In this edition, let’s celebrate our fellows who worked incredibly hard to get into their desired companies this month.

Suhaas Karavadi from Cohort 12 has joined Keka as a Product Trainer. Throughout his Stoa journey, he was a sure-shot helping hand for all his cohort mates. Suhaas is also a Martial Arts Instructor at the American Martial Arts Centre, where he teaches Goju Ryu Karate-do and Aiki Jujutsu. He has some very interesting stories about his fitness journey, so hit him up.

And many many congratulations, Suhaas! 🙌🏻

Varsha N Urs from Cohort 14 has joined Tracxn as an Associate VP in Business Strategy and Operations. Varsha is also a Stoa Charter holder and has been consistent in her efforts throughout her journey. She has recently started writing about marketing and consumer insights on her LinkedIn, check it out.

Congratulations, Varsha! Go team! 🙌🏻

🎺🎖️ Community Trumpet 🎖️🎺

Meet Advaith U from Cohort 15, a Figma expert who recently started his podcast Kurious Kathakal where he talks to people in the tech and product world.
Stay tuned to gather some great insights and meet amazing folks. 🔥

—

Meet Gopi Byluppala from Cohort 12, founder of The Culinary Lounge. He recently got featured in an article by the Global Indian. Read the article here.

Kudos and cheering you on, Gopi! 🔥

⏯ For Stoans by Stoans ⏯

• Why do senior managers walk on eggshells around the Gen Z workforce?

• Why is B2B marketing changing?

• A science-based, chill newsletter on working out & staying healthy

• The Greatest Man You’ve Never Known

• Decoding the hospitality industry.

Hasta la vista, familia! ✨

Six months ago, 54 individuals, now proudly known as our C15 fellows, took a leap to accelerate their learning and joined our community. Today, they graduate 🎓

Our dear Cohort 15 folks are officially Stoa alumni now! They've completed their program journey, and now they're ready to take on the next exciting chapter.

A huge shoutout to this amazing bunch of folks for everything they've brought to Stoa. Their camaraderie, their infectious energy, and their pure awesomeness have made a lasting impact on our community. While we'll miss seeing them in the weekend sessions, we know they'll continue to be active Stoa alums, sharing their wisdom (and maybe some funny memes 😌) on Discord.

Cohort 15, we're cheering you on! All the best for whatever lies ahead and can't wait to see what awesome things you achieve next. Keep shining, keep learning, and keep the Stoa spirit alive!

🎺🎖️ Community Trumpet 🎖️

Here's some big news!!! Our C2 Alum, Yash Vardhan, made it to Forbes 30 Under 30 🔥

Meet Yash Vardhan Kanoi, a VC at Alter Global and a newly minted Forbes Asia 30 Under 30 honoree! Here’s his mantra: Taking non-linear risks can lead to amazing returns and that the best innovations often come from the most unexpected places.

Congratulations Yash on this milestone! Onwards and upwards🚀

⏯ For Stoans by Stoans ⏯

• Prepare to Get Manipulated by Emotionally Expressive Chatbots.

• Navigating the ‘upside down’: when B2C brands lean into B2B.

• How Discord Became a Developer Platform?

• When Should You Trust Your Gut?

• 3 ways viewer behaviors are influencing video culture on YouTube.

Bye bye, fam 👋🏻

Here's another favorite of mine from the Coke Studio!

This edition brings you stories of two amazing fellows, each carving their unique path fuelled by passion and purpose!

From juggling numbers as an engineer to diving into the world of operations, this fellow's journey proves that following your passions can lead to unexpected adventures 🥳

Meet Sanjana Sharma from Cohort 15, who proves you can totally rock multiple passions at the same time!

After spending two years in verification engineering at Cyient, Sanjana figured it wasn't her thing. That's when a friend stepped in, offering her a chance to dive into the exciting world of operations management. With her friend's support, she made a smooth transition and, in the process, discovered a whole new side to the business world.

During the pandemic, Sanjana jumped into her love for dance. She got her Zumba certification, started online classes, and later switched to in-person sessions. Since 2020, Sanjana has been spreading joy as a dance fitness instructor, picking up new skills along the way through workshops and certifications.

