We Are Spiraling. Welcome.

I’m Priya Anand. I covered startups and the tech industry for more than a decade until about a year ago, when I started a new investigation.

I’m building the curly hair care product line I’ve always wanted myself. And now I’m talking and writing about all things related to curly hair here and on my podcast.

You might think: curly hair, how much is there to say? A whole podcast and a newsletter dedicated to this? I don’t want to hear someone ramble about all their hair lotions and potions!

But there is so much to unravel. This is not just “get ready with me” in another format. In our first handful of episodes, we will dissect everything from why so many people are secretly curly – I promise you know at least a handful of people who have curly hair you’ve never seen – to what happens when you’re essentially the only national politician with ringlets. (We interviewed her.)

As an award-winning tech reporter, I brought you the stories I thought were most worthwhile. The ones that looked past ephemeral funding rounds and at the complexity and absurdity of our world. Such as:

People are bringing live llamas to AI parties (this is the story I received the most texts, tweets and emails about in…years.)

Tech bros want to be hot so they’re hiring stylists

Why so many Asian Americans feel like a minority in tech – even when they’re a majority

The insanity of being a private chef in Silicon Valley

And, if you want proof of my journalistic rigor, here is a very serious investigation in which I unearthed disturbing abuse allegations at a startup that aimed to offer assistance to the elderly. Brad Stone slacked me that it sounded like a Black Mirror episode when he read the final draft days before it published. (Thank you, Brad!)

Expect that reporter lens here, too.

Our podcast trailer is out today. (Apple and Spotify links.)

Episodes 1 and 2 drop next week. After that, new episodes will publish every other week.

The newsletter:

This newsletter goes beyond the podcast. You’ll see what it’s like to start a business from your 500-square-foot apartment/office/podcast studio after 12 years of writing about startups. I’m a reporter through and through, so expect interviews with other founders – from Silicon Valley entrepreneurs I’ve known for years to kindred solopreneurs.

I’ll publish weekly. Subscribe for free to receive a post every other week, when new pod episodes drop. Paid subscribers (just $6 a month) will receive weekly posts with behind-the-scenes business-building stories, interviews with founders and bonus clips from podcast interviews.

Get on the waitlist now for early access

I named my haircare business Mayura. Mayura is Sanskrit for peacock. To me, my curly hair is a piece of my identity. I know many others feel this way too. That’s why I’m making this show, the products and this newsletter.

For more details on Mayura, sign up for the waitlist. That’s where you’ll find information about preorders and can sign up for exclusive early access to test products. I’m obsessed with our formulas so far and am grateful to be working with incredible chemists.

Doing this has made me feel more like myself than ever before. I hope the show and this newsletter make you feel that way too.

Thank you for spiraling with me,

Priya