My name is Ikbal Valiyathodi, and while my everyday life involves working a traditional job in a private firm amidst the bustling, vibrant Saudi port city of Jeddah, my true, enduring passion lies in the vast, ever-evolving world of the internet and computer technology. My personal story is a journey of continuous, self-driven learning, of actively turning quiet evening downtime into productive digital output, and of magically transforming a simple childhood curiosity into a thriving, multi-faceted online enterprise.
Roots in the Green Heart of Kerala
I was born in 1980 in the beautiful, serene village of Oorakam, safely nestled deep within the Malappuram district of Kerala, India. Oorakam is a tranquil place immensely blessed with raw natural beauty—winding rivers, steep rocky hills, and lush, vibrant green valleys. My childhood was happily spent completely immersed in this idyllic, rural setting, warmly surrounded by the love and support of a very large joint family filled to the brim with uncles, aunts, and energetic cousins.
Historically, our family's background was primarily rooted in traditional agriculture and farming, though this generational path began to noticeably shift during my youth. I still deeply cherish the vivid memories of that bygone period, from waking up early to help tend to the cows to the thrilling, sometimes dangerous excitement of wild honey bee hunting in the forests. About ten years before my birth, my hardworking father successfully started a small local retail shop, and shortly after, three of my adventurous uncles bravely ventured to the Gulf for overseas employment, setting a trend that would later influence my own life.
A highly significant mentor, and unfortunately a source of deep, lasting sadness in my life, was my beloved uncle, Mohammed. He worked diligently as a clerk at a local university, later took a long, ambitious sabbatical, and spent eight challenging years working hard in the Gulf to support the family. His highly unexpected and tragic death, just two short years after finally settling back home in India, was a profound, deeply shocking tragedy for me and my entire family that changed my perspective on life and legacy.
💡 Ishabil Fact: The Pen-Pal Era
Long before the era of social media platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp, building a global network required patience and postage stamps! In the late 1990s, radio stations and printed magazines were the ultimate social hubs. Writing letters to foreign pen friends was a highly popular hobby in Kerala that beautifully bridged the massive gap between isolated rural villages and the vast outside world.
Education, Literature, and Early Ambitions
My foundational school years spent at GMLP School and PMSA UP School in Karathode were deeply memorable and formative. I eventually completed my high school matriculation at DUHS Panakkad. It was precisely during this incredibly creative time that I met my highly literary-minded friend, David Matthew. I became deeply and passionately involved with him and his talented brother in various creative community activities, including designing and producing handwritten local magazines and participating in various traditional art forms. My favorite daily habit was eagerly reading popular Malayalam children's magazines like Balarama and Balamangalam, which heavily fueled my early imagination.
While I was a perfectly average, attentive student up until the 7th grade, my academic performance unfortunately dipped during my demanding high school years, and I ultimately completed my matriculation with a modest 49%. I then proudly attended MAS College in Malappuram for my intermediate higher studies but, unfortunately, due to shifting family circumstances, I could not officially complete my formal higher education.
This highly transformative era, marking the very end of the last century, was primarily defined by my deep, burning passion for postal correspondence. I developed a dedicated, persistent habit of writing long letters to international radio stations and popular magazines, which ultimately led to me successfully collecting a vast, global network of fascinating pen friends, especially since modern internet access was completely non-existent in our rural area at the time.
💻 The Digital Awakening (1998–2002)
My very first, mind-blowing encounter with modern computing came via a bulky desktop computer that was expensively purchased for my uncle's home—an older, noisy model that was used primarily by the family for watching CD movies and playing basic pixelated games.
In the year 2000, eager to learn more, I officially enrolled in a small, local computer software course but frustratingly couldn't complete the modules due to my heavy daily commitments working as a traveling salesman for my cousin's busy local distribution agency. However, this exact period also saw the highly exciting launch of the very first public internet cafes in our nearest city, Malappuram. My good friend Umarali and I quickly became enthusiastic, regular weekend visitors, eagerly and patiently learning the very basics of sending email and surfing the newly born World Wide Web.
⭐ Ishabil Tips: The Power of Self-Learning
If you want to transition into the digital space but lack a formal IT degree, do not let that hold you back! The internet is the ultimate free university. Start by mastering one highly specific skill—like basic photo editing, simple HTML, or digital marketing—by watching free YouTube tutorials during your evening downtime. Consistency and implementation will always beat raw theory!
