Founder @WebVeda, Content creator @wariCrew, Speaker, Author. Eternal Optimist.

My overarching mission is to empower people to make choices in life from a point of awareness, not ignorance.

Over the past 17 years in the internet and technology space, I’ve had the privilege of working on several ventures - founding some, investing in others, and learning from all. 

Over 16 million people follow my work across social platforms, where I share my experiences and insights on career, mindset, startups, personal finance, and relationships.

Today, my main focus is building WebVeda, an online school helping young professionals develop practical life skills across entrepreneurship, personal growth, and career management.
We have over 480,000 paid students worldwide with an average completion rate of 72%.

I have also launched a nation-wide search for the brightest kids in India, offering them a Rs. 10L scholarship, through a program called the India Genius Challenge. 

I’ve also written five bestselling books that have sold 1Mn+ copies worldwide across 63 countries and translated into 17 languages:
- Do Epic Shit (2022)
- Get Epic Shit Done (2023)
- Make Epic Money (2024)
- Build An Epic Career (2025)
- Beyond The Syllabus (2025): for teenagers only

It’s been a journey shaped more by reflection and exploration than certainty, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Ankur Warikoo

I don’t know who needs to hear this:

Your kindness doesn’t fail because someone hasn’t returned it.

Some won’t care.
Some might even manipulate it.

Being kind, empathetic, and optimistic even when the world gets you down is not foolishness.

It means you’re deciding who you want to be, not what the world is influencing you to be.

It's an act of bravery.
It’s an act of believing in something bigger than yourself.

Because who would you be, if you are not kind?

Founder @WebVeda, @IndiaGeniusChallenge • Speaker • 6X Bestselling Author • 16M+ community

What you don’t want in life will be what you keep receiving. Here’s why:

You go to a coffee shop.
You want to have a normal milk coffee.

You reach the counter, and the barista asks, “So what can I get you today?”
You reply, “I don’t want a black coffee.”

He is confused and asks again, “Um, okay. But what do you want?”
You reply, “I don’t know. All I know is that I do not want a black coffee.”

It’s a busy day for the barista.
He goes back to completing all the orders.
By the time he returns to your order, he can’t quite remember what it was.
All he remembers is you constantly mentioning “black coffee.”

So after 5 minutes, a black coffee lands on your table!

This is called the Black Coffee Theory.

It is how most of us live our lives.

We keep telling the universe what we don’t want.
What we fear.
What we want to avoid.
What we don’t want to be.
What we want to run away from.

And all that the universe hears - is that thing.
So it gives us that thing!
The very thing we did not want in our lives.

To win, you need to be super specific about what you want in life.
”I want a normal milk coffee.”

That’s it!

PS: This is a reproduction of my weekly newsletter which I send every Friday to 100,000+ subscribers. In this newsletter I share pics, books, quotes, fun facts and a thought of the week. 

Sign up here: bit.ly/4b4HMqk

If your job ceased to exist tomorrow, what would still remain?

Your ability to communicate.
To negotiate.
To focus.

These skills follow you across roles, industries, and phases of life.

With how fast the world and careers are changing, you need to hone these as much as your technical skills.

This list of 12 skills (and books to master them) compiled by Colby Kultgen is a great place to start:

1/ Talk Like TED by Carmine Gallo - Public Speaking

2/ Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss - Negotiation

3/ Indistractable by Nir Eyal - Focus

4/ $100M Offers by Alex Hormozi - Offer Creation

5/ To Sell Is Human by Daniel H. Pink - Sales

6/ Atomic Habits by James Clear - Habit Building

7/ Dare to Lead by Brené Brown - Leadership

8/ The Adweek Copywriting Handbook by Joseph Sugarman - Copywriting

9/ Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi - Networking

10/ Range by David Epstein - Adaptability

11/ Storyworthy by Matthew Dicks - Storytelling

12/ I Will Teach You to Be Rich by Ramit Sethi - Personal Finance

The 12-month career upgrade plan:


MONTHS 1-2:

- List the skills you currently have
- Identify the skills the market values for the role you want (check LinkedIn, Naukri, Glassdoor)
- Compare and figure out the gaps
- Do a salary benchmarking to know how high you can aim

MONTHS 2-5:

- Close the skill gap using market-validated resources:
- Free YouTube tutorials, paid courses by experts, freelancing projects or internships, personal projects
- Focus on practical, hands-on learning over theory

MONTHS 6-8:

- Join communities, Slack groups, Reddit forums, or Discord servers in your field
- Observe conversations, job types, new tools, and project trends
- Speak to people about their experiences and learnings - what they would do differently. You'll start understanding what actually matters in your industry.

