Now a nationally recognised young entrepreneur—featured by The Times for building a healthcare start-up during her Gap Year—Tanya Mehta (Ax. 2022–24) returned this week to Brighton College to speak to Lower Sixth pupils taking part in the Entrepreneurship Competition. Describing it as the very programme that first ignited her own journey, Tanya spoke candidly about the unlikely path that led her back to College.
Born in Tanzania to Indian heritage and raised in Edinburgh from the age of five, Tanya’s early ambition was clear-cut: Medicine at Oxford. During her GCSE years, however, she began to question that trajectory. Without telling her parents, she emailed Brighton College to enquire about A-levels. She secured a video interview—again without parental knowledge—and within a week of receiving her acceptance in 2022, she had moved to Brighton for what she described as, “a fresh start”.
Although she joined the College two weeks late, Tanya quickly found her feet. Almost immediately, she became invested in the Entrepreneurship Competition. Her idea, Clearveda, was a skincare brand rooted in Ayurvedic principles, using Indian ingredients not widely available in the UK. She reached the final and, while she did not win, her pitch—focused on natural cosmetics—was warmly received. Suitably inspired and at a crossroads, Tanya then made a pivotal decision: she dropped Biology A-Level and committed fully to entrepreneurship over medicine.
After leaving Brighton College, Tanya entered the global Future Leaders Competition, submitting a short video pitch for Clearveda. From over 10,000 applicants, she was selected as one of just 20 finalists—and this time, she won. The prize brought not only funding but something she now describes as priceless: a mentor.
Alongside these professional milestones, Tanya was navigating a deeply personal challenge. Diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), she experienced chronic symptoms including painful periods, migraines and severe skin issues. Rather than accepting the condition as incurable, she immersed herself in research, focusing on anti-inflammatory nutrition and gut health. Subsequent medical scans confirmed significant improvements, and this lived experience reshaped her entrepreneurial vision.
Through the NatWest-sponsored Sisterhood Summer programme, Tanya developed and pitched Balance, an app aligning menstrual cycles with diet and exercise. She then joined Kickstart Global, one of the UK’s largest incubators, where she refined a new concept: Papaya. The idea was simple but powerful—eliminate menstrual pain by targeting gut health through nutrition and fitness. Tanya made the decision to move to London to build the company “for real”, surrounding herself with mentors, angel investors and organisations offering their advice freely. One piece of guidance stood out above all others for Tanya: “Find your niche and dominate it.”, she said.
Papaya began as a meal-prep service, delivering hormone-supportive meals—tested by Tanya herself—to ten women with similar symptoms. Demand surged. Within weeks, 200 women were on the waiting list, sustainable paper packaging had been introduced, and the brand’s social media following grew rapidly, with some posts reaching hundreds of thousands of views. As featured on the Old Brightonians website in August, Papaya went on to secure funding from Google, and The Times soon followed with a profile. This is utterly remarkable, not least because all of this had been achieved within a single Gap Year.
Now a co-founder of Young Founders of London and an active member of the UK start-up ecosystem, Tanya returned to Brighton College keen to stress that her success was not achieved alone.
“Entrepreneurship means the opportunities come to you,” she told pupils—but only if you put yourself in the right rooms. She spoke about the practical value of the competition, from time management and confidence-building, to CV development, and highlighted how advances in AI are lowering barriers considerably for would-be entrepreneurs.
Tanya generously stayed on after her talk to answer questions, offer advice and mentor this year’s applicants. It was a powerful reminder of the importance of giving back. By sharing time, insight and hard-won experience, a powerful cycle is created: today’s pupils become tomorrow’s founders, who in turn return to inspire the next generation.
Our thanks to Tanya. Mentorship changes lives—and giving back ensures its impact endures far beyond any single success.
For more on Papaya, visit: www.startpapaya.com. Pictured below: Tanya shared her top tips for success.
If you have been inspired to volunteer your time, please visit Brighton College Connect, the exclusive networking platform for the Old Brightonian network and update your preferences.
.