Mustafa Khan, ACA

Co founder of Draper.

[Mustafa Khan, ACA @Mustafa_OK6]

Take a bow, Mehdi Hasan. Zeteo News is coming to the UK!

In a media culture built on fear, division and billionaire owners, this is something genuinely different.

A subscriber-funded newsroom that answers to the people who actually read it, not to advertisers or a proprietor.

For decades, a handful of outlets have set the terms of British debate. The BBC, Sky, the tabloids (Daily Fail, The Sun etc). They quietly decide what counts as a reasonable opinion, and most of us, including our politicians, end up repeating talking points we think are our own.

And look where it has got us.

Britain ranks 32nd out of 48 countries for trust in news. Only advertising executives and politicians are trusted less than journalists.

When trust in the gatekeepers falls that far, it leaves an opening.

Because people start looking for something better.

In the US, independent outlets like Zeteo have already pulled millions away from the establishment press reporting on the gravest issues of our time, like Israel-Palestine and Russia-Ukraine, which the mainstream media have failed miserably to report properly.

Now it is Britain's turn.

I'm not particularly left or right-wing, and I don't even agree with Mehdi's views on a bunch of things.

But I recognise when someone is trying to break a monopoly.

More voices and scrutiny. Outlets that have to earn your trust rather than assume it. A media that is more plural, more accountable, and harder to capture is good for everyone, whatever you happen to believe.

Today, that got a little more likely.

Curious what you all think - is this the start of something new for British media... or nothing much?

[Zeteo UK @zeteouk]

“We need independent media in the [UK]... now more than we’ve ever needed it before.”

@mehdirhasan speak with Zeteo UK Politics Editor @ShehabKhan about what’s broken in British journalism, why he left corporate media, and why the UK needs an independent news outlet.

[Mustafa Khan, ACA @Mustafa_OK6]

The first time I joined a call wearing these headphones, three people (including the co-founder) messaged me after the call with the SAME question:

"Which headphones were you using? We want to buy them"

Jabra Evolve2 65. Bought off Amazon on 15th February 2025.

A year on, this is my honest take.

I find that generally folks obsess over camera quality. Almost nobody thinks about AUDIO.

But you have two ways people perceive you on a call:

a visual one AND a vocal one.

And arguably the vocal one is what clients, team members, and customers actually judge you on.

The secret isn't just the brand of the headphones (although Jabra is a good brand). It's the boom arm - the long microphone that sits right next to your mouth. Podcasters figured this out years ago: the closer the mic to your mouth (generally speaking), the crisper the voice. Built-in laptop or earbud mics will always sound subpar.

Add noise-cancelling (essential when you've got kids screaming in the background, like I often do), and you'll sound clear and confident on every call. Whether you’re an MD or a fresh graduate, this stuff still matters.

Worst case, at least people can clearly hear what you're saying. Even if it's an utter boatload of crap.

So yeah that’s it. Easy upgrade to how you're perceived at work, without changing anything else about yourself.

Go forth and conquer.

PS. I like to share useful hacks that I learn from my own experience, so give my profile a follow if this kinda stuff is of interest :))

[Matt Kennard @kennardmatt]

Just picked this up at my local newsagent

So exciting

Murdoch, your days polluting our country’s culture and politics are numbered

[Mustafa Khan, ACA @Mustafa_OK6]

The best sales lesson I ever learned came from a call where I had zero intention of closing the founder, but ended the call with a $30k annual contract sale.

A few years ago, I jumped on a call with a startup founder in the education space. I’d assumed they were early-stage and probably couldn’t afford help, so I went in with a completely different mindset.

I treated it like a value-add conversation. Gave them the full playbook.

Walked them through the exact process I use with clients. The tech stack, the different LLMs and tools they’d need subscriptions for, the post frameworks tailored to their goals, how to optimise their profile, everything step by step.

I figured they’d take it away, experiment, and maybe come back with questions later.

Instead, they said something at the end that stuck with me:

“This sounds really good and it’s clear you know exactly what you’re doing. How about you just do this for me? I don’t have the time to catch up, learn, and experiment when you’ve clearly already done all of that.”

And just like that, it turned into a sale. Completely unprompted.

That moment taught me more than any sales training ever could.

