Don't Use A.I. for Work | Ankur Warikoo | 100th Episode

Are You Making the Mistake of Letting AI Do All the Work for You? | Build Human Skills, Build an Epic Career

AI tools can save hours—but could they also be stalling your career growth? 🤖⚠️

In this eye‑opening episode of Let’s Talk Clarity, we unpack why blindly outsourcing every task to artificial intelligence can backfire and how to strike the perfect balance between tech efficiency and irreplaceable human skills.

#ankurwarikoo #warikoo #ai #career #entrepreneur #entrepreneurship #careertransformation #podcast #100thepisode #careergrowth #artificialintelligence #motivation #entrepreneurlife 

Welcome to a special milestone episode of Let's Talk Clarity Podcast, where we celebrate the 100th episode of the podcast with an extraordinary guest—Ankur Warikoo. 

In this inspiring conversation, host Rakesh sits down with Ankur to explore his unconventional career journey that has seen remarkable twists and turns—from pursuing a PhD in the US, to diving into entrepreneurship, leaving a lucrative consulting job, building startups like Groupon India and Nearbuy, and ultimately becoming a celebrated content creator and author.

Ankur shares insights on the importance of self-awareness, building confidence through action, and making difficult career decisions. They discuss the challenges of moving from secure jobs to the unpredictable world of startups, the value of taking responsibility for one’s life, and how to manage crucial relationships in the workplace. Ankur also opens up about the process behind his content creation success, the role of consistency, and his perspective on working with emerging technologies like AI.

Whether you're at the start of your career, contemplating a major change, or curious about what it takes to build an “epic” career in today’s dynamic world, this episode is filled with wisdom, practical tips, and heartfelt reflections. Tune in for a candid, energising, and deeply insightful conversation that will leave you motivated to chart your own unique path.

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Transcript

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Congratulations again on 100th episode merely it is a symbol and a mark of consistency which is something that I value a lot in me and I respect in others. I know 100 episode of a podcast release Karna Creativity for us is a process and we are running what is a content factory and content ship every single day without fail. So if you are a content writer, don't use AI to write your content. If you are a graphic designer, don't use it to create that thumbnail or that graphic post. Thank you sir. That career is a lot about consistency than about winning. You, if you are consistent, have a far higher chance of winning than if you focus more on winning. So focus more on being consistent. Confidence. But confidence real life activity may make sense of progress. The only person who can help you in that moment is you yourself. So you cannot ever give up on yourself. Then why you left? No, that's always a hard one. Let me try an attempt the real answer and it's not a very useful answer. So I'm sorry for giving this answer is. Welcome to let's Talk Clarity podcast and today is very special day, special milestone episode with a special guest on our podcast. But before everything else, let's welcome Ankur on the show. Ankur, welcome to the show. Thank you so much Akesh, Such a pleasure. Congratulations on 100th episode and thank you so much for having me on this special episode. Means a lot. So with this let me first start with my gratitude that you have given this opportunity and come on my show to share your wisdom, knowledge, career transformation, journey. It means a lot to me. I'm truly grateful and thankful for it. Thank you. That's really kind of you and it is an absolute privilege to be here. Thank you. So so Ankur, let's. Let's start with our podcast and first and foremost I'm always and in admire with your authenticity and the way because I'm I'm watching your content from 2018 when Ankur Variku was Ankur Variku with Groupon and Load. So so I'm always in admiration with your authenticity. So thank you. So thank you so much. How you started with those authenticity and you are still carrying those authenticity while creating your content. It's a great question to start with. I feel that authenticity, Rakesh has a very important eligibility criteria and that eligibility criteria is that you actually know who you are or at least you've done enough work on it. So you have a very good understanding of what are your strengths, what are your weaknesses, what are you good at. What are you not good at? What are the things that you like doing? What are the things that you are not enjoying? What are the things that trigger you? What are the things that make you calm? And I think my life, not by design, but just by complete luck, has been a very topsy turvy journey. Lots of ups and downs. And whenever I have failed, whenever I have stumbled, whenever I have not been able to accomplish, I should be. Is it okay? Yes. Yes, yes. Yes in English is only yes, perfect. So I made it a point that I actually reflected on. Why did I end up in this position? Because advice. But despite all of that, why did I not accomplish what I had to? And that journey really helped me understand myself. So I would say that I'm extremely self aware. And self awareness, I feel like clarity. So the cycle of feedback