Growth @Rifa AI | Making AI work like your most reliable teammate | Previously @ Topmate | 30u30 IQ

AI isn’t replacing people. It’s replacing processes that slow them down.

At Rifa AI, we’re building intelligent agents that automate back-office conversations across chat, voice, email, and support without breaking ops.

The goal isn’t to sound human.
The goal is to get work done, with AI that can reason, act, and complete entire workflows across tools.

Our best users don’t even realize they’re talking to a bot.
That’s the point.

Before this, I led growth at Topmate and picked up a few hard truths:
 → Shiny doesn’t scale
 → Funnels lie
 → Speed breaks things, but it also builds them

Rifa is a tougher game. The stakes are higher.
You’re shipping into systems where mistakes cost trust, not just clicks.

That’s why I care about:
 → AI that’s functional, not performative
 → Growth that’s compound, not chaotic
 → Shipping like it’s a reflex, not an event

If you’re building at the intersection of AI, ops, and velocity, let’s chat.

Shubham Khoker

I just saw Ankit's post about Topmate hitting profitability, and I couldn’t scroll past without smiling.

To the world, "profitability" is a financial metric. To me, having been in the trenches with Ankit and Dinesh, I know it’s a badge of pure grit.

I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again: My time as Head of Growth at topmate.io was my real MBA.

It was the most intense classroom I’ve ever stepped into. Working with both of you gave me my earliest instincts for product, growth, and just... how to operate in absolute chaos without losing clarity.

A lot of the DNA I carry today as a founder comes straight from those months. The pace, the difficult decisions, and the relentless execution.

You don’t forget teams like that.

Seeing them hit profitability is a reminder of what consistent execution looks like when most people would have given up.

Huge congratulations to Ankit, Dinesh, and the entire team.

This win is well-earned. So proud to have been a small part of this journey.

Everyone’s busy calling themselves “AI-first.”
But your customers don’t care about it. 

When we first started pitching to healthcare clients, I thought leading with “AI-powered” would make their eyes light up. Instead, it usually made them lean back in their chairs, because for most healthcare stakeholders, AI-first sounds risky.

They’re not thinking about the model you used.
They’re thinking: what happens if it fails? Will it violate compliance? Leak data? Or give the wrong answer to a patient?

So now, I start those conversations differently.
About what we’ve done to make sure AI actually works when it’s supposed to.

Every voice agent we build passes through a simple checklist before going live:
→ Does it log every interaction for audit trails?
→ Does it know when to stop and escalate to a human?
→ Does it meet every compliance protocol, even if no one’s watching?

Once that foundation is clear, then the conversation about automation begins.

AI might get you in the door, but risk management keeps you in the room.
That’s what actually builds long-term trust.

I predict AI will vanish by 2030.
And I say that as someone who spends every single day building with it.

Not literally, but in how we talk about it. 
Five years ago, AI was a buzzword.
Today, it’s a feature.
Five years from now, it’ll just be invisible infrastructure.

No one will brag about “AI-first” anymore, just like no one says “internet-first” today. Because the best technology always disappears behind the experience.

When we deploy voice agents in hospitals, no patient ever says, “Wow, this AI bot is amazing.”

They just say,
“Finally… someone actually picked up.”
That’s the direction we’re headed. AI won’t live in headlines or product launches.

It’ll live inside workflows, quietly fixing things that humans don’t have the time or patience to.

So, here’s what I’m betting on:
𝟭/ 𝗔𝗜 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲.
We’ve hit peak hype, and the next winners won’t be the flashiest demos; they’ll be the ones that never break in production. 

𝟮/ 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗮 𝗺𝗼𝗮𝘁.
In healthcare, reliability is the foundation. The companies that bake guardrails in from day one will outlast the ones chasing speed.

𝟯/ 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗿.
Typing, clicking, searching; all of it will fade into natural conversations. Your voice will become the universal remote for how you access systems.

And maybe that’s the irony:
AI will be everywhere, precisely because it will feel like it’s nowhere.
By 2030, the best AI won’t feel like AI at all, it’ll just feel human.

If that happens, what’s one part of your workflow you hope disappears first?

Building should feel hard.
But it shouldn’t feel blurry.

Most people assume burnout happens when you work too much.
In my experience, it’s when you don’t know what you’re working towards anymore.

