State of the Creators

I am answering your questions about creativity, the journey, the podcast and...Manchester United apparently - I know I shouldn't have made this into an "Ask Me Anything"! After getting a few questions from some of you, I thought I would weigh in on the journey so far and my plans ahead into a Q/A episode. Enjoy! 

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In a nutshell, Lamisa Kabir is a blogger and a content creator with a focus on fashion and lifestyle. Better known as @thedamselindispute in the world of Instagram, Lamisa started her journey as a writer for her college blog, and has now built a sizeable following for her fashion specific content on Instagram. Currently based in Toronto and New York, Lamisa is pursuing a career in social media and mobile marketing. 

This episode of the State of the Creators podcast is packed with value as Tawsif Akkas sits down with Lamisa to talk about growing an Instagram presence, digital marketing, sustainable fashion, dealing with identity crisis and the challenges of putting yourself out there on the internet.   

Find out more about the episode here: www.tawsifakkas.com/007

Zubair Hasan is one of the more prominent artists in the Bangladesh music scene right now - he is primarily a guitarist and has been delivering the goods for popular rock band Indalo as well as Banglamotorr. Zubair started his journey into the world of music about a decade ago but his creative influence is beyond just making music. He is also a photographer, and has recently ventured into the world of music production. 

In this episode, Tawsif Akkas sits down with Zubair to talk about what it’s like to creative music in a digital world - for a digital world, the creative process of making music and the challenges of being a musician in the 21st century - specifically in the context of Bangladesh. 

Also, we ran into some technical difficulties so the audio has some background noise in certain parts! Hope it's not too much of a distraction. 

Find out more about the episode here: www.tawsifakkas.com/006

In a nutshell - Ahmed Fahad is a designer and a coder and VP of Product at Pathao – the leading ride-sharing, on-demand logistics, and food delivery platform in Bangladesh. At age 17, he was part of the founding team at Pathao and has since helped the company scale rapidly - so much so that the company is now valued at over $100m. Five years on, he is still going strong - for as example only last month he led the launch of Pathao Tong, a grocery delivery service, all over Bangladesh, in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis. If that wasn’t enough, he is currently finishing up his Finance degree at IBA - one of the most prestigious business schools in the country. 

Now this episode is a bit of a curveball from the last four - mainly because this one focuses on the concept of scaling an idea and the benefits of creative thinking - but not in a traditional arts or creative industry. So as a creator, if you’ve got an audience and you want to take your idea to the next level - a lot of the concepts in this episode could be potentially applicable for you. 

In this episode, we explored Fahad’s life at the intersection of business and technology, how he's using creative thinking to solve problems at Pathao and also how he balances studying and fast paced work life.

Find out more about the episode here: www.tawsifakkas.com/005

Maleena Gomez is a Designer & illustrator and goes under the alias of Mnxsterr (pronounced Monster!) 

She started her creative journey as a graduate from Charukola - one of Bangladesh’s most sought after fine arts institutions. And before becoming a full time freelancer, she was an art director and has worked with some of the biggest brand names in the world like Coca Cola, Viber, Yamaha and so on. She now works in her own design studio and has her own merch line called “Bad Girl Nation” - a brand about rebellion to increase awareness for female empowerment through art. 

In this episode, Tawsif Akkas sits down with Maleena to talk about the creative life in a traditional fine arts institution, dealing with burnouts and how to pursue a career as a freelancer.  

Find out more about the episode here: www.tawsifakkas.com/004

Rumman R Kalam is the founder of Rantages - Bangladesh's first crude humor website which has now built itself into a meme empire in the country. He is also the Acting In-charge of New Media at The Daily Star - the country's largest circulating English newspaper. 

While many don't consider memes to be anything serious, it is hard to deny the impact of this content form especially in the current digital content landscape. Big brands have adapted it and some businesses have an entire digital strategy built around creating memes. 

In this episode, Tawsif Akkas sits down with Rumman to talk about why memes shouldn't be overlooked, the ethical side of "stealing memes", and how you can start earning a buck or two by creating relatable online content. 

Find out more about the episode here: www.tawsifakkas.com/003

Iftekhar Rafsan - better known as Rafsan "the Chotobhai" - has built a massive online audience with hundreds of thousands of dedicated followers in just over a year. His exponential rise came in 2019 through creating videos reviewing food from various cafes and restaurants. Based in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Rafsan now primarily identifies as an entertainer and a video creator, but is also popular in the online gaming community. 

In this episode of the State of the Creators, Tawsif Akkas sits down with Rafsan to discuss his growth online, the challenges in keeping up with rising demands (both in his professional and personal life) and what it took for him - a quiet introverted boy - to overcome his fear of appearing in public to being awarded the much sought after silver play button on YouTube. 

Find out more about the episode here: www.tawsifakkas.com/002

Saria Saguaro is an artist, a pastry chef and a prominent animal activist based in Dhaka, Bangladesh. She has built multiple businesses around her creative passions and have now been in the scene for almost a decade now. 

In this very first episode of the State of the Creators, Tawsif Akkas sits down with Saria to discuss about her creative journey, the challenges she faces as a creative (and how she overcomes them) and how she navigates her way through her multiple creative businesses. Find out more about the episode here: www.tawsifakkas.com/001

Hey - I am Tawsif Akkas and I love creating stuff for the internet. Short story long, I am a digital creative, a content consultant, and have built multiple media brands around the world. 

For as long as I can remember, I have been creative. And despite getting an education in a creative field, I realized that there was no blueprint to create - especially in this fast paced digital world. The only way to learn was either to teach yourself or to learn from others who are already doing what you want to do. 

And that's why I decided to start this podcast...a series of candid conversations with some of the most talented creators - from Bangladesh to Australia, and around the world - to help the next generation of creators flourish. 

This is a podcast for the creator in you - for those who are looking to take that leap and to build something from scratch. 

Here's a taste of what's to come. Thanks for tagging along. 

www.tawsifakkas.com/podcast