It is a reminder of Festac 1977 and the impact it had in bringing together different cultures and arts, from across nations, which can be done again, in a bigger and better manner. But firstly, the people have to awaken that fire that was once there in 1977.Intro audio: Chillout by AudioCoffee | https://www.audiocoffee.net/ Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/ Creative Commons CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ Benita-Maria Kelechi Opara, also known as Rialena, is a first-class graduate of Architecture and an award-winning spoken word artiste with over nine years of experience in poetry and performance. For her, spoken word transcends art - it is a powerful medium for expressing her faith, challenging perspectives and shaping culture. Rialena has performed across diverse platforms and audiences. Her piece “I Have Decided” won the 2024 Ekpebiwo’m Spoken Word Challenge, earning acclaim for its depth and delivery. Beyond poetry, Rialena is a skilled public speaker who has trained over 100 students in the last two years on effective communication and presentation. She is also an experienced event host, an avid reader and researcher, and a contributing writer with a passion for thought-provoking articles. She is currently completing her Master’s degree in Architecture at the prestigious Covenant University. Her growing body of work can be explored at https://linktr.ee/rialenatm. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx
