How to Grow from 0 to 100k Followers on LinkedIn (Step-by-Step) - w/ Sai & Sohan

My mom and a couple of friends we were having lunch in the food court. Suddenly there is this girl who comes up to me and she's like hey are you so she's like the content that you're sharing is helping me and my friends look for a job right now. I sit for 3 hours 5 7 10 or one depending on how many post I have how fast I write and then I schedule post for next 7 days. One thing that really prevents them from embarking on their contentation journeys is just how it will be perceived by their employers. Did you all ever worry about that? If you are getting negative comments or hate comments that means you're growing.

that means you're growing. I'm Naman Pande. This is the Ready Set to Podcast and in this episode my guests are Shan Sati and Sai Kumar. Between them Sai and Sohan Amaz, a network of over 350,000 followers on LinkedIn alone while continuing to be some of the brightest and most reliable voices, sharing job hunt tools and resources on the platform. Today they share a step-by-step blueprint of how anyone can transform their career and their lives just by writing on LinkedIn and the sheer magnitude of opportunities doing so enables. Indeed, even though they reach millions of people every week right now, they too made their first post at some point. For a new creator who has just started, my biggest advice would be niche down as much as possible. So, he's getting like $200 per post. I don't know. Some people think that, but nobody

know. Some people think that, but nobody ever knows like the actual truth. Just focus on doing value. That's when you get value 10 times more than what you do. And nothing happens overnight. That's one thing that I've learned the hardware as well. In line with the podcast theme of focusing on just the first few steps in any endeavor, my goal with this episode is to simply inspire you to begin your content creation journey on LinkedIn.

content creation journey on LinkedIn. Your content is cringe. You are cringe. I would say it is only cringe until there comes a comes a point where it is credible. I'm so thrilled that you chose to spend a few minutes of your time with me here today. If you like my work and want to support me, please subscribe on YouTube and Spotify. And for a daily dose of fun knowledge bites, please follow on Instagram. Okay, now without any further ado, here are Sohan and Sai. Welcome to the only podcast in the world featuring stories of high agency individuals who are just a few steps ahead of us. So Sai, welcome. Thank you, Nan. Thank you for having us. Thank you for having us, Nam. It's nice to be back here. Yeah. Yeah. I was just going to say I

Yeah. Yeah. I was just going to say I know both of you all have been past guests on the show and obviously that was for completely different reasons. Although I will say I still actually get messages from people that watch those episodes. Today we are going to be talking to Sohan and Sai about their um content creation journeys and really looking to find out more about the people behind the LinkedIn accounts that every single day deliver value to thousands and thousands of people. I just want to kind of pick your brains around what first made you start writing on LinkedIn and what was it that made you go like okay I guess I'm going to write content on LinkedIn now and feel free to jump in whoever whoever wants to take take that up first but of course looking to get a thoughts of both of you.

Go for it. Yep. So I would say I have two reason I had two reasons when I started content creation. M first was during my job search networking played an important role. So I got by lot of people but uh I felt I started networking late. So I started networking when I was desperate for a job which I should have started when I was not desperate for a job.

was not desperate for a job. All of us right? Yeah. All of us wish we knew that before but yeah that's how it goes. goes. Yeah. So I I thought if I started networking while I was not desperate for a job, I could leverage it while I was desperate for a job. So that's one of the reasons I thought I'll start content creation as well which builds my network simultaneously. And second reason uh once I got my job I had lot of time after 9 to5. So I moved from New York to South Carolina. So there's not much to do around this place. And once I got the job, I started getting a lot of DMs as

job, I started getting a lot of DMs as well. All the DMs messages that we have sent right now we are on the other side. how did you apply for the job? How did you learn? Where did you learn? How did you prepare? What was the interview like? What questions were asked? All the questions that we asked I started getting them. uh so I thought like I used to hop on for 20-minut call with whomever I can and then share in the knowledge that I had and by that time I have been following OG's like Zack Aishwara Aishwara Megan just Alex Danish Krishna every OG creator on in the data science field I see that they were posting continuously consistently I would say and then I thought why not give it a try and then

thought why not give it a try and then see where it goes which helps me build my network uh which links to my first point and then if at So I build personal brand. It's going to be a game changer. So it's going to be like a win-win for me and for the people that are texting me and then people that will text me. So I thought let me give it a try. And then I started uh it took few months to get the traction. I mean it's not going to uh happen overnight for anyone watching and want to start content creation. It's not going to happen in 2 days or 3 days.

not going to happen in 2 days or 3 days. uh you need to give it at least 3 to 6 months to start seeing some traction and from there I would say there's no looking back and then it's the growth has been exponential and as I started and then I saw opportunity uh to build brand and build my network you get access to people that would have never possible if not for content creation so saw all the uh I saw thousands of opportunities or thousand thousands might be exaggeration but uh we'll get there for sure but like hidden opportunities and hidden doors being open which uh wouldn't which I wouldn't have known if not for content creation and then that kept me moving and when you get messages like I got the

and when you get messages like I got the job I got the interview or I got promoted these are the ones that keep me motivated and do more of what I do. Absolutely. I love what you said about how it won't be so easy but you kind of have to muscle through the first few months which I have follow-ups on that but I'll get to them once someone shares his reasons for starting out. Absolutely. I would love to uh I would actually take a step back that hey from from where started he was actually ahead in just learning about that hey LinkedIn can be such a good networking tool. I I started to learn about that after I got the job and that was such a such a bad thing to do otherwise it would have been