becomes more of validation than discovery. And I'll be like but. And that I think makes it far easier to be authenticity. You are who you are and you're okay with that. You're okay with the fact. You're okay with the fact. You're okay with the fact I can't change that. And I love the current version of me. So I am just going to be an act myself. And that is a journey, in fact, realization and discovery. Say comfortable. And I have to be okay with that if I don't want to change it. And that I think makes it easier. I wouldn't say easy, but easier to be authentic. And I can tell you with conviction that once you are comfortable with being authentic, life becomes really, really simple. Because you then have to do nothing to pretend you are the same person in a mall, you are the same person in a YouTube video, you're the same person in a podcast conversation. You're the same person if you were to meet otherwise. And that just makes it so easy to live life. There's nothing. You are just being yourself. And there will be some people who like you, some people who won't like you. Wow. Wow. It is. Yes. I could pick up some of the keywords. That is self aware. That is the most important thing that to be the po. That what is the transformation? The transformation is I got to know about myself. That is the self awareness. Yeah. Welcome. So. So Ankur, let's start with the. The career transformation which you had. And from PhD from your own startup and then living your own startup. But. But let me ask you the first question. And it is going on in my mind from so many days that PhD parents. Okay, number eight. And this is again I say a Lot of luck in my life that has played a role. I went on 100% scholarship and I today realize it may have been very easy, perhaps impossible to convince myself forget my parents, because there is a certain financial cost that you have added to the time cost that you've already spent. But because there was no financial cost, it was relatively easy for a decision to be made and scholarship. And it is what it is. So that's reason number one, which was easier. Reason number two, My parents were also realizing we are very close and I was their first child. Okay. I was always at home, never stayed outside. So suddenly things were also very different because that was all the money that I had call was the only connection I had with my family for an entire week. WhatsApp, Karlo, FaceTime. But that distance at some level was like, maybe life will be okay. Okay? And the third thing was I think I gave them that confidence. Not that they were convinced, but at least it would have helped. I don't know what it will be, but I have to admit that it was much harder for them than it was for me to take this decision. And I was very clear timing and everything. But for them it was like a massive setback for nearly eight years and they didn't know what is going to happen. And they had pegged their life's future on my going to the US and making life happen. So it was a far, far harder thing for them to consume. But to their credit, despite their disappointment, they were like, okay, if you want to do it, you must be convinced that that is it. And it helped to some extent with making the decision easier. Wow. Wow. And confidence, that was the starting point. And that confidence, you gave it to your parents also. And they understood, yeah, yeah, admission. But now they are not liking the subject or college or the environment. But. And they are not having that confidence also. So here comes the question. That confidence. Confidence, confidence, your ability to be consistent. Consistent. And they're right. But confidence, confidence, in fact. And she is from Jodhpur, she stays with her family and she loves to travel. So she was like, I suddenly feel a lot more confident, so I have to be responsible for my safety. I have to be responsible for my food, I have to be responsible for my clothes, I have to be responsible for my money, I have to be responsible for my experiences. And suddenly I feel a lot more confident. And that's such a fascinating way of thinking about confidence. It is simply another chapter, another event. But that event triggers confidence in you because you realize that there is a sense of progress that you feel within and Chitna consistently progress confident feel. So I tell people pick something that you're scared of. Let's say public speaking but confidence Hamesha real life activity may excess of progress over a prolonged period of time. And that's why I would say progress. It is yeah it is more about the action public speaking. The first time I went onto the stage and it was toastmaster Toastmaster and stage figure. But when I came back to the seat or Toastmaster Jobi president after the meeting he came and told you are a natural speaker. Wow. And from here means I got to know that appreciation is also important action and appreciation Bilkul. Absolutely. And that's such a great story. So inspiring. And from there I went on to events journey start and I started to went into the public speaking at the age of 37 and it was very empowering to go there. I am a Bolpayani Bolpaya but it was empowering for me. So so good. So good. So his journey and then so you came back from us and then joined consultancy of a consultancy job. You left and within three years I think three, four years you left. So that was also very big decision and very comfortable. Very good job. You left the decision. Startup. It was