Kurogo

Content Writer

We create thought leaders through personal branding

Post-Grad Survival Guide

Took over the publication from my friend Tom. With 44K+ followers on Medium, we're one of the biggest publications on Medium. We help 20-somethings live happier & healthier lives.

Editor in Chief

FinGhost.io

Helping finance and real estate professionals build their audiences on LinkedIn

Writer

Foundry 

Writing content for world-class professionals and industry leaders across niches such as Law, Tech, AI, Business, and more.

Kohort

Head of Content

Building the copy for the website, creating eye-catching LinkedIn posts for the founder, and writing informative articles, among other things.

Ghostwriting & Copywriting Consultant

Mobco Media

Helped build the CEO's personal brand through LinkedIn and writing articles on highly reputed websites like Forbes.com and Entrepreneur.com.

Ghostwriting Consultant

LinkedIn

The LinkedIn Creator Accelerator Program is an initiative designed to invest in creators. In India, 200 creators were selected from all over the country and given financial grants, resources, and mentorship from the country’s leading creators and executives. I was one of the youngest people selected for the program and worked alongside thought leaders from various industries.

LinkedIn Creator Accelerator Program India 2022

upGrad

I was a part of the Business Intelligence team for most of my tenure at the company. Among other things, I also worked in Talent & Acquisition, helped organize and manage the National Sales Meet 2021, and worked on researching colleges and subject matter experts in the course-building process.

Business Intelligence

WellnessCalendar.ai

Wrote, edited, and published content, based primarily in the niches of Health, Wellness, and Fitness. I also wrote captions for Social Media, emails, and posts for the Founders’ handles.

Torrey Pines Foods

Responsible for designing, creating, and publishing all of the company’s Social Media content, campaigns, and generating leads through Social Media platforms and other online mediums.

Social Media Strategist

Content @ Kurogo | LinkedIn Creator Accelerator

Dropped out of a Masters degree at my dream uni to write online.

The clients I work with are multi-millionaires dominating their industries.

I write content at Kurogo, the go-to personal branding agency in the UK. We create thought leaders.

I also head The Post Grad Survival Guide, a Medium publication focused on navigating your 20s, started by my friend Tom. We're one of the biggest on the platform.

In 2022, I was 1 out of the 200 people selected by LinkedIn in the India edition of the Creator Accelerator Program.

On my personal LinkedIn, I create content about habits that work for me and the harsh lessons life has taught me. I've garnered 10M+ views so far.

My interests outside work are Football, Badminton, and Gaming.

If you'd like to get in touch with me, email me at varunkhadri@gmail.com.

I became a writer not because it was my passion.

But because I'd get frustrated and depressed doing anything else.

I tried normal jobs, freelancing, content creation, academics - everything.

Writing was the only thing that didn’t make me want to pull my hair out at the end of the day.

Don’t get me wrong - I AM incredibly passionate about what I do.

But I didn’t start that way.

I didn’t love it at the start. I just hated it less than other things.

Passion isn’t something you discover, it’s something you grow into.

Varun Khadri

I’ve worked at 3 leading agencies.

At my past gigs, writers had zero ownership.

I couldn’t speak to the client directly. Ever.
I didn’t even have a Google account of my own.

I was doing the same thing I do now, but those jobs really put the ‘ghost’ in ghostwriting 😂

Writers had zero ownership and visibility of anything.

I didn’t realise how big of a red flag that was until I started my current job.

At Kurogo, writers:

- Directly speak to the client on calls
- Take ownership of the content process end-to-end
- Have all benefits employees do, regardless of location

The flip side of this is that writers here have a lot more responsibilities than writers at other agencies.

But honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

The personal branding industry is infamous for treating writers as disposable commodities.

So, experiencing trust and transparency is a refreshing change.

I’ve been doing therapy 2x a month for 5 years now.

5 unforgettable facts I’ve discovered:

- You find happiness when you stop chasing it and just focus on doing what makes you happy.

- Stop taking advice from people whose lives you would never want. This sadly includes a lot of your friends and family.

- Sometimes you’re not the problem, your environment is. Change where you are if you don’t like where you’re going.

- You don’t have to literally cut toxic people out of your life. Simply distancing yourself from them emotionally is enough. 

- Labels are a good starting point, but don’t let them limit you. Never make your diagnosis your entire personality.

You can be depressed and still seek joy.
You can be anxious and still seek calm.
You can have ADHD and still focus.

You’re more than a label ❤️

Your first time doing anything will be bad.

It'll be awkward. Boring. Embarassing. 

But you know what?