The chaos creeps in quietly: 
→ Too many priorities
→ Too many opinions
→ Too many half-baked “let’s just test it” plans

Suddenly your calendar’s full, your brain’s fried, and you're still not moving.
And the worst part?
You start confusing activity with progress.

I’m not anti-hustle.
I’m anti-chaos.

The only thing that’s ever pulled me out of a spiral wasn’t rest—it was clarity.
Clarity of: 
→ What problem actually needs solving
→ What to drop (even if it’s shiny)
→ What not to chase this quarter

Because burnout isn’t just about energy.
It’s about direction.

And sometimes the most productive thing you can do is… stop and think.
That’s not a “growth hack.”
That’s survival.

Tag a founder who needs to hear this.

The first time I had to let someone go, I didn’t sleep that night.

I kept replaying the conversation in my head; the silence after I said their name, the way they nodded slowly, the awkward gratitude at the end.

Nothing prepares you for that moment.
When we hired our first person at Rifa AI, it felt like validation, like someone believed in what we were building.

But when it doesn’t work out, it hits differently.
You start asking yourself if you could’ve coached better, communicated sooner, or just seen it coming.

That’s when I learned something that never makes it into startup books:
Company culture isn’t defined by how you celebrate wins. It’s defined by how you handle endings.

Hiring is about hope.
Firing, when done right, is about honesty.
Both take a piece of you.

And both, in their own way, make you a better builder — and maybe, a better human.

When you’re a non-technical founder building a technical product, impostor syndrome moves in next door, rent-free.


There have been times when the team was deep in conversation about inference speeds and vector databases, and I’d be there, nodding, jotting notes, then Googling half the terms later, only to realize I still didn’t get all of it.

However, I’ve learned that it’s part of the job.
I’m lucky to have a co-founder who lives and breathes the tech side (that’s Sameer). My role has always been to connect what we’re building to what the customer actually feels.

So I stopped pretending to understand everything and started asking the simplest questions again.

Every time I asked a “dumb” question, the conversation got clearer for everyone in the room. We stopped over-explaining to each other and started building something users could actually use.

Over time, it has become my strength. I stopped trying to sound technical and focused on what I can understand and build with.

Yeah, impostor syndrome still drops by sometimes, but I’ve learned to make peace with it.

If you’re a non-technical founder quietly sitting through a technical meeting, feeling like an outsider, you’re not behind.

You’re just seeing the problem through a different lens.
And sometimes, that’s exactly what your team needs.

Everyone says “talk to your customers.”
I’m taking that advice one notch higher, and I’ll pay you for your time.
No clickbait. Stay with me till the end.

As we explore the healthcare vertical at Rifa AI, I’ve realised something important:
You can’t automate an industry you don’t understand.
You can’t sit behind dashboards and guess how frontline workflows operate.

So before we ship anything in healthcare, I want to learn from the people who actually hold the system together. The ones who deal with chaos, patient load, insurance calls, and operational bottlenecks every single day.

That’s why I want to speak with:
→ Front desk staff at hospitals/clinics
→ Patient coordinators
→ Medical receptionists
→ Nurses who work closely with ops/patient flow

I’m not looking for confidential data. I’m looking for operational reality. I want to know where the friction is, what the "unwritten rules" of your workflow are, and what tools drive you crazy.

And yes, I’m happy to compensate for your time.
It could be a paid virtual meeting or a conversation over a coffee.

If you work in US healthcare operations and are open to a 30-minute paid chat (or know someone who fits), drop me a DM, tag them below, or share this post.

If you’re planning to build a startup, here’s the part that no MBA or mentor ever tells you.

Last week, when Anisha Jain and the HIVE team at the University of Chicago asked me to speak to their students, I said yes instantly.

Because I remembered what it felt like to be in their shoes.
Hungry to build something, unsure where to start, and confused by all the startup terms around “AI,” “product-market fit,” “fundraising,” and “the right time.”

Back then, I thought progress would be about finding the perfect idea or learning the right framework. But, once you get past the excitement and the theory, you hit the part where nothing looks linear, certainty disappears, and you have to build even when your confidence doesn’t show up with you.

That’s the phase that actually teaches you what matters, and here’s what I learned during that phase:
1. Start with a problem that keeps bothering you.
You don’t need to know how to code on Day 1. What you really need is a problem you can’t ignore... something you’re willing to think about even when no one’s watching.

