My most recent interview was with Arati Sureddi, the founder of LOTUS Nomads. We discussed everything from the progression of her company and its website to her endeavors with coding.

As a bit of background, LOTUS Nomads is an online travel agency where one can book hotels, search for restaurants, and obtain travel advice. Every company listed on the site is required to uphold certain social or environmental standards so users can vacation with the peace of mind that their dollars are doing the most good possible. Furthermore, a portion of the proceeds from the site are donated to fund job training for adult survivors of human trafficking in order to abate the cycle of slavery.

Arati held a part-time restaurant job while attending college and studying Business in Boston, and it was there that she first witnessed labor exploitation.

“That was my very first experience with labor exploitation. However, as I continued to work around the world, I kept seeing it,” Arati explained. “These experiences are what spurred me to start my own company specifically focused on helping adults escape exploitative working conditions.”

Arati launched LOTUS Nomads in September 2014, and by early 2015, she had moved to San Francisco to take her work to the next level and to learn to code.

“It’s really important, as someone who has a tech company, to understand code and development. I’ve actually found it more important to understand its limitations versus the possibilities,” Arati stated.

“Code is a lot like the universe. It was created by man, but there is so much of it, no one person can understand it all. The more code you write, the more likely you are to build a product that runs efficiently,” Arati added.

Arati and I had the chance to discuss code further and she explained how much it has helped move her company along. She now has an interface that is much more advanced and easy to navigate with far more features.

When asked about her experience with reSET’s Accelerator Program and what she enjoyed most about the 16-week curriculum, Arati answered without hesitation: “My classmates and the support system. After being away from Connecticut for eight or so years, the Accelerator gave me a network to lean on.” She added, “It was actually a fellow classmate, Vishal Patel of A Happy Life, who first showed me how to code. There hasn’t been any looking back since.”

What can we expect out of Arati and LOTUS Nomads in the upcoming year?

“I’m currently in the second level of the Impact Challenge and I hope to win!” Arati told me.

As we neared the end of our time together, I had the opportunity to ask Arati for a piece of advice for social entrepreneurs who are just starting out in the industry.

“I’m a minority female, so I want to direct my advice towards them because we’re definitely up against big odds,” Arati stated. “I’ve had a lot of people tell me I’d fail, but the road blocks against you as a minority female are not why you’ll fail, so don’t let that ever affect you. Confidence and perseverance will see you through and don’t ever be too proud or stubborn to pivot in order to serve your mission.”

I was moved by Arati’s story and the impact she has made, and we cannot wait to see what is next for her. If you wish to learn more, click here to visit the LOTUS Nomads website or contact Arati directly – asureddi@lotusalliance.org.