By simply taking that first step, 
You're already miles ahead of the people in the stands.

It's easy to call people cringe and judge them.

But nothing is worse than never having the courage to set foot in the arena.

I committed career suicide before my career even began.

This is the story of the dumbest thing I’ve ever done 👇🏻

When I was 16, I was suuuuper outgoing and social.

I accidentally became the popular kid in school.

I knew half the city at that point.

But after school, I had a 180-degree transformation.

I started hating clubbing, socialising, having random flings, etc.

I started looking down on people who were living that kind of lifestyle.

It pissed me off that most people around me refused to grow up,
And were forever stuck doing the same things,
In the same places with the same people.

So I did a purge.

I cut out 99.99% of the people I knew.

I unfollowed them, removed them from my audience, and went full monk mode.

That kind of obsessive focus on my goals worked wonders for me.

By 24, I’d already achieved most of my childhood goals.

But boy, do I regret going to the extreme of cutting out everyone.

I don’t miss them.

But Bangalore is a small city.

I still run into them in places. We still go to some of the same events.

We still have a ton of mutual friends, WhatsApp groups, and sports games.

And I know they all still keep tabs on me. 

Now, as everyone grows up, having a vast network is key to growth and success.

Back then, being popular was shallow. Now, it’s useful.

Sometimes, I feel like reaching out to them again. 

The people who were my best friends at a point, people who I grew up with. 
The people who I have so many memories with.

But now it’s too awkward. I’m not the same person they knew.

And I’m too busy to meet people except for my closest friends now anyway

The metaphorical distance between us is too big to fix. 
Too much time has passed for this to be fixable.

Oh well - it is what it is.

Lesson: you don’t have to literally cut someone out of your life to distance yourself from them.

Don’t burn bridges unless you really need to.

I’m about to say the most privileged sentence of my life:

I miss the pandemic.

I’m incredibly lucky that COVID didn’t take me or anyone I loved.

But I have plenty of friends who lost their closest people to the pandemic.

So I do not, by any means, miss the death and loss the pandemic brought.

But I do miss the quiet.

We didn’t realise it back then but there was a certain beauty to those early months when nobody had any idea what was happening.

I miss the empty roads. 
I miss the silence.
I miss the slowing down.

Above all - I really miss the lack of pressure.

Because you COULDN’T go anywhere and do anything (especially in India - where lockdowns were the strictest in the whole world), 3 silver linings arose:

1. Humans rediscovered joy in the simple things: going on a walk, baking, watching shows, making coffee, etc.

2. There was no pressure to say “yes” to anything, because the entire world was taking a collective breather and had pressed pause.

3. When lockdowns did lift and it was safe again get back to the “normal”, it felt so much better than before.

For a while, just going out to restaurants felt like the most fun thing to do.

When you finally met your friends, you hugged them tighter.

When you exercised, you worked out harder because you’d gone so long without the gym.

Hell - after a couple of years of muting classes and falling asleep, just being back in the classroom with real people felt so good.

Even long commutes felt bearable because you hadn’t seen your cubicle and colleagues in so long.

It’s funny - the very things we dread today were the things we romanticised and missed during COVID.

I remember getting so much joy from just going out for a meal with my then-partner.

And I remember a lot of slowing down.

India is noisy, hot, and very polluted.

But it was less so for those two years.

That first summer I could actually hear the birds chirp without the sound of vehicles honking…

I used to notice the smell of rain and just go out for a few mins and watch the rain fall.

Just going out to buy groceries was such a fun, novel experience back then because it meant getting out of your house.

And there were no traffic jams anymore when you went out.

Ahhh how I long for those simpler days again!

P.S.
Again, I wish the pandemic had never happened as it was so tough for so many people, but a little nostalgia never hurt anyone, right? That’s all I’m trying to do with this post :)

Every day before I start work, I meditate for 3 minutes.

I remind myself that almost nothing I'm about to do is something I haven't done a thousand times already.

This helps calm the nerves a little and not be daunted by the workload.

Then I reiterate that the work I do isn't about me.

Everything we do as a business is to get results for clients.

So leaving your emotions and ego at the door is key.

Finally, I say a little thank you to the higher power that allows me to tap into my creativity every day.

Everything I produce isn't mine, it simply flows through me.

This helps me stay calm and composed through chaotic workdays.

Do you have a ritual that helps prime you for work?

"I've worked with everyone from Brad Pitt to the Beatles and I can tell you, the best people to work with are the people easy to work with"

A client of ours said this last week when I was on a call with him.

He's had a 30-year career in Media in NYC.

I'd asked him about memorable moments from his career.