called secondshaadi.com and I was also leaving consulting on a high for whatever reason negativity people were actually saying you know what we are excited for you. We hope you don't come back but if you ever come back, we're okay. Okay. Psychological backup. And that made it very easy. And I and I often say this key in life psychological backups are extremely important psychological backup. You know what you come back, I'll take care of it. Psychological backup. Psychological backup. Network Psychological backup. Experience always think psychological backup. And if that happens then you get a lot more confidence of taking that decision that you are about to take. And I'm sure and I'd love to hear your story and then you decided to go full time psychological backup. Whether it is experience, whether it is money, whether it is going back to the same thing or what you had started around coaching that you saw yielding results whatever like in these are very important tools for you to make important decisions in life. Yes. With me means last chartma Salsa coaching Metha and I started to get some results and that gave the confidence progress that the same the progress I was seeing in my coaching and podcast and that gave the confidence and psychological backup. Definitely I can go back to job again. But not in not in oil industry but in coaching. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Yes. And. And I love that. And I'm so happy, in fact. But that's fine. That is exactly the purpose of it. And if you can use it wisely, why not? Wow. Wow. So yahape, you have taken the decision. You left your consultancy, but you have talked about you were good at your work. Work at your work. Yes. So that is very important because office we are not best means environment. So how you manage this thing. I. I think and I have one. I'll call it a quality because I want it to be known as a quality. I have a quality complaint, 100% no complaining. Then you. You are completely in control. That doesn't mean you are the sole consequence of the decisions and actions you take. That is who I am. And because of that, I tend to like everything that I do. Because I am not complaining. There'll be some things that I'm not good at, there'll be some things that I don't enjoy. But if I put my mind and my heart and soul to it, I will find a way of being good at it. Maybe without feeling happy doing it. So consulting. I was good at it. I was actually happy doing it. It made a lot of money for me. But I just felt consultants. And that's why at some point, when the startup of course showed progress, I made that decision. But I genuinely feel. Yes, take 100 responsibility of your life. Yes, absolutely. Just take responsibility for your life. Okay. Yes. That's super important to avoid complaining. Leave that complaining attitude. Yes. So because you were in the job, entrepreneurship, but job. Maybe how you manage your boss. In. In what sense means in career. Most of the people, maybe 70% boss is not good. So if you can. If you can throw. If you can throw some light. How to manage the boss subordinate relationship. I have two or three ways of doing this. So there will of course be some places where it doesn't work. Here is what has worked for me. Number one, I will always start with the assumption. So nobody is out there to spoil your life. You just happen to be in the way of what they want to do. It is not personal. It has nothing to do with you as an individual. It is to do with your role, your function, your industry or just luck that you happen to be there. But nobody chose to harm you or make life difficult for you. That is point number one. Point number two. Mindset, upbringing. Conclusion. Here's an example. Let's say you are in sales and you are meeting somebody from operations and sales client. And operations is like sir or truck. Physical distance. So it is not that they are fighting over what is right or what is wrong. They are just looking at the world from the lens that they have experienced all their life. So you have to ask a question because that then helps you understand why are they saying or doing what they're doing. Frustrated reason. And then the third, which is an obvious conclusion from the first two, then the next step is how can you solve it? Is there a way to solve it? Is there a way to find a middle ground so it doesn't become about people. It is not like you will then try to solve the problem, not have a fight between two people trying to solve for their egos. Office is always about an ego fight. It is never about a process fight. This has helped of course handling and that helped over the course of things. So my only recommendation to everybody who struggles to manage people or work with them or has difficult relationships with their work colleagues is please remind yourself it is simply because they have different experiences from you and they look at the world differently from you. So please recognize. This is super important that they are also human being. They are also having the same fear, same everything. They are also working. So this is very important and hey coaches and want to be coaches. I have a great announcement for you. If you want to start your coaching business or want to level up your coaching business, we are thrilled to announce our formula for building a coaching business through the power of podcasting. It is not just an online course, it's a community of coaches where we meet every week and grow