I studied biochemistry and history in college, thinking I would end up in the medical field or at law school, but a marketing internship my junior year completely changed my perspective. While I never switched to a business degree, I continued interning in sales and marketing roles, which helped me land my first job in college: a spot in Cisco Systems’ competitive Sales Associates Program.

My first year at Cisco was spent in the rigorous training program. It felt like being in college for another year, but getting paid for it. I nabbed an account manager position in the Global Pharmaceuticals region, which allowed me to learn about the pharmaceutical industry from a vendor’s perspective. This proved a valuable experience when I transitioned from working at Cisco to working directly in pharmaceuticals.

I come from a scientific family—my father spent his career in pharmaceutical research & development, my uncle was a chemistry professor and I have lots of cousins in medicine and engineering. I knew I would end up in the science world—I just had no clue in what capacity it would be.

At Cisco, I learned so much more than how to sell—I got a first rate education in business, from a practical approach. I knew that the right role for me would be one that combined science and business. While I loved the company, I wasn’t passionate about selling IT infrastructure the way I was about life-changing medicines.

SciDose was a four-person company when I joined and was primed for growth. I started in project management, but did anything I could to contribute—booked travel, planned meetings and attended every meeting and teleconference I could. I spent a year working in manufacturing and technical operations, which gave me a technical expertise that has been valuable in my current role in business development. Business development is the ideal role for me—it bridges my scientific knowledge and my business experience in a single role. I love what I do.

It didn’t happen overnight! I started the blog first, right around the time I started working for SciDose. The first two years of blogging were purely casual; I wrote about the random things I loved. It wasn’t until early 2012 that I focused on the travel and packing niche, which resulted in the formation of Portavi Company.

Portavi first started as a packing consultancy. I admittedly leaped before I looked and formed the business, invested in a website (and then another) and did all kinds of social media work before I validated the business idea. It turns out 1:1 packing sessions aren’t scalable. I’m in the process of exploring different offerings to relaunch the business. While it’s not my proudest moment as a businesswoman, it’s my most valued lesson.

Hitha On The Go started as a hobby. I wanted something creatively fulfilling that I could do from anywhere. For the first two years, I wrote about all the random things that piqued my interest: travel, baseball, books, little life hacks. I took a break from the blog in early 2011 to refine the focus of the blog and relaunched it in August that same year as a lifestyle blog that focused on fashion, food and books.

The end of 2012 was a turning point for Hitha On The Go. I nearly shut it down in September but instead decided to redesign the website, invested in a consulting session and focused more on travel content. My turning point was publishing the “10 Essentials for Long Flights” post. It quickly went viral on Pinterest and my traffic grew exponentially.

The introduction of the En Route With series and regular Travel Tips posts in 2013 legitimized both the blog and myself as a travel authority, and that has led to some incredible opportunities this year, including my partnership with Quarterly, a video series with Ladies’ Home Journal and consulting opportunities. I’m excited to see what’s next for Hitha On The Go!

Overwhelming! I did everything myself, which was a poor decision in hindsight. The best thing was taking a step back and bringing everything under the Hitha On The Go umbrella. The most valuable lesson I learned is that it’s far easier to grow an existing brand than creating one from scratch, and to test business ideas as much as possible before jumping into the mechanics of a business.

I spend thirty minutes reading industry websites and publications to stay on top of the latest life science news, accompanied by a mug of tea. It’s a habit I started when I joined SciDose and it’s one of my favorite rituals every day.

No day is ever the same! A typical day is filled with meetings and conference calls, blocks of offline time when I’m working on tasks for both work and Hitha On The Go, reading time to catch up on industry updates and the news and usually a lunch or dinner meeting. On good days, I squeeze in a workout. No day is ever complete without a green juice—it’s one of my few healthy habits that I stick with religiously.

It’s really important for me to have an hour to myself every day, sans technology (except for my Kindle). There’s nothing more restful than throwing on pajamas, curling up under a cozy blanket and reading a book. I light a candle, play some soothing music (usually the French Café station on Pandora) and get lost in another world. My husband and I leave our phones at home when we go on date nights, and I’m trying hard to kick the multi-tasking habit and focus solely on the task at hand. It’s a work in progress.

Travel has played a major role in my life, not just my career. I spent my childhood traveling to India frequently, which showed me just how fortunate I am. My parents are keen travelers and our idea of a vacation was traveling to a new place in the world. My job at SciDose threw me into the business travel world, which helped influence and direct the focus of Hitha On The Go. Travel has been both the inspiration and the result of my whole career—pharmaceutical, editorial and entrepreneurial.

Ruthless prioritization. It helps me to set goals at the beginning of each week based on what’s going on with all of the businesses and evaluate the progress made on those goals at the end of every day. It helps me stay focused on what’s important, both from a task perspective and a strategic view.

Todoist (to manage tasks) and Google Calendar are my lifesaving apps.

Practicality is as important as passion, and both should be major factors when figuring out what you want out of a career. I also encourage all women to stop focusing on being “the next _____________” and to focus on being the first them. The comparison game can be so toxic when figuring out what you want in life. When you stop wanting what someone else has and start focusing on what you want, amazing things happen.

I wake up looking forward to my morning cup of tea! I’m the antithesis of a morning person. In the short term, I’m focused on growing Hitha On The Go—both in partnerships and launching products, and branding myself as a travel expert with video content.

With regards to the pharmaceutical industry, I hope to always be working on products that make meaningful impacts on patients’ lives. I don’t see myself only focusing on one area over another, but always balancing science with creative endeavors.