2. A co-founder is someone who believes in the same future you see.
Skills can be hired, but what you can’t hire is someone who shows up on hard days with the same energy as you do.

3. Investors look for clarity more than big pitches.
If you can explain what you're building, who it helps, and why now is the right moment, the conversation changes instantly.

4. Your early job will teach you more about building a company than any “startup guide.”
For me, most of my instincts came from Topmate, the messy days, the mistakes, the adrenaline, the long nights. That’s where I learned how startups actually work.

None of this shows up in the pitch decks or the headline interviews. But it’s exactly what determines whether you ship something real or just talk about it.

So, if you’re at that stage: excited, overwhelmed, curious, questioning everything, that’s exactly where most real journeys begin.

P.S. What’s one lesson your founder journey has taught you?

I thought I knew what leadership was.
Then I became a founder.

Turns out, leading one branch of the company and leading a company are two completely different things.

When I was working as a Growth Head, it was about ownership within a structure.
We had a clear direction, a set goal, and a team to rally.

Someone had already built the walls of the house; my job was to optimize the rooms, fix the wiring, and ensure growth. There was stability, even in chaos.

At Rifa, I quickly realized leadership from the ground up is a whole different game.

There is no existing structure. You are literally building the walls while simultaneously deciding what kind of house you even want to live in.

The shift is profound, and honestly, sometimes scary.
You stop being a functional head and become the emotional backbone of the entire operation. Every product pivot, every client bet, every tough hiring call has effects that you simply cannot delegate away.
 
They need someone who can admit, "Yes, this is fog," and still be the first one to take a step forward.

That's the real leadership muscle I had to build, and that’s the part most leadership books skip:

The silence that comes with being responsible for everything, and the humility it takes to show up every day, even when you don’t have all the answers.

If you've made the jump from employee to founder, what surprised you most about leadership?

People keep asking me, "When will your AI be smart enough to replace a nurse?"

I tell them that's the wrong question.

The right question is, "How can our AI be reliable enough to handle the 5 hours of administrative work that burns a nurse out every single day?"

The goal isn't to replace our heroes, it's to give them room to be human. Isn’t it?

You don’t need a dev team or a $50K budget to build a voice agent anymore.
Hard to believe, but that’s where we are now.

I’ve seen companies spend months wiring together APIs, vendors, and compliance checks just to make a phone line “talk.” By the time it goes live, the use case has already changed.

That’s the gap we’re closing with Rifa.
Building automation shouldn’t feel like building another product; it should feel like setting one up.

With our platform, you can design, test, and deploy a compliant AI voice agent in minutes. 
You don’t need to know coding. 
You can simply drag, drop, and go live on any phone number.

And it doesn’t stop when the call ends.

→ Your CRM updates automatically.
→ Follow-ups get scheduled.
→ Issues get flagged without anyone touching a dashboard.

Because real automation shouldn’t add another layer of complexity, it should remove it. That’s what we’re betting on at Rifa: making AI powerful and practical for the people who actually use it.

If building automation were this simple, what’s the first workflow you’d hand off?

We are building an AI Voice Agent to automate phone calls. But to get our first 10 customers, I had to make hundreds of phone calls myself.

That’s the irony of building in AI today. 
Everyone wants to automate everything, including product development and GTM.

But here’s the reality I’ve seen time and again, from leading growth to now building Rifa…
AI can automate workflows, but can’t automate trust.

And when you are selling into industries where a single mistake has consequences— healthcare, finance, compliance-heavy ops—that difference matters.

These buyers aren't looking for a "cool AI tool." 
They're worried because the risk surface has expanded:

_ "What if the response is wrong?"
– “Who is liable for the model’s error?”
– “How do I explain this to an auditor?”
– “What does this break in my existing workflow?”
– “What happens if the model behaves unpredictably?”

These aren’t objections you solve with a funnel, or a case study, or an automated sequence.
These are objections that need context, interpretation, and reassurance. 

And this is where old-school GTM suddenly becomes a superpower again because it helps buyers process risk at a human pace.

That’s why the AI companies that are winning right now have strong trust-building mechanisms:
• High-context conversations
• Non-scalable onboarding
• Long-form demos
• Domain fluency
• Founder-led selling in v1
• Field intelligence from real calls

Because GTM in AI is about risk translation before efficiency or growth. 

