Growing up in Petaling Jaya, Yoshnee Raveendran was surrounded by the worlds of academia and sports. Her parents, both retired professors from Universiti Malaya, placed strong emphasis on education, while her father—a professional badminton player in the 1980s—instilled the values of discipline and perseverance by sending her and her sister to train from a young age.
That was how, from an early age, Yoshnee learned how to balance school and sport, how to work hard for success and how to stay organised amidst competing priorities.
All these became key to her work ethic, which has since taken her to UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles), Bloomberg, and Spotify, where she works as a Senior Engineer today.
At the same time, she is the host of , a podcast that shines a spotlight on Malaysians abroad and their diverse journeys. Through these parallel paths in technology and storytelling, Yoshnee is carving out her own way of connecting the diaspora and contributing to Malaysia’s global voice. This is her story.
From UCLA to Spotify
After completing her A-Levels at Taylor’s College, Yoshnee chose to pursue her degree in the United States, enrolling at UCLA in 2010. Initially set on electrical engineering, she discovered her passion for coding through a mandatory programming course and switched to computer science. The experience challenged her to adapt not just academically but also culturally, as the American education system emphasised creative thinking and essay-based assessments.
Graduating during a boom in the tech industry, Yoshnee joined Bloomberg in New York, where she spent five years building financial software used globally. By 2019, she was ready for a new challenge and moved to Spotify, then still a relatively mid-sized company. Since then, she has contributed to major projects including the Spotify homepage, AI-driven playlists and the annual Wrapped feature.
A Passion Project Sprouted from a Need to Connect
While Spotify gave her a front-row seat to the podcasting world, the idea for Malaysians on the Move came from a deeper need. “As an immigrant, there were times I felt isolated. I wanted to find a way to connect with others in the same boat,” she shared.
She began by inviting friends from high school who had also settled abroad, then widened her circle through Instagram, LinkedIn and even Reddit. She’d soon uncover a wide variety of stories and journeys, as some guests moved overseas for studies, while others did so for work or love. One guest that Yoshnee sourced from Reddit, for instance, was contemplating moving back to Malaysia to care for his ageing mother.
Her most memorable episode so far featured her high school friend Selva Ashwini, now a doctor in Australia. “She said when you move abroad, you’re forced to adapt, and you realise there are different, sometimes better ways of doing things. It really resonated with listeners.”
Each podcast ends with her “golden question”: Will you ever move back to Malaysia? The answers vary, but the conversations highlight the shared challenges and joys of the diaspora experience.
The connections that Yoshnee creates and cultivates through her podcast reflect those that one can make through MyHeart’s Network & Connect initiative, which features an ever-growing database of Malaysian diaspora from all sorts of backgrounds.
Reflections from a Year in Podcasting
Having run the podcast for over a year, Yoshnee has noticed recurring themes. One of them is that, for most diaspora, migration is often achievement-driven at first, be it getting into a good university or landing a stable job.
However, as time passes, deeper issues can sometimes surface—distance from family, guilt over ageing parents and the lack of a close-knit community.
“Even though we can assimilate, it doesn’t mean we forget where we’re from,” she said. Food and culture, especially Malaysia’s lepak culture, remain deeply important. “In Western countries, there isn’t really an equivalent. But in Malaysia, gathering at a mamak is how we build community. I’ve realised that’s something special.”
Through these insights, Yoshnee has not only created connections but also sparked meaningful conversations that contribute to Malaysian diasporas’ deeper understanding of their identities.
Giving Back Through Tech and Mentorship
Outside of the podcast, Yoshnee has found ways to connect with fellow Malaysians in person as well. In New York, she often organises diaspora gatherings for Merdeka and Hari Raya, making friends who would later become her podcast guests. She has also returned to Malaysia almost every year to spend time with family.
Looking ahead, she is passionate about mentoring students who aspire to study abroad, and hopes to offer guidance on both academics and life choices. She is also keen to collaborate with Malaysian organisations in the tech space. One of the drivers for this collaboration is her father, who is in the midst of planning AI seminars for students. “If I can help level up the next generation of Malaysian students, that would be meaningful,” she said.
Projects like this resonate with MyHeart’s Collaboration feature, where Malaysians can pitch projects or find partners globally. Just as Yoshnee seeks opportunities to work with local organisations and support her father’s initiatives, MyHeart members can reach out via Collaboration to exchange expertise and build impactful projects across borders.
Balancing Work and Passion
Running a podcast while managing a demanding engineering career is not without challenges. “You have to be passionate, or you’ll burn out,” Yoshnee explained.
What she really gets out of it is this: “There’s so much joy when guests share their episodes with family and friends, and they discover things they never knew about each other. That’s the most rewarding part.”
As for how others can balance their work and passion projects like she does, Yoshnee advised that you have to feel very strongly about your creative venture to keep going at it.
At the same time, it is prudent to think about the true cost of what goes into running it, as it isn’t only about finances, but also time and energy, she said.
Additionally, she stressed the importance of taking not only risks, but calculated ones.
“If you want to disrupt things (in a good way), you have to think out of the box, which means being willing to take a risk. However, you still need a parachute, metaphorically speaking, to fall back on if the risk doesn’t work out,” she said.
Next Steps
With over a decade in tech, Yoshnee is considering options for her next chapter. She envisions either joining a small startup or venturing into entrepreneurship, particularly in AI. “I’ve learned so much in big companies. One day, I’d like to apply that knowledge in a different way,” she reflected.
As for Malaysians on the Move, she hopes to diversify her guest list to include Malaysians in places like Africa, the Middle East and South America. “It’s not about making it big with ads. For me, it’s about sharing meaningful stories and creating connections.”
Are you a Malaysian abroad with a passion project that you want to collaborate with other Malaysians on? Register with MyHeart today to join a global community of Malaysians from all around the globe.
