From achievers to leaders to the glamorous, in this web series, Outlook Money brings you the views on money matters from some of India’s most influential. Several of the New Year’s resolutions made this year may have been already broken. But who says you need to wait for planetary revolution to make new decisions that can make tomorrow slightly better than today? Inspiration can come from anyone at anytime. These individuals, each a leader in their respective field, talks about their life, both financial and personal, and lets us know what it takes to make it big in this beautifully scary world. We hope their wisdom empowers you to know how to better secure your financial future.
The power of thinking out of the box
A college dropout at age 17 who turned a millionaire within just 5 years, Ritesh Agarwal is no regular 23 year old. Having always known that he wants to be an entrepreneur, Ritesh’s is a classic example of successful individuals who don’t wait for the right moment to chase their dreams. He’s the man who gets karmic points every time OYO rooms helps people find decent rooms of their choice in cities around the country.
He had received a support grant of $1,00,000 and access to some of the brightest folk in Silicon Valley through the Thiel Fellowship. “The entire valley experience, having access to Thiel himself, and other visionaries in his network, was a life-changing experience.” This also helped him to be taken more seriously in India, particularly by the investors. “I also realized how networks can help round up your personal as well as professional persona,” he adds.
He believes that money is important- for a person and also especially for a business. As a start-up entrepreneur he has seen tough times and considers himself fortunate to be in the position that he is in today.
Being so insanely successful at such a tender age makes him an ideal person to seek some financial advice from. “Learn to be responsible with your own money before you start borrowing – from banks, private market or investors. Set up a business with your own capital- howsoever small,” he advises. “Monetary gains will happen as a by-product of doing our job well, but we are not driven by short-term profits since we are in this business for the long haul,” he says.
