When we think about networking, we are often told that it’s primarily about gaining access to exclusive circles, top-tier schools, and elite business networks. There’s a prevailing notion that if you didn’t attend a prestigious private school or an Ivy League institution, your network might be inherently limited. However, I have realized that meaningful connections don’t come from privilege; they come from authenticity. 🤝

In my own journey, I’ve connected with people from all walks of life—some from well-known institutions, yes, but many others from completely different backgrounds. Old schoolmates from a definitely non-elite government school in India. Friends I played table tennis with years ago. Colleagues from different jobs. People I met through shared interests, casual conversations, or even chance encounters. And over time, these connections have become some of the most valuable relationships in my life—not because of their backgrounds but because of the trust, support, and mutual respect we’ve built. 🌍

The truth is, real networking isn’t about proximity to power or wealth. It’s about genuine relationships. Here’s what I’ve learned about meaningful networking:

• Give without expectation: The best connections are built on generosity. You don’t help someone expecting an immediate return. Often, the value you create for one person comes back to you from another, in unexpected ways.
• Build a reputation for being helpful: When people know they can rely on you—not because there’s something in it for you, but because you genuinely want to support them—that’s when you create real influence.
• Prioritize organic connections over forced ones: The most impactful relationships aren’t manufactured—they grow naturally. Instead of chasing high-status connections, focus on people you truly connect with.
• Stay in touch without an agenda: Whether it’s customers, investors, or peers, maintaining relationships without expecting something in return often leads to opportunities down the road.
• Find ways to contribute to the larger ecosystem: One of the most rewarding aspects of networking is creating value beyond individual relationships. For example, being an entrepreneur and having been through startup incubators myself, I now try to connect startups to the right incubators, helping both sides thrive.

Networking isn’t about where you studied or who your family knows. It’s about how you show up, how you contribute, and how you build authentic relationships over time. 🚀

As the year draws to a close, the LinkToAny office is buzzing with anticipation for 2025. Reflecting on the past year, our team is stepping into the new year with fresh energy and clear goals. From health and hobbies to adventure and self-improvement, each resolution highlights our individuality and shared drive for growth.

A Festive Kickoff: Holiday Celebrations

We welcomed the holiday season at LinkToAny with a warm and cheerful team gathering. The office, adorned with festive decorations, featured a hot chocolate station stocked with marshmallows, chocolate wafers, and crushed candy canes. Our Secret Santa exchange brought plenty of laughs and smiles, with quirky gadgets and thoughtful gifts adding to the joy. It was the perfect way to wrap up the year and set the tone for 2025.

Health, Fitness, and Adventure

The new year often inspires a focus on health and well-being, and our team is no exception. Vijaylaxmi, Technical Ops Specialist, plans to make fitness more enjoyable by taking up badminton, blending exercise with some friendly competition. Swaroop Joshi from the tech team is balancing gym sessions with flute practice, combining wellness and creativity. Maas, who is pursuing his master’s degree, aims to maintain a consistent fitness routine to stay energized.

Adventure is another recurring theme. Anshul Pandey, UI/UX Designer, is diving into off-roading and bike classes, while Neha Rai, QA Manager, plans to explore new travel destinations and immerse herself in different cultures. Akram is planning a solo ride from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, which will necessitate meticulous planning.

Personal Development and Lifelong Learning

At LinkToAny, the passion for learning and growth is unwavering. Shivam Shinde from the tech team is expanding his skill set with a data analyst course, while Hina Pathan, SQA Engineer, is diving deeper into automation frameworks. Tushar Mukherjee, a software engineer, is embracing his creative side by learning the violin, adding a new rhythm to his year. These aspirations showcase a balance between professional growth and personal passions.

Cultivating Mindfulness and Balance

In the midst of busy schedules, many on the team are focusing on mindfulness and balance. Shreya Vaidya (Data Ops) is committing to waking up earlier and reducing screen time to reclaim valuable moments for herself. Aishwarya is prioritizing mental well-being by traveling more with friends, cherishing the joy and renewal that come from shared adventures and fresh perspectives.

