Thriving Minds with Alberto Zandi

Fable & Mane Founder: Stop Living for Other People & Build the Life You Actually Want | Akash Mehta

Thriving Minds with Alberto Zandi

Show Notes

Akash Mehta is the cofounder and CEO of Fable & Mane, one of the most recognisable Ayurvedic haircare brands in global beauty. The self funded company launched globally with Sephora, became a number one hair oil at the retailer and helped bring traditional Indian hair rituals into mainstream beauty. But behind the success is a much more complicated story.

Growing up, Akash struggled deeply with his skin colour. At around 12 or 13, he bought pills online hoping they would make his skin lighter. Later, after building his identity around achievement, he got into Imperial College and failed his second year.

For the first time, Akash had to question whether the life that looked impressive from the outside was actually the life he wanted. Through failure, therapy, entrepreneurship and years of self reflection, he began unlearning the need for other people’s approval and discovering what genuinely mattered to him.

In this episode, you will learn: Why other people’s opinions can quietly control your life How to stop people pleasing and trust yourself Why failure can reveal what you actually want How to deal with overthinking, confidence and ego Why external success does not guarantee happiness How Fable & Mane went from a three page deck to Sephora And how reconnecting with his younger self led Akash towards a much deeper purpose

Today, Akash dedicates a significant part of his life to wildlife conservation through the Fabled Fund, with the ambition of mobilising $100 million for conservation by 2030.

This is a conversation about identity, ambition, confidence and the difficult process of discovering who you are when you finally stop living for everyone else.

Follow Akash: https://www.instagram.com/mehta_a/?hl=en https://uk.linkedin.com/in/akash-mehta-425bb783 https://fableandmane.com/

#ThrivingMinds #AlbertoZandi #AkashMehta #FableAndMane #Entrepreneur #PeoplePleaser #Empath #Overthinking #CEOLife #Leadership #PersonalGrowth #Authenticity #MentalHealth #BeautyBusiness #Mindset

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

More from Thriving Minds with Alberto Zandi

Oct 22, 2026

Kaspar Basse founded Joe & The Juice in Copenhagen in 2002 with a few thousand dollars and an ambition that was anything but small: he wanted to build something that could compete with Starbucks. Two decades later, Joe & The Juice has grown into a global brand with over 500 locations and was valued at $1.8 billion in 2026. But Kaspar believes one of the biggest mistakes companies make happens precisely when they become successful. As businesses grow, they introduce managers, processes, controls and layers of approval to protect what they have built. And in doing so, they can gradually remove the very thing that made them successful in the first place: culture, and quality. Kaspar does not believe great company culture comes from music, office perks, parties or paying slightly more than your competitors. It comes from people feeling agency, challenged, trusted, capable of improving and proud of what they do.

Oct 15, 2026

Professor Giles Yeo MBE has spent 30 years studying one of the most misunderstood questions in health: why some people feel hungrier, gain weight more easily and find it much harder to keep weight off than others.

Oct 8, 2026

Jay Sean is one of the most successful and influential artists in modern pop music.

Oct 1, 2026

Touker Suleyman is one of Britain’s best known entrepreneurs and investors, with more than 50 years of experience building, buying and transforming businesses. But long before millions knew him from Dragons’ Den, Touker lost everything.

Sep 24, 2026

Rose Ferguson is one of the UK’s leading functional medicine practitioners and has spent nearly two decades helping people understand why they can be doing everything they think is “healthy” and still feel tired, bloated, foggy or stressed.

See all episodes →