🧪 Why you should build optionality in career + $5k/month microsaas side hustle

Hello hello hello 👋🏽,

Welcome to the third edition of the Marketers Help Marketers newsletter.

It's a little later than usual (as it has been ever since it launched 🤦🏽‍♀️).

Life, you know.

It sucks to have a cold and fever when it’s this hot, so this edition is hitting your inbox late.

But I remain positive that I will publish as per my promised schedule soon. 🤞🏽

Anyways, I have got a good one for you this week.

This one is all about building optionality in your career.

My guest this week - Sanjeev NC.

Sanjeev is a marketer, product manager, and founder—sometimes all at once.

He has held roles in customer support, sales, marketing, and product, all while co-founding Supermeme, a microsaas tool generating $5K/month in revenue.

Sanjeev’s career is an example of building optionality and will make you rethink your approach to your career.  

He believes that having multiple paths is the way to freedom.  

Let’s break down some of his biggest lessons.

✨ Build optionality as a path to freedom

To Sanjeev, freedom is a core value. This isn't about side hustles; it's about reducing reliance on a single source of income, be it a job or a single business.

Supermeme isn't just a business for Sanjeev; it's a safety net. It allowed him to take a break from full-time employment to explore consulting and even acting! This highlights the power of small, profitable ventures.

He's bullish on avoiding large financial commitments (housing loan, expensive car) directly linked to maintaining optionality. This allows him to "scale down" his lifestyle if needed, reducing pressure to stay in undesirable jobs.

✨ 9-5 is risky

Most of us (including me) think a full-time job is the safest bet. Sanjeev argues that diversifying income streams—whether through microsaas, consulting, or investing in your skills—actually de-risks your career.

✨ Embrace the power of "Why"

Knowing his "why" has been an important part of Sanjeev’s career.

From his early days learning English to his diverse roles in the tech industry, Sanjeev has been guided by a clear sense of purpose.

For example, his initial interest in Make a Difference (MAD) stemmed from his personal experience of learning English and wanting to pass on that skill.

✨ Don't wait for permission

Sanjeev's career is marked by a willingness to take initiative. He didn't wait for a formal invitation to explore new roles at Freshworks; he simply asked.

This proactive approach led him from customer support to pre-sales, and eventually into product marketing.

✨ Cultivate a “trainable gut”

To him, "gut" isn't just a feeling; it's built on years of experience, consuming content, and talking to people.

Overwhelm is the enemy of action.

Sanjeev breaks down big decisions into smaller, reversible ones. This helps him avoid overthinking and analysis paralysis.

He also stresses the importance of course correcting if some mistake is made.

✨ “What’s the worst that can happen?” 

This simple question guides many of Sanjeev's decisions. It encourages a mindset of risk-taking and overcoming the fear of rejection, which is essential when moving up the ladder.

✨ Put yourself out there

Sanjeev attributes much of his career success to putting himself out there. He was active on internal social media at his company, which led to new opportunities. He also met his Supermeme co-founder through LinkedIn and his current boss through a networking event years ago.  

How Sanjeev co-founded Supermeme, a profitable $5k/month product

Supermeme didn’t start in a boardroom. It started in a WhatsApp group and is still run that way!

Sanjeev had been posting content regularly—sharing insights, ideas, and learnings. That’s how one of his future co-founders, Ramsri noticed him and reached out.

Together, they built Supermeme—a meme generator for marketers. Today, it brings in $5K/month with zero marketing spend.

Yep. No ads. No fancy launch. Just a useful product, good SEO, and word-of-mouth.

Supermeme is a fantastic example of a micro-SaaS business.

It tackles a specific problem (meme generation) for a specific group (marketers).

It's run by a small team, doesn't need a huge budget, and brings in a good profit.

Businesses like Supermeme show that you don't need a massive company or tons of funding to build a successful online business.

This season, I started asking marketing leaders how they were using AI at work.

And the answers were interesting.

I will be dropping names and use cases of tools.

Stay tuned.

In other news, I am switching the frequency of podcasts from weekly to bi-monthly.

Reason: my plate is overflowing with an interesting but challenging consulting project + job search + personal stuff.

However, I have tonnes of interesting things to share from podcast conversations and about careers in general, so this newsletter will continue to be a weekly one.

As always, I'd love your thoughts on this edition.

Have an amazing week ahead! ✨ 

Your marketer friend,

Mita