Meet Priyanka Vergadia (aka The Cloud Girl).
An Indian-origin tech leader who failed IIT JEE twice, battled loans & setbacks, yet built a legendary career at Google → Microsoft. Pure proof that your start doesn’t define your ceiling.
Failed IIT JEE not once, but twice (2004 & 2005).
Graduated from a non-elite engineering college in India.
Moved to the US for MS at University of Pennsylvania struggled with financial loans & student debt.
Started as a Quality Assurance (QA) engineer at a small startup.
Pivoted into Developer Relations & cloud advocacy.
2017: Joined Google Cloud rose to Staff Developer Advocate, created viral visual content & authored best-selling books.
Now: Senior Director of Developer GTM & Forward Deployed Engineering at Microsoft, leading AI & Azure strategies for enterprises.
TED Speaker, Wharton connections, serves on the UPenn Board of Advisors built "The Cloud Girl" brand (100K followers).
LinkedIn:
linkedin.com/in/pvergadia
GitHub:
github.com/priyankavergadia
From repeated rejections & financial struggles → leading developer strategy at Microsoft while inspiring millions with visual storytelling.
This is what 15 years of grit, continuous learning, and owning your unique path looks like. Your college or early failures don’t write your story your consistency does.
What’s one rejection or setback that became your biggest turning point? Share below 👇
#WomenInTech #TechLeadership