Manish Taneja is a technologist, photographer and community builder. After years in corporate tech, he walked away to help people take back control of their digital lives. That work has grown into something bigger: figuring out what it actually means to live free. For him, that includes questioning the beliefs we inherited, noticing the patterns that run us without our knowing, learning to say what we really think and feel, and being willing to hear the hard truths about ourselves.

His time in grassroots organizing and intentional community taught him a lot about connection and discernment, and about the difference between shared opposition and shared values. Jungian shadow work has shaped much of how he sees all of it. In his experience, facing the parts of ourselves we’ve learned to hide is what makes room for more love, creativity, and joy.

In 2026 he joined Derrick Broze’s Activation Tour, telling the story of his own exit-and-build journey. Whether he’s behind a camera, helping someone get off big tech, or talking with a room full of people, his work comes down to helping people live more honestly, love more openly, and build communities where they can belong without giving up who they are.