Fueling Passions and Building Connections

The team’s diverse interests continue to inspire. Khushbu Pathe from the QA team aims to read 12 books and travel across Europe, combining intellectual curiosity with a love for exploration. Suraj Mandal, Sr. FullStack Developer, is honing his time management skills to make room for more adventures and growth. These goals reflect a collective spirit of making the most of the year ahead through meaningful pursuits.

Looking Ahead

As we step into 2025, the LinkToAny team is excited to pursue new goals and create lasting memories. Our resolutions are more than aspirations—they represent our commitment to growth, both individually and as a team. Here’s to a year filled with progress, challenges, and moments to celebrate.

Not all POS systems are created equal

The system that works for a small boutique may not suit a bustling café, and a multi-location retail chain will have different needs entirely.
For example:

• A cloud-based, no-frills POS might work perfectly for a small pop-up store.
• A full-featured system with advanced inventory tracking and reporting could be essential for a growing restaurant group.

6 tips for finding the perfect POS for your business

1. Define your must-have features – Make a checklist. Do you need mobile payments? Inventory management? Loyalty programs? Decide what’s essential before you start shopping.

2. Look at all the costs – Hosted (cloud) systems may be cheaper upfront compared to installed setups, but check for monthly fees. Add in hardware costs, too.

3. Check integrations – Your POS should sync smoothly with your accounting, CRM, and e-commerce tools.

4. Pick a vendor with great support – Even the best POS will have hiccups. Reliable, responsive customer service is a must.

5. Do your research – Don’t rely solely on the sales pitch. Read online reviews from real users.

6. Test before you commit – Many POS providers offer free trials. Use them to see if the system actually works for your business.

Your POS is the foundation for growth

The right system will help you manage sales, inventory, and reporting with ease, giving you a platform to grow your business.

Have any tips of your own for choosing a POS? Share them in the comments!

Let me tell you a secret: You don’t need a massive budget to get value from a trade show.

Skip the ticket; show up anyway.

Tickets can be very expensive, and as a startup founder, I couldn’t justify spending thousands. So I decided to skip the ticket and just go to the same city where the trade show was happening. The best conversations often happen outside the event—in coffee shops, hotel lobbies, and nearby restaurants. Trust me, you don’t need to be inside the venue to make excellent connections.

Do the outreach beforehand.

Before I landed, I did my homework. I contacted people I knew would be attending, set up coffee meetings, and scheduled casual lunches. This took a bit of LinkedIn outreach and some emails, but it paid off. I had meaningful one-on-one conversations, all without the noisy, crowded exhibit floor.

Work in the vicinity of the trade show.

Most trade shows and conferences have an outside zone/seating for coffee and networking. I worked in that area while keeping an eye out for people I wanted to meet for a quick handshake. You never know who you’ll meet; those chance encounters can lead to big opportunities.

Focus on Relationships, Not sales.

Since I wasn’t under the pressure of having a booth or a big-ticket expense to justify, I focused on building real relationships. I wasn’t pushing for sales—I was simply meeting people, getting to know them, and finding ways to follow up later.

Ask your customers if you can represent them.

One creative way to attend trade shows without breaking the bank is by leveraging your existing customer relationships. It’s always worth asking your loyal customers or clients if you can tag along, represent them, or attend the event on their behalf. By doing this, you may gain free or discounted access to the event while still promoting your own brand. Customers attending the trade show might appreciate the additional representation, especially if they can’t send a full team themselves. This also gives you the chance to meet potential partners, prospects, or other companies in their network while staying within budget.

At the end of the trip, my total expenditure was a fraction of what it would’ve cost to attend the trade show officially. Flights, hotel stay, a few coffees, and a couple of lunches, but I still walked away with solid connections—and even potential deals. People want to see you in person, and showing up gives your brand credibility.

