Shreya Mahendru is a Thailand-based freelancer, digital nomad, TEDx speaker and creator with a 450K+ community learning remote work and freelancing. In this Inside A Hustler’s Brain episode, the Shreya Mahendru freelancing story covers saying no to nine IIMs, getting paid in dollars, Upwork retainers, life abroad and her no-go list.
She got into nine IIMs and said no. Her first job paid ₹5,000 a month, weekends included. Today she’s earned $250K freelancing while living abroad.
In the latest episode of Inside A Hustler’s Brain, I spoke with Shreya Mahendru, a Thailand-based freelancer, TEDx speaker and creator with a 450K+ community learning remote work and freelancing. Nobody in her family had ever left India. She had to build her confidence from scratch.
This is a practical and honest episode about earning in dollars, and about what Instagram doesn’t show.
Quick Facts: Shreya Mahendru
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Guest | Shreya Mahendru |
| Based in | Thailand |
| Known as | Freelancer, digital nomad, TEDx speaker and creator |
| Community | 450K+ learning remote work and freelancing |
| Freelancing earnings | $250K |
| First job salary | ₹5,000 a month |
| Education | Five years of physics, through her master’s |
| IIM offers | Got into nine IIMs and chose not to join |
| Platform | Top-rated Upwork freelancer for about a year (around 2022 to 2023) |
| Countries visited | Around 20 to 25 |
| Host | Jitendra Vaswani |
| Podcast | Inside A Hustler’s Brain (YouTube) |
In This Episode, We Unpacked
- Why she turned down nine IIMs
- From ₹5,000 a month to getting paid in dollars
- Becoming a top-rated Upwork freelancer
- Turning one-off projects into retainers
- Building confidence to travel and live abroad
- Frugal living, safety and loneliness on the road
- What “upskilling” really means and how she uses AI
- Her no-go list: why she turns down gaming deals
Watch the Full Shreya Mahendru Freelancing Episode
Why Did Shreya Mahendru Say No to Nine IIMs?
Shreya studied physics for five years, through her master’s. There were no campus placements, which she now sees as a good thing because she wasn’t competing for a package. She applied for higher studies and got into nine IIMs.
She chose not to go. The fees were around ₹20 lakh, which she said was three to four years of her parents’ income. She didn’t want the pressure of a loan, and with zero work experience she wanted to understand how businesses work first.
Her family wasn’t supportive of women studying further or taking private jobs, so she found work in her home city. Her first full-time salary was ₹5,000 a month, and she worked Saturdays and Sundays too.
How Did Shreya Mahendru Start Freelancing and Getting Paid in Dollars?
At a software development agency, Shreya saw that clients paid in dollars while she earned rupees. She couldn’t code, but she realised she could be the person between the business and the development team who delivers outcomes. So why not get paid in dollars?
She was an introvert, but she built the confidence to talk to clients. Her first direct client paid her only a few hundred dollars. Then she found Upwork.
Upwork was slow at first because agencies win most projects. Once her profile took off, she became a top-rated Upwork freelancer and held that status for about a year around 2022 to 2023.
What Is the Retainer Strategy Behind Shreya Mahendru’s First Six Figures?
What is a retainer?
In Shreya Mahendru’s approach, a retainer is an ongoing working arrangement that replaces a one-time project fee. She suggests trying one month, delivering results, and then discussing a retainer, because clients don’t want to keep switching people.
Her smartest move was turning one-time projects into retainers. Instead of quoting $2,000 for a project, she’d suggest trying one month, delivering results and then discussing a retainer. Clients don’t want to keep switching people, so give them results and something to look forward to.
Her first six-figure client came the same way: she spread the work over four months instead of asking for a small one-off fee.
Her biggest income jump came from a European edtech company. She’d interviewed for a scrum master role in Bali, but then lockdown hit. The CEO had watched her recorded interview, reached out and offered a two-week paid project leading something for the Indian market. That grew into a full-time remote role, first as India head and then on the global team.
For more on scaling freelance income, see my talk on growing a freelance business from $400 to $5,000 a month.
How Did Shreya Mahendru Build the Confidence to Live Abroad as a Digital Nomad?
Nobody in Shreya’s family had ever travelled abroad. Her confidence came from business travel: first Singapore and Indonesia for work, then Germany on her own. That’s when she realised she could do it.
She’s been to around 20 to 25 countries, many of them several times. She lived in Estonia as a digital nomad, using it as a base for Europe, and now lives in Thailand. Facebook groups and meetups helped her find friends wherever she went.
On safety, she picks destinations carefully. The place she felt least safe was Texas, so she worked out indoors. Loneliness isn’t a problem for her: she enjoys her own company, and socialising is only 10 to 20% of her life.
For another nomad’s story, read Julia Jerg on life as a digital nomad mom of two.
Is Shreya Mahendru Really Frugal? Her Money Habits
Instagram shows the highlights, but Shreya calls herself very, very frugal. She still looks for the cheaper pack of biscuits (without palm oil), and she picks cafés for Wi-Fi and affordable coffee. She owns no luxury bags. Her brain optimises everything, including money.
She stays fit with no fried food, plenty of creative oats recipes, and around 20,000 steps on days she doesn’t work out. Walking is her favourite way to explore a new city.
