In this Business Blast podcast episode, host Tyler Wagner interviews Nesh Pillay, founder of the socially‑conscious digital communications agency Press Play. Nesh shares a childhood story of selling stickers at age six in South Africa, framing it as her first entrepreneurial aha moment. She emphasizes the critical importance of finding and focusing on a specific audience, warning CEOs against the fear of excluding others. Her core business mantra is to "not limit yourself"—to think big and act boldly despite cultural pressures toward humility. When asked about happiness, Nesh says it stems from doing what you love and giving back, linking purpose to personal fulfillment. She credits the Harry Potter books for sparking her imagination and creativity, which she views as essential for any entrepreneur. Her favorite quote is Nelson Mandela’s “In my country, you go to prison first and then you become the president,” which she uses to illustrate perseverance and staying true to one’s mission despite opposition. The episode closes with Nesh’s social‑media handles (LinkedIn, Instagram @pillaynesh) and her agency website presspillay.com, inviting listeners to connect.
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Welcome to the Business Blast podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Wagner. This episode is brought to you by Authors Unite. Authors Unite makes the process of becoming a published bestselling author as simple as sipping your morning cup of coffee. You can learn more about Authors Unite at authorsunite.com. Now let's jump into the episode.
Alright everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast podcast. I'm your host Tyler Wagner, and today I have Nesh Pillay with us. She's the founder of Press Play, a socially conscious digital communications agency. So welcome to the show, Nesh.
Thanks for having me, Tyler.
Of course, thank you for coming on. I will dive right into the first question. The first question that I have for you is What's the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
You know what? At first I thought this was just a funny story, but when I was 6 years old, I had this brilliant idea to sell stickers on the side of the road. And I remember the moment I had this aha moment, like, this is it. And so one morning before school, my parents couldn't find me. This was back when I lived in South Africa, so we had big gates and everything. And they found me on the side of the road trying to sell stickers. Stickers. You know, for many years, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. But now when I look back, that aha moment was the universe telling me that I was meant to be an entrepreneur.
And what's the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?
I say to all my clients, and every single one of my clients has this problem, is find your audience. The second you find your audience and really put all your marketing effort towards that audience, you'll find that things will grow for you much quicker. Most, most CEOs I work with are really, really hesitant to say this is who I'm marketing towards because they feel like they're excluding a whole other group. Don't feel that way. Find your audience and things will move quickly for you.
And what's your best piece of overall business advice?
Do not limit yourself. I think all the time we get, I mean, we're taught to be super humble, which humility, of course, is wonderful. But don't think small, think large, think ahead. Yeah, I think that's the best piece of business advice I could give other entrepreneurs.
And if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be?
Honestly, probably the same advice. It took me a long time to get to that point. Because I always felt like I was coming up with these grandiose ideas and everyone around me was like, okay, but really, really, it's those grandiose ideas that have gotten me to where I am today.
And in your opinion, what's the key to happiness?
The key to happiness is to find what you love and do it. So, um, for example, you may not think that being socially conscious and giving back is the best way to make money or the best way to find happiness, but for me, always what's made me happy has been giving back. And I think that If you incorporate that into some of what you're doing, you're gonna find you're a lot happier and things are gonna go well for you. So ultimately, find your passions and follow them.
And what's the best book that you've read and what was the number one thing you learned from that?
This is gonna sound really silly because I know that most of the answers you get are some like fantastic advice books. And I don't know if anyone's ever said this, but for me it was reading the Harry Potter books. When I read them. I wasn't a kid with a ton of friends, but it really, really pushed me to use my imagination and to think outside the box and to be okay with, you know, what was going on inside of my head. And for what I do, and I think really for what everyone does, imagination and creativity is key.
And what's your favorite quote and why?
My favorite quote comes from my favorite person. Being South African, it's not a surprise that I'm obsessed with Nelson Mandela. Nelson Mandela, and he said once, "In my country, you go to prison first and then you become the president." So he was vilified for 23 years, you know, for standing up for equality and human rights. And of course, he was never a perfect person. But I think there's this idea, especially in North America, that like in order to put yourself into a position of power, you have to be perfect. You have to make all the right choices and everyone has to believe in you. But honestly, sometimes people are not going to like what you have to say. To say and like what you're doing, but that's okay. I mean, you know, of course there's a line, like if you're in a— if you're a serial killer, I'm not— I'm not encouraging that at all. Um, but I think that— I think that if you really believe in what you're doing and you're really trying to make a difference, then ultimately things will work out for you, even if you're sitting in a prison cell for, you know, 23 or 27 years.
Yes.
Thank you so much for coming on, Nesh. Uh, so much value here. Uh, last question I have for you before we do let you go is where's the best place for people to find you online?
Okay, so being in this industry, love myself some social media. I'm always working on that personal branding. So you can find me, you can search me, Nesh Pillay, N-E-S-H, P as in Paul, I-L-L-A-Y, on LinkedIn, or you can look me up on Instagram at— oh, sorry, lost my voice there— @pillaynesh, P-I-L-L-A-Y-N-E-S-H, or the old-fashioned way, just find me on our website at presspillay.com. So that's www— I sound like an '85—.pressplay.com.
Awesome. Thank you so much again for coming on, Nash, and we hope to talk to you again soon. Thanks, Tyler. All the best.
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