thing to do otherwise it would have been so was so so helpful but bug up um after I remember very clearly like I started working back in August 2023 and somewhere around September October November like my batchmates who were just who had just passed out with me uh and they were my finding jobs and I was like hey what the heck u I went through this roller coaster where it is like you have to apply for 3,000 plus jobs and then and then and then get a job and there's visa uncertainty and then finding an and so much that goes into like entire journey and um I'm like okay I'm I'm just like listening about this and it's it's breaking my heart

and it's it's breaking my heart definitely for me and for my friends as well so I remember somewhere around the February of of like the upcoming year so 6 months after me getting my job I had just accumulated so much within me like hey my ex-friend did not find a job did not find a job. I just went to LinkedIn one day and I just like poured my heart like hey this is the entire situation with like the immigrant uh international student journey and this is what go and for some reason I believe it was not just me but thousands and thousands of people just like Sai mentioned and it actually got more than 250,000 impressions on just that one single post and that was your first post

and that was your first post that so I I I would have been uh like maybe I in in in a year or in a couple of years I would have posted something but yeah if if if I was to say my actual content creation journey that was the first course and wow yo yo I don't know I got lucky or something and I I I never even planned to start content creation until that point but I would say that that first post it just uh made me realize that hey gratefulness is a small word I am privileged to be put into this position to actually speak out people's opinion opinions and what they are feeling and just connect the dots for them. So I'm like hey I really

dots for them. So I'm like hey I really have to take this very seriously respect this like anything and just go all into it. So from that point of time I started sharing what worked for me in my job search uh what what what is working for other people these are the strategies these are the tools that can really help you land a job everything that I had I just dumped it on LinkedIn and it just started resonating with people like I I started receiving hey I I just got my first interview because of you I got my job people are sending me offer which I don't care is it's actually legal but but I just I just started returning through these messages and that was that was such a such such a overwhelming feeling by the very same time such a

feeling by the very same time such a feeling full of gratitude. So I just kept kept doing that and um touchford um right now very very blessed to be at the point where I am but but yeah the journey has be has been nothing but beautiful and um I just feel so privileged um to be in the position where I am connecting with people like you. Yeah. And so firstly that obviously that part is my pleasure if anything but also that is so interesting to already get the contrast in your journeys where as Sai was saying it was a little bit more gradual for him right he had to kind of wade into the waters so to speak before he saw any sort of traction whereas you on the other hand were you know as you said I don't think that is

know as you said I don't think that is luck cuz you still did the writing right like no no no one did it for you but I think what I'm trying to draw out here is it's really interesting gesting that there is no one right path. Um and eventually what you both said did converge where despite that one viral post, you still have to continue creating content, right? You can't just sit on your winnings and just relax for the rest of your life. Like you still have to make post, you still have to think of how to add value and all of those things irrespective of when you go viral or if you go viral, you still have to do those things. So as I was sharing with you both um I put out a poll and

with you both um I put out a poll and had a bunch of people send questions to ask you all and one of the common themes in that was when and this was from a big chunk of my audience that is employed right they do have jobs they they are working in America and they say that one thing that really prevents them from really seriously um embarking on their content creation journeys is just how it will be perceived by their employers right like their managers are on LinkedIn probably their skip level manager which is also on LinkedIn and when they see them write so aggressively well by aggressively I mean in a way that helps people right to find jobs they shared that it can make it feel like they themselves are you know like looking for a job and is you know just

looking for a job and is you know just like goes into slightly weird dimensions so did you all ever worry about that is that something that ever crossed you guys' mind um absolutely I I'll quickly finish this so I would Today I I was just speaking with with another content creation friend who is very big on Instagram and I was just requesting that hey we need what you're doing on Instagram to come on LinkedIn it would be helpful for so many people and he mentioned the very same thing like hey I am working in exposite company and I can't do this because my manager will see I just shared this exact exact piece of information which was like since the day I joined my company um I I I did not start writing

company um I I I did not start writing around then but yeah 6 months later as I started getting traction in my one-on- ones with my manager. I used to go up to him like, "Hey, this is what I'm currently doing. This is what's helping." I remember the first time that like I got featured on the Times Square, I shared that with him like, "Hey, I am doing this on LinkedIn." The reciprocal effect of that was this and he was so kind enough to actually showcase that in our two meeting every every week and this continued and I even changed roles throughout that time. Even my current managers it has been something which has been very transparent because uh if I if

been very transparent because uh if I if I believe you you you go ahead with that kind of a attitude it gives them the uh the the confidence in you as well like hey he's already being transparent to me he's sharing evidence whatever he's doing why would he look for some why would he have a different angle in this so maybe that could be one thing or even if even if you don't want to be that open that transparent just just keep doing your work if you're not doing anything wrong if you're just helping people um I believe the the after effect or just the fear of the after effect is too less as compared to the value the

too less as compared to the value the immense value that you can actually provide if you start doing something like this so much that just think about that in that time that makes sense s yep I think I absolutely agree with what so has mentioned as soon mentioned like even I got featured on time square and then I mentioned it to my director she sent an email to uh every person in the featured featured the video and then she sent it to everyone. So I just to add on what Sohan mentioned I think it can go either ways depending on the team the kind of manager you have uh the kind of person or the uh employee that you report to but few things is uh when you are posting just make sure that you are not violating any company policies of course

violating any company policies of course make sure that you're not spending too much time on it when uh when I mean to say like try to post outside your work time so when you uh get pushed back you can have a proof and obviously Uh one thing another thing that I had in mind was so that that would be one thing uh try to post outside your uh work zone or try not to engage much and then make sure to complete your work at uh company as well on time. So yeah that you are completing your work uh you are completing your work before deadline you are going extra mile at your work and you're also doing this as a uh passion or something that you really want to help job seekers or data analyst