This got me thinking about 3 things:

- How important it is to be someone other people enjoy working with: it doesn't matter who you are if people don't like being around you. Don't underestimate how important it is to be liked in the working world.

- Imposter syndrome can be your best friend: there I was, a 24-year-old kid working from his parents' house, asking this super successful guy questions about his life. But here's the thing - age, location, experience, all these things are irrelevant compared to expertise. This guy is listening to me and knows I'm great at what I do. So how the hell can I feel like I don't belong in the room? Back yourself!!!! You're here for a reason. The fact that you feel like an imposter is a sign you're pushing yourself beyond your comfort zone.

- People are just people at the end of the day. Respect everyone, but don't take them so seriously. All humans have the same innate desires. We all want to like what we want to do, we all want to succeed, and we all want people to love us. Nobody walks on water. So just treat them like any normal human beings.

📷 the place where all the magic happens

Never forget the days you prayed for the problems you have today ❤️

The counterintuitive career advice I wish someone had told me:

Get good at ignoring noise.

And harsh truth: 99% of things that come across your desk are noise.

For context: I work in personal branding. I'm a writer.

Something that comes with the job:

- I follow 3738384 writers.
- I'm subscribed to 5859493 newsletters.
- I work with people who are obsessed with their craft.

The one downside of all this is that I get a TON of info thrown at me every day.

Most of it is useful.
Most of it is from people who actually care.

But the fact is that my brain only has limited capacity daily.

It's impossible to action every edit the day of.
It's impossible to hop on every marketing trend.
It's impossible to implement all feedback instantly.
It's impossible to replicate every viral hook template.

I write 10000+ words a week. 

So being extremely strategic about what I give my time and energy to is CRITICAL.

My actual job is writing. Everything else is a "good-to-have".

Nothing else matters as much as producing high-quality writing.

Anything that's not that is not priority 1.

You don't win any prizes for being the most responsive guy.

But you always get rewarded one way or another for being the most focused.

I was talking to a friend today who recently started her first job.

She was complaining that she wasn’t learning and was doing monotonous work.

Yet she also mentioned she was liking the ‘making money’ part.

She told me it wasn’t enough to keep her motivated though so she was quitting.

She felt that long commutes and working from the office weren’t worth it.

4 things I desperately want more young people to know:

1. If jobs were fun, they wouldn’t pay you to do them. There’s going to be some level of boredom and ‘suck’ at any job. Find something you can at least tolerate and embrace the initial uncomfortable monotony.

2. WFH is convenient, but WFO is unparalleled when it comes to forming real relationships. Optimise for in-person connection in the early stages of your career.

3. The bitter pill is that most people work because they need to. If you want to lead a good lifestyle and spend on things that interest you, working hard and making a living is sadly the only way.

4. EVERYONE starts by doing clerical, seemingly meaningless tasks. It’s weird but you have to work your way up to using your brain and being trusted with cognitively demanding tasks. Actual learning is a reward that’s to be earned.

These are stupidly obvious facts but it’s scary how many young people don’t know them.

Schools and colleges paint a very idealistic picture of what the working world is actually like.

Gen Z enters the workplace expecting fun, excitement, and learning from day 1.

Truth is: any job will always be hard at times.

The sooner you expect it and learn to work with the boredom, the faster you can climb the ladder and start doing cool work eventually.

My superpower is embracing my cringe.

Some people think posting content is cringy.
Some people think LinkedIn is cringy.
Some think creating itself is cringy.

I couldn’t care less.

Because I know that:

You’ll always be cringe to some people no matter what you do
Everyone is cringe at anything at the start
You’re only cringe until you make it

On the contrary - I couldn’t dance or sing if my life depended on it.

I can’t even hum my favourite songs or throw my hands in the air at a party 😅

I have a mental blocker that makes it seem too cringe.

But there are people who love singing and dancing.
They’d do it regardless of who judged them for it.

The point is: build self-awareness about what you don’t mind being cringe at.

Then, embrace your cringe and go all in on it.

What do you love doing even if it's cringe to others?

Sometimes, I wonder - where have the years gone?

I’m turning 25 this year.

But I remember being 15 like it was yesterday.

If I could go back in time and speak to 15 y/o me, these are the 3 life lessons I’d teach him:

1. 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵. 

I stayed in toxic relationships that were always bound to fail. Because I thought that love was all that mattered. Compatability is FAR more important. Love is the least important important thing.

 
2. 𝗘𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝘃𝗮𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗱𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗱. 