If your product is AI-first, your early GTM must be risk-first. 
And right now, risk is still interpreted by humans, not workflows.

See, AI will eventually sell AI.
We’ll get there.

But we're in the messy middle, where technology has leapfrogged, but buyer psychology hasn’t caught up.

The biggest mistake you’re making as a founder is trying to make your GTM move as fast as your tech. While in reality, it should match the pace of your buyer’s fear.

Don't let the hype trick you into hiding behind your screen.

P.S. Are you also seeing traditional channels outperform the automated ones right now?

Deloitte

Business Analyst

Re-Defined

Re-Defined is non-profit started in 1.5 yrs ago with the goal of empowering people from marginalized communities especially BIPOC community and international students. The main ways in which we hope to empower the youth is via provision of access to education, opportunities and necessary resources.

We have impacted 30,000 people across 5 countries and 20 regions include Canada, India, Ghana and Uganda and Pakistan, hosted 45+ events catering to 10,000+ attendees for a community of 50,000+ international students across Canada in 4 cities

We give them the tools and resources so that they can advocate for themselves and become CAREER-READY & LIFE-READY

Founder & CEO

Jack.org

2XTEDX Speaker

Motivational Speaker

One Young World

One of the youngest women of south Asian representation, representing Canada at the One Young World (OYW)’23 in Ireland

OYW Ambassador: Top 2 impact professionals from Deloitte Canada

United Nations Foundation

Director Board of Directors, Ahmedabad Coalition | Girl Up Campaign

YOUTHTOPIA

Circle of Youth Member

Teenvisor

Director Board of Directors

SPEAK TO UPLIFT

Co-Founder

UBC School of Kinesiology

•Organizing one of the first-ever Kinesiology case competitions with the hope of equipping students from non-traditional backgrounds with business knowledge and analytical skills
•Formed collaborations with different clubs across campus including toastmasters and Sauder Management Consulting Club
•Includes public speaking training, case analysis workshops and much more
•To be held in March 2022

Project Manager

elemeno

•Increased subscribers by 30% in less than a month through effective integration of existing customer feedback and leveraging social media campaigns
•Conducted around 100 customer and vegan-food producers, restaurants surveys and interviews to reinforce and guide the developmental strategies of meal offers, press releases, and their implementation

Freelance Consultant

My story: I remember struggling to find opportunities coming from a non-traditional educational background. Applying to hundreds of roles wasn't working, and all I would receive are job rejections.

Does this sound like you in your career? 😮

My name is Ritika, and I am a creator, speaker founder, writer and a consultant. I graduated with a Bachelors of Kinesiology from UBC but irrespective of my background in science, I've always strived to work in the top consulting companies and hopefully enable others from non-target schools to do the same. I've had the opportunity to work with multiple startups, non-profits and other companies and seeing thousands of other students hoping to do the same, I wanna help. This is the reason why I post content on this platform.

My goal is "to raise awareness about students specifically international students from non-traditional backgrounds and help them transform into winners". 

There is this quote that my mom says "Keep striving, keep challenging yourself and keep growing because when the desire to develop diminishes, that's when an individual has failed"

🏆 My Highlights:
🙏🏻 Founded a non-profit, called Re-Defined at the age of 21. Helped more than 30,000+ people in 4 countries and 20 regions
🏢 Built a community of 50,000 international students across platforms like LinkedIn, Instagram & Whatsapp
✨Won CMC-BC student award for excellence in Management Consulting and Student Excellence in Kinesiology
💪Received the “Women creating an better world” award by the Women Economic Forum (WEF)
🎉Selected as one of the Top 3 people in Canada to be an ambassador at the One Young World Conference (2023)
 🙌🏼 Won Business Leadership Award 2022 and Indian Achiever Award by IAF (Indian Achievers Forum)
✨Featured in magazines including Michigan Times, Study International, Rushhour times, Inforens and many more
🙋🏻 Spoken at 30+ events and conferences as a motivational speaker and a career mentor for international students and students from non-traditional backgrounds 

🌏 Life outside of work
----------------------
👐 I enjoy connecting with new people
🎨I love going to the gym & painting 

If you want to talk about your career, life as an international student and how maybe you can redefine your experiences/career, REACH OUT and FOLLOW ME 

You can learn more about me here: https://linktr.ee/ritikasaraswat and to connect for collaborations, events or brand promotion, you can reach me at redefined.npo@gmail.com or message me on LinkedIn

Let's together re-defined our career trajectories, opportunities & capabilities :)

Ritika Saraswat

I graduated university with zero corporate experience — yet I still landed 4 job offers.