want to help job seekers or data analyst or data scientist. So do not give them a feeling that you are not working at your company and then uh giving a feeling them that you are working for LinkedIn or Instagram or any other social media platform. So try not to get that feeling uh to your uh employees. That's one thing that I would say. And obviously uh if you're trying to do something fishy just you need to make sure make sure that you're not doing something. It's just to build your network or to help your audience or to build your personal brand which is going to help company you and your audience ultimately. So it's a win-win situation for everyone. So I would say just say go for it but make sure that everyone's in the loop and

sure that everyone's in the loop and when you get pushed back uh have a proper reasoning of why you started what you're doing when you're doing how you are doing and then make them that this is what the impact uh for you or the your company or whatever the whoever the manager is and then hopefully it should be sorted but I know who few creators or few friends who want to start but they did not get the approval or not but it happens like probably less than one person you can count on fingers. Right. Right. Right. You just say get started and see what happens. If you get pushed back in a like a larger force, you can always stop it. But if you never start, you would never know. So I would just say get

never know. So I would just say get start and then see what happens. If it works out, you change your life. If it doesn't works out, you go back to your normal. normal. I love how size solution to a corporate problem is itself corporate in nature. Like he basically said, you know, just Ca, right? as we're taught in corporate lingo like no matter what you're doing presenting make sure to cover your ass except even his solution for this is also to just see why a right is proof I never posted during world hours so I don't know what you want from me so so that's you know really funny but of course also super helpful I think that is a really nice way to go about things that at least it'll give you yourself

that at least it'll give you yourself stability right or clarity that okay if something happens I have proof that I haven't broken any rules tools. I still do my work on time blah blah blah. So, you know, what do you want from me? Um, moving on. Something that both of you mentioned was, you know, just the value ad, value ad from content creation. So, from the outside looking in, as was proved by the questions I got and a lot of questions were around this specific thing, right, where yeah, there's a lot of cloud. Of course, it feels good. Like the dopamine pools fill up when you wake up to, I don't know, like 500 notifications. All of that is great. And I'm sure you guys would probably agree

I'm sure you guys would probably agree when I say that it's like whatever, right? At this point, it it's not why you do it, right? So really the question was why do you do it? like you know what is the value that you get from you know just being such a you know positive big voice for so many thousands of people how would you describe the value that you get or you have gotten from uh creating content and we'll stick to LinkedIn for this particular um instance go for it sure absolutely I would say the only reason that that why I'm doing that um is uh it's again two things. The first one I believe um I've been I've been very grateful enough to come to the United States, experience this amazing life, uh work for the company I'm

life, uh work for the company I'm working for, be on LinkedIn, uh make money, travel the world, XY Z, everything. But at the very same time, that for some reason, for the longest time, uh did not give me the utmost level of happiness. I'm like something is wrong. You are doing everything that you always wanted to do. You are doing everything that you ever dreamed of. You are doing whatever the world aspires to be. Still is not giving happiness. What the heck is going on? Something is wrong in this equation. Left hand side is not equal to right hand side. So having having said that um I believe my why or my reason are two right now. The first one is to make sure give the world the resources give the world the clarity give the world just if if if they want a

give the world just if if if they want a ladder give them the escalator that hey this is exactly how you can reach wherever you want to reach whether it's in terms of job search whether it's in terms of d analytics AI tools business knowledge just my experiences in general that's the first piece like hey just help them get wherever they want to be and then comes the more interesting part that once you were there you actually realized that hey the entire world was just messing with you. This is not real happiness comes from. Real happiness real happiness comes from uh having everything and not having anything at all and just being content and just being happy wherever you would be in that stage. So uh in terms of my content creation journey in terms of my LinkedIn

creation journey in terms of my LinkedIn I believe that's that's the slight bit of clarity which I've been able to achieve and that's what I've tried to put out in my content every piece whether it's in one line or the entire post but that could be exactly these two points help them achieve everything that they ever can and once they are there just make them realize that hey the real happiness that you were looking for was always within you and this is how you can actually get even more closer to it.

can actually get even more closer to it. So that's that's that's my vibe. That makes sense. And can you also pull the curtain in terms of what you have gotten as a result like what have you received in your I don't know it can be skills it can be maybe it made you a better writer maybe it presented better opportunities. I think there's just a lot of misconceptions and myths around this particular piece like oh oh he's getting like $200 per post. I don't know some people think that. So but but nobody ever knows like the actual truth you know. So how how what would you say to people that say those type of things?

to people that say those type of things? I would say there are there are definitely multiple things and and yeah one of one of them is like hey uh people talking about this exact aspect like you mentioned about uh but but yeah being being on a visa in African there there are those issues that like we have right go for them but having said that uh the biggest biggest factor right now is and this I I swear this happened just I believe four or six days ago my mom is in the United States and she's visiting me currently in Chicago um there is a Black Friday day going on in in one of the malls over here. So I was just over

the malls over here. So I was just over there in the food court. Um my mom and a couple of friends we were having lunch over there and suddenly there is this girl who comes up to me and she's like hey are you so hung? I'm like yes and she's like hey I've been following on LinkedIn and so incredibly valuable that the content go sharing it's helping me and my friends look for a job right now.

