PEAK PERFORMER

RISING STAR PRATIK THAKKER

His success was outside the comfort zone, from a young kid selling firecrackers to pickles, a teenage salesman to stock analyst, sailing through storms and rapids, from India to Israel, this is an extraordinary performer’s success journey.

RISING STAR

PEAK PERFORMER

Pratik Thakker

“We are all capable of more than we believe in and we are stronger than our fears.”

CEO & Founder: Webzoly

The term “peak” simply means to have reached the highest point of something like a career or academics. When someone peaks, things start to shift pretty quickly.

Peak performance is a state in which the person performs to his or her maximum ability, characterized by subjective feelings of confidence, effortlessness and total concentration on the task.

A peak performer is a person who is always positive and assertive towards his/her goals and different aspects of life. This type of person is also very organized and always knows how to prioritize the important work that they have to do. Most of the time, they accomplish their goals.

A Peak Performer – Rising Star Pratik Thakker is a Marketer by Profession and Entrepreneur at heart.

He is a CEO and founder of Webzoly and a LinkedIn Influencer with more than 3+ million content views.

Those who fear failure never rise above it, and then, failure becomes constant. The point of growth lies at the moment when one decides to grab opportunities and denies fear a chance to pull you back. Pratik grabbed every opportunity which came his way. Rather, he turned every challenge into an opportunity through his bold attitude.

Lack of resources could not hold Rising Star Pratik Thakker from surging ahead on his journey to growth. Pratik knew his potential at an early age, and he beat problems by making the problems work for him. He was enterprising and he knew only one success mantra, “Excel at whatever you do.”

This is an interesting story of a young man who vowed to beat stagnancy and not limit his growth ever. Did he lose anything in the process? Maybe, yes. Or maybe, he learned more and appreciated life better. A journey that took him across the continent from India to Israel, his story reminds us that everyone has the spark that fires the potential only if we know ourselves, push self-created limits and learn from the past. It is a journey of a digital domain expert, entrepreneur and peak performer.

Early Days

Pratik was an average student. His mischief at home landed him into a community hostel at the 1st grade. Being isolated from the family at such a tender age put him in despair and loneliness. He was bullied by the elder boys, and that added to his turmoil. He spent 4 years in a boarding school, which was the hardest time of his life.

Pratik has a unique quality of being determined. Since childhood, money became a driving force for him. He belongs to a family that ran a small-scale spices business. He chose computer science for graduation because technology seemed to have practical business applications.

Pratik says, “Since childhood, I wanted to become the richest man in the world and was always inspired by Bill Gates.”

This was his driving force. As a kid, Pratik sold firecrackers and pickles, which enabled him to self-fund clothes and toys. He got into college, but he was only keen on learning new skills rather than formal education, which never excited him. As a hustler, he started working as a part-time salesman in the garments market as he wanted to master the art of selling.

“I always aspired to be an achiever, where I had the numbers on top priority whether they may be of achieving targets, reaching your goals or earning money; numbers excited me to always set new benchmarks of excellence and perform better than before. I always backed myself in excellence as a peak performer.”

In the first year of college, at the inter-college fest, he met his life partner Nancy, a Jewish girl of Indian origin. Their love conquered all societal barriers, and they were united.

Numbers excited him, and he moved to the most volatile stock market trade. Sharp-minded and smart in his ways, Pratik learned and excelled at the trade. He was known in the workplace and trade circle as a “Pratik Expert” in trading and market analysis.

By the age of 21, Pratik was making more money than he could have imagined.

“Failures are part of the journey. The stock market crash got him back to square one. Money earned in a year was lost in a few days. He didn’t give up. He bounced back stronger and was back on track. However, the stress of the job, overworking and the erratic work hours started taking a toll on his health.”

Rising Moment

Sometimes, life denies us opportunities only to help us find a bigger aim and abundance. Success is always hidden under places one tends to look the least. Nancy inspired Pratik to seek opportunities in Israel. It was difficult to leave the homeland and families. But the couple went on to find new dreams in a new land. They stayed at hostels and learned Hebrew.

Life always becomes different. The dimensions of life also change when we have a bigger exposure and wider platform to perform. The global exposure and acclimatization to the new cultures, new rules and new norms as a foreign national are really challenging. Pratik weathered the emotional storms of life, being away from family, i.e., staying away from parents for the first time in life. Depression, anxiety, health issues and setbacks sometimes pull you down so much that it may leave you helpless.

Pratik appreciates his life partner and best friend Nancy, who handled the situation perfectly and helped him recover.

