Three years ago, Akshata moved to the US with uncertainty, no job security, and no intention of becoming a creator.

She posted on LinkedIn hoping no one would read it.

Today, she has 26,000 followers, 5,000 newsletter readers, and more inbound brand offers than she chooses to accept all without posting daily, chasing trends, or playing the engagement pod game.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How can I grow on LinkedIn without posting daily?
• Do engagement pods actually help, or do they hurt long-term growth?
• Is audience-first content better than chasing the algorithm?
• How do creators build real communities instead of just followers?
• What does sustainable creator growth actually look like in real life?

⏱️ EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

00:00 – Introduction to Becoming Creator
01:02 – Moving countries, losing a job & starting from fear
03:10 – Posting on LinkedIn to survive, not to grow
05:18 – Why audience-first content changes everything
08:02 – Why trends, infographics & generic tips failed
10:11 – “Right content in the wrong room fails.”
13:25 – Likes vs impressions: the metric creators ignore
16:40 – Influence without applause
19:05 – Saying no to brand money to protect trust
22:10 – The broken job market & ghost listings
25:00 – Why CYOPS Path was created
28:40 – What makes CYOPS different from job portals
32:10 – The exact blueprint she used to grow

🎧 If YouTube isn’t your go-to, you can catch the full podcast on Spotify and listen anytime, anywhere.

Let’s break it down.

Why did she even start posting on LinkedIn?

Short answer: She didn’t want to.
Real answer: Life forced her to.

Akshata moved countries, lost her job, and had six months to figure out what comes next. She opened LinkedIn not to “grow,” but to survive.

She wrote her first post as a recruiter and prayed:

“I hope nobody reads it. I hope nobody judges me.”

But something unexpected happened:

People did read it.
And they felt seen.

Her first lesson?

What’s the difference between her content and yours?

You're probably doing this right now:

But ask yourself honestly:

Akshata realized a truth most creators never accept:

“What worked for me was not my voice. It was my audience’s voice.”

She didn’t write what she wanted.
She wrote what they needed.

That alone separated her from 99% of creators.

Did she ever try to follow trends like everyone else?

Yes.
And it flopped.

She created infographics.
Shared generic career tips.
Copied styles that “work.”

Nothing happened.

Until she stopped replicating and started experimenting.

Her turning point?

She posted a résumé tip for project managers.
It bombed on her feed.

The next day, she posted the same content inside a project management group.

BOOM.
Instant traction.

That was the moment she learned:

So what is she doing that you aren’t?

Here’s the brutal truth:

And the biggest difference?

“90% of creators you admire are using engagement pods. Likes aren’t real. Conversations are.”

She has posts with 1 million impressions and barely any likes—

Because people are reading, not reacting.

That’s influence without applause.

How did content creation change her personally?

This might shock you:

Now?

She shows up consistently every day, not desperately.

Not for validation, but because her community expects honesty and clarity.

“If even 10 people stop and read, I’m good with that.”

This is the part no one tells you:

What about professionally? Did LinkedIn actually help?

Absolutely.

Today, she has more brand offers than she wants to accept.

But here’s the twist:

She rejects most of them.

Because:

“My audience is not buyers. They are job seekers and tech leaders. I won’t sell them anything that doesn’t help them.”

How many creators do you know who say no to money to protect trust?

Exactly.

Why did she start CYOPS Path, and what makes it different?

Let’s be honest:

Most creators launch something only after they build an audience.

Akshata did the opposite.

She didn’t start CYOPS to monetize her audience.
She didn’t want to build another startup.
And she definitely didn’t want to sell a course to people who were already struggling.

So why did she start it?

Here’s the moment things clicked:

During her content journey, she noticed one painful pattern:

Job seekers, especially in cybersecurity, were applying to hundreds of roles…

And most of those roles weren’t even real.

The whole system was broken.
And she kept asking herself:

“If my content can guide people… can I also help them find real opportunities without charging a single rupee?”

That question became the seed of CYOPS Path.

So what is CYOPS Path?

It’s a dedicated job board for cybersecurity professionals, built on a platform that lets creators curate real, active opportunities.

What makes it radically different from traditional job sites?

If a job doesn’t receive updates or isn’t active, the system removes it within 24 hours.

Every role is vetted before going live.

You apply directly to the employer.
CYOPS doesn’t collect your information.

No upsells.
No premium tiers.
No locked features.
No hidden funnels.

CYOPS isn’t a business model.
It’s a service.

Because Akshata’s goal wasn’t:

“I want to make money.”

It was:

“I want to remove friction from the job search journey.”

This matters because most creators talk about “providing value”…
But very few build something that genuinely solves a real problem.

CYOPS Path is one of those rare creations born from:

That’s why her community trusts her.
She created a solution, not a funnel.

Okay, so how do I grow like her?

Here’s the exact blueprint she used:

1. Become your audience’s voice
If you don’t know who you’re writing for, nothing else matters.

2. Experiment constantly
Not randomly strategically.
Test formats, communities, angles, and tones.
Track everything.

3. Forget about likes; focus on impressions
Likes are vanity.
Impressions show if people are actually reading.

4. Stop copying. Start observing.
Your best content is hidden in people’s questions.

LinkedIn. Reddit. Twitter. YouTube comments.
That’s where real content is born.

Still thinking whether it’s worth trying?

Akshata didn’t start with:

She started with fear.
Continued with consistency.
Grew through community.

Your next post might be the start of your story.