and my friends look for a job right now. The resources are so helpful. I believe that that in that feeling which I got in that moment with my mom coming to be visiting in the United States and be witnessing something like this. I'm like this is beyond any any uh gratification or any so cool that's incredible. Thank you. Oh that's that's like that that's just an example but uh but yeah the just the feeling that hey you you have a purpose you can wake up happy you are excited for this excited for coming on this call sharing this with the world I believe uh that is something which I'm incredibly grateful for just the why to why to provide value that is something which I'm immensely grateful for and that's that makes my day so exciting um every day now

day so exciting um every day now amazing s how has this rewarded your personal and professional life. Yeah, I think I could relate to everything what someone mentioned about giving back to the community first and then after few months or years you get it back 2x, 5x or 10x and absolutely I can relate to the people uh thing when you walk on streets or you are in a theater or you are at a conference and two people walk up to you, five people walk up to you, 10 20 people walk up to you and say I follow you on LinkedIn, I saw you on N's podcast or UD's podcast or X person's podcast and then uh this makes our day and then uh that's what keeps us moving.

and then uh that's what keeps us moving. Apart from those emotional side of things uh I would say the rewarding side of things they have been pretty well too. You get invited to podcast like this. I think over the past years I've been on like 20 to 30 podcast. If not for creating uh content on LinkedIn I wouldn't have been in one of them. So that's one thing that I would say you get to review books. So even before publishing you get to review books and then give feedback for data analytic data science. So uh you get the knowledge and since you're creating content you got to be updated. So if I am not updated, I can't post content and my audience uh I will not have content after a few weeks and then so I got to

after a few weeks and then so I got to stay updated and I need to read articles, blogs just so that I can share with my audience that builds up my knowledge uh tox if I was not creating content probably I'll be watching a movie or going out with friends right now as well but at least instead doing for 10 hours a week I would do it for 55 I would be 50 50%. So you need to be updated which improves your technical skills since you're writing every day that improves your communication skills as well. So we need to write every day on LinkedIn for making a carousel or Instagram. Uh since we started Instagram right now we need to be very good at storytelling. So as a data as data

storytelling. So as a data as data people we need to have good storytelling skills. So that's something that I would say and you get invited to conferences for free sometimes and you get uh paid for travel accommodation and during the conference you would meet people uh that you have been following them for an year 2 5 years might be 10 years as well. So you get access to those people VIP launches where you get uh access to uh people of 10 years of experience 20 years of experience who are running millions of million dollar companies billion dollar companies you get to talk with them you get to sit with them that's something that I always uh appreciate and then your network that builds so when you're in need of something be it job or a promotion or be

something be it job or a promotion or be a b c whatever that you have in mind you make your post you have build the network your community is there uh to help you in any way they can by posting a by commenting or by reposting or introducing you to your network when you are in need. That's the credibility part. You build your network and obviously uh what else do I have? Uh I mean that's already such a long list you know. Yeah. The same with courses even before courses goes live on the instru people that you follow uh I don't want to name but uh I have seen those courses before even they get released to right we get to review them give your feedback if it works well you get to be part of

if it works well you get to be part of them so uh all these things will make uh your career 2x 5x which would have taken me five years I get to learn that in two years or sometimes any year or sometimes three year and for every creator depending on how they create what they create uh how they project themselves the opportunities might be different and depending on what you are known for and what you want to be known for they'll be uh there might not be any uh intersection as well so yeah for sure yeah so I think um what jumps out to me is I never actually realized which it feels kind of obvious now that you say it but just how much

now that you say it but just how much work is involved consistently in order to actually put out good helpful content for people right I feel like a lot of people just take that for granted that they're like, "Oh, anybody can do that." Well, no. Right. Cuz as you just said, which I love that you said that. Um, unless you're fully up to date with the latest and greatest in data, you're not going to be able to post about that, right? And I think the same applies to Sen as well, cuz you also worked with data. And I feel like that is such an underrated aspect of all of this that most people kind of just gloss over. So, yeah, I think that's something that jumped out. And then another question on this front was what is your process

this front was what is your process around uh like creating content? So do you have like a weekly plan, a monthly plan? Do you schedule post? How do you go about uh putting stuff out or is it all done like in real time? I can take this. So I think when I started out if I want to make a post tomorrow, I would write it today and every day I used to spend an hour or two on writing a post for tomorrow. I did that for almost eight months and then I was like okay I'm spending way too much time on creating content than building my network or helping out others or having fun or any other thing or cooking doing a chores. So then I realized okay this is not how it's going to happen.

this is not how it's going to happen. I'm not going to spend all my free time on LinkedIn. So I think I started creating content in September 2023. I realized this in April 2024. took me eight months to realize there's from last April I started create b creating batch content so d with this I would write all my ideas on a Google doc or a notion doc currently I use notion I love notion and I love notion it's the one it's one of the best tools it's so good yeah and I write all my ideas in notion do and during weekends I sit for 3 hours 5 7 10 or one depending on how many post

5 7 10 or one depending on how many post I have how fast I write how how much I'm having 100 other factors. I write content for everything and then I schedule post for next seven days and during week I just engage with the comments I get and then the post will come on my feed and then reply to my DMs, have networking calls, do podcast like this or cook, do household chores, talk with family, friends. So I have more time for myself and the uh to do things that I love. And coming to editing part of it during uh I think at least for one and a half year I used to do all the editing part as well the car results and infographics and later on uh

results and infographics and later on uh I hired a student for two to three months and then one of my friends who who was very good at editing he also supported me in creating cheat sheets and other stuff as it started growing. I hired a professional uh recently probably I would say 3 to four months I give them the content they do the creative part and I figured out I'm the technical person here I'll do the technical part writing content let the creative people do the creative work I'm not going to my time uh doing uh Instagram edits or creating a corrosal or creating a animated infographic I don't see myself being an editor anytime soon in this lifetime so I'm like won't learn this skill I don't have to learn this let me whatever I can let me get my time back