Ever feel like your business tools just don’t “talk” to each other? You’re not alone. Most enterprises run on a mix of SaaS apps, on-premise software, and legacy systems. While these tools are essential, getting them to share data is often a nightmare—resulting in silos, inefficiencies, and missed opportunities.

This is where integration platform as a service (iPaaS) comes in. Think of iPaaS as the glue that holds all your systems together. It simplifies integrations, connects your apps, and helps you make the most of your data—without needing complex custom coding.

Why do enterprises need iPaaS?

Picture this: your sales team is using Salesforce, your finance team is on QuickBooks, and your e-commerce runs on Shopify. Without proper integration, you’re stuck manually exporting and importing data, risking errors, and wasting valuable time.

iPaaS fixes this problem. It acts as a central hub that connects all these tools. With prebuilt connectors and automation, data flows seamlessly between systems in real time. No manual work. No complicated scripts. Just smooth, automated workflows that save your IT team hours of hassle.

Key benefits of iPaaS for enterprises

1. Save time by automating data transfers
Manual data entry is not only tedious—it’s error-prone. iPaaS automates these tasks, so your data moves between apps accurately and instantly.

2. Cut costs by simplifying integrations
Maintaining custom integrations or outdated middleware can be expensive. iPaaS provides a cloud-based, scalable solution that reduces costs and maintenance headaches.

3. Unlock better insights with unified data
When your data lives in silos, you don’t see the full picture. iPaaS consolidates your data so you can generate more accurate reports, gain deeper insights, and make smarter decisions.

4. Future-proof your tech stack
As your enterprise grows, so does your technology landscape. iPaaS adapts and scales with you, making it easy to add new tools or migrate to better platforms—without disrupting your workflows.

How LinkToAny makes iPaaS even better

At LinkToAny, we’ve taken iPaaS a step further. Our data migration and integration technology has already helped tens of thousands of businesses move to new platforms smoothly. Whether it’s integrations, migrations, or onboarding, our solutions are built to keep your systems connected, efficient, and ready for the future

The bottom line

Disjointed systems slow your business down. With iPaaS, you can connect your apps, automate your workflows, and finally make your data work for you. Enterprises that embrace iPaaS enjoy faster operations, lower costs, and smarter decision-making.

If your business is still stuck with disconnected systems, now’s the time to explore iPaaS solutions like LinkToAny and build a tech stack that works together, seamlessly.

My resolution is to do everything possible at LinkToAny to create a perfect woman’s workplace.

Here’s my list of takeaways and “Must Do’s”:

• Gender diversity is not accidental, which means it needs a thoughtful and persistent effort. Generally, 9 out of 10 applications that we get for engineering roles are from male applicants. To change that, I believe every aspect of the company—from the branding, job postings, to the language we use in all our communication—needs to be welcoming to women. In our recruiting efforts, we keep the search going until we have a big enough pool of female applicants. Women who are already working at LinkToAny are encouraged to bring referrals of female candidates from their network.
• That said, branding, recruiting, and language will not suddenly bring in female employees if the culture/environment are not truly supportive of a woman’s needs. For example, I asked an Air India employee in Stockholm (mother to a 2-year old who was instrumental in making our work trip happen) about how she managed to pull this off with a toddler. She said it was because of the trust and flexibility that her manager consistently placed in her that motivated her to go the extra mile, including how her maternity leave was handled.
  We (and I am sure many other startups) offer a similar level of flexibility, but we have to go deeper and consider if each employee in the organization, without fail, represents those values and is supportive towards female employees on his/her team.

•  It is critical to sensitize the workforce on sexual harassment, acceptable protocols, and etiquette. In India, the POSH law requires companies of all sizes to ensure their employees have undergone the necessary training.  The training is important but not enough – HR together with leadership needs to proactively enforce timely interventions and ensure that every employee knows that their concerns will get heard and addressed.
  There is sufficient evidence that a diverse workforce results in higher productivity and profits. So I am hopeful that the startup founders reading this article will also take steps to make their respective companies more diverse and inclusive.

Sriram Subramanian