Sanjana's journey in volunteering began in 2016 with Youth For Seva (YFS), teaching Math and English at local government schools. Then in 2021, she joined her dad's Rotary crew and helped start the Rotaract Club of Bangalore JP Nagar.

Find joy in the things that make your heart sing 🎙️

Here's to Sanjana’s never-ending energy, passion for both dance and making a difference 🥂

🎺🎖️ Community Trumpet 🎖️🎺

🎉 Exciting news! Bynge Kitchens India is moving into a new office space in Delhi NCR 🏠 🥳

Let’s wish our friend Shaurya Aggarwal good luck as they settle in by the end of the month in their new office🧿

Swing by and share in the excitement and remember, food is on them😌

⏯ For Stoans by Stoans ⏯

• Your brand experience needs to be more than just flight of fancy

• 6 women business owners share the moment they knew they’d ‘made it’

• The Latest Online Culture War Is Humans vs. Algorithms

• The end of cookies: what's next for marketers?

• How to Get Unstuck

Sayonara, Stoa fam 👋🏻

Here’s another favourite from Nucleya 🤌🏻

Madhuchandra here 👋🏻, newbie on the Digest crew!

So, guess what? This is my first written piece since, well, my B. Tech finals 🥲 But hey, gotta keep the creative juices flowing, right😛? Plus, this hype culture thing has been bugging me for a while. So I decided to talk about it here.

Genuine friends are the best. No BS, no facades - just pure, unfiltered awesomeness. But lately, the internet seems obsessed with this whole “perfect online persona” thing, donning a mask of made-up personalities. It's like everyone's trying to be someone they're not, just to be more “like-able” and it bugs me, a lot.

The other day, I was chatting with a friend whose IG bio says "Die-hard Gooner" (had to Google that one – Arsenal fan, apparently?) But here's the kicker - he barely follows the sport! He wants to just fit in and be accepted in the football aFiCiOnAdOs.

Same thing with hobbies. Suddenly everyone's a silent cricket fan since F1 has become the new cool kid on the block. It's like the internet has its own set of checkboxes for what's trendy and what's not and we are thoughtlessly following through.

But here's the thing - pretending to be someone you are not is just a recipe for losing your true self in the pursuit of acceptance. Liking something just because everyone else does is, like, the ultimate buzzkill for your originality. There's a fine line between being a people-pleaser and staying true to your passions. But hey, a little self-reflection can go a long way.

Oh, and by the way, no one's out there gatekeeping these niche interests, you know, the F1 fanatics, the die-hard club supporters, or the lovers of those "classics" your parents listen to. The point is, love them, enjoy them purely, not because everyone else suddenly thinks they're cool.

Here's to staying authentic, Stoa fam🥂

— Madhuchandra Gudi, Team Stoa

🎺🎖️ Community Trumpet 🎖️🎺

Meet Sudarshan Babu from Cohort 4, the visionary mind behind Sukuru AI. With Sukuru AI, Sudarshan aims to simplify video creation and editing using cutting-edge AI technology.

He's seeking a talented Front-end/Full-Stack engineer to join his team on a freelance/contract basis for one month, with potential for full-time extension.

Interested in shaping the future of AI-driven video editing? DM Sudarshan today or share with someone who's perfect for the role! 🚀

Did you know 🤓

that Zomato initially started as a restaurant rating platform before venturing into food delivery, and used to print these guides? It's fascinating how they evolved over time! 🍽️

cc: @adarshrao_

⏯️ For Stoans by Stoans ⏯️

• How To Facilitate Fundraising For Your Startup Or Pre IPO Company

• Meet the Woman Who Showed President Biden ChatGPT—and Helped Set the Course for AI

• AI companies are making millions producing election content in India

• Why ‘warm’ brands benefit when things go wrong

Stay Stoic, fam! See you next week 👋🏻

Stuck on repeat all week: this amazing song "Sajni" from Laapataa Ladies! If you haven't seen this gem yet, add it to your watchlist – it's beautiful! ✨

This edition is about two fellows who have been working and growing their family business diligently. It is not easy.

It is not always easy to work with the older generation. Our “new-age“ thinking, enabling “tech-AI“ tools and other ideas are often received with a lot of skepticism and unwillingness to change.