And no, it wasn’t because someone referred me.

It was because I built my own proof of concept through relevant experiences, freelance strategy work, and hands-on implementation gigs.

You can do the exact same, but only if you stop waiting for opportunities to appear and start creating them yourself.

Here are 3 actions I recommend:
1. Audit your evidence gaps
Look at your current experiences and identify what proof you're missing.
Which skills don’t you have evidence for yet and in what real-world context do you need to show them?

2. Build a target list of NGOs & startups
Find organizations that have clear gaps or needs you can help solve. Look for places where your skills can genuinely add value.

3. Start reaching out with clarity
Talk to these organizations, validate whether the gaps are real, and then propose how you can support.

Go in with a clear idea of the role, deliverables, outcomes, and what you want to gain from the experience.

These can take the form of unpaid internships, volunteering, freelance projects, or shadowing opportunities, many of which can turn into paid roles once you show value.

When you create your own opportunities, you get to set your own terms:
• how long you want the experience to be
• what you’ll contribute
• what outcomes matter to you (experience, recommendations, introductions, etc.)

Any questions?

P.S: waiting to board my flight for Halifax

Founder of Re-Defined I Empowered 10K+ students I #1 Mindset & Career Coach I Top Voice I Top 200 Global Women Leaders I I 2xTEDX I 75+ Keynotes I Featured in TimesSquare, CTV, CBC News

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As someone who comes from a non-traditional background but made my path into business and tech roles

Here are my 2 recommendations for your if you are currently a college or university student:

1. Unlike what it may feel like sometimes, instead of just chasing roles or jobs, chase FUTURE YOU and your purpose 

And that starts by you defining who FUTURE YOU really is and does and then decide and plan what all you need to be doing today to become that person 

I say this because the vehicle you choose to become future you is something that will and can change over the years

But what really help people stay put besides the changes or the shifts is having clarity about the NORTH STAR

And that comes when you take out time to reflect, realize and define it 

2. And the way you find the vehicle of choice at least initially is by trying diffrent things, roles and capacities while in university, whether with clubs or NGOs or showing or interning 

So, if you are feeling lost, or not sure where to start, try this out and let me know 

It won’t solve everything but will give you clarity of thought and a starting point
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Meet myself and other incredible mentors and leaders on Nov 21st and 29th respectively in Halifax and Toronto:

Halifax:https://luma.com/kab9daxt

Toronto: https://luma.com/pqoe0s2i

If you’ve applied to 100+ jobs… heard nothing back… and started telling yourself “maybe I’m just not good enough” -READ👇

Because no, the problem isn’t that you lack capability.

The problem is that most international students & newcomers are repeating the same cycle:
You apply → get ghosted → feel discouraged → apply to 20 more roles the same way → get ghosted again → start doubting your worth.

No reflection.

No data.

No change in strategy.

Just hoping for a different outcome with the exact same inputs.

And then you wonder why nothing changes.

Here’s the truth I wish I knew earlier:
👉Rejection isn’t feedback — it’s silence. And silence is not a strategy.

If you want different results, you need a different system.

Here are 3 steps thousands of students in our community have used to turn ghosting into interviews (and yes — even into second chances after an initial rejection):

1️⃣ Follow Up — Visibility > Capability
Most employers don’t even know you exist in the pile.
Send a simple, respectful follow-up:
“Hi ___, I applied for X role on ___. Just checking if there are any updates. Happy to resend my resume.”
This one action has helped countless students land interviews they were initially rejected for.
Why? Because visibility creates access to opportunity.
No visibility = no chance.

2️⃣ If no reply? Go straight to LinkedIn.
Find people who are:
✔️ In that same role
✔️ In that company
✔️ OR someone who literally got hired in your place
Reach out for a 10-minute chat.

Ask them:
What stood out in their application?
What experiences did they highlight?
Can they share their resume format?
What skills did the hiring manager care about most?

This works because you’re learning directly from someone who actually got in — not guessing, not assuming.

