Taskeen: What are you doing with your life?
It is such a tough question to answer, isn't it?
Okay, so...
Taskeen: Some of us are trying to get good grades, support or family,
trying to lose some weight because somebody called us chubby.
And so we wake up every day and try and win some competition.
Who gets the highest salary package? Who clocks the most working hours?
Who burns the most calories today?
Let me just quickly record what I'm going to do for tomorrow.
Taskeen: We compete at the cost of our well-being.
But to win some competition, s it really necessary to lose ourselves along the way?
Welcome to The Urban Fight.
The fight to be physically, financially, professionally ad mentally fit.
I think that should be the topic for...
- the next... - Dude, what are you doing?
How to make money?
Hi, I'm Taskeen.
Taskeen: So far, I've dabbled with being a software developer, an active toastmaster
a writer, a content creator at YouTube,
a photographer and now, an entrepreneur.
So I'll be... I don't know how to put this right.
I've never liked talking about my struggles.
There was a time which was dark in my life.
Taskeen: Finance was a problem.
I was lucky that there was a home to go back to and meals most of the time.
You know, it's not ideal when you have an exam the next day
and there's no electricity at home.
So there was... I remember that
my neighbour... she used to turn on her veranda light at 5 a.m. for her Fajr Namaz .
Taskeen: And my mom would ask her permission if I can sit under the stairs.
And I would sit and revise the chapters.
Now that I think about it, all the problems that I faced in my childhood
seem pretty petty now
because there are people who are far less fortunate than I was at that time.
Taskeen: Which is why, the videos that I make today
are focused towards solving the problems that I saved at that time.
The videos are aimed towards acquiring a particular skill.
Skills that have drastically changed my life.
I knew in my heart that that there was no other way
I could get me and my mom out of the financial rut we were in.
It was only through academics. So I took it.
Taskeen: I still remember the day I walked the roads of my college which is MJCET.
The moment I was here, I knew that this was my chance.
And this is the time and place where I can turn it all over for me and my mother.
And if you look at it, it's my name that's there on the roll of honours.
So I'm glad all of it worked out.
My school had these elocution and essay writing competitions.
Taskeen: So I would participate and
the first time I went on stag, I froze. I was like...
"H-Hello, ladies and gentlemen. Good morning."
Taskeen: My legs were shaking like this. I still remember that feeling.
And I when I got off the stage,
there was something about the stage that made me want to go again.
Taskeen: I took years and years to speak fluently.
But trust me, once you get on stage and you start loving it
you will have to be forced down from it.
Let's try and figure out
how to mix the concept of Maslow's Hierarchy of Human Needs
with how to make money.
Sugandh: Hi, I'm Sugandh Rakha.
I'm a product manager
and I worked with companies like Amazon, Microsoft and ServiceNow.
My superpowers are understanding people and data.
And using that to build better products.
That is exactly what I do for The Urban Fight as well.
So why do people need money?
Sugandh: So money is one of the most basic human needs.
And that's why we're going to look at it
from the Maslow's Hierarchy of Human Needs.
We'll start with the physiological needs, which are food, shelter and clothing.
I stammer since I remember myself.
Sugandh: But I am usually very conscious of it.
Back in school, I wasn't a very secure kid.
And a kid who is not secure always gets into fights.
So I'd return home almost every day with my shirt torn,
with some bruises... If somebody had made fun of me
I'd have hit them, they'd be stronger than me and hit back.
Sugandh: Later on, it became more of a helplessness.
Let the bullying happen, but then there are other ways to shine.
One of the things I saw in the people around me as a child is that...
People were always fighting about money.
Sugandh: But as I grew up and as I understood things
they were not fighting because of money, but because of the lack of it.
Unless your basic needs are met, the lack of money will make yu angry.
-Taskeen: Securing your family's future. -Sugandh: Saving in FDs.
-Taskeen: Emergency fund. - Typically in India,
- this would be like an IT job, right? - Correct.
The first job you got in Infosys, the first job I got in Amazon, right?
- These are like stable, long terms jobs. - Yeah, like 9-5 jobs.
- It brings you safety, okay. - All right.
The journey of the channel started as a fitness channel.
Both of us were software developers by profession.
We had a very bad lifestyle, we used to sit at desks for a very long time,
skip meals, have sleepless nights...
And that gave rise to a lot of shoulder issues and back issues.
When I turned 25, I decided that I really need to take care of my health.
Taskeen: But we didn't want to give out random information of the net
and provide credible information.
So I became an A certified fitness trainer.
I used to attend classes for six months, by physiotherapists, doctors...
We talk about sugar, diabetes...
Obviously...
After spending two years with the channel,
we had like 8,000 subscribers.
So we were like, this is not going anywhere and we tried to root cause that.
And while talking to various people, Sugandh figured out
that they wanted to know more about career and finance rather than
health and fitness. It was like an "aha" moment.
Like we've already has 12 years and 8 years of corporate experience.
And nobody was doing that on YouTube.
So the next one is basically love and belonging.
This is where you're going to start following your passion, right?
Even though, let's be honest,
Taskeen: when we were making the videos, we were not getting many views.
But at that time, the reason why were still doing it in spite f having less views
is because we really loved doing it.
