Kartik sold everything and moved to America so that he could provide a better life for his family. But when the company he worked for went belly up, Kartik had to figure out what to do with all the skills he had picked up along the way–and how to make sure his family would never be in this position again.
Kartik never planned on being a freelancer.
And when the company he worked for in India offered to move him and his family to America so that he could take over their US operations, there was no reason to even consider it a possibility. That is, until they went out of business 12 months later.
Kartik still remembers how it felt when he heard the news.
“All I wanted to do was provide stability for my family. I knew how to run a company–I had done it before in 2007 and so I knew what it was like to be in control.”
- Kartik Ramakrishnan, eCommerce Architect on Braintrust
To take back control, Kartik began to freelance as an eCommerce Architect in 2016 from where he lived in Austin, Texas. He worked for the same company until the pandemic hit; then he was laid off. He immediately began to look for jobs on platforms like Glassdoor, LinkedIn, and Indeed but he couldn’t find what he was looking for. Eventually, he landed an interview with Nestlé through Cognizant... but after weeks of waiting to hear back from the recruiter at Cognizant, he gave up.
That’s when Braintrust reached out to him and told him about this user-controlled Talent platform that connects top Talent, like him, with the world’s top enterprises.
Kartik joined Braintrust and landed another interview with Nestlé but this time, there wasn’t a middleman standing in the way. Like a complete 180 degree turn, he was able to breeze through the interview process and land his first major job with a Fortune 500 company in record time.
That's how much Kartik has made from projects so far on Braintrust (as of 08/23/21). And while other talent platforms take a percentage of every dollar earned, Braintrust's fair business model takes zero fees from talent, which means Kartik gets to keep 100% of what he earns.
And he's not about to stop now.
Here are just a few of the ways he's managed to achieve the success.
Every Talent is unique and what works for one person may work differently for another. But for Kartik, he attributes his success to two core best practices.
While some freelancers distract themselves with more projects than they can handle or unrealistic expectations, Kartik stays focused by fully committing himself to whatever is in front of him.
“You have to be committed to what you’re doing. I’m not missing deadlines. I’m focused.”
- Kartik Ramakrishnan, eCommerce Architect on Braintrust
For Kartik, that not only helps him succeed, that helps his employers succeed.
It’s always tempting to want to know what’s next as a freelancer. But when you take your attention off what’s in front of you, it can have a negative impact on your performance and as a result, prevent you from getting that next big opportunity.
“Don’t start looking for the next thing before you finish the one you’re on. If you do excellent work today, tomorrow will take care of itself.”
- Kartik Ramakrishnan, eCommerce Architect on Braintrust
Before freelancing, Kartik had full-time roles with various companies. And while full-time positions often promise a greater sense of security, at 48 years old, Kartik knew that wasn’t always the case.
For him, offering his family more security didn’t just mean consistent income. It meant having control over every aspect of his work life. Like deciding which projects he wanted to work on, what type of employers he wanted to support, and his availability.
“At the end of the day, I’m most comfortable when I’m in the driver’s seat.”
- Kartik Ramakrishnan, eCommerce Architect on Braintrust
As a member of this user-owned Talent network, Kartik is doing more than just controlling his own future. He’s controlling the future of the entire network by earning BTRST token for being an active member of the community.
In addition to being able to keep 100% of the money he earns, earning BTRST tokens allows him to have a say in how the network operates and how it will continue to grow in the years to come.
Just click here to apply to join. Not quite ready? Join us on Discord and learn about exciting new job opportunities and what the world’s top tech talent have to say about the future of work!