3️⃣ Collect Data. Build Evidence. Then Apply.
Talk to enough people until you know:
➡️ What skills employers actually want
➡️ What evidence you’re missing
➡️ What your resume is failing to communicate
➡️ And what to fix before your next application

This turns every rejection into information, not insecurity.

When you do this consistently:
Every “no” becomes a redirection.
Every ghosting becomes data.
Every application becomes 10x stronger.
.
.
Don’t apply blindly. BE INTENTIONAL.

I recently invested close to around $3,000 into Creator College 

And there are a few things I wanted to share with you that I found relevant to even job seeking:

1. Attention is everything- what that really means is that you would have the most expertise, skillset and capability for certain roles but unless you talk about it in-person, online or share proof, landing those opportunities gets tricky 

2. It’s important for you to be INTENTIONAL and CLEAR with what it is that you are trying to do, for whom and how you want them to feel/see you as. Whether it’s for your audience or even for employers, it is importang for you to be clear on the perception you are looking to build and then taking intentional actions towards it.

3. Don’t think you have to start from scratch. There are so many people doing almost everything you can imagine and so there is no one who is the first onto do it, all you have to do is get out there on platforms or at events to find those people. And analyze their journey, story, content, experiences etc to design and define your path. 

You should also when possible reach out to people who have done what you hope to do before and get their perspective and feedback. This helps build not just a stronger ecosystem around you but also gives you the opportunity to be more strategic starting out. 

Whether it’s content or getting a job or building a company:

Clarity, intentionality and implementing learnings from others, are key non-negotiables 

It’s simple but very important.

We are boarding now…on my way back to Toronto!!!!

Super excited to be speaking today at 4pm at the Datathon event with 300+ attendees with Google Developer Groups (GDG) 
.
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I also wanted to create a post about to highlight the importance of Intentionality when creating VISBILITY 

And what I mean by that is that you have to be clear on what is it that you are looking to create as outcomes when you post,  who is is it for, what are you trying to do through it, what kind of opportunities do you want people to approach you for etc 

And that is how I have been creating inbound for everything I do whether it’s brand, or public speaking, sponsorships etc isn’t strategically sharing about those opportunities and highlighting that I am someone who has done those things and has done it well before

Which makes it easier for anyone to say YES to you for the opportunities or even approach you for 

So, before you start questioning you and why something is not happening, I want you to ask yourself if you have made it easy for anyone to hire you or approach you for that one type of thing/role whether that is through your linkedln, your posts, the conversations you have etc 

If not, then the opportunity not happening is not because of lack of capability but because of lack of being in front of the right people and being seen in the right way and capacity

I did a keynote for TMU at their the INSPIRE event this weekend 

And there was a key question that came up consistently and so I thought I share with you as well:
How are you so confident? And how are you able to communicate so effectively? 

And it was interesting, how most people assumed I trained professionally for speaking or have always been good at it

But the reality is quite the opposite 

In fact, I used to be a really shy person with low self-confidence. I never went to events or even if I did, I would hide and get my friends to talk to folks 

And would always try to escape the opportunity to present

So, you may wonder what made the change then? 

Well, one day I did an activity which made me define the person I want to become 

That made me realize I want to be someone who empowers people, 

Which meant I need to empower myself first and do what is uncomfortable like speaking 

And so, I got started one step at a time and did 3 things to start:
1. I started taking every opportunity to put myself out there and,
2. I consistently putting myself in situations that made me anxious like a class presentation or going to an event 
3. I would spend time post the events or situations, to reflect, take feedback, and try again

And I just repeated this process constantly making sure every next event showed improved than the previous one 

And that was it, 

So, don’t complicate it 

Get started NOW and keep doing it until it becomes second nature to you

I’m 24, and I’m a bit embarrassed to admit that…

1. Sometimes I feel like I should “have it all figured out” by now, especially because I run a community, speak at events, and create content that helps others.

2. But the truth is, I still have days where I feel lost, confused, and unsure if I’m even doing enough.
I struggle with rest.
Even when my body slows down, my mind doesn’t.
I keep telling myself there’s more to do, more to achieve, more to fix — and somehow rest feels like something I need to earn instead of something I deserve.

3. For the longest time, I was scared to put myself out there.
I felt like what I had done wasn’t “enough” to talk about.
I thought I needed bigger results, bigger titles, bigger wins — before anyone would care about my voice.
Looking back, I realize it wasn’t lack of ability… it was lack of confidence.