Is it money or happiness? She called it an unfair comparison. Money enabled her peace by helping her leave her home city and change her reality.
What Does Upskilling Really Mean, According to Shreya Mahendru?
What is upskilling?
In Shreya Mahendru’s definition, it means preparing for what you want to do in the next five years. You choose the industry and role you believe in, then work backwards to what you should learn.
Shreya’s definition: prepare for what you want to do in the next five years. Choose the industry you believe in and the role you want, such as coder, project manager or QA in tech, then work backwards to what you should learn.
“Just knowing how to write in Claude is not AI. It’s not upskilling.”
Knowing you want to use AI in marketing for lead generation or creative work, and learning how, is the real upskilling.
She doesn’t use AI to form her original thoughts. She uses it to automate small tasks that cause context switching, like daily LinkedIn posting. On jobs, she compared AI to factories: workers who learned the machines kept their jobs.
For more on AI and careers, read Siddharth Ajmera on AI and traditional jobs.
What Is Shreya Mahendru’s No-Go List? Ethics Over Paychecks
Does she ever feel like a fraud? Yes and no. She knows she sells aspiration and that not all 450K followers can do it, mostly because consistency is hard. But she’s done it, and so have her mentees.
Her no-go list:
- No gaming companies. She’s turned down ₹5-6 lakh just to “put our name there”, and said no even at $10,000
- No paid content on religion or politics
- She checks brand reviews, and turns down brands that pay four or five times more to clean up their image
For more on influencer ethics, read Stase Blitz on being an influencer in affiliate marketing. 💬
Rapid Fire With Shreya Mahendru
- Productivity hack: time blocking. She’ll make 30 LinkedIn posts in one 3-hour block instead of 30 minutes a day
- Best year: 2023, with 12-13 countries and growing work and income. Worst: 2015, in college with no goals
- Worst advice: “You don’t have to be ambitious.” Best: “Don’t settle for no”
- Hero: her husband, who shields her from distractions
- FIRE number: around ₹30 crore (about $3 million)
- Lottery win: it wouldn’t satisfy her the way earned money does
- Remembered for: financial independence for women, and for everyone
- Advice to her 18-year-old self: be ambitious and think big
Her message for Gen Z: be uncomfortable. Live alone for a month, even if your parents have money. You’ll learn which problems people have that you could solve and earn from.
What is time blocking?
It is Shreya Mahendru’s productivity hack of grouping similar tasks into one long block. For example, she makes 30 LinkedIn posts in one 3-hour block instead of spending 30 minutes a day.
Key Takeaways From the Shreya Mahendru Freelancing Interview
- A prestigious path isn’t the right path if it doesn’t fit your situation
- You can get paid in dollars without coding by connecting business and tech
- Turn projects into retainers by delivering results first
- Frugality buys freedom
- Upskill backwards from your 5-year role, not from tool hype
- Time blocking beats context switching
- Ethics are worth more than a paycheck
- Be uncomfortable. Live alone for a month and look for problems you could solve
FAQs About Shreya Mahendru and Freelancing
Shreya Mahendru is a Thailand-based freelancer, digital nomad, TEDx speaker and creator with a 450K+ community learning remote work and freelancing. She says she has earned $250K from freelancing.
No. She got into nine IIMs but chose not to join because the fees were around ₹20 lakh and she wanted work experience first.
She started with a direct client, then built her profile on Upwork, became a top-rated freelancer and converted one-time projects into retainers.
Time blocking: she groups similar tasks into long blocks, such as creating 30 LinkedIn posts in one 3-hour session.
She refuses gaming companies, paid content on religion or politics, and brands with poor reviews trying to clean up their image.
Final Thoughts on the Shreya Mahendru Freelancing Story
The Shreya Mahendru freelancing story shows that a prestigious path isn’t always the right one. She gained experience first, learned to connect business and tech, moved to dollar clients, built retainers, and stayed frugal and ethical along the way. Her advice for everyone: be ambitious, be uncomfortable and don’t settle for no.
If this conversation with Shreya Mahendru gave you even one idea, share it with a friend who needs it today. One conversation can change someone’s life.
More Inside A Hustler’s Brain Interviews You’ll Love
- Interview with Keren Levy COO of Payoneer: Why Freelancers Should Join Payoneer
- How Olga Salmanova Makes $10k Per Month Through Networking
- Alejandro’s SEO Success: From House Servant to Digital Entrepreneur
- The Future of Digital Advertising: A Conversation with Adsterra’s Daria
If this conversation with Shreya Mahendru gave you even one idea, share it with a friend who needs it today. One conversation can change someone’s life.
About Inside A Hustler’s Brain: Inside A Hustler’s Brain is an interview podcast on YouTube hosted by Jitendra Vaswani, featuring founders, marketers and creators sharing their journeys, strategies and lessons.
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Jitendra Vaswani is a well-known expert in SEO and AI-driven digital marketing. He has spoken at international events and founded Digiexe, a digital marketing agency, and AffiliateBooster, WordPress plugin designed specifically for affiliate marketers. With over 10 years of experience, Jitendra has helped many businesses succeed online. His bestselling book, Inside A Hustler’s Brain: In Pursuit of Financial Freedom, with over 20,000 copies sold globally, underscores his influence and commitment to empowering digital marketers.