“Life in Israel is beautiful and offers immense growth opportunities. In simplest terms, ‘Israel – Small but Outstanding!’” says Pratik.

The most important aspect of business that Pratik learned from his father is learning, improving and taking risks. His father taught him that customer satisfaction always comes first.

“Give your customers more value than expected. Always exceed expectations as that will create word of mouth, which is the best form of marketing.”

Pratik learned the skills of selling from his cousin — that one need not sell the product. Instead, sell the solutions. He learned how to sell himself first before selling a product. He learned and gained knowledge of sales and marketing. Then, when life gave him another shift and when he saw digital and tech booming, Pratik shifted his gears to the digital sector, which helped him to be a peak performer in every aspect of his life.

“To grow, one needs to be a learner forever.”

A stock trading expert and analyst in India willingly accepted a job of housekeeping and cleaning to start his work journey in Israel. Meanwhile, he used his digital and tech knowledge and started freelancing for free. The word spread and favourable testimonials got him actual business. He got his first job at Voice of Israel, an online radio broadcasting company. Pratik started his job as a normal video uploader. He quickly adapted new digital skills and grew significantly. Pratik eventually moved to Masa Israel Journey as a digital marketing manager, where the company offered gap year, study abroad and internship programmes to Jewish students across the world.

In just 1 year, Pratik became Director of Digital Marketing. It was the reward for his hard work.

That was the rising moment.

“Don’t just meet expectations, but always exceed them. This is what gave me success,” says Pratik.

He moved to his next adventure as Head of Marketing at GeoEdge, an AdTech Cyber Security Company in Israel. Later, Pratik started a consulting firm for web development software and digital marketing with a back-end office in Mumbai, India. The company serves over 30+ companies globally in digital marketing and web development services.

“I believe in competing with myself, not with anyone else. I am my own competitor,” says Pratik.

Future Plans

Pratik has always held money as the highest motivator and facilitator in life. But eventually, he realized that family, loved ones and the journey were more important. His outlook towards life is utmost positive, and he believes that what he lacked in resources, he shall make them available for those who need it; like skills, know-how and guidance.

He is now working on new projects/ideas which will be announced soon. The journey continues for Pratik Thakker because stagnancy was never his forte.

Rising Regards

Pratik Thakker is a true performer. When I heard his story, what struck me was that you should not be distracted from your focus and must keep learning, upgrading and competing with yourself.

Pratik did go out of his way to achieve. He kept moving and learning. He never let stagnancy or complacency get in the way. He made sure he would always be a peak performer in whatever he does.

There are some who wait for opportunities, and then, there are some like Pratik who create opportunities.

Success Sutra

Excel at whatever you do

Exceed the expectations of your customer

Compete with yourself and not with others

PEAK PERFORMER

Performance is the key to success. Focused action drives performance.

Q] List down 3 core strengths you want to enhance to achieve peak performance in your life & why.

Q] How will achieving these strengths improve your life?

SMILING WARRIOR

RISING STAR HARESH CHOTHANI

No guts, no glory! From being a hawker to now owning a sprawling high-street boutique. He rejected pity, walked the miles alone with determination, embraced failures with a SMILE and created a legendary story of converting challenges to victory.

RISING STAR

SMILING WARRIOR

Haresh Chothani

“Don’t cry because it’s an end, but smile as it’s a new beginning.”

Owner: Blue Orange — Family Boutique Store

Making a life change is scary, but what is scarier is regret. This is the story of Rising Star Haresh Chothani, who broke the routine and went on to create his own destiny. He grew up as a smiling warrior who never made his challenges as an excuse or shield to gain pity. “No excuse, only action,” was his motto.

Success was not served to him, but he knew happiness in doing what he loved will bring him success. He smiled at the challenges that came along. He came from a lower-middle-class family, yet he had no qualms about not getting an apt opportunity for education.

Haresh went from being a hawker to owning a sprawling high-street boutique. What he lacked in education, he made up in talent, skills and determination. Everything that he acquired after years of hardships is commendable. This is the story of converting challenges to victory, from meagre means to opulence, and all through this, he held on to his humility and virtues. A warrior with a golden heart, his story will surely inspire you all!

Early Days

Success comes to those who dream and relentlessly pursue their dreams. Rising Star Haresh Chothani is one such entrepreneur, whose life story inspires young and old.

They say that a smile can create wonders. Many a time, a mere smile can impact the person you talk to and that is the most prominent attribute of Haresh Chothani. Mere new clothes or royal branded attire would never make you look adorable. Your personality and its impression are incomplete without a smile.