MONTHS 9-12:

- Build a portfolio website (show your projects, case studies, outcomes)
- Update your LinkedIn with your new skills, projects, and certifications
- Share your work online
- Start sending cold emails directly to founders and hiring managers
- Apply strategically - use references, network connections, and alumni links

Don't wait for the "right time."
Start with what you have and build upon it.

12 months of focused effort can change your entire career!

No one tells you this when you start working.
Being good at the work is only part of the equation.

As roles grow, so do the stakes.

Conversations get harder. 
Pressure shows up differently.
You work with people who see things very differently than you.

That’s where judgment starts to matter as much as execution.

Here are 5 emotional skills that make you irreplaceable.
What would you add to this list?

5 Emotional Skills That Make You Irreplaceable at Work

We’ve been sold the idea that respect is earned through bold moves.
The way the entire crowd listens to you.
The powerful title.

But in 20 years of working closely with people, I know this is far from the truth.

It boils down to one thing: reliability.

Following up when they said they would.
Remembering the small details.
Going the extra mile.
Accepting their mistakes and improving the next time.

This list of 20 habits by Colby Kultgen captures this sentiment.

Because in both life and work, the ability to be counted on is rarer than talent.

Your mind is in your control!

Feed it limiting thoughts and that’s how you’ll behave.
Feed it optimistic thoughts and that’s how you’ll behave.

Try out this experiment, and see for yourself :) 

#google #life #learnings #warikoo

A well-dressed man, working in a nameless FMCG company, graduated from a college in Gujarat.

He never once tried to impress.
It was only after seeing his business card that the full picture came together.

That’s the thing about competence, isn’t it?

It doesn’t rush to signal itself.
It doesn’t rely on labels to be taken seriously.

Humility isn’t thinking less of yourself. 
It’s thinking of yourself less!

A rare trait in a world that loves the spotlight.

I met somone on my flight...

When we look at successful people, we usually focus on what they did right.

The book, Outliers, by Malcolm Gladwell asks a different question:
What conditions had to exist for their effort to become successful?

Here are my top 5 ideas from the book:

1. 10,000-hour rule

To master a skill, you usually need to practice for 10,000 hours.
That requires you to be patient and think long-term. To not give up when it gets monotonous. 

2. Individual talent is necessary but not sufficient for success

Skill creates readiness.

Luck, timing, and access decide whether that readiness ever gets tested.

Put the same person in a different decade or geography, and the outcome can change completely.

Would Steve Jobs gain the success that he did in the 60s?

3. Don’t underestimate practical intelligence

Your analytical intelligence (IQ) may help you land opportunities, but your practical intelligence (social and situational) will help you get further - reading people, adapting to context, and understanding unwritten rules.

4. The Matthew Effect

Success leads to more success. 

Small early wins - in confidence, exposure, or opportunity - create conditions where future wins become easier to accumulate.

5. Your background matters

Your upbringing, surroundings, and the people around you, play a big role in your success.

If they offer support and guidance, that will help you succeed.
If you feel demoralised and aren’t encouraged to grow, you won’t have the motivation to do so.

As much as possible, surround yourself in a positive environment.

Failure at a young age is data. 
Not destiny.

People were asked in a survey:
"What is the thing that scares you most in life?"

Number 2 was death. 

Number 1 was?
.
.
.
.
.
Public speaking! 

So many of us are scared of speaking in front of the public? 

A lot of us think that public speakers are born. 

We jumped right out of our mother's womb and went, 

"Hello nurse. How are you doing today? Thanks for coming to my TED talk!" lol.

The truth is - we are scared of public speaking because we are scared of making a mistake in front of the public. 

And then being judged. Ridiculed. Mocked. 

So we decided to sit in the audience instead and make fun of someone else. 

But you know what?

When you step on stage - and your legs are trembling, and your hands are shivering and your heart beat is racing and you are sweating - you will make a mistake. 

Because everyone does. 
And people will laugh at you. 
Because that's what they do. 

But at that moment, my friend - there is only one winner in the room. 
And that winner is you! 

Everybody else who chooses to sit in the audience and laugh at you is a loser! 
You are the winner. 

Be that winner!