together to build your coaching business along with your podcast. So click the link to attend my webinar podcast made easy for coaches and jump into the clarity 10x community now. Enjoy the episode on let's talk Clarity. So Ankur, let's move on with the journey and from job to entrepreneurship. These are two different ball game, consultancy and entrepreneurship. And from working and then become your own boss. So what has changed? Jobs, say entrepreneurship challenges. I think difference between living at home and living independently automatically decided. Shah organized Banawa and up us process automatically. So everything becomes you are responsible and you have to find a way. And that was exactly the same thing. When you're working in a job, there's so many things that are just taken care of and you don't even realize it. Consulting is a very privileged, very pampering kind of industry or organization where you're traveling constantly and suddenly you're an entrepreneur. Everything is on your own. Attendance, email setup, everything then has to be managed by you. And that is a huge difference. And I think it's not so much administrative but the actual joy and hardship of running that company. Joe Bakega could he Sochana Marketing strategy Everything has to be thought through which the different experience but such a wonderful one. Okay. Growth growth and and growth here it's just. You just grow so fast as as an individual. Okay okay. So here I I could see that so many things to manage HRV sales V Marketing B Product B and everything. So how. How you manage the time also means in so how. I I have to admit, okay I in fact used to feel proud of the fact that I have no time to breathe back to back to back to back to back to back meetings and that was a very different era. Today I'm living a very different life. So I don't think time was what I was optimizing for when I started because I was very clear of what I want to do and why. But I am also absolutely admitting that a lot of things got compromised because of the way I was as a founder. My family life got compromised. I didn't have time for friends, I didn't have time for family. I didn't have time for even myself. And that was something that I just chose to do because I knew startup and if I can make that happen then that is more important. Okay. Okay. So it was. It was learning through the experience. Yes yes. Time manage Karna so calendar manage karna and all everything. So here here comes very important question that if. If someone is just graduating in 2025 March May graduation so from where they can start job entrepreneurship, business or yafir higher education means how he or she can take that decision. My personal recommendation will be everyone should work for a few years. Okay. You just get a financial stability which is very important. Okay. That freedom is beautiful to taste and I would highly encourage everyone to wow. And it depends on the kind of work you do systems, processes but that experience just trains you. It. It gives you again that sense of confidence through progress and then after two to three years you can decide to either continue with a job, maybe go for a specialization or just continue with the job or maybe decide to do something on your own. Hamisha mentioned Gataoki Hamika time Ben Hare startups going to both celebrate Kia Jara founders startup founder corporate job and it is genuinely a function of strongly mentioned hierarchy provide Karthi and choosing what works for you is absolutely the right thing. Like you are a great example merely be Sal Kam Kia and then now you are on your own. You're running your own setup and that's because you changed as a person and you realized I'm ready to make that move. And it is possible. It is possible. It is possible. All of that is absolutely fine. Yes. And here let me share that why I left my government job founder band. I just wanted to learn the business side of it and how to manage sales. I'm in love with the process of entrepreneurship. That's why means I jumped. And here let me share that means your book build an epic career. I just read and it was a game changing book. I think it is the best book on career basics and that and so. That'S the best feedback. Because it is having everything and in every case scenarios it was there. So I really love this book and I will definitely be giving this book to many people, many young graduates. Thank you. Thank you. This is so sweet of you. You. Thank you. Yes. So. So uncle, let's. Let's take the journey forward and you are in your startup and then you left the startup or you left the startup with your friend friend and amicable separation. It was so how that decision went with you. It was now I'm so glad that both of us were adults about it. Kyuki I had definitely made a lot founding CEO. He was the founder of the company as well. Clearly objective at all points of time, ensure that the company has the best of everything it needs to whether it is team, whether it is product. And me was not the best team. Absolutely. So we had a very open, candid conversation and he's like. And I was like, you know what, I agree. And I also feel I'm not able to do the best that I can and whatever I'm doing is clearly not enough. So we decided to separate, move our ways and again I didn't know what would happen because of that. I didn't know what the next step would be. But I was very clear it will just give me a fake sense of comfort. But it is not that I can build