Persistence and an attitude to learn always helps in these cases. Yes, we are learning new tools, new ways of efficient working but unless we are able to take everyone along and bring a positive change in our workspace, what’s the point.

Kudos to everyone who is working in their family businesses and bridging this gap with patience, hard work and optimism.

Let’s keep the ball rolling, always. 🚀

🎺🎖️ Community Trumpet 🎖️🎺

Meet Vibhu Choudhary from Cohort 15. Vibhu runs his family business in the automotive service industry, Car Rehub. Along with bringing in new ideas for user experience, Vibhu has also introduced a new way of marketing this traditional business- Infotainment reels. Check them out! 🔥

—

Meet Ruthu Murali from Cohort 13. Ruthu too runs her family business of hotel, The Citrine Hotel. They recently opened another one in North Bengaluru, Hyatt Centric Hebbal. Many congratulations and can’t wait to check out the property! 🏨

⏯ For Stoans by Stoans ⏯

• A newsletter archive that will blow your mind

• This micro series is a great visualizer for understanding economic basics

• Here’s everything you need to plan your Bali trip

• Avoid climbing the wrong hill

• Impact of AI on animals. Intrigued? Read on.

Until next week, fam! 👋

Summertime is here. It’s all about mango, cold drinks, some yummy tasty falooda, and basically, food that we miss throughout the year. XD

Enjoy this season, take care, and say hello to sunscreens, again.

Also, read on to find out about our budding entrepreneur and his journey.

“I started Freelancing to buy my gym membership with my own money. ”

Meet Sanskar Saxena, a Cohort 14 fellow and the co-founder of Smashed Agency.

From doing engineering to realising it isn’t for him, he learned a lot of new things about marketing, content, and freelancing.

His interest in his own fitness got him exposed to the world of freelancing and it kept snowballing from there. Local restaurants, cafes, and small businesses became his first set of clients. From writing his interest jumped to videos and editing and ads and a whole world of paid marketing.

He kept adding newer skills to his freelancing portfolio and was on a roll.

Now, Sanskar runs his own agency which helps D2C brands create high-converting ad creatives through paid media management.

“Smashed is a combination of media buying and ads. My expertise is in content and my co-founder’s expertise is in media buying performance. So that's how we came together.”

After his vibe match with his partner, he started his entrepreneurial journey and not soon after his content creator journey. Check out his YouTube page.

His love for writing, videos, audience behaviour, and marketing, all came together to build Smashed, and in his own words, “I'd keep smashing at Smash.“

Recently, Sanskar cleared his Stoa Charter which was a challenge he had undertaken to equip to be a better entrepreneur.

Many congratulations and cheers for winning challenges!!

⏯ For Stoans by Stoans ⏯

• Why does Trading cause ruin to Traders

• Here’s something to remind you to be grateful today/this week.

• What would your family do if one member brought a tiny little chick home? Here’s the story of a Mumbai family telling the tale.

• How should founders look at Marketing?

• How to build a career in your early years

catch ya, later!

We are delighted to announce the successful completion of another charter cycle. A hearty congratulations to all the fellows who poured their hearts into their projects – your efforts were truly outstanding!

In this charter run, we partnered with Wint Wealth where our fellows had to understand the personal finance landscape and suggest innovative strategies to Wint Wealth to become the top provider of investment options for retail customers. 

Kudos to everyone who attempted the charter and put in good work. A big applause goes out to our shining stars who earned the Stoa Charter and are now part of our Charter holder’s clan which stands at 128 folks. Wohoo! 🌈

Here are some of our newest charter holders sharing their experiences, check it out-

-Utkarsh Tiwari

-Sanskar Saxena

-Akhil Khandeparkar

-Anushka Mayekar

-Varsha N Urs

Cheers to learning and growing, together! #GoTeam! 🙌🏻 🚀

🎺🎖️ Community Trumpet 🎖️🎺

Meet Meher Sachdeva from Cohort 8, a dancer, founder, and artist manager who recently joined UnderTheRaddar as the Head of their Artist Management Division. She also became a part of the Women of Music India Foundation recently and continues to impact the arts landscape in every way she can.
Huge shoutout to Meher!🔥

⏯ For Stoans by Stoans ⏯

• Insights to help you crack B2B sales in minutes

• Check out Mukesh Bansal talking about his journey of building Cult.fit

• Raj Shah from Cohort 5 talks about Machine Learning and Open Source, read on

• Deep dive into Shark Tank India S3

• Milky Mist’s paneer revolution in the South.

until next time, fellas! 🫶🏼

Today’s edition features fellows who have used their storytelling prowess to spread happiness, highlight nuances of life, and bring sweetness (without sugar) to your every day.