Two months of playing with your mates all day - what I wouldn’t give to have that again. Unfortunately, long breaks become impossible once you start working. Even whilst in college, there’s always the pressure to intern. So enjoy the summer holidays as a kid as much as you possibly can.

3. 𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲. 

Don’t wait for them to change. Don’t wish they suddenly get smarter and act differently. People only change when they either need to or want to. And nobody likes being told what to do. So don’t bother wasting your time trying to make other people change. Instead, focus on yourself and how you can become someone who doesn’t need others to change.

What’s one piece of advice you’d give your younger self?

Friendly reminder: you can’t get good at anything without first being terrible at it.

Your 1st post will be bad. Your first workout will suck. Your first time playing a sport will be painful.

But not being good at the start is the price you pay for eventually getting better.

Don’t be someone who never tries because you don’t want to be bad at doing something.

You cannot get good without being bad.

Being bad is okay. 

Refusing to try out of fear isn’t.

Today’s challenges will be tomorrow’s stories.

Today’s struggles will be tomorrow’s triumphs.

Today’s failures will be tomorrow’s fuel.

Nothing is happening to you. Everything is happening for you ✌🏻

Every obstacle is an opportunity to bounce back.

Every setback is a stepping stone to success.

Every problem is a possibility to write your comeback story.

📷 - credit to Jun Han Chin
—

A lot of companies will say learning and development is important to them.

But when you look at the day-to-day of team members, you notice quickly that it’s not REALLY a priority.

At Kurogo, things are different:

- Every Monday, on the team standup, each of us brings 2-3 articles about what’s happening in the world and how it can be relevant to our clients’ industries.

- Once a week, teams with different roles each have a team training each where the senior team runs through specific systems and processes that will make people individually better at their jobs.

- On Friday, on the standup, everyone talks about one win and one learning from the week. This can be both personal and professional highlights.

- All of us get a set budget every year to spend on whatever we want to learn. I just redeemed my allowance for a top graphic design course.

- Each quarter, we have a day that’s solely dedicated to the team’s learning and development. We can do whatever we want that helps us improve our craft in this time.

- Each month, the founder shares the month’s wins, losses, and learnings. He speaks about the business' goals for the next month. Nothing is gatekept.

Actions speak louder than words.

If you say learning and development is a priority, make sure your policies actually reflect that.

Spending resources on your team’s L&D isn’t an expense, it’s an investment with the highest ROI.

Sometimes I wonder what I'd do without sport.

My life would be so empty.

Here's how I spent my Sunday today:

- Woke up at 5 am to play Football
- Came back home and played some FIFA for a bit on my PS5
- Then spent the afternoon watching RCB's IPL game (my sister's a fan)
- In the evening, I watched 2 things at once: United vs. Wolves in EPL and MI vs. CSK in the IPL.

What a glorious life 🙏🏻

I waited until I felt energetic to start working out.

I waited until I felt comfortable before posting content.

I waited until I felt capable before applying for my dream job.

The irony is that I never felt fully ready.

Ultimately, I just got sick of not doing what I wanted to do.

So I said f*ck it and made the leap anyway.

That decision to jump before I felt okay jumping changed my life.

My only regret is not having started sooner.

The time will never be fully "right" or "perfect".

The best time to start was 10 years ago. The second-best time is now.

I was having a sh*t game.

Just one of those terrible games where all you want is for it to end.

One of those games when you want your misery to end, when you want to hide, when you hope you don't get the ball.

I even kept asking my friend what time it was because all I wanted was to go home.

I kept making stupid mistakes and conceding goals. As a result, we were losing 1-5.

I was injured in 3 different places. I was sleep-deprived af. I was negative.

Then - something happened.

There was a moment when the sun rose through the clouds.

It was a cloudy morning, and we'd started playing just after dawn.

Suddenly, as first light burst through the overcast Bangalore sky, it struck me:

"Wait a second, isn't this beautiful? Yes! This is amazing. Football on a beautiful ground on a crisp Sunday morning. This is so nice. Life is good. Who cares about winning - how lucky am I to even be able to play sports"?

So what if you're injured, don't think of playing as a chore, it's ALWAYS a privilege.

So what if you're sleepy, you have all day after the game to rest up, some people have to work on Sundays too.

So what if you've made mistakes and are messing up? Sport is all about comeback stories.

Count your blessings man, I reminded myself.

It's so easy to be negative, even about things that you love.

Talking back to my negative brain has made all the difference for me. 

Putting things in perspective and choosing to look at the bright side is a choice.

When your mind defaults to complaining and negativity, fight back.

P.S. We ended up winning 8-6, but that was all because of the team, they won despite their keeper (me), not because of him.

Taplio

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