anything there. And that thankfully worked out and I'm here. Wow. Wow. And from there again you started own Means Groupon and then nearby. So how that courage came again you have did the second study for around four years. Three years. Three years. And then again you got the courage to start it over again with the co founders and you know. It is the only thing that I know. It's the only thing that I enjoy. It's the only thing that I am good at environment and yeah, I really enjoy building teams and building products and that I think I will just continue doing for the rest of my life and thankfully it's worked out so far. So I'm happy. So here comes the beautiful question. So then why you left? No, the simple answer was company profitability Team Bahadachi Apnea Pero Pekari Hosakti Company Outcome Pay Koi so it was a realization Kisi manner change because. And that is why I realized. So those are unis. Around September October I stepped down as the CEO of my own startup and decided to take a break figuring out. And that's what I did. Yes. And so. So let. Let me also ask you that question because content journey it looks very lucrative content but content is having his own journey, own challenges, own fears. But now you have been to this journey from last five years. So challenges how you overcame and have you thought that this journey would have been this amazing success story? I. I can start with the second one. No, I did not think that it would be so amazing and so much fun success. But am I having fun? Is this something that I would enjoy so much? Is it something that people will love so much? I had no idea and certainly no expectation make camera, make public speaker or may those are beast. Maybe content creation actively pursue content create Karta category presentation treatment and 2020 say but the most. I wouldn't say the difficult part, but the most important part is almost always the team or the people you're working with. And as a founder you have to select them, you have to identify them. So when you join a company outside of calm. So for me it has always, always been about people and. And process and that has been in the current journey, the most gratifying. I have a wonderful team. It's a very small team, but we have a lot of fun together. We respect each other a lot. We do our best work. We really push each other and it is. It's absolutely fun working. So then work doesn't seem like work. Work. Yes, it just doesn't seem like work. I met your worry crew when we were in the same flight to Dharmshara. Yes. Yes, yes, of course, of course. Now. Yes, now I remember. Of course. I. You shared the photograph that we had in the email, but I couldn't recall. But now. Yes, yes, I remember. And I. I was mesmerized by means video. You were very bright, very shining. It was. Was. It was always just the joy of working with the right kind of people. So. So here let's. Let's also discuss about content Journey May content banana video banana. But apart from that process and system is more important and you have already shared in Your videos excel and how to do it and all that. So how from where you came with this process and so that a new entrepreneur or a new content creator he or she also can get some inspiration. I I think the the real answer and it's not a very useful answer so I'm sorry for giving this answer is I am a very process driven person and is come repeat or is Kamiko occasionally okay. Depending on the importance of it. And if you look at content a lot of content is just repetition, editing, repeat, audio repeat, graphic, thumbnails repeat subtitling repeat. And I was like here script writing or apnea shooting could be repeat process, repeatable concurrent process. And that's what we did. So every Monday I shoot so script repeat mode, shooting repeat mode, video editing, repeat mode, audio repeat mode, subtitling repeat mode, graphic designing, thumbnailing repeat mode, go live repeat mode. And the only thing that is truly occasional in content is but YouTube personal finance careers. And that just becomes fairly obvious then over a period of time. So it's not a useful answer. I'm almost suggesting, but that's not what I would like to believe. I like to believe task is task task repeating or konsa task occasional or repeat process. Then maybe they can also get to that same point that we have got to where creativity for us is a process and we are running what is a content factory and content every single day without fail. Continuous with the repetition of process. Wow. So so Ankur, here comes means we have tracked down the whole 20 years of your journey career and different different career PhD in US then consenting then entrepreneurship content and you actually build an epic career in the last 20 years. So so what what means if I if I ask you top three learnings of this whole 20 years, two decades, what would that be? Oof. That's always a hard one. Let me, let me try and attempt. Okay, so number one will be that career is a lot about consistency than about winning. You if you are consistent, have a far higher chance of winning than if you focus more on winning. So focus more on being consistent. Number Though trust is almost everything when it comes to career. Founder, job, freelancer. If you have the trust of people, you will go very very far. But if people cannot trust you intuitively or after they have seen your work, you will always struggle. Always. And number three, not so much career, but life in