Read on and appreciate their craft.

🎺🎖️ Community Trumpet 🎖️🎺

Shraddha Joshi from Cohort 1 who has been working at Dhan as a Growth Manager, recently wrote this beautiful piece for Women’s Day. I can assure you this will bring a smile to your face.🔥

—

Check out Vikram Totlani from Cohort 9 sharing the tale of his new friend and how life is unpredictable and anything can happen, so keep looking forward.

Absolutely beautiful piece, Vikram!🔥

🫡 People of Stoa 🫡

Watch Avik Chaudhery from Cohort 13 take us on a journey of why he founded FOMO Brews and what are his next steps in changing how Indians consume guilt-free beverages. Kudos to you! 🔥

⏯ For Stoans by Stoans ⏯

Let's dive in and explore the business side of some of your favorite brands-

• Amul making waves during the lockdown

• Maggi’s genius marketing move

• Is Starbucks a bank?

• Zepto/Dunzo VS Dmart/Reliance

• You know you miss Classmate stationaries

Hasta la vista, familia!

This edition features two fellows who have made their passion and work align in a way that there are no boring days, the fire is always kicking in, and they keep at it.

Read on to learn more about them.

Meet Abhimanyu Singh from Cohort 15, an engineer who left machines behind and adopted the science of health, strength, and fitness. From sports to mountaineering, Abhimanyu is fond of everything that challenges his strength and endurance.

In 2017, he decided to build his professional and personal journey with fitness being at the core of both.

Abhimanyu currently heads operations at HealthifyMe and from being a fitness coach there to now, managing a team of 80 members, he has done it all.

It has been around 10 years that Abhimanyu has been powerlifting, gymming, and studying longevity and this has had a super positive impact on him; as a business operator and an individual.

Kudos to Abhimanyu for earning numerous certifications in strength and conditioning, and for consistently bringing his infectious workout energy wherever he goes.

🎺🎖️ Community Trumpet 🎖️🎺

Meet Akshat Jain from Cohort 11, who along with building Kharch Money has been actively expressing his views on Indian finance and economy for the past few months. Recently, NDTV Profit picked his tweet and mentioned his views on the delisting process of ICICI securities. Big win, friend!🔥👏🏻

Check out the article here.

⏯ For Stoans by Stoans ⏯

Here’s a list of resources to open your mind to the never-ending world of possibilities and instilling hope in you-

• Choices that can Change your Life | Caroline Myss

• Choosing Curiosity over Fear

• Secrets about us

• Abundant Thinking

• Doing extraordinary things with an ordinary mind

See ya, fam!✨

In today’s edition, you have two fellows whose successful playbook and fiction book are a testament to their hard work and consistency.🔥

Read on and know more about them.

🎺🎖️ Community Trumpet 🎖️🎺

Meet Yash Chavan from Cohort 1, the Founder of Saral, a SaaS company that helps in Influencer marketing for e-commerce companies.

If you are thinking about building a SaaS company, his playbook is a must to learn from. Check it out!

—

Meet Angad Singh from Cohort 13 who has just launched his first fiction book, Long Before I Die. From a random evening thought to launching the book, kudos to you! Give it a read and to many more to come.

🫡 People of Stoa 🫡

Meet Abhimanyu Kumar from Cohort 9, the Co-founder and COO at AIRTH, a product company working towards clean air for all. His drive to create social impact is inspiring. Watch him share his story!

⏯ For Stoans by Stoans ⏯

Here are some fiction books that will make you want to go back to novel reading-

• The Jaunt by Stephen King

• Nothing Ventured by Jeffrey Archer

• Area 7 by Matthew Reilly

• The Gentleman Bastard book series by Scott Lynch

• The Foundation by Isaac Asimov

See ya later, fam!