The close isn’t just about treating someone like a prospect, handling objections, or pushing for the yes.

It’s about genuinely showing how you can add value, even if no money changes hands. When you do that consistently, the sale often becomes a foregone conclusion.

This principle applies whether you’re an MD helping someone sell their business, an accountant advising a business owner, or a personal trainer setting up a fitness plan.

Give the value first. People don’t pay for information anymore. They pay for the service, the execution, and the accountability that comes with it.

What’s a sales lesson that surprised you the most?

PS. Follow along if you want to keep learning more easily actionable insights to grow your LinkedIn business!

[Mustafa Khan, ACA @Mustafa_OK6]

there are 24 hours in a day

if you haven’t:

- set up your Oura ring to treat REM cycles like quarterly results
- built a Notion dashboard to tag and review your dreams for missed opportunities
- trained yourself to lucid dream so you can run investor updates while you sleep

then you’re too lazy to make it

[Matt Kennard @kennardmatt]

This is fantastic news

Congrats to irrepressible @MrTopple and rest of Canary team

Game changer

[Mustafa Khan, ACA @Mustafa_OK6]

The far-right wants you to think everyone hates migrants.
But I met an elderly white British couple outside a mosque in Dorchester ten years ago who made me ashamed of my own charity.

I was in my early twenties, involved in interfaith work, and happened to be at the mosque one evening. Standing outside were this older white British couple with three teenage Sudanese boys.

They'd legally adopted them. Directly from Sudan. Taken on full financial responsibility for three teenage boys most people would have ignored. Most intercountry adoptions are of young children. Not teenagers. But this couple saw three boys nobody else wanted and opened their lives to them.

And they didn't just adopt them. They wanted these boys to stay connected to the culture they came from. So every week, they drove them miles across the countryside to this small mosque so the boys could pray and be around other Muslims.

They were just standing there outside, as if what they were doing wasn't a big deal.

And I remember thinking - they aren't Muslim. They're attending this mosque as non-Muslims. And yet they're acting more in line with our faith than many Muslims are. I give a bit of money here and there and feel good about myself.

But charity isn't just about giving money; it's about time and effort. This couple rearranged their entire lives around someone else's children, someone else's faith, someone else's culture. Not for a photo op or a social media post. Just because they thought it was the right thing to do.

I never even got their names.

This is the Britain I grew up in. The one that rarely makes the press.

The dominant narrative right now is that migrants are the source of all our problems. Right-wing parties have built entire platforms on it. Billionaires have spent fortunes convincing ordinary people that the real threat is desperate families on small boats crossing the Channel.

Funny, isn't it - the actual small boats we should be concerned about are the yachts. The wealth that isn't being taxed. The offshore accounts. The lobbying that keeps the system rigged.

But that story doesn't sell papers or win elections.

So instead, we get the version where a Sudanese kid is the problem, not the elderly couple who drove him to pray.

I've lived across Bradford, Glasgow, Thornaby, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Blackpool, Blackburn, Dorchester, London, and Leicester. I've sat on interfaith panels alongside reverends and ministers. I've seen the best and worst of British society up close.

And the best is really, really good. It just doesn't get the airtime it deserves.

That couple outside the Dorchester mosque did more for community cohesion in one car journey than most politicians have done in their entire careers.

I wish I'd asked for their names.

[Mustafa Khan, ACA @Mustafa_OK6]

I thought I was committed to my 5 daily prayers.
Then I felt ashamed hearing the incredible story of Robert Davila:

It completely changed how I think about praying at the mosque.

Robert Davila lived in a nursing home in rural Texas.

Paralysed from the neck down. For over a decade. The only other residents were in their 90s.

He was also a convert to Islam.

Robert used to be a staunch Christian. He mentions that one night he had a dream in the care home. A man appeared and said his name was Muhammad. He pointed to the crucifix hanging by Robert's hospital bed and said: "God did not send messengers so that people would worship the messengers. Jesus was just a man like me who walked in the markets and ate food."

That was it. The dream stopped.

Robert googled Muhammad. Found Islam. Took shahada - alone, in his hospital bed, using voice commands on his computer.

He learned the Arabic alphabet through Skype with a brother in Egypt. Memorized 10 suras. All while unable to move anything below his neck.

Then he asked if he could go to the Friday prayer.