whatever I can let me get my time back so I can use it to waste or to spend productively I'll have my time back. So that's been the journey. That makes sense. So Sanhan absolutely. Um I would say how I started was uh just by what whatever whatever I used to like uh listening to reading to whatever I was thinking I just used to post that and um that went for like a good three or four months and I realized that hey what I like is not really necessary that people would be liking that as obviously that's that's like a niche uh thing which I'm going into. So I I slowly started to think at quen creation from a more strategist standpoint and um I realized that hey uh you have to generalize content you have to uh

generalize content you have to uh package it in such a way that is readable uh valuable and at the very same time very practical for the book who's actually consuming your content. So that's when I like if basically for anyone who's wanting to start this their content creation journey and for me maybe someone who's like uh in the middle of it. This is what I realized around four or five months of content creation which is you need three pillars for your entire content creation uh journey or system or something like that. Um the first one definitely has to be the content head or the content writer who's actually writing your content. Um they could be like a copywriter or they could be someone who's helping you with ideation or or or or or something on that front. The second person just like Sai mentioned

second person just like Sai mentioned has to be the editor who's at editing the content, creating infographics and and so on and so forth. And a third person just so that you are able to better manage your time uh when it comes to content creation is someone like a brand manager or someone who can actually get you opportunities just like being on Lemon's podcast, being on UD's podcast, being going to a conference happening out there. So I believe those are the three pillars when it comes to content integration and for the longest time I was all three of three of those pillars combined uh which wasn't the best idea and uh a friend of mine told that hey the best thing to do is to delegate as much as you can and

is to delegate as much as you can and just make sure that um you are making you are the creative energy and rest of the manpower can be going the rest of the manpower can be going into into other other stuff like editing and so on and so forth. So u surprisingly just to what Sai mentioned that's my exact process right now as well where and I believe that makes sense because both of us are working professionals and so from Monday to Friday notion is my best friend whenever I am walking taking a shower cut friend or or like it's just like my mind is is working at at like the speed of light and something is going hey okay this will be helpful.

going hey okay this will be helpful. This can be valuable. Okay, let me learn more about this. This is something that I can explore. And while I'm simultaneously learning, exploring, thinking, I'm at the very same time writing ideas into my notion. And somewhere around Friday evening, I sit down and I start creating on the actual content, whether it is creating videos, whether it is writing post, whether it is uh formalizing things. uh then that entire next two and a half days are strength into that and then again you can just schedule your post for the entire next week so you have the batch ready just already a week before and um that's how the entire week's content comes onto the LinkedIn platform and that's how the audience use it and at the very same time something which has been incredibly helpful is just going

been incredibly helpful is just going back and checking that uh like doing a survey of how your post performed for the past two weeks 3 weeks and that gives me a clarity like hey Um at this point of time this is something which is flicking. For example uh around the month of August or September people are more interested in international student uh resources and like new students are coming into the US. So that can be quare which will work at that point of time.

which will work at that point of time. Something around around October would be hey uh what's a good resume? What's something that can be used for finding a job? around November, December, things are starting slowing down. People are exhausted. It would be something like, "Hey, uh, I'm not receiving call backs. How do I receive call backs?" Maybe they need some motivation, some some kind of a story that can that can push them to put in another application. So, yeah, maybe thinking it from that strategy standpoint um has been incredibly helpful and that's that's that's exactly what I do on a day-to-day basis.

what I do on a day-to-day basis. And let's see what's working, replicate on it 2x, 5x, 10x. M yeah this is a very interesting uh call out that it's so wild to me how often that concept comes up irrespective of whether I'm talking to a LinkedIn creator or like a YouTuber or really any creator that is getting any traction. It's that same common idea of find one thing that works and then just keep iterating on that. That doesn't mean you just write copy paste the same post 16 times. Obviously that's not going to work and it is still a lot of work to like further refine but it's that idea of if X is found helpful by people slash the algorithm cuz usually they mean the same things try to look at

they mean the same things try to look at X +1 XUS1 like that rough umbrella is where probably the juice lies so it's just a signal right you you you're just responding to the signals that you get from you know the algorithm/ people there is There were a couple questions around um what to do when you're like not getting enough traction and I like maybe you guys kind of hinted on this already, but um when when you put stuff out and I don't know, maybe it goes into the same realm as hate comments as well.

the same realm as hate comments as well. Do you guys ever get hate comments? Is that something that happens? Couple of times. Yes. I don't like I I would say it has the the the weirdest relatio but um the more viral your post go the more hate commerce tend to get so I don't know how that happens but what's an example of uh like a meh the more hate comments you get the more viral the post goes yes yes yep that is very true very true but yeah son what is like an example.

but yeah son what is like an example. I'm so curious about something. Did it happen recently? Um it did happen around um six or seven months ago. There was a resume post which I which I had created and yeah I think I remember that. Yeah. Yes. And um that just went viral with like seven or 8 million impressions on LinkedIn and slowly until it was around a couple of million it was it was all right like hey okay this this has been so incredibly helpful and everything and as it just kept on increasing the hate comments started getting more and to size point it just actually helped my content with get more views and everything as audience. So to the few uh people who are actually writing those comments, I would really thank them because they the

would really thank them because they the Indian reaction. So that was that was amazing to have. So what what do they say like this is not helpful? Who are you? Is it that type of stuff or what what is it? They are like uh why are you sharing this when uh when when you are not working for like Apple or Google or anything? Okay. Yeah. But you telling us this and something like that but which obviously makes no sense, right?

which obviously makes no sense, right? Cuz what does that have to do with anything? Yeah. But sorry, you were saying saying when when the people in turn who are actually get using that resume are getting into app and they are then sending the messages. But yeah, that that's just something which which was makes sense. And so it sounds like you just kind of ignore them, right? Is that your strategy generally with or do you engage with them and stroke the fire or or how what do you do in this situation?