“The luxury and the ‘wow’ interaction moments with so many different people daily is what hooked me to the Hospitality industry and an added advantage was that I started waking up on time, haha!”

This is Viraj Bagga from Cohort 15, Assistant Sales Manager at Hilton Mumbai who has found the one truth of the hospitality industry, discipline. Showing up every day on time, being presentable, and at your best behaviour requires a lot of diligence, and Viraj not only showcases this at work but also in his Stoa journey. (claps for you👏🏻)

We all have been on the side of being a grumpy, demanding customer at a hotel or a restaurant, right?

It was very amusing to know that Viraj whose day often ends with ranting about such customers is also one of them. (of course, who wouldn’t XD)

He, who knows the workarounds, the pressure of Atithi Devo Bhava, and what happens behind the scenes acts a bit grumpy from time to time to get special treatment. Here’s his hack to all of us- sound annoyed if you aren’t, you’ll get the job done faster XD.

Planning to drop a series of weird customer requests with Viraj soon. Till then, you should connect with him here to know everything about the hospitality space and how to go gaga over Masterchef.

🐝Community Buzz 🐝

Our Mumbai fam got together for an evening of games, music, and lots of food. Different cohorts coming together is exactly what a weekend should be about! 🥳

⏯ For Stoans by Stoans ⏯

Here are some books that should be on your reading list if you are interested in brand-building and marketing-

• 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene

• Laws of Human Nature by Robert Greene

• Hey Whipple, Squeeze This by Luke Sullivan

• Pragmatics of Human Communication by Paul Watzlawick

• Milton Erickson's work

• Win Bigly by Scott Adams

• Positioning: The Battle for Your Kind by Al Ries

• 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing by Al Ries and Jack Trout

Sayonara, familia!

In today’s edition, you have two fellows who identified some market trends early on and capitalised on them. It is this action-oriented behaviour or as we like to call it at Stoa, strong bias for action that sets one apart. 🔥

Read on and know more about them.

🎺🎖️ Community Trumpet 🎖️🎺

Meet Hayagreev Sivakumar from Cohort 14, the co-founder of HogWhat, a food-tech startup. After bringing some crazy innovation in Popcorns, they have now expanded to DIY Meal Kits.🍴

With their yummy food and solid branding, Hayagreev is ready to solve our hassle of cooking. Check it out and order your first HogBOX. 😋

🫡 People of Stoa 🫡

This week, we’ve got Rishubh Bijlani from Cohort 4 sharing his Stoa journey and his early days of building using blockchain.🔥

🔥 Community Sneak Peak 🔥

Presenting a workshop on AI in Creativity by Soumabha Nandi, the Chief Creative Officer at DViO Digital.💡

Wednesday, 13th March, 9 PM onwards.

⏯ For Stoans by Stoans ⏯

• All brands should study this

• Crash only thinking- here

• Understanding what makes marketplaces tick

• A great read on picking startups to work at

• How Rajiv Balaj transformed the Indian motorcycle.

catch ya, later!

Meet two fellows who set their eyes on the target and worked relentlessly towards it. They planned meticulously and are running their dream marathon.🔥

Read on to know more about them.

~Jahnavy, Team Stoa

Picture this- you walk into your dream interview, nervous yet hopeful and you find your absolute hero waiting to share their lunch, homemade dal rice with you.

Umm, what would you do?

I’m not sure what I would do but Varun knows exactly how that feels.

Meet Varun Shetty from Cohort 13, a part-time engineer and full-time content writer who juxtaposed his two favourite things- cricket and writing and made a thrilling
10-year-long career in sports journalism.

He has been living his dream for the last 10 years from traveling with IPL teams to doing live commentary to long-form investigative journalism to now, producing content that will suit people’s short attention spans. He planned this journey when he was 15 years old. WOW! ⭐

Varun always wanted to work at ESPN and on his interview day, he met Sharda Ugra, one of the first mainstream women sports journalists. And he ate dal rice with her.

That was his first starstruck moment in the industry.

