A road to cultural entrepreneurship with Geetika Agrawal, Founder CEO of Vacation with an Artist

The power of design training, understanding customer needs, global travel, preserving cultures and crafts and fundraising.

In this episode I speak to Geetika Agrawal. Geetika is a designer and Founder/ CEO of Vacation With An Artist (VAWAA), a global platform to book creative vacations with remarkable artists and makers around the world where you can spend one-on-one, in-person time diving into a skill. From bamboo bicycle making in India and shoemaking in Czechia to natural textile dyeing in Vietnam, VAWAA is dedicated to promoting and preserving global arts and crafts and creating a new way to travel.

She trained as an architect and industrial designer, before a long career in digital product design. Prior to VAWAA, Geetika was a Creative Director at R/GA, a digital design agency, where she partnered with Mastercard, Nike, AARP and many beloved brands to transform their businesses through innovative digital products and services.

We speak about…

• The soul crisis in modern society and why some people feel disconnected even though they have achieved a lot of their personal and professional goals
• The value of creativity and connection and how this contributes to people feeling alive
• How being a designer helped Geetika become an entrepreneur and found VAWAA
• Her business, VAWAA and how it seeks to promote and preserve global arts and crafts, making them accessible to a wider audience.
• How VAWAA achieved big global reach with over with 130 artists in 27 countries
• Her early experiences in architecture school in India, where she studied various crafts and traveled to different parts of the country to learn from master artists
• How people can actually vacation with an artist
• The impact of winning awards on VAWAA
• Her experiences raising angel investment for VAWAA
• Tips for solo travellers

Geetika’s socials:

• Website - www.vawaa.com
• Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/go.vawaa/
• Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/vawaa_/
• VAWAA Twitter - https://twitter.com/VAWAA_
• Twitter - https://twitter.com/geetikagrawal
• VAWAA LinkedIn page - https://www.linkedin.com/company/vawaa
• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/geetikaagrawal

Mwenya’s socials:

https://www.mwenyakawesha.com/

https://www.instagram.com/mwenyakawesha/

https://www.instagram.com/theroadofstars/?igsh=c3g2YXhrdzU5am4y&utm_source=qr#

Disclaimer: All views are my own and all my guests' views are their own. There is no product placement in this episode.