Sujata Rai's Journey | Bharat Natyam, Dance Teacher, Cabin Crew, HR, Operations to PulsePlay

In this episode, I sit down with Sujata Rai and we go deep into her journey from Pune to PulsePlay Digital leadership.

Sujata was born and brought up in Pune, Maharashtra, and her early years were shaped by strong cultural roots, discipline, and education in Marathi-medium schooling. What really stands out is how early she committed to Classical Bharatanatyam—starting in school, clearing multiple exams, performing on stage, and learning life values like discipline, respect, and consistency through dance.

From there, her path took a bold turn. She became a dance teacher, managed classes across Pune, and balanced academics with a packed schedule. After graduation, she explored the aviation world with zero background, applied to Jet Airways just to understand the interview process… and ended up getting selected out of hundreds of applicants. Even when a medical check became a roadblock, she pushed through, cleared it, and went on to fly both domestic and international routes. Those years gave her real exposure to people, pressure, professionalism, and world-class service standards.

After aviation, Sujata moved into the corporate side, worked in marketing coordination, and later pursued an MBA in HR while working. Then came a major life transition: marriage, big plans, and eventually the Covid era which forced everyone to rethink stability, location, and long-term direction.

That’s when the PulsePlay chapter began.

We talk about how it felt to leave Pune with a young child, shift to Dharamshala, and help build PulsePlay Digital from the ground up—when SOPs didn’t exist, systems were evolving, and the team was still forming. Sujata shares how working in a family-led startup is different from a typical corporate job, and how trust, clear communication, and respect helped the leadership team create a professional culture.

Today, she handles the backbone of the company: HR, finance, admin, operations, compliance, audits, and the day-to-day engine that keeps everything running. We also discuss PulsePlay’s “human-first” culture, why that matters, and how learning and development has become a core part of the team’s growth.

Finally, we cover the newest chapter: Sujata moving back to Pune to support expansion—bringing PulsePlay closer to metro opportunities while carrying the same culture forward.

If you’re building a startup, leading operations, or balancing family + career transitions, this conversation will hit home.

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