Varun had another peak moment when he was present and wrote about India’s famous victory against Australia two years ago. Something that happened after 35 years and something that people will definitely be talking about after 35 years.

Read the piece that immortalised Varun and his work (his words).

Varun is on the path of exploring what is next for him. You can connect with him here.

🎺🎖️ Community Trumpet 🎖️🎺

Meet Avik Chaudhery from Cohort 13 who was featured in Shark Tank India's latest episode seeking funding for his brand FOMO, a beverage brand striving to replace flavored sugars from our lifestyles. Kudos to Avik and his team for building a great product and securing crazy funding. Go check out the episode and get #TheGoodKindaFOMO.💥

Hasta la vista, folks!✨

It’s time for another bittersweet goodbye. Our beloved Cohort 14 fellows have completed their program journey and are ready for their next challenge.

Kudos to all of them and love the friendship and synergy they have brought to the Stoa community. They'll be missed during the weekend sessions but as alums, always active on Discord.

Cohort 14, best of luck with your next milestone – the Charter beckons!🎓

Congratulations on completing the Stoa program!🌟

🎺🎖️ Community Trumpet 🎖️🎺

Meet Srinidhi Narayana from Cohort 6, a People and Product enthusiast who also loves clothing as a means of expression. Recently, she started her label Thirty Threee Clothing. The name has unique symbolism and makes for a brilliant story. Try 33 out!

—
Meet Rahul Dixit from Cohort 10, a Marketing and Sales champ with experience in real estate, politics, and art. Along with creating campaigns for MPs, he also loves creating art. To share his insights and learnings from his varied experiences, he recently started his newsletter, The Curious Marketer (very apt for him). Check it out and let’s be curious along with Rahul.

⏯ For Stoans by Stoans ⏯

• Swiggy Ad

• Work on things that matter

• Creator of Calvin and Hobbes on Having Fun

• Leonard Cohen on Perfectionism

• Hard problems is not the only way

See you, fam!

Today’s edition features two fellows who are working hard to bring their passion and career trajectories together. Know them and send them your high spirits.

Meet Ameya Thokal, a mechanical engineer turned corporate salesperson from Maharashtra. He is a firm admirer of impulsive customers (of course) and he is a proud and happy one too. And that’s exactly how he became a part of the Stoa community.

Oh, also our minimalist brand met his love for minimalism and was a perfect match.

His love for interacting with diverse people and getting that instant dopamine hit is what got him into sales and ever since, his sense of achievement has been on a boom (a must in today’s world).

Work is one, play is the next big thing for Ameya. His passion and love for motorcycles have made him super curious to explore the automobile and EV space (throwback to my first conversation with Ameya at the Induction).
Applying all his learnings and persistence, Ameya attempted the Charter project and cleared it with vrooming speed. Kudos on that!✨

Currently, Ameya is looking to spice things up for himself and explore new industries while keeping his love her learning about new things at an all-time high.

You can ping him here and learn more about sales and what your next vroom purchase should be XD. 🏍️

🫡 People of Stoa 🫡

Meet Deepak Ghugtyal from Cohort 6, a mechanical engineer who discovered a perfect combination of passion and work and is now working as a Business Head at Huddle, a sport-tech startup.

⏯ For Stoans by Stoans ⏯

• Science behind Bowling

• Think Fresh, Think Better

• Power of Vulnerability

• Physical Books and their importance

• Do you know how Stupid a person is?

Sayonara, familia!

Here’s wishing for some rain to bat away the coming heat!

We’re thrilled to share that another charter cycle has come to a close. A huge round of applause to all the dedicated fellows who worked tirelessly towards their projects - you did amazingly!

For this Charter project, we collaborated with Ather Energy where our fellows had to evaluate the EV- 2 Wheeler market in India and plan the EV revolution.

Kudos to our stars who earned the Stoa Charter and cleared it with flying colours.🌈

You can check out their profiles here-

1. Ankit Mishra

2. Harshita Verma

3. Prateek Kumar

4. Raj Paratwar

5. Renuka Khope

6. Shristi Bhattacharjee

7. Soumya Badkul

8. Varun Shetty

The Charter holder clan is growing, wohoo! 🔥

🎺🎖️ Community Trumpet 🎖️🎺

Meet Aditya Nagarajan aka Adi. aka Poothambi. From being a cohort manager to a music producer to now, founder, Adi has always created experiences, music, and art for his audience. He has recently launched his clothing brand, XIII Collective.