In 2002, my life shifted dramatically when I officially moved to Saudi Arabia to work. Initially, my fragile connection to the world of computers was completely severed due to the demands of expat life. It wasn't until much later that I finally resumed visiting local Saudi internet cafes and started re-learning the digital basics all over again. During my very first long vacation back home to India in 2005, I purposefully joined a mobile phone technician hardware course at Malappuram Idea. Although I ultimately never worked professionally in that specific hardware field, the intense course brilliantly ignited a massive flood of technical knowledge and fresh, exciting new ideas about the boundless potential of the internet, personal computers, and mobile technology.
The Turning Point: The Pentium 4 and Digital Entrepreneurship
The real, defining change in my digital journey officially came in 2006. I finally fulfilled my long-held dream of actually owning a personal computer, proudly dedicating two full months of my hard-earned expat salary to purchase a heavy, beige Pentium 4 desktop. This beloved computer essentially became my silent "guru." Through countless hours of trial and error, I painstakingly taught myself the complex fundamentals of digital photo manipulation and video editing software, using absolutely all of my free weekend time to heavily practice new visual techniques and even confidently taking on small freelance editing projects for my friends' local photography studio.
My official, professional entry into the competitive internet business world happened in 2010 with the ambitious creation of my very first fully functional website, superjumblo.com. I bravely bought the domain name and web hosting package from Cochin Web Hosting with virtually no prior, formal knowledge of backend website creation. I simply learned everything through stubborn, relentless implementation.
- Superjumblo.com: This became a highly successful internet calling (VoIP) service provider site. I successfully taught myself how to securely integrate leading global payment gateways like PayPal, CashU, and One Card directly into the site. I actively utilized my newly nascent image and video editing skills to create highly engaging promotional content, launching a dedicated YouTube channel and a bustling Facebook business page for the site.
- Digital Automation: By 2012, I had successfully implemented a fully automated customer register and credit purchase system, with the complex backend PHP programming work outsourced to and beautifully done by Hani, an incredibly talented 18-year-old freelance programmer operating from Syria. I later aggressively expanded the platform with a dedicated mobile-friendly site and an entire Arabic language section, with crucial content translation help provided kindly by my good friend and expat colleague, Dr. Eid.
📈 The Google AdSense & Affiliate Marketing Success
Near the very end of 2010, looking to expand my horizons, I tentatively and nervously applied for the highly coveted Google AdSense publisher program. To my absolute shock and immense surprise, Google fully approved the application, and I immediately began implementing targeted display advertisements directly on the Superjumblo platform.
This early monetization success rapidly led me to explore an entirely new venture. I confidently purchased the premium domain rechargevoip.com, smoothly moved to a much faster, more robust new hosting provider, and officially launched a comprehensive review site detailing various global internet calling providers. This niche informational site incredibly quickly gained massive search engine traction, and I eagerly began receiving highly consistent, highly motivating payout checks directly from Google AdSense.
My aggressive, self-driven learning didn't just stop there. I dove headfirst into the highly lucrative world of Affiliate Marketing and targeted Email Marketing campaigns—efforts that also proved to be incredibly successful, ultimately generating a highly reliable, passive additional income stream strictly from various affiliate sites.
Finally, in 2013, to centralize my digital identity, I secured the wonderful, highly personal domain ikbal.in and proudly launched my official personal website and connected YouTube channel to document my ongoing journey.
The Present Day and The Digital Future
Today, I am still proudly working as a dedicated professional expat in the beautiful coastal city of Jeddah, but my absolute core passion remains deeply, heavily tethered to the expansive digital world. My evening leisure time is treated not as a break, but as a highly focused, deliberate investment in continuously learning new coding languages, studying SEO trends, and aggressively creating new online properties. This relentless, decade-long dedication has beautifully materialized into multiple, highly successful, revenue-generating websites and has wonderfully opened exclusive doors to consulting and working closely with others on their own complex online business projects. These continuous, daily efforts not only constantly update my modern technological knowledge but are actively and successfully helping to drastically improve my family's overall financial standing back home.
I genuinely, deeply believe there is still so much more I can successfully achieve in the limitless internet and online sphere. I am moving forward knowing full well that, exactly like any competitive field in the world, true, lasting digital success simply demands even greater daily dedication, unbreakable patience, and absolute, unwavering focus.
