​
From 3 LPA to 33 LPA in 5 years

20 years back, at the age of 24, I got my first ever job.
It paid me Rs. 14,746 per month in hand.

In 2 years, at 26, I was earning 12L per annum.
In another 3 years, it reached 33L per annum.

Here is how it happened...

In Mar '04, at the age of 24, I dropped out of my PhD program at Michigan State University and came back to India.

What made the decision easy was the 100% scholarship I was on.
There was no tangible loss of money.
Just the intangible burden of letting down everyone in my world.

With no goals, no plans, and no visibility over my future, the first thing I needed was financial independence and stability.

I had to get a job.
Any job.

I tapped into my (limited) network, spoke to my friends, applied through newspaper adverts, and went for walk-in interviews.

After 45 days, I was sitting for the final round of NIS Sparta, a corporate training company.

They asked me what my salary expectations were.
I had no idea how to answer the question.
I had never been asked this question before.
In my head, I knew 10K PM would suffice.

They made me an offer.
I was to get ~15K PM in hand.
Way more money than I had expected.

Hurdle 1 had cleared.

The job was to design training programs for large corporates.

Which would have been awesome, except for a 'minor' hiccup.
I knew nothing about the real world.
I was a Physics PhD dropout, with no understanding of how sales, marketing, finance, HR, or supply chain worked.

The company had taken a bet on me, given my attitude and willingness to learn.

Now I had to prove to them that was the case.

So I worked hard.
Spent time on the field.
Spoke to people.
Read a lot.

And slowly, began to understand how business functions work.

I also saw my colleagues, all of whom had an MBA, with a much clearer and sharper understanding of the same concepts that took me time to gather.
It began to dawn upon me that an MBA could be a good way for me to pivot my career, from Physics to Management.

But I wasn't sure.

2 years of time, and the money seemed too big a commitment for something that I was recently introduced to.

As luck would have it, I came across a rather young school.
Only 5 years old.
1 year MBA.
But it was an insanely expensive program - I would have to take a mega loan.

And the best part?
If I got through, my batchmates would be people who had real work experience in life.
Which would mean learning a lot not just in class, but outside of it as well.
I applied to ISB and God bless the person who thought I deserved to be there.

The course was 14.5L for 1 year.
In comparison, the IIMs were 3.5L for 2 years at that time.
Was it worth it? I didn't know.

So I asked myself a different question - what's the worst thing that can happen?

Before ISB, my salary was 15K PM.
The EMI of ISB's loan would be 20K (over 10 years).
Would I be able to get a job out of ISB that would pay me 35K PM in hand: 20K for the loan and 15K I was already earning? The data suggested yes.
And that's all I needed to make the decision.

ISB had tie-ups with banks for the loans (nearly 90% of the class takes a loan).
I got mine from SBI which had the maximum duration (10yr) option.
The biggest loan of the warikoo family.
Before this, even if we wanted, no one would have agreed to give us one!

Hurdle 2 cleared!

I often say, "Getting into ISB is easier than getting out of it."
What I mean is - people come to ISB with a lot of expectations; more so because they have already been earning.
3-5X of the previous salary is the minimum.
And here I was, coming with the worst case of 35K PM salary.

It surprisingly made things easier for me.
I enjoyed my classes a lot.
Took part in almost all student initiatives.
Made an effort to know my batch.
And while at ISB, I got to know of this really cool profession called consulting!

You got paid lots of money, worked with really smart people on business problems and the projects changed every few months or so.
Felt like the best way to start my professional life.
Only challenge? Consulting looks for high-achievers.
And I wasn't one!

At ISB, the dean's list (top 10% of the batch) would typically get the consulting shortlists.
I was in the top 15% - so clearly, I had to build my profile differently.
I thought it was best to do what I do best.
Be a generalist.
I maintained my top 15% + did a lot more of everything else.

I got shortlisted for 2 consulting firms - BCG and ATKearney.
I bombed the BCG interview in the 1st round itself.
Cleared the first round of ATK.
In the 2nd round, I fumbled.
The interviewer asked me, "How much would you rate yourself?"
"2/5", I replied.
He said, "I agree".

My heart sank! I didn't think I would make it.

But they took a bet on me.
I got another shot, with the MD of the firm.
I gave it my best. And it worked.

I had the job. One of the best jobs on campus on day 1 itself, with 12 LPA!

Consulting gave me so much.
It gave me brilliant minds to work with.
Fascinating projects to work on.
Incredible experiences to build upon.
The training to find structure in chaos.
I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Even with its insane hours and frequent travels, I wasn't complaining.