Check it out and join the waitlist to unlock your expression.🦉

—

Meet Siyara Mascarenhas from Cohort 3 who has created a product that I’m sure is going to send all of us on a nostalgia trip. Presenting, Cuddles by Jams & Pickles.

Give the gift of heat therapy in the shape of a cute soft toy.

⏯ For Stoans by Stoans ⏯

Today’s stack of resources is brought to you by none other than, Shelton Desouza, the father of Stoa Digest. Read, learn, and apply!

• Framework for career transition

• Working with AI

• Building your audience

• Startup Swissknife

ciao, fam!

We’re already a month into the new year. Here, I’m still making mistakes while writing the date but okay, it is February.

I had planned a lot of learning goals, and fitness regimes, but I’ll be honest, I have barely improved my morning routine. A friend suggested that I tweak my approach and minimise my long exhaustive list to a shorter, more focused, and doable list.

This is something I’ve created to help me get over my “I’m all over the place“ excuse and get down to achieving my goals. It is a Notion template, you can duplicate it and get to work.

Track your goals and boost your success rate with this

Hope it helps and let’s be more accountable to our goals this month. 🙌🏻

~Jahnavy, Team Stoa

🎺🎖️ Community Trumpet 🎖️🎺

Meet Hritik Aggarwal from Cohort 9, an aspiring storyteller and content marketer. He is known within the community for his various content experiments and here’s his newest initiative; Dissecting Instagram strategy of SharkTank companies.

Check it out and learn more about the brands that are booming in the market.
Kudos Hrtik!🔥

🔥 Community Sneak Peak 🔥

March is coming and this year let’s make sure we know what we are doing with our money and taxes, together. Know your Finances with the Co-founder of Spring Money, this Wednesday, 7th Feb, from 9 PM onwards.💰

🐝Community Buzz 🐝

Chalo chalo, khelne chalo.
Bangalore fam got together for a super competitive and fun Board Game night this Sunday. To finding friends who love games as much as you, cheers! 🎲

⏯ For Stoans by Stoans ⏯

Today, we have a curated list of resources that you can use if you want to get started with your No-Code journey-

• Learn No Code

• No Code Essentials

• Notion Beginner to Advance

• Toolkit for building websites with Notion

• Find platform-based work

Au revoir, familia!🫶🏼

Charter season is back in town and it’s amazing to see C12 and C13 gear up to attempt the charter head-on this weekend.💯

From your initial research to finally putting your presentation deck together, I’m sure it has been a difficult yet fulfilling journey. This is the last leg, prep well, proofread your decks, and make sure you know your solution well.

Wishing all the folks the very best. Hope y’all slay it.

Go team! 🙌🏻

🎺🎖️ Community Trumpet 🎖️🎺

Meet Hamdan Rejees from Cohort 12 showcasing solid proof of work by identifying a problem and recommending solutions. With this solution, the lives of folks living or traveling to Dubai will become easier. Check it out here.

Never knew losing a bag could turn out to be so great XD
Great work, Hamdan! 🔥

🔥 Community Sneak Peak 🔥

Bangalore fam, Stoa's Board Games Evening is back on the 4th of February from 4:30 PM onwards at The Board Game Den, Church Street 🎲.
Join us for all the fun, laughter, banter, and fights XD. ✨

⏯ For Stoans by Stoans ⏯

• Think Fast, Talk Smart

• Why do we reach a goal?

• Poker can teach you many things

• Community Building through Threado

• How to develop Product sense?

Ciao, fam!

Here’s a lovely playlist curated by Madhuchandra for y’all!

Strange, right? Awkward too. And somewhat, embarrassing.

Well, that’s exactly what all these-

“Hey, what’s up?“

“Hello!“

“Hi, you there?“

cold outreach that we all do on a day-to-day basis seems like. They are the online version of that awkward offline situation.

Networking is not about asking someone to hop on a call or asking them how their day was. It is about adding and extracting value; creating a win-win situation.