Vivek Khandelwal

What matters to me the most is ...my desire to contribute to the upliftment of others! 

🎯 With 65k+ hrs of experience in the Consumer Industry across Urban and Rural Retail covering both Modern and General Trade, E-commerce, Digital, Youth, and Influencer Marketing areas. 

💥 I have worked and contributed in several areas including Retail, FMCG, Fashion, Pharma, Media, and Toys with extensive travel within India and various international markets like USA, Switzerland, Germany, France, South Africa, Vietnam, Hongkong, and Bangkok. 

⚡️ In a variety of roles accomplished so far, I have had the opportunity to work on numerous aspects covering Business Strategy, Operations, Sales, Buying and Merchandising, Category Management, Marketing, Promotions, Go to Market (GTM) / Route to Market (RTM), In-store Execution, Customer Experience, KAM, Competition Mapping, Negotiation, Team Building, Brand Building, Influencer Marketing, Engaging with Micro-Influencers, Close working in B2C and B2B! 

My Learnings: 

⭐️ These roles have given me the experience of driving Channel strategies in the marketplace. The core of all this has always been to deliver Customer Delight and create a WOW in each of the roles that I have been fortunate enough to serve. 

⭐️ My engagement experience encompasses frontline team members who engage at the last mile to C-Suite levels who are Strategists and Visionaries in the business. 

⭐️ I have had the fortune of recruiting and leading large teams who have achieved their goals in an evolving environment leading from sales to merchandising cum execution. 

⭐️ I have been effective at driving the changing value proposition for a variety of roles that I have played so far. They have taught me to operate like a Mentor cum Coach and lead the people not by designation but by inspiration. 

⭐️ My continuous focus on Self Development has led me to develop key skills for the future. 

Have been a Visiting Faculty to many Premier Institutions to share my knowledge and learn from the youth and future leaders! 

Having the right mix of the above developed through education, experience, exposure & dedication, I am now mentoring and assisting students and working professionals to become a better version of themselves by exposing & navigating them through the challenges of the workplace ecosystem.

I love meeting and engaging with new people and sharing varied perspectives through several forums. 

The evolving online world has made things simpler. 

Connect here:
⚡️ IG - https://bit.ly/3r7wiNU
⚡️ YT - bit.ly/3coMem0
⚡️ Upwork - https://bit.ly/4deqMy5

Founder

A few years ago, I knew a mid level manager named Arjun.

>> He was smart.
>> He worked hard.
>> He wanted to grow.

He had one habit that held him back.

He needed to be right every single time.

He would overthink every hire. A few examples: 

- Delay every project pitch.
- Rework every proposal.

While he was perfecting his decisions, others were making theirs and moving ahead.

One day his mentor told him something simple.

📌 Being right half the time is enough.

➡️ That line stayed with him.

The next quarter, he approved three ideas.

1️⃣ The first failed. He learned timing matters.

2️⃣ The second broke even. He learned speed matters.

3️⃣ The third brought in a major client and doubled his team’s revenue.

Two out of three were not big wins however one win changed his trajectory.

Over the next two years, this approach made him known for taking smart risks.

He stopped chasing certainty.

He started building momentum.

Careers do not grow because of flawless judgment.

They grow because of decisions made with courage, reviewed with honesty, and repeated with learning.

Perfection delays progress.

Action creates clarity.

What decision are you holding back because you want to be completely sure?

Sometimes 50 percent clarity is all you need to begin.

Thoughts? 

#Workplace #ActionMatters

80% of promotions hinge on politics, not just performance.

Yet 1 wrong alliance can derail your career in months.

Navigating office politics is not about playing games. 

It is about learning how not to get played.

I once heard a colleague say that politics is only for people who cannot perform.

I wonder... if only that had been true.

In many workplaces, you will find three layers.

- The days when performance genuinely speaks and merit is rewarded.

- The silent corridors where relationships and being a team player decide who gets access.

- The darker corners where power, alliances and manipulation run the show.

Most of us are stuck in the middle.

We want to grow.
We want to protect our values.
We do not want to become someone we do not recognise just to survive the system.

In such environments, your strategy has to be as intentional as your skill.

🔥Document your work so your impact is visible even when the room is not friendly.

🔥Use emotional intelligence to read the room, manage your reactions, and stay centred.

🔥Practice strategic neutrality so you do not get dragged into every camp and every conflict.

Politics may decide who enters the room but credibility decides who stays there.

As you read this, ask yourself.

