Anupam Mittal, the Founder and CEO of the People Group, on Friday shared an anecdote on his journey from a multi-millionaire in early 20s to a man who had lost it all, only to bet in everything in a venture which is known as Shaadi.com today.
In a viral LinkedIn post, Mittal shared a picture from the early days of his entrepreneurial journey and said that Shaadi.com was his ‘all-or-nothing’ investment.
Mittal, who became a multi-millionaire in his early 20s, had lost it all in the dot com bubble of the 2000s.
“Back then, I was riding high as part of MicroStrategy that skyrocketed to a $40 billion valuation. Life in the US felt like a dream. So much so I even ordered a Ferrari. But as quickly as it came, it all vanished. The dot com bubble burst, and with it, the money disappeared,” Mittal said, adding that he got into a heavy debt.
By 2003, Mittal said, he was back in India with “nothing but the memory of winning – and losing big”.
Back in India, Anupam Mittal decided to begin another dot com venture, but this one was nothing like the others; there was only a limited amount he could dispense and losing it could mean losing everything.
“With the kind of audacity that only comes from losing it all, I set out to build another dot-com venture— Shaadi.com (amongst others such as makaan.com & Mauj Mobile). The domain cost $25,000, and we had only $30,000 left. It was an all-or-nothing move. People thought I was crazy. They questioned my business sense too,” Mittal wrote.
But as was fate, Mittal went all-in because he felt this could the game-changer, and he turned out to be right.
“Somehow I found the courage to take that bold bet and that leap of faith, despite the criticism & naysayers, changed our fortunes,” he said.
Mittal, in his LinkedIn post said, to him, it was never about the money. “It was about proving to myself that I could rise from the ashes, that my spirit of entrepreneurship wasn’t tied to a single success or failure.”
Today, he said, he tries to carry that same mindset to everything he does.
:Success isn’t about going along with the popular opinion – It’s about walking in the other direction of the crowd and hopefully being right. So, to the risk-taking professionals & founders out there – keep backing yourself. The game isn’t over until you win,” Mittal said.