or how what do you do in this situation? No, I I I definitely ignore them. uh a couple of them I just uh uh I I I wouldn't say I was um kind or unkind but I was very straightforward like hey this is this is something that you are talking about but uh in in with big utmost respect this is what I feel but um I I definitely respect your opinion and something like that but if I'm being completely honest over here I enjoyed it I really how how creative uh black and guy reaction was but definitely is something new which happened to me for the first time but um but on on a very serious note I that that was just a couple of instances which happened with someone like me but on that note I have

someone like me but on that note I have seen creators be so I've seen people be so disrespectful to creators especially uh women creators and uh which just breaks my heart and that that is something which I've actually uh reposted or commented on a lot whenever there was a friend who was a creator and she was coaching that hey people are harassing her like this I used to go ahead repost and I'm like hey this is not something that you should be up we it's a professional platform you should be maintaining boundaries and respecting people so that is something which really braced my heartb I just experienced something like that a couple of times fascinating s what is your approach with the haters yeah I think first I would say uh when

yeah I think first I would say uh when you are in the creative space like content creation or like when you want to be an influencer uh negative comments and hate comments are byproducts. So the more you create, the more you are well known, the more you get and it's it's part of your uh journey or life is what I would say. You got to get used to them. So there are few ways that I treat them. If whatever they're saying is correct, I take it as a feedback and incorporate it. If whatever they're saying doesn't make sense, I just ignore it. But if there uh uh if it's misinformation or misconception or if they're uh diverting the topic, I just put them in the right track. But mostly whatever I do, I don't take it to heart.

whatever I do, I don't take it to heart. That's the first thing everyone has to remember who are coming to content creation. It's byproduct. If you're getting negative comments or hate comments, that means you're growing. Assuming that you haven't done anything wrong, you are growing. So yeah, take it as a positive thing and then keep doing what you're doing. You can't please everyone. So if you are making if you're helping thousand people there are going to be five people who can be jealous of you who hate you who do not like you whatever the word that you want to put for it there going to be people who do not like what you're doing even though if it's 200% correct so it's just it so uh

200% correct so it's just it so uh accept it and then keep doing whatever doing as long as you're truthful to yourself as long as you're posting uh truthful content and it doesn't uh scam anyone or it doesn't do anything harm. Yeah, exactly. There's no harm. And on LinkedIn, it can be to the certain level. When you're on Instagram, there's no limit. There's no boundaries. At least LinkedIn is a professional platform. When you move out of LinkedIn on X or Instagram, it's so transparent. It's so raw. Especially if you're a creator there, you got to be stronger than a creator than on LinkedIn. So, uh probably 5x stronger or 10x stronger as someone mentioned, especially with you women, they got to be 100x stronger. So it's a project and when you compare with the opportunities and the things that you get off uh your

and the things that you get off uh your content creation this is going to be nothing. So think of it like a tradeoff or think of it from an RO perspective. These things are negligible. So for anyone watching just ignore them as long as they don't make sense. And yeah, look, I think that's very very timely call out especially because of um obviously both of you after conquering LinkedIn are now have now set your sights on Instagram. So do you mind talking me a bit through about um like I guess why that is what is motivating you? Is it just kind of outgrowing the LinkedIn platform and looking at something bigger? because obviously there are much more active daily users on Instagram than LinkedIn. But I guess what would be the rationale behind um expanding beyond LinkedIn? For me, I

expanding beyond LinkedIn? For me, I would say it's always good to diversify your audience. I wish I had started that sooner. So I would always say never completely depend on one platform be it LinkedIn or Instagram or or newsletter. So the more you diversify your audience, the more your personal brand builds, your credibility builds. And I'm not a camera person. I probably have like seven or eight pictures in total. That's those are the same pictures I use for most of my post that I have been using from past two years. And then I'm not camera person. Uh but because of the content creation, I had to get pictures.

content creation, I had to get pictures. I have to be on podcast. I couldn't even talk to people until I came to United States. But I came here and then I had to build my network. I had to go out of my comfort zone. So, how has it been for you so far? Absolutely. Uh I would I would say okay the reason that I started it was because definitely you want to reach a wider audience, want to make a larger impact uh impact as many people as possible and obviously you are very right that like hey uh there could be a overlap with the number of people who are using Instagram and LinkedIn but at the very same time there are people who are just using

there are people who are just using LinkedIn and just using for growth purposes. So there is there are there are so many people that you can help on that platform. Uh but I would say more importantly um it was very important to u just test something out for myself as well that hey um I've been playing cricket, I've been playing soccer, I've been playing baseball, just jump into basketball now and maybe that is something that you would really enjoy and excel in as well. So uh for me personally it has been a way to um just showcase my personality and I so agree with Sai that like for some reason I also had the nag of I can definitely speak for hours and hours on a video like it is it is so damn difficult to to

like it is it is so damn difficult to to just like record a video and definitely the first week is the hardest part. LinkedIn is great when you want to express your thoughts but uh Instagram is is is just amazing when you want to express your personality and it just interesting. It is just a tool which gives you a way to say the very same thing in like five different five different ways and um that is something that can really help so many people. So um definitely the number one reason was to diversify and reach a wider audience but at the very same time showcase your personality in such a way that it can really help so many other people and at the very same time the storytelling which I'm learning on Instagram broke it back to LinkedIn and it just it just

