The Power of Listening: From Counselor to Product designer and technologist 👨‍💻 - An Interview 🤝

A few years ago, Anjali was drawn to technology as a platform to improve the lives of people in crisis As a volunteer mental health counselor for kabiraSpeak, Anjali had over 100K followers–people who were dealing with conflict, tragedy, or general melancholy. KabiraSpeak was a social media networking community on Instagram started by a friend of hers in India. He shared with Anjali the concept, and she immediately loved the idea and wanted to help. She had noticed and recognized, as her friend did, that there were so many people who were hurting and in need of a friend or an outside opinion. When people were stuck in their homes during the pandemic, the need was even greater. She wanted to make a positive impact on the world around her, and she was excited to jump in.

In no time, the platform became a haven for people seeking solace, and she was soon engaged in meaningful conversations with numerous individuals who were grappling with worries and stress in their lives. Though not formally trained in Psychology, the experience allowed her to glean valuable insights into human behavior and mental health. Among those she felt she helped the most were students preparing for the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE), a grueling national-level engineering entrance exam administered by the National Testing Agency (NTA) for admission to India's top engineering colleges, including the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology. Since she had personally undergone the same ordeal, she felt a deep connection to their stories and used her own experience to provide support and counsel to others facing similar stress. Looking back, she feels fulfilled and proud of the impact she had on her followers, using her innate compassion to guide people out of tough situations.

What kariaSpeak gave to Anjali, in addition to a happy heart, was a lot of experience with people and communication. She spoke to so many people from all different walks of life and what she did more than talk is listen. This skill for listening and absorbing the words that were being spoken has helped her in her journey to and currently at her work. Anjali likes to build product, and the key to her success in building is deeply understanding the needs of her users. One cannot do that without listening intently to the problems that users are facing and using data to synthesize a plan.



Anjali enjoys solving problems that no one has solved before and is constantly striving to learn and do more. To this point, she says, “I always look out for more challenges in the projects which means problem statements that require me to go extra miles and think critically to build a solution that best suits the customer needs as well as the business requirements.”

Anjali is a firm believer in the power of a growth mindset, and she credits this outlook for her ability to push herself and tackle new challenges head-on. “It's my strongest trait,” she muses, “because it allows me to step out of my comfort zone, take on challenges and approach them with an entrepreneurial mindset.” This attitude, she explains, has a ripple effect on her team members and clients, enabling them to see the project from a bird's eye view and appreciate the product from multiple angles. Whether it's understanding the customer's pain points, validating solutions, or implementing development and design strategies, Anjali's growth mindset helps her to approach each aspect of a project with curiosity and enthusiasm.

As a self-professed “Product Technologist,” Anjali is always brimming with ideas and concepts to enhance the products she works on. To capture these flashes of inspiration, she keeps a trusty notepad with her at all times. “Ideas and solutions just pop into my head,” she shares, “so having my notebook with me helps keep me organized and focused.” With her constant stream of ideas, Anjali is always ready to bring new perspectives and insights to her work. She is always eager to expand her understanding and experience of the world around her.

“New food brings me a fresh feeling,” Anjali explains. Interacting with professionals from all over the world, to get to know a person more fully, she makes a point of understanding what type of food they prefer or would recommend from their country. Through these conversations, “I gain new flavors and dishes to try at home and also at different country&Apos;s cafes in my own city,” Anjali explains. She will take her learnings from the people she meets and extend that knowledge to her friends and family as they dine or cook together at home. Anjali believes strongly that food brings people together and creates a stronger bond across cultures and countries.

Anjali finds fashion trends to be one of the most significant takeaways from following her favorite influencers. Engaging in this self-care practice brings her immense joy, as she enjoys buying different clothes and staying up-to-date with new trends to build up her wardrobe. With a love for dressing up, Anjali continuously invests in her maintenance, whether it's through purchasing new clothes, gadgets, skin and hair care products, or nutrients and vitamins. For Anjali, how she looks is a crucial factor in how she feels about herself, both internally and externally. She believes that presenting herself well externally is vital in cultivating internal confidence.

This presentation extends to her surroundings, as she believes that her workspace plays a crucial role in shaping her thoughts and creativity, which is why she makes sure to keep her workspace super clean and organized. Anjali&Apos;s minimalist approach allows her to focus solely on what she needs for the day, without the distraction of clutter. The only things on her desk besides her computer and whiteboard are sticky notes, which serve as a canvas for her weekly and monthly goals. These notes are constantly exchanged and updated as she collaborates with her team to bring her ideas to life.

Anjali says, “I learned design because I wanted to give life to my ideas and then I learned to code because I wanted to give life to my designs. Both of these areas are very close to my heart as it makes me feel like a superwoman who can just build anything right from the scratch.”



Given her proclivity for technology, it’s interesting to note that her academic background is in business. She is currently pursuing a degree in Management and Finance, which she had decided to go into because at the time she entered university, she wasn’t sure what she wanted to do, but felt having a strong foundation in business would be valuable. However, she has always gravitated to technology and would often spend a lot of her freetime researching and learning more about UX design and development. Eventually, she started freelancing and found that she loved it and started learning as much about technology as she was about business in her coursework.

Stepping into her personal workspace in India, not only would you see where she is headed on her collection of sticky notes, but also what she has accomplished. Keeping track of her accomplishments provides proof of progress and personal satisfaction. Seeing these notes daily helps Anjali to reflect on where she has been and remain focused on where she is headed. As she says, “it makes me feel grateful, happy about my work, and more motivated each day.”



Her plans right now are to continue to build best-in-class products that have real-life impact. However, in the future she sees herself owning multiple product roadmaps, solving complex problems for her customers, own product design and strategy, and setting product vision. Basically, she wants to be “a CEO of an impactful product.” She also is striving to start-up a product company that solves the needs of a lot of different people. As she continues to grow as a product designer and developer, she does not plan to let her core studies fall to the side. She will continue to gain more experience and knowledge around business strategies and tactics so that she can connect all of her skills to align with her long term goal of becoming a successful and well-known product leader in the industry.