Within 1.5 yrs, I was promoted - the fastest ever in the firm.
My salary doubled.

When I left Kearney in 2009, I was earning 33L which was wild considering I had started with 3L just 5 years back!

As I reflect upon this, it is obvious to me that I rest on the shoulders of others.
I reached where I did because people bet on me.

NIS Sparta took a bet on me when I knew nothing about business.
ISB took a bet on me when I was a nobody.
Kearney took a bet on me when I didn't perform.
The only thing I did was be grateful for the opportunity and worked hard once I got it.

Anupam Kher once asked SRK, "Shahrukh: How are you so successful?"
SRK replied: "Sir, everyone works hard to get an opportunity. But after getting an opportunity, no one can work harder than me."

That, for me, is the essence of life.
You will have a lot of occasions where you luck out.
Right place, right time.
People watching out for you.

Don't take these things for granted. Be grateful.
And work to earn that opportunity once you have got it!

If people take a bet on you, do yourself a favour and bet on the same thing.
Yourself!

​

Book I am reading this week

Finished reading "What I Learned About Investing from Darwin" by Pulak Prasad.
Started reading The LEGO Story: How a Little Toy Sparked the World's Imagination by Jens Andersen.
As the name suggests, this is the story of how LEGO, the famous toy company, came into being. I love reading such factual journeys and needless to say, this one is fascinating! It’s estimated that each year between 80-90 million children around the globe are given a box of LEGO, while up to 10 million adults buy sets for themselves. I am a huge fan, so this book is hitting hard! :)
​​
My new book, MAKE EPIC MONEY, is now a national bestseller, having sold 100,000+ copies in a record 40 days! Wow!

Here is a list of all the books I have shared in this newsletter so far (alphabetical order)
​

​
Results of last week's survey

Do you believe in God?

• Yes, I do
• No, I do not
• I am confused/not sure
• I believe in a higher power, maybe not God

Here are the results:

Observations:

• Notice the confusion state is highest in the youth and declines as one ages. Super fascinating.
• Also interesting to note the non-trivial share all through the ages of "believe in high power, maybe not God"
• "I do not" remains constant.

My answer:​
I am not religious, so by that measure, I do not believe in God. I do believe there is a higher power above us which could very well reside inside us, that most of us never get to experience.

​

​

Quotes to share

​

If people take a bet on you, do yourself a favour and bet on the same thing.
Yourself!

​

It makes no difference how many peaks you reach if there is no pleasure in the climb.
— Oprah Winfrey

​

They who realize what's in their control, realize they are in control!

​

​

📸 My week, in pictures

In this section, I share my week in pictures, for those who do not like to read as much as I write :))
I do so not to show how cool a life I live, but instead to show you what are the highlights of every day. As you will see over time, my days are mostly in repeat mode - the same things, but different experiences from them.

​

Was at the Entrepreneurship Summit of IIT Chennai. Fantastic energy and crowd. Some terrific conversations.

Went for a heritage walk to Red Fort again. Ratnendu from Intach Heritage is hands down our fav heritage walker!

Hosted Sahil Bloom for a founder's breakfast. In the picture are Tanmaya Jain (founder of Infeedo), Sahil, me, and Ayush Jaiswal (founder of Pesto Tech).

Later in the evening, had an awesome 1,000+ people event at the gorgeous Bharat Mandapam. In the audience were Sahil's parents too.

Gym bros :))
In the picture is my gym instructor, Dileep.

Watercolour painting from today's class. I have drawn the one on the right. Ruchi's is on the left. Which is better?

That's it for the week in pictures. Have a lovely weekend and week ahead, all of you lovelies :)))

​

​

Question of the week​
​
Do you think there is intelligent life beyond Earth?

• Yes, there is and they have contacted us
• Yes, there is, but they haven't contacted us
• No, there isn't
• I don't think about this

(and see the results of others, too)

​

🎙️ Podcast I shared last week

Insaano ko maarna | Killing humans

🚀 Content I shared this week

📹 YouTube:​

​Left with nothing at month end​

📱 Instagram:​

​3 ways you impress people​

🐥 X:

​How I went from 3Lpa salary to 33Lpa in 5 years​

​

​

You can, of course, always write to me by simply replying to this newsletter.

I love reading all your emails, even though I may not be able to reply to them all.
Yes! I READ ALL MY EMAILS. ALL OF THEM.​
​(Selfie khichaate hue shaadi waali feel aane ki kasam)

​