back to LinkedIn and it just it just keeps on growing. So um really having fun with Instagram at the moment and in terms of like as you both mentioned that like talking to a camera was a big challenge and I can definitely relate to that because it was for me as well back when I started. Of course I feel much more comfortable with it now but that's also because I've just been doing this for almost close to two years now. So I mean obviously I have a perspective on how I you know work around this but I think it's really interesting and it's part of why I wanted to talk to both of you today specifically in this early stage of you guys' you know journey on Instagram and in when it comes to like like talking head videos essentially right like cuz you guys are so far I don't think you're

you guys are so far I don't think you're making vlogs I don't think you're making like movie style stuff or skits or whatever. Whatever the case might be, in your niche, it just makes more sense to do a talking head where you give value, right? Where you're talking about blah blah blah. Here's your hook. Here's what you should do to solve this problem and here's how you can do it. And it's obviously presented in a really engaging way, right? There's a nice music, there's like some cool edits. So, specially for that type of content, as Sai was saying, maybe um you know, you'll have more insight on this. What do you do when you you're 15 takes in, you're like, "This is not working. I don't feel good about this. I just want to quit. I don't want to do this anymore. This was a bad idea. Let's

anymore. This was a bad idea. Let's stick to LinkedIn." What is it that makes you push through that phase? If that question even makes sense. Yes, it completely makes sense. I think from someone who has created content on LinkedIn, as I mentioned, it's not going to happen overnight. If you want to achieve something, it takes time. It can be 1 month, 3, 12 months, year, two, three, but it's going to happen for sure. So that's what uh I believed in.

sure. So that's what uh I believed in. Like I know I suck at uh being on camera or recording myself. But I know if I put in efforts, if I give it time, it's going to work. And the best best time to fail is when you're small. So right now, if I post something uh on LinkedIn, it's it affects my credibility for sure.

it's it affects my credibility for sure. But if something goes wrong on Instagram, Instagram, it might not affect the in the same. That's a good point. I have absolutely 200 times of 200x followers on LinkedIn. So I can't test different things on LinkedIn right now. But I can test out different things on Instagram. Fail, learn, fail, learn and then iterate it on Robit and then become a better version of myself every day or every week or every month. Yeah. So I would say when you're small test so when you fail no one listen no one knows or even you wouldn't notice you you might notice because you are the one who's in the shoes but audience might not notice they might not remember when you become big. So this is the time to try out different things or like try out

different things or like try out different formats different styles different hooks different ways to record uh different ways to fail different ways to learn. You get feedback and the community they're always happy to help you. the data community all the creators that I have met I have connected to almost every data creator if not everyone almost 90% of them and they're always happy to help like uh try different try out different angle try out different concepts try different captions there's always the community is amazing especially in data so happy they're happy to give feedback and give tips tricks so that's one thing that I really liked about and then that keeps me moving because they have mentioned the same thing we sagged uh when we started and then here we are uh you done

started and then here we are uh you done amazing job at LinkedIn you're going to do great here as well so when you hear those uh you keep moving but for someone who doesn't have this uh backup or people who this network I would still say go and start because when I started on LinkedIn I was at 2,000 followers of pin like most people so give it time 3 months 6 months one year or until you get there it's going to happen just don't stop so fail I mean without fail failing. I wouldn't say you wouldn't uh see the success and it wouldn't taste good if you just succeed overnight.

good if you just succeed overnight. That's very true. Yeah. I think it reminds me of that saying I think it goes like how quickly would you want to fail if you knew you were going to succeed the 32nd time, right? So how quickly would you want to fail the first 31 times just so you can get to 32? Yeah. But I think that's the tricky part, right? where we don't in our heads it's hard for us to realize that I am actually going to succeed the 32nd time so let's just get all the failures out of my way so I can get to 32 which I think is you know what you were getting at um so and has it been a similar experience for you as well or has it been different absolutely I would say uh for me for Sai

absolutely I would say uh for me for Sai or for any creator who's starting with a new platform or or like just content creation in general uh they often can hear the word, hey, your content is cringed. You are you are cringy. Yeah. Yeah, I've heard it. I still hear it. Yes. Yes. Same. So, I I would say it is only cringe until there comes a comes a point where it is credible and that is that is where just like you mentioned the the attempt number 32 might actually take you to the credibility point. that you just have to fail and reiterate and learn and fail and reiterate and just keep on doing that loop. But um again just for a new creator who's just starting with their content creation journey uh just my my my biggest advice would be niche down as as much as

would be niche down as as much as possible. Hey, I am an international student. Okay, I am an international student who's helping with job search. I am an student who's helping with job search only for data analytics job. I am helping with jobs for day job. I am only providing them projects, resumes, uh samples, anything for like or just news. Yeah. Yeah. So now as much as possible then fascinating fascinating then then I believe watch something which is very very important are treatment. Number one um just value ad number two and the most underrated one is relability. If I am finding a religable for vignam with Sai, I would actually follow them more as compared to someone else. So yes, yes, that has been incredibly important. And then the third one and and definitely the most important one is

and definitely the most important one is consistency. Once you are doing absolutely absolutely something repeatedly over and over again and learning from it. The key is to definitely do it consistently but at a growth trajectory could be this today. It could be slightly slightly more but it has to be here and then keep on going above and above. So increasing in your value in in what you're providing and growing consistently and no matter what no matter what's your niche, what's your platform, what kind of a creator are you, what's your personality, you will eventually make it. So I would say that's how I would break it. Like those three points and um yeah I'm sure anyone can be a creator and anyone can showcase their personality and make it out there.

their personality and make it out there. Yeah, just one on what uh Sohan mentioned. So when you start out the the same people who who tell who will tell you that the content is clean, why are you posting blah blah blah? They are the ones most most probably will come back to you when you show them uh when you build the credibility and come back like hey can you help me with this? How did you get started? What helped you move?