So the next time you are at an event, be intentional and do your homework.

Good luck with this weekend’s meet-and-greet events that you are signing up for!💪🏻

~Jahnavy, Team Stoa

🫡 People of Stoa 🫡

Meet Sagar Mandhani from Cohort 7, an IIT Bombay graduate sharing his story of living in Amsterdam and coming back to India to explore and work on different product ideas in the field of mental healthcare.

🎺🎖️ Community Trumpet 🎖️🎺

Product Hunt launches our Cohort 2 fellow, Ruthvik Reddy’s AI-based website audit tool, GetWebsite.Report. He has built a comprehensive webpage audit tool designed to provide personalized insights and AI-powered actionable fixes to enhance design, usability, and user experience on all devices, maximizing conversion.

Check it out here. Way to go, Ruthvik!

⏯ For Stoans by Stoans ⏯

• Is Execution a Bankrupt Management Concept?

• You need to mess around to find out.

• Don’t forget your B players.

• We Don’t Sell Saddles Here- Stewart Butterfield

• Small Companies Thinking Big

See ya, fam!✨

If you’ve hung around the internet the last few months, you’ve heard the whispers about layoffs and the rollercoaster of emotions that come with it. I want to shift focus a bit and chat about what happens after the dust settles, and you find yourself navigating the transition to your next role in your longer career journey.

Now, this journey has its own mix of phases - some a bit nerve-wracking, others surprisingly heartwarming.

Phase 1: The Missing

First off, there's the unmistakable void left by old colleagues who were not just coworkers but friends. Those casual "chai pe charcha" moments become a longing memory, and suddenly, coffee breaks lose their refreshing touch. Your lonely desk starts looking more appealing than strangers sharing their tales. But fear not, weekends are still there, and you'll catch up with them outside the office.

Phase 2: The Realization

Picture this: you're engrossed in a video, ready to share a laugh with your friend who appreciates killer content just as much as you do. You turn your chair, ready to tap their shoulder, and... surprise!

It's not them. Instead, there's a new face buried in an Excel sheet with headphones on. Reality hits you like a truck - you've entered a different office space. People here prefer Google Docs over Notion, Excel over Airtable, and chai over coffee. Suddenly, you find yourself blending into the crowd.

Phase 3: The Denial

You try to brush it off. "Ah, it is what it is. I hardly meet my 'friends' from the previous company, we hardly chat. Maybe this is just how work friendships go. I should get over it and focus on work."

You mute Instagram notifications of your ex-colleagues enjoying lunch, convincing yourself that you don't need friends, just work.

You give it a shot, stumble, give it another shot, stumble again...

Phase 4: The Acceptance

There you are, sulking at your desk, dreading lunch hour. Suddenly, a colleague invites you to a new Notion dashboard, complete with toggle lists and color-coded views. You crack a smile.

Another colleague hands you homemade coconut laddoo, whispering, "Don't tell everyone, this is just for a few of us." Another smile.

A tap on your shoulder, a colleague urging you to check out a killer video with solid graphics.

And then, your phone buzzes with a message from your ex-colleagues group, saying, "Let's all have an amazing day, including you."

After navigating through these phases, maybe once, maybe twice, you arrive at a place where, though you cherish the bonds with your ex-colleagues, you start finding friends among the new faces.

You embrace the new job and start building your new story. You realize that the journey, though bittersweet, is a part of a longer adventure.

- Jahnavy, Team Stoa

🎺🎖️ Community Trumpet 🎖️🎺

Performing in front of an audience is not easy. It takes courage, practice, and want to share your story with your audience.

From the time Vikram Totlani joined Stoa, back in Cohort 9, he has made many of us smile with his words. He has a knack for storytelling and for making you forget work and read his works. XD

Here’s to Vikram, aur uski rum_ki_kalam who performed for the first time in a live show in Bangalore. Kudos man and can’t wait to see more of your performances.⭐

⏯ For Stoans by Stoans ⏯

• Learn to get better at Transitions

• Self-reflection is a 100% must

• How things look can make a huge difference

• Bullet points, yay or nay

• What is your career moat?

Sayonara, fam!✨