Episode 37 | Maryam Ishtiaq Went From Sleeping On The Kitchen Floor to $500K Seed Round

Paglalarawan

Maryam Ishtiaq didn't take the easy road — she took every road. From pre-med at Georgia Gwinnett to international marketing, from New York influencer to Dallas entrepreneur, her journey is one of the most honest stories of reinvention we've ever heard on The Caravan. In this episode, Maryam opens up about the pregnancy loss that nearly broke her — and how cooking pulled her back from the edge. That moment of healing became the foundation for It's Actually, a halal beef bone broth brand that started with 32 jars a day made in a family kitchen and has since closed a $500K seed round with Friday Ventures. We get into all of it: the immigrant pressure to become a doctor, the burnout of the influencer grind, building a CPG brand with no outside capital, serving cancer patients through chemo recovery, getting their first retail shelf at Greenvine Market, winning an SBA loan when investors wouldn't bite, and why the halal food category is long overdue for a real brand to own it. 0:00 Introduction 2:24 Early Life & Cooking Origins 3:41 Pre-Med to Marketing Pivot 6:07 The ICU Moment 13:58 Moving to New York & Influencer Life 16:23 The Highlight Reel vs. Reality 18:26 Navigating Criticism & Depression 23:12 Moving to Dallas & Pregnancy Loss 33:20 Cooking as Healing 43:27 From Kitchen to Business 54:51 Raising Capital & Retail Growth 1:04:03 Supply Chain & Halal Vision 1:05:30 Future Goals 1:11:48 Overrated / Underrated 1:13:56 Wrap-Up