you get started? What helped you move? So keep going. I watch lot of Raj Shaman's podcast. He he always quotes this. So I would say just post. So uh just show them you can do it and then uh it's going to be fun. It's going to be a lot of lot more uh credible and then with lot more opportunities and you grow faster. faster. Wow. Yeah. No, absolutely agreeing with everything you all said. I especially like so's second point around you know building relatability because I think that flows directly into being authentic right there are already everyone else in the world right the next big creator will not become a big creator by imitating I don't know like par whichever UDJ UDJ is the best at being

whichever UDJ UDJ is the best at being UDJ right there will never be another UDJ so a lot of creators fall into that trap of trying to be like other creators which is great for inspiration, but at the end of the day, no one can beat you at being you. And that if you desert that, I think you're kind of setting yourself up for failure. So that was something that I took away in addition to obviously throughout the rest of this conversation and there's a few other questions which we won't get into cuz there's no time left at least for this particular episode. But I think it's really blown my mind just how hard you guys work on this. Like I don't actually even think I fully appreciate it despite being like I don't know like a fringe

being like I don't know like a fringe creator. I'm not a real creator like you guys. But I never actually stopped to appreciate just how much work consistently goes into doing what you guys do and have been doing so consistently for years now. And I don't know, I I I just feel really inspired talking to both of you. Even though I I've avoided the trap of the, you know, the initial starting point where, oh, how do I start? What are the first few steps? I understand those, but I still think it's so interesting and mind-blowing, honestly, to learn about just the sad and maybe for some people happy realization that the grind never actually ends. you know that like that's the breaking news headline here. Like you're always going to have to work hard. And if you're not okay with that,

hard. And if you're not okay with that, then might as well like, you know, don't even start cuz like sure, you get more efficient, your processes become easier. Everything gets easier. Sure, I get that. But you still have to put in the hours. You still have to put in the lead work. Like the work doesn't do itself. I don't know. Maybe it's like really obvious for everyone else, but that to me is what is sticking out from our past hour of interacting with you guys there.

hour of interacting with you guys there. And I want to end with giving both of you a chance to share I don't know one thing with all of anybody watching. Obviously, a lot of these are people that follow you, that like you really look up to you and that you know that have been inspired by you. So if you had the chance to share one thing with these people, what would it be? I would say if something is easy, everyone would do it. It's also a quote that I read on Instagram or on Raj one of Rashraman's podcast. So I would say go give it your 100%. And then do not expect anything in first few months or

expect anything in first few months or first few years and then you would start seeing uh the results or the ROI uh with time. So just be yourself, be authentic and then uh trust the process, trust the people, trust the community and make sure to give give give like 100 times before you get something. So it's never uh give and take or it's never just take. So got to give 10 times of what you get and that's what Zach Wilson tells to like the OG of data engineering. So I've watched every podcast of his and then you he gives like 10x of what he uh gets. So that's what I uh trust as well. So focus on giving value. That's when you get value

giving value. That's when you get value 10 times more than what you give. So just keep going and uh all the best to everyone who wants to create content. All of us are just a text away. So feel free to text us if there's anything we can do. We are happy to in our uh energy and scope. Beautiful. So on I would say given the timeline where we are in right now November 2025 with so much happening in the world whether it's from job search perspective from a immigration perspective and what not like just life in general um I would say no matter what's your um calling or what's your fight or what's your race or or wherever what's your endeavor for that matter uh you are not defeated

that matter uh you are not defeated unless and until you throw the towel That would be I saying and whether you are searching for a job right now or you starting with content creation or or or anything else you just have to fail and accept every failure or every defeat just like you mentioned nan hey I got a rejection I am to anyone who is watching this and who just got a rejection like maybe today or or or like yesterday I am I would like to congratulate you that hey you are another closer to finally that like 105th attempt or something. So that would that would be my my my my biggest mistake right now that hey just keep going and uh not just not just for the

going and uh not just not just for the sake of saying this because I myself has have experienced this time and again whether it was coming to the US whether it was finding a job in the United States whether it is Bitcoin concretion or just life in general uh your hardest nights will eventually give rise to the to your best mornings and having said that uh just keep on grinding And u whenever you don't find the strength to keep going just that small belief that hey I will make it one day I have it in me and and and it's just like the light is just around the corner that can keep you going for for maybe another day or two and um have seen my seen my life just change whenever I was in my lowest

just change whenever I was in my lowest points just change within a couple of weeks and I'm like hey this is magic how did the go from here to here within a couple of weeks and that's the strength that you need to have whenever then I just target. So that would be my my message like you're not defeated unless and I kill you the caval and just keep on going and I genuinely can promise that will work up. Uh so yeah, all the best to everyone watching this.

best to everyone watching this. Amazing. Yeah, I think the quote that comes to mind on that one is in life all defeat is psychological until death. Right. because of course you can't outrun death but until then all defeats are actually you know as you said when you choose to throw in the towel. Um again key thank you so so much for taking the time. It really means a lot to me and my audience and yeah we shall have you back soon hopefully uh once you've already crushed or crossed I don't know like 10 million member sounds good. good. Thank you. Thank you so much. That brings us to the end of that fascinating episode with Sohan and Sai. I hope you found value and you enjoyed it as much as I did. If you would like to support

as I did. If you would like to support me, the easiest way to do that is by subscribing on YouTube and leaving me up to a fivestar review on Spotify or any of your favorite podcast apps. Something that goes the really long ways if you share these episodes or these clips or these shots or whatever the case might be with a friend or family or anyone close or near and dear. Catch all in the next one. New episodes every Wednesday.