The nursing home didn't have the right van. They put him in a regular one. A few bumps on the road. His spine got more damaged. He came back in excruciating pain.

The doctors told him: "You're bedridden now. At least 6 months. Maybe longer."

When Nouman Ali Khan visited him during those months, Robert said this:

"I've never felt more peace in my life than I was in that masjid. And when I can sit in my chair again, I'm going to go back."

Here's a man who literally had nothing but control over his mouth and his eyes.

And he said he only found peace in the mosque.

Meanwhile we're sat here making excuses about traffic, about being tired, about the parking situation.

Robert couldn't move. We can walk. He risked further injury to pray. We complain about the cold.

The truth is - and I say this to myself first - we've become lazy with our prayers. We treat the mosque like an optional extra rather than what it actually is: a sanctuary.

Robert reminded me of something I'd forgotten.

Going to pray isn't a burden. It's a gift.

And if a paralyzed man in rural Texas could figure that out, what's our excuse?

♻️ I'll be reposting these reminders regularly, follow along if you want to see more of this!

[Mustafa Khan, ACA @Mustafa_OK6]

Genuinely curious to hear from my LinkedIn followers - who do you actually listen to for political commentary these days? My slightly eccentric list, in no particular order:

- Mehdi Hasan (Zeteo)
- Tucker Carlson
- Owen Jones
- Rory Stewart (Rest Is Politics)
- George Galloway
- Candace Owens
- LBC
- Mohammed Marandi
- Sami Hamdi
- BBC
- 5 Pillars Podcast
- Novara Media
- Professor Jiang (when I'm feeling edgy)

Who's on your list? And who am I missing that you would recommend?

[Mustafa Khan, ACA @Mustafa_OK6]

I LOVE this hot take I came across recently:

Politicians should wear sponsor jackets like race car drivers, then we know who owns them.

Agree?

[Mustafa Khan, ACA @Mustafa_OK6]

@imranye Great take

[Matt Kennard @kennardmatt]

Zack Polanski became Green Party leader in September 2025

He’s vaporised the 126 year old Labour Party in just 8 months

Incredible

A major service to all British people - and the world

[Mustafa Khan, ACA @Mustafa_OK6]

Seriously considering homeschooling myself in the future, although doesn't work for everyone

[Ibrahim Khan @Ibrahimifg]

We started homeschooling our kids a few months ago.
Nobody warned me I'd be homeschooling myself as well:

You want your kids to do hifdh revision daily? Brilliant... Except your 8-year-old has clocked that you haven't opened your mushaf since Ramadan. Try motivating them after that.

You want self-disciplined, focused kids? Cool. They're watching you scroll on the sofa after Isha every single night. Kids don't listen to lectures. They copy behaviour.
You want them to have great manners? Good luck when you're arguing with your spouse over who forgot the Sainsbury's hummus.

You want them praying Fajr with khushu? Well, are you going to fajr in the masjid?

Every single thing we ask of our kids, they reflect right back at us. Like a mirror you didn't ask for and can't return.

Turns out we're not homeschooling the kids.

The kids are homeschooling us.

[Mustafa Khan, ACA @Mustafa_OK6]

Reminder for those b2b founders who want leads from content ASAP:

Accept that 95% of buyers aren't in a buying mindset when they find your content, so the job of content is to stay top of mind long enough that you become the obvious choice when they are.

[Mustafa Khan, ACA @Mustafa_OK6]

@mertesakib Beautiful little nugget, thanks for sharing.

[Mustafa Khan, ACA @Mustafa_OK6]

@mertesakib Sweet

[Mustafa Khan, ACA @Mustafa_OK6]

@mertesakib Damn can't wait to try these

[Mustafa Khan, ACA @Mustafa_OK6]

insha'Allah

[sakib @mertesakib]

what i'm building is fairly new so i have 2 competitors

- a founder hiring people to understand the domain im in for 1m$ take home salaries

- a 2x exited founder who exited for 780m last time

v me and my 2 bootstrapped boi cofounders

we'll win iA

[Joe Kent @joekent16jan19]

After much reflection, I have decided to resign from my position as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, effective today.

I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.

It has been an honor serving under @POTUS and @DNIGabbard and leading the professionals at NCTC.

May God bless America.