Our founder.
the woman behind it all.
Meet Ria Kalsi
The brown woman disrupting the industry.
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Founding the Matriarch brand at 19 and MatriarchLtd. at 21, it’s fair to say “ambitious” is an appropriate descriptor. The brand's story is interwoven with Ria’s own life story, having founded it at a time when she herself was reckoning with her identity and British Asian heritage. Creating a safe, inclusive, and welcoming space, both online and in the real world, quickly became a dream.
Through the brand, platform, business, Ria fulfils her motto, “be who you needed when you were younger", every day.
Made by and built to honour immigrants.
Born and raised in the UK to first-generation immigrant Sikh Punjabi Indian parents, Ria identifies as a British Asian woman. Growing up, she felt isolated as a result of her identity. However, she finished her first year at university feeling fresh-faced and confident.
Embracing this newly found confidence, Ria felt as though she had opinions - genuine ones with reason, and that she had the confidence to raise them, discuss and inspect them, and even start conversations with people. For the first time, she began to utilise her voice and felt empowered Therefore, with a head full of opinions and worldly wisdom, she needed a platform on which to express herself. Then Matriarch was born. Ria decided to create Matriarch, the blog to share these opinions and feelings with others.
Ria has gone on to develop Matriarch from a solo blog to a business that aims to close the accessibility gap. Her goal is to help at least one person a day, making the world a better, more inclusive place in the process.
From blog to business. Est. 2021.
Ria’s heritage is at the centre of her identity, but indicative of the brand name, she was raised with progressive, feminist values - many of which conflict with her culture. This is something that fuelled Ria’s journey to founding the business, seeing striking gender inequality in her heritage alongside the racism she and her family experienced throughout their lives in the UK.
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After studying 2 English degrees, which focused on colonial histories, immigrant narratives, decolonisation and critical race theory, Ria built the foundation for her knowledge when it comes to racial experiences and histories in the UK. Hand in hand with her first job experience in the L&D industry and her own lived experience, Ria recognised the opportunity she had.
2022 - MatriarchLtd. is born - the business delivering game-changing racial inclusion work.
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For Ria, disrupting the DEI industry meant doing what others are scared to do - having hard conversations that don’t please people with privilege but do justice to those experiencing discrimination. This is a much harder thing. MatriarchLtd. was all about embracing discomfort, as change doesn't happen in our comfort zones. Sounds scary, right? Luckily, Ria’s sleek style of making these conversations accessible meant no one was alienated. Instead, she left people feeling empowered and confident with knowledge and skills. Ria wrote and developed all her own original content, providing that perfect balance between interaction, learning and impact.
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Within a year, it became clear to Ria that the impact MatriarchLtd. sessions were having could go further beyond just the racial inclusion industry.
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As a founder, Ria also felt herself navigating an unwanted split between Matriarch the social platform and MatriarchLtd, the business. A split between her team and herself, respectively.
Ria saw Matriarch's impact going further.
What if we applied our game-changing formula to the broad range of topics Matriarch had always covered? From sex to grief and everything in between. The overall Matriarch brand was all about inclusivity and learning. And this is our way of bringing them together, into one cohesive business that is built to include.
Every post, workshop, blog, conversation and connection is in some way to make people feel included. We all want to be a part of something, we all want to feel seen, heard and represented. This was true to Ria's motto and vision.
Women led, powered and run.
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No part of the Matriarch journey has been predictable, least of all Ria leading a team of volunteers and developing women to run a business with no prior experience. But it is one of her highest honours and greatest pleasures to witness women growing, learning, skilling themselves up and booming their confidence. More so, Ria knows Matriarch wouldn't be where it is today without them and she wouldn't be who she is without her team who better her every day. Clue's in the name, but it can't be overstated.
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When not running Matriarch or consulting, Ria is writing about her experiences as a young women business founder and CEO, entrepreneurship and spreading Matriarch magic in the world.
Find Ria on socials to see more of her thoughts, stories and mistakes.
follow Ria on socials & never shy away from sending a message!
riamtrrch@gmail.com
‘Ria is the best; she engages with the pupils and challenges them, but in a supportive atmosphere. Everyone feels included in the discussions and their minds are opened to things that perhaps they have never thought about before.
Ria is well-prepared and organised for every session; she is so easy to work with and is able to adjust her material to suit the audience. I would not have anyone else as the pupils always ask for her back.’
Debbie Kratt, Head of History and Politics. Head of Sixth Form
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