Akshi Khandelwal is the Co-founder & CEO of Butterfly Ayurveda and Founder of Café Swasthya.
She is passionate about making Ayurveda accessible, modern, and relevant for today’s lifestyle and wellness needs.
Dual medical training and a traditional “stay in your lane” surgical mindset
Personal health crisis in her 30s (idiopathic angioedema, wheelchair-bound, cardiac complications)
Origins as a family-owned business
Growth into 19 business enterprises
Among the first girls admitted to a top gifted program in Taiwan
Choosing computer science over traditional fields despite family expectations
Grew up as a second-generation immigrant in Canada, embracing resilience and hard work.
Inspired by her grandmother’s illness to pursue medicine and maintain patient-centered care.
Kirsten’s personal journey from an MS diagnosis to women’s health advocacy
Gaps in conventional fertility care
Growing up in a low-income immigrant community in Lowell, Massachusetts.
Witnessing structural disadvantages and their impact on community health.
Observations from working in high-pressure insurance call centers
Realization that delivery style, not just messaging, determined outcomes
• Growing up in a family of doctors
• Discovering a passion for psychiatry unexpectedly