And even though there was a small percentage of audience who were watching it
they were like, "Thank you for this, we got a job because of it."
And that really kept us going.
Right now, I'm a software engineer. But I like UX design.
This time, we start exploring. We start doing a little bit of freelancing work on the side.
- Self growth and stuff like that. - Okay.
Even though we don't have much to talk about,
the expert interviews will help us add credibility to it.
Let's not even talk about it.
I think we need to give it a deeper thought.
So kitchen is under my responsibility, thankfully.
I'd say there are two different ways we come up with ideas.
One is basically based on the content strategy.
The other way is that, a lot of times our subscribers would comment on the video
Sugandh: about what videos they want.
And because she replies to most of the comments
she is more in line with what the subscribers want.
The expert interviews which we take, I think, will add credibility to the whole topic.
But the thing is, our credibility comes from we talking what we know.
If we say that we don't know about it, let's not talk about it.
It's not just about gathering content. Number one, gathering content is there.
Number two is curating that content.
Number three is organising that content.
Number four is making it entertaining so that
even a complicated topic like stock market would get simple for people to understand.
We know, right? That's the main thing.
For two minutes, I lie down with my phone and I think, "Why are you on this app?
"When is the next video coming?"
And I'm like, "Relax. When did we make one video every week?"
We never did that. It takes time to make quality videos that we are doing.
And the reason why our channel's health status is still green
is because we have invested in evergreen videos.
We don't make quick fads that come and go.
It is more about...
Sugandh: It happens that we have an argument
and it brings out other things in the relationship as well.
- You always do this to me. - Yes.
Taskeen: Yes, conflicts do happen.
But I think, in a relationshi, you need something to talk about.
Videos are something that kees us engaged with each other, we keep talking
about new ideas. So that really keeps the relationship fresh.
When you want to achieve something, it's nice to have a person who also believes in you.
Taskeen: If your better half supports you
the crux gets stronger.
Taskeen: These days, everybody thinks that fame and money and success are easy.
And it can be achieved in five simple steps.
Taskeen: But in all of our videos, we mention that everything requires hard work.
It takes effort, it takes time.
Taskeen: The whole concept is to tell your audience that it's not easy.
So don't give up because it's gonna take years. Number one.
Number two. One thing I've learnt in my academic journey
Taskeen: is that your early twenties is the time where you need to invest in yourself.
There a lot of people who think that it's a waste of money
Taskeen: to be a part of a club.
What they don't know is that
to invest in yourself and to learn a skill is not a waste of money.
Rajasekhar: So in Toastmasters, we have different people from different backgrounds.
So you can choose your mentor.
She wanted to work on her humour.
So she asked me if I can help her with humour.
And I've never met anybody who is as hard working as Taskeen.
Because usually a lot of people whom I mentor send me a speech.
But I have a separate folder for Taskeen because she sends so many versions.
I remember, there was one speech where she sent almost 70-80 versions.
There was a Toastmaster meeting at the gym.
Taskeen: That's where we met. Sugandh was a geek that all of us had to reach out to
for getting stuff done at Toastmasters.
I think we dated for two years.
- No. - We were friends for two years.
It was at least five years.
- Two years... - That was ten years ago.
We started dating in 2013.
Yes, it was 2013.
So, we were friends for two, two and a half years.
And then we dated for two more years.
And then we got married.
So yes, as friends, we always had that comfort zone.
Taskeen: When everything is done and just before the shoot
I always read the script out to Sugandh.
15 percent of whatever is left is your retirement savings.
Taskeen: When we're reading,
I know exactly through his reactions which parts will do well
and this is where I need to focus on.
But also, he adds such important points just at the last minut.
Really changes the whole face of the script.
And that's what we really love. Like sitting together
and making changes to the script right before the shoot.
Taskeen: Step number 4. Esteem.
This is where we figure out how we need to give back to the society.
And we start.
People say money can't buy you happiness.
Whoever said that was clearly not in the right state of mind.
- Wait, I'm sorry. - Okay, no problem.
So in today's video, we're going to see how to earn...
Let's do it from the top.
If you like our work, make sure to hit that big fat like button.
Through her, a lot of people are getting inspired to do better.
It is just about finding that one thing that you love
and keep doing it over and over again.
Sugandh: The skill of content creation
is not a very very narrow thing, right?
Sugandh: The skill of creation has multiple aspects to it.
Taskeen: How to make this better? What is the course needed? How to market it better?
What other courses do people need?
Let's read comments more so that keeps us mentally engaged.
I think the whole Maslow's Hierarchy of Human Needs that we're talking about
Taskeen: is something that we genuinely believe in.
And right now, we're at the self actualisation
where we're figuring out how to be your best self.
So what's important for us is to keep learning.
-Sugandh: And action. -Taskeen: You go.
- Oh, no. - Oh, God...
We are expecting a child in three months and we're extremely excited about it.
I'm slightly scared about it.
So sometimes I want to do different things.
And I'm like... Maybe that's too much you're forcing yourself to do.
A baby will change our lives.
But just like how we've handled everything
from engineering to a job to starting a company
I'm pretty sure this is a task that we can all manage.
- Cut. - We have to click on this thing.
Turn it right.