Kraftshala Marketing Launchpad Review: How Abdul Afreed Went From MLP to Performance Marketing at Razorpay

This blog is a transcript of a video testimonial shared by Abdul Afreed, an alumnus of Kraftshala’s Marketing Launchpad. You can watch the full conversation here: Watch the video on YouTube.

Quick facts

• Name: Abdul Afreed
• From: Kerala
• Program: Kraftshala Marketing Launchpad (MLP), Batch 2
• Placed in: Team Pumpkin (Performance Marketing Associate)
• Currently working in: Razorpay as Senior Performance Marketing Associate
• In his words: “Every one in three people I met at Hiveminds was from Kraftshala, it felt like a Kraftshala meet-up itself.”

Abdul Afreed was one of Kraftshala’s earliest students – Batch 2, during the pandemic. Three years and three roles later, he’s a performance marketer at Razorpay. Here’s what he learned about getting placed, the power of a network, and where the field is heading.

Why did you choose Kraftshala over an MBA?

After my graduation I was looking at doing an MBA and preparing for the CAT exam. I’m from a lower-middle-class family, so there was a lot of financial instability at home. I had to decide: a job right now, or an MBA?

Then I saw a YouTube video by the founder of Kraftshala, and there was a session explaining the Marketing Launchpad program and how you can land a job in digital marketing. I thought I should try it – because within three or four months you can get a job, which is exactly what I was looking for. Being in Batch 2, I asked students from Batch 1 whether it was really worth it. After that, I enrolled.

How did the human skills sessions help you?

At the beginning I wondered why a completely professional course needed soft-skills sessions. But later I understood they’re essential – that part made me who I am. If you ask me what I really miss about Kraftshala, it’s those sessions.

I’m not a very interactive person. Our trainer broke us into groups so we’d interact with teammates. I hated it at first, but later it helped me a lot – how to interact, how to socialize – and it helped in my interviews too.

What was the placement process like?

To be frank, I got placed in the last month of the program – one of the last from my batch. But because of that, I had more interview experience than my teammates; I attended four or five interviews. At first it bothered me that batchmates were getting placed and I wasn’t. But we learned something from every interview, worked on it, and sat for the next one better prepared.

Whether you crack an interview or not, it gives you something. That’s how I reinvented myself.

After the fourth or fifth interview, I got placed at Team Pumpkin as a Performance Marketing Executive – during COVID, so it was fully work-from-home for that year. The one thing I want to call out is the mock interviews. They’re conducted by actual experts with expertise in a particular field, so you can evaluate exactly where you stand.

How has networking helped your career?

Networking is important – not just socially, but in your career. At Team Pumpkin there were two colleagues from MLP 1, and at HiveMinds I saw a lot of people from Kraftshala.

If someone gets placed at another organization, they can refer others in. That’s how it helps your career.

Even after I joined Razorpay, batchmates reached out asking about openings, and I told everyone I’ll let them know. During my own notice period, I messaged many Kraftshala people about opportunities, and they were happy to help – there’s a helping mentality.

What does a digital marketer’s day actually look like?

Digital marketing is like a tree with different branches – performance marketing, SEO, content marketing, influencer marketing. As a performance marketer I work mainly on Meta Ads and Google Ads.

At the start I was more into execution – running campaigns, analyzing numbers, reporting. Now my role is more about analysis and strategy: how to scale the brand, improve performance, and diagnose what’s happening at the website and back-end level. So if you’re starting out in performance marketing, expect execution and reporting first.

Agency vs. brand – what’s the difference?

At an agency, you get exposure to clients from different sectors – what you do for a D2C client is different from EdTech, which is different from healthcare. As a beginner, the learning curve at an agency is very high.

On the brand side, you get a deep understanding of the product and how every other part of marketing impacts the business. At an agency you’re analyzing the impact of performance marketing; on the brand side you see how SEO, content and the rest help the business. I had nearly three years of agency experience – a great learning curve to start a career.

Will AI replace digital marketers?

AI replacing digital marketing is not going to happen. Right now you might take three or four hours to make a report – tomorrow AI will reduce that time so you can focus on other things.

AI won’t replace your job. It’ll help you do things better.

I read that digital marketing will hit an all-time high by 2030. It’s growing year on year, and there will be a lot of opportunities – in content, performance, anywhere.

What did your parents say?

They were so happy. I’m more attached to my mom, so I’d only discussed it with her – she always told me I’d make it. When I got placed, the first person I reached out to was my mom: ‘Mom, I got placed. Everything’s sorted now.

Want a career in performance marketing?

Abdul started in Batch 2 and is now at Razorpay. If you want to learn full-stack digital marketing and get placed, explore the Marketing Launchpad program and the latest placement report.