6. I’ve spent years showing up for everyone else, but sometimes I don’t feel like I have many people I can lean on myself.
Building community is beautiful, but being the one holding everything together can also feel incredibly lonely at times.

7. I put a lot of pressure on myself to provide for my family.
It means everything to me…
but honestly, it wears me down more than I like to admit.
Some days I feel the weight of responsibility more than the joy of achievement.

8. Confidence didn’t just “happen” for me.
It was built through rejection, mistakes, and walking into rooms that terrified me.
And even now, some days I feel like that scared version of me shows up again.

I’m not sharing this for sympathy.

I’m sharing it because someone out there needs to hear it:
You are not behind.
You are not alone.
You are not the only one struggling quietly while trying to look strong.
You’re just human - growing, learning, rebuilding, and doing the best you can with what you have.

And if you ever need a community that understands all of this…
you know where to find us.

I look forward to seeing you all in Halifax and Toronto this week and next 

Sign up if you have not already if you based out of the Atlantic for an exciting event we are hosting with Max Medyx on Nov 21st, Saturday 

And our end of the year social on Nov 29th, Saturday in downtown Toronto 

Sign up for either events using link here: https://lnkd.in/dYf-Awbw

Super excited to see you all come together and support each other. We are stronger together 🙌

Cannot wait to share with you what Max and I have learnt in our journeys whether it’s in the content space or developing a strong personal brand or becoming a TEDX speaker or landing jobs and helping others do the same 

It’s not because we are smarter but it’s because we understood the often underrated fators that play a role and we doubled down on that 

And I believe each one of you can do the same, once you understand them, so come out and let’s grow together 

See you :)

Are you usually someone who gets things done? But then thereare some thing you procratinate

But you never understood why

Well, I got you

And the good news is that, its not because you are LAZY

But rather because there is misalignment between your sense of self and the task at hand 

Let me explain what I mean:

Well, let’s say you are a night person but you want to start waking up early 

So now you start setting your alarm to wake up 5am everyday. The first few days will be evry tough for you because its not something you have done before and so everytime you try to wake up, your brain wants to put you to sleep because its trying to in its way- protect you- by making you do what you always do because your sense of self is that you are a night person 

And so it will be a lot harder for you, and you will procrastinate it more than someone who sees themselves as a morning person even if they wake up at 9am but are looking to wake up earlier 

But again, if you keep showing up or take initiative consistently, eventually you will see the amount of procrastination reduce and your insentivity to it increase 

And eventually there will be a time where you will not procrastinate at all and now it becomes a habit

And on average they say it takes 21 days of consistent action to build a habit

So, if there is any habit you are looking to build or a type of person you are looking to become

First start off by believing and acting like you are that person- because that will help your sense of self align with the future YOU, making 'doing it' a lot easier and then follow through with consistent action 
.
.
Try it out for 21 days and let me know how you feel

#mindset

The riskiest move today isn’t trying.
It’s staying the exact same.

So many times, I hear from students:

“I’m scared to try something new.”
“I don’t want to look stupid.”
“What if I fail?”
“What if it does not work out?”

And I get it.

But here’s the truth:

What if it works out? What if instead of focusing on the fear you spent your energy focusing on making it work 

And if you are not sure where to start, do what people living upto their potential do:

1️⃣ Build in Public
Don’t wait to be “perfect.”
Share the process — the wins, the lessons, the messy middle.

That visibility becomes your credibility.

2️⃣ Create Opportunities Instead of Waiting
Reach out.
Ask for conversations.
Show up at events, join communities, and connect with people who uplift you.
Opportunities come from people — not portals.

3️⃣ Teach What You Know
You don’t need to be an expert.
You just need to be two steps ahead of who you once were.
Share the insights you wish you had when you landed here.

4️⃣ Make Your Work Visible
Projects. Case studies. Volunteering.
Content that shows your thinking.
Proof > Potential.
.
.
The reality is simple:
Your skills.
Your story.
Your visibility.

Are the only things no one can ever take away from you.

That’s your real job security.

taplio

The Battle

Shubham Khoker

Ritika Saraswat

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taplio

The Battle

Shubham Khoker

Ritika Saraswat

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Shubham Khoker's LinkedIn Performance

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Performance ScoreShubham Khoker's LinkedIn Performance