In your current workplace, which zone are you operating in today...low, moderate, or high politics?

What one action would you recommend to protect an individual's peace while still allowing career progress?

Someone in a similar maze might need your story.

****
You can repost ♻️ this to spread the message. We don't know who needs to read this today!

#WorkplacePolitics #Career #VivekKhandelwal

Navigate Through Workplace Politics - Vivek Khandelwal

The most dangerous thing in your career? 

A comfortable circle. 

The energy and mindset of the people around you quietly shape your reality. 

They either act as a tailwind, pushing you faster or an anchor keeping you stationary.

It could be anyone right from your friends, colleagues, or even business partners. 

These relationships dictate:

📌 The quality of your habits or actions. 

Do they hold you accountable or validate your excuses?

📌 The scale of your ambition.

Do they think in 'problems' or 'possibilities'?

📌 The way you react to failure.

Is it a setback or a data point or a perspective to draw learnings from. 

You don't just spend time with them...you eventually become them.

You start to mirror them. 

It is their attitudes and perspectives that slowly blend into your own.

Being intentional about your circle isn’t a 'nice to have'.

It’s a prerequisite for growth. 

Choose people who make you better, not just comfortable.

You really are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.

What is one quality you look for when 'auditing' your inner circle?

They say Roger Federer lost over 1,500 matches in his career.

A man with 20 Grand Slams who was considered the 'greatest of all time' aka GOAT 

Despite all this... he lost more matches than most players ever get to play.

We watch the trophies. 
The graceful backhand. 
The standing ovations. 

We see the highlight reel and call it greatness however Federer saw something different.

He saw every double fault and every early exit. 

Every year his body whispered 'maybe this is the end'.  

He felt the weight of expectations the world placed on his shoulders ...and the heavier ones he placed on himself.

And still... he stayed in the game.

That's the secret nobody talks about.

Mastery isn't built in the winning moments. 

It's built in the quiet decision to show up again ...after the loss, after the doubt, after the world has moved on to the next big thing.

If you're measuring your success by how fast you're rising... remember:

➡️ The tree that weathers the most storms grows the deepest roots.

Federer didn't redefine tennis by being perfect. He redefined it by refusing to leave.

Neither of us needs a perfect record. We need a longer game.

When was the last time you gave yourself credit ...not for winning but simply for still being here?

How Some People Create Impact Beyond Words - Vivek Khandelwal

There was a team I heard about once.

Every single person in it had an impressive resume. 

They were sharp minds from prestigious colleges 🔥

The kind of people who aced every interview they ever walked into.

The manager who built this team was proud. 

He was almost relieved. 

What could possibly go wrong with this group?

Six months later... the project was behind. 

The meetings were exhausting. 

Every decision became a debate. 

Every idea arrived with an unspoken ownership tag attached to it. 

Nobody was wrong however nothing was moving.

Meanwhile, in the same organisation... quietly, without fanfare there was another team who were busy delivering. 

They weren't the stars. 

A couple of them had taken longer, winding roads to get where they were. 

One had failed at a startup. 

One had switched fields mid-career. 

Their resumes didn't shine the same way however when one of them hit a wall, someone else would show up.

The idea was not to take over ...but to help break through. 

When an idea was half-baked, someone would finish the other half. 

This wasn't for credit. 

Just because the work mattered more than the moment.

The first team had talent. 

The second team had something harder to build and easier to destroy.

📌 They had each other.

The Power of Synergy Isn't Just In Words - Vivek Khandelwal 

Trust isn’t a KPI or a title you earn.

It’s a feeling you leave behind.

One has to become the catalyst of trust.

It doesn't come from a decorated resume or an impressive title.

It’s built in the smallest, most human moments in...

- how you listen
- how you respond
- the intent people feel when they walk away from a conversation with you.

↗️ Take sales.

We often mistake persuasion for trust but real trust is quieter.

It’s built when you tell a client that your solution may not be the right fit.

It is when you choose honesty over urgency.

It is when you check in even after the deal is done.

It is when you take that difficult call instead of avoiding it.

Revenue might close this quarter however reliability closes the next five years.

It is because clients rarely remember the pitch decks or the perfect slides.

They remember how safe they felt deciding with you and this goes beyond sales. 

↗️ In Finance, trust is built through clarity and integrity.

↗️ In HR, through confidentiality.

↗️ In Operations, through ownership.

↗️ In Marketing, through authenticity.

