On this episode of Conversation Piece, designer, creator, and business strategist Navi Kaur stops by the studio to talk about her journey from watching Dragon Ball Z as a kid in India to helping build The Normies — an Indianapolis-based creative community and reaction channel with nearly 1 million subscribers. She dives into her path from immigrant student to financial officer, how The Normies grew from friends watching Game of Thrones to a full-scale business, and what it takes to sustain creativity, community, and leadership in digital media.
Connect with Navi: https://instagram.com/nerdy_nav/
Check out The Normies: https://thenormies.com/
Shout out to Frida's Flowers for sponsoring the show! Elevate your next event (or your living room) with some of Madeline's incredible work: fridasflowersindy.com/
This week’s Give Em Their Flowers shout out: Markéta, Rana, Blake Roebuck, and The Normies’ editing team for their creativity, care, and community spirit.
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Produced and hosted by: Patrick Armstrong
Filmed and edited by: Mike Lee Productions
Engineered and mixed by: Popular Rapture
Music by: Mandog
- (00:00) - – Year of Community
- (01:05) - – Introducing Navi Kaur
- (02:00) - – How Navi met her friend group through Game of Thrones
- (04:08) - – Early love for anime and manga
- (06:04) - – Immigrating to America and finding identity through pop culture
- (08:24) - – Discovering manga at the library and bonding with siblings
- (09:52) - – From reading to reacting: The artistry of anime adaptation
- (11:10) - – Sub vs. dub: why both matter
- (12:00) - – Meeting The Normies crew
- (14:03) - – The first reaction video and how it all began
- (17:09) - – Building community through shared fandoms
- (20:14) - – When The Normies became a real business
- (22:19) - – Learning HR, payroll, and leadership on the fly
- (25:15) - – The evolution of scheduling, team roles, and creative flow
- (28:47) - – Letting go of control and trusting the team
- (30:37) - – Decision-making, leadership, and “no more ties”
- (31:32) - – A day in the life at The Normies studio
- (35:21) - – How new shows get added to the lineup
- (37:31) - – Staying in Indianapolis and why it works
- (40:57) - – On burnout, winter blues, and cost of living
- (44:28) - – Balancing creative and financial roles
- (46:33) - – Finding peace in nature and local trails
- (49:14) - – Give Em Their Flowers
- (50:36) - – On community, connection, and gratitude