Ketki Chandavarkar

About Beyond Cubicles

📢 #BeyondCubicles is a weekly LinkedIn series created by Carolina D’Souza, born out of her own experience transitioning from a corporate career to independent consulting. Since its launch in June 2024, the series has evolved into a platform that showcases the inspiring journeys of several founders who have redefined the traditional 9-to-5.

Through authentic narratives, #BeyondCubicles highlights themes of courage, resilience, and purpose. The stories feature individuals from diverse industries—ranging from tech and education to wellness and adventure—who share their experiences of stepping away from conventional roles to pursue passion-driven careers. 

✨ Note: All features in this series are unpaid and shared as a way to honor and amplify real stories of transformation.

“Executing an idea into an operational business is an MBA in life,” says Ketki Chandavarkar, describing how her journey from burnout to building Phoenix Method Coaching reshaped her.

As a child, she had an entrepreneurial streak, selling watercolor paintings and taking on babysitting gigs “not because I had to, but because I loved creating and earning from it”.

Still, she followed a conventional career, spending 15 years in fashion retail, rising from model to brand manager for global labels. “On paper, everything looked great,” she says, adding, “But inside, I could feel my soul shrinking as corporate life left little room for freedom or creativity.”

Burnout forced her to stop resisting what she knew: she was meant to build something of her own.

“It wasn’t a bold or fearless decision, just ‘I can’t keep living like this’,” she says.

The name of the company carries meaning. “My first tattoo is of a Phoenix. I got it in 2008 to remind myself: I rise stronger every time I fall,” she says.
 
The symbol reflects her mission to help professionals reset from burnout to brilliance.

“I thought I could fix myself by getting certified as a coach,” she says. “But I didn’t realize you can’t coach yourself out of your comfort zone.”

This insight shaped her approach, helping clients make change simple and achievable.

Entrepreneurship, she says, is built on accountability. “Too many have glamorized it, but it’s about how accountable you want to be.”

Her first venture in 2019, an online sustainable fashion startup, failed because she “gave into other people’s ideas”. When she tried again in 2021, she built conviction, developed an MVP, and learned there’s no perfect time to start. She learned to set boundaries, choose the right people, and believe in herself “to the point of delusion”.

She worked with mentors to step out of her comfort zone and discovered that her personal and professional brand is a realized version of herself. Rooted in the belief that everyone has a personal brand, it is “not only about what you show people but also about how you make them feel”.

Born and raised in India, she moved to Dubai in 2009 for a role in the GCC. “Freedom is being able to push the needle each day toward my goals and celebrate the evolution from yesterday’s version of me.”