↗️ In Tech, through simplicity and accountability.

The functions are different however their heartbeat remains the same. 

📌 Trust.

A quiet repetition of doing what you say you’ll do.

A pattern of words and actions that feel real.

Whatever your role, ask yourself today...

➡️ Are you just performing your function or are you becoming a catalyst of trust?

#Workplace #Trust

Trust isn't just a word. It's a feeling - Vivek Khandelwal 

What can the simplicity of life teach you.

A pencil doesn’t shout.  

It doesn’t sparkle or demand attention.

It shows up i.e., ready to write, sketch, measure, erase and begin again.

It teaches us that:

- Mistakes are meant to be corrected.

- You don’t need to be loud to be impactful.

- What’s inside is the graphite, the grit and that is what truly matters.

When life sharpens you ...it’s preparing you to leave a mark.

In a world chasing permanence ...the pencil reminds us:  

↗️ Progress is often written in erasable strokes.

Agree?

What's the most underrated leadership skill? 

It's a short memory.

We often talk about 'resilience' and 'grit' as the engines of progress. 

There is a quieter and a more spiritual power that actually stands out: 

📌 The power to forget and forgive.

In the fast-paced world of careers and workplaces, we carry a lot of 'inventory' that doesn't serve us:

➡️ The project that didn't take off.

➡️ The feedback that felt a bit too sharp.

➡️ The missed promotion or the 'perfect' candidate who declined the offer.

God (or nature) gave us the innate ability to let go. 

It isn't out of weakness but as a strategic necessity. 

If a software developer never cleared the cache ...the system would eventually crash. 

Our minds are no different.

↗️ Forgiveness isn't just about the other person ...it’s about reclaiming your own energy.

↗️ Forgetting isn't about losing the lesson ...it’s about losing the weight of the baggage.

As we move through this week, let’s use this innate power. 

Clear the mental slate. 

Forgive the setbacks.

Let’s keep moving ahead, lighter and faster than before.

Thoughts?

I have been bored at work and then this has worked. 

There comes a phase in almost every career when the sparkle fades.

What matters is 'change of lens'.

The role is the same.

The meetings are the same.

Even the appreciation feels routine.

Nothing is wrong yet something feels missing.

We often assume passion disappears because the organisation changed.

Sometimes it disappears because we stopped seeking challenge.

Early in our careers ...everything feels new.

Gradually, competence replaces curiosity.

This is the turning point.

Growth does not always demand a new designation.

It demands a new lens.

Innovation does not always require a new project.

It can begin by solving an old problem differently.

Growth does not have to be exponential to be meaningful.

Compounding careers are built on incremental improvements.

➡️ One improved process.
➡️ One better conversation.
➡️ One courageous decision.
➡️ One new skill learned quietly.

Over time...those small increments reshape identity.

The workplace rarely runs out of opportunity.

We sometimes run out of intent.

What I've experienced is what I keep supporting many people on.

The question is not whether excitement fades.

The real question is when it fades ...do we realise it or wait for it to return or do we go looking for the next challenge that stretches us?

Have you felt this phase in your career? 

If Yes, what did you choose to do next?

I was speaking to someone today.

He said one line that stayed with me.

➡️ The real work at any workplace should happen like a symphony so that it creates 'music' instead of 'noise'.

Simple line, but it carries weight. Isn't it? 

Most organisations look busy from the outside.

Emails move fast. Meetings fill calendars. Targets are chased.

It looks productive ...however, busy is not the same as aligned.

When teams work in isolation → sound. 
When departments compete for credit → friction. 
When leaders speak more than they listen → confusion.

That is noise.

A symphony works differently.

Every instrument does not play at the same time. 
Every instrument does not try to be the loudest. 
Every instrument does not play the same note.

There is alignment. There is timing. There is awareness of the whole.

Music at the workplace sounds like this:
- Clarity over assumption. 
- Egos moderated. 
- Roles respected. 
- Communication flowing before a crisis forces it.

↳ Noise consumes energy. Music compounds it. 
↳ Noise exhausts teams. Music elevates them.

The difference is not talent. It is coordination.

So the real question is not whether your organisation is busy.

Are you creating music or adding to the noise?

Most teams don't fail because of bad people. They fail because good people are playing different songs.

Agree?

taplio

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Ankur Warikoo

Vivek Khandelwal

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taplio

The Battle

Ankur Warikoo

Vivek Khandelwal

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Likes

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

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