general. Stuck, helpless. Very few people, if at all anybody will be able to understand what you're going through. And the only person who can help you in that moment is you yourself. So you cannot ever give up on yourself. And I think I am where I am because I never gave up on myself. Now that doesn't mean if you believe in yourself, everything will work out. No, but if things have worked out, it is only possible if you continue to believe in yourself. Because that is the only entity that will truly understand what you're going through. Yes. Wow. The self belief is. And as long as you have these consistency, trust and belief in yourself, things will work out. Yes. Whether it is job, whether it is consulting or whether it is content creation, things work out. Yes, exactly. So Ankur, we are at the end of our podcast and so let's talk about from last two years. There's a lot of fuss about AI and many things have moved. Jobs means it has been removed. So what is all first about AI and where the career is going in this AI? Merana, I think it's very hard to predict what's going to happen because of AI. But I can tell you this with conviction. The future will belong to those who know how to work with AI or technology in general. I think if you are going to be scared and if you feel you will fail, if you're going to be scared and be like odd job industry change, you will fail. But if you are willing to make AI a friend and use it to elevate your work instead of creating your work, you will win. So if you're a content writer, don't use AI to write your content. You write your content and you use AI to enhance that content. If you are a graphic designer, don't use it to create that thumbnail or that graphic post. You create your thumbnail and your graphic post and use AI to enhance it. If you are a content creator, script writer, let's say a data analyst, don't use AI to do the work for you. You do your work and then ask AI to improve your work. You will always be ahead of the curve and that will be my way of proposing that you deal with this. Yes, we have to get hands on with the AI and it will enhance our work. Yes, it should enhance our work. Yes. So Ankur, that was my last question. We have talked about past, we have talk about present and we have talk about how to choose career. And so being on your on the podcast on 100 episode it is like miracle. Since five years back I have never thought that I will be having podcast and I will reach 100 episode and on 100 episode Ankur variku will come for the podcast. So it is like miracle happening. To me. So I call it MDH miracle do happen moment. Oh, that is so sweet. That is a good one. Mdh. So, so the question is that what will be your MDH movement for next 1, 2, 3 years? Oh my God. Which is not planned. It is certainly not planned and I have no way of getting it. But my MDH moment will be if I am face to face with Shahrukh Khan in a conversation in the next one to two years. Wow. Wow. That will be my mba. Because I have no idea why that would happen. I've. I've no business being in a conversation with him. So if it happens, it'll be an MDH moment. Yes. So from here I. I remember that your incident, you shared in one of the I think talk about means. I think in TED Talk. Yes. What is means Anupam Khair is interviewing. Yes. Yes, exactly. Yes, exactly. Yes. Yes. If you can share if that is. Inspiring you, that, that for me symbolizes Shahrukh Khan in the best manner possible. So as a guest and he asks successful. And Shahrukh Khan is like. And of course is a respectable gentlemen. So he wouldn't say all of that, but I'm sure in his head he was like, yeah, come on. And that is incorrect. That is him. That is absolutely him. I love that. I know. And I think if everyone lived life like that, it'll be an incredible life. Yes, everyone gets the opportunity. But yes, after that, who will take the courage to work on it? Yes. So. So that was amazing. And when I heard from your TED Talk, I am also always remember that incident and that code that after getting the opportunity, we should work, work hard. Thank you. So. So, Ankur, that was. That was my last question. And I'm so thankful and grateful that you spare your time and came on the show. I'm truly grateful for you. Thank you so much. Thank you so much for having me. Congratulations again on 100 episode. Merely it is a symbol and a mark of consistency, which is something that I value a lot in me and I respect in others. So I know 100 episode of a podcast release, Karna. And I'm sure that this will set you up for many, many big things going forward. So all the best, Rakesh. And thank you again for having me. Thank you. Thank you, Ankur. All the best. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for being part of this journey. Whether you have watched 1 episode or 100, drop the comment or share it with a friend, your support means a lot to us. Because of you, we are now going global. Recorded episode across four countries and seven cities. And yes, we just hit our hundredth episode. If you have been loving the content and want to see more powerful stories of career transformation and life fulfillment, do us a quick favor. Subscribe to the channel, share this podcast with at least 10 people and drop a comment telling us which guest you'd love to see next on let's Talk Clarity. Let's keep spreading clarity and hope, one story at a time. I'm Rakesh Mathuriya, your coaching business mentor and host of the let's Talk Clarity podcast.