Shaadi.com’s founder and one of the Sharks featured on the show, Anupam Mittal, recently narrated his inspiring tale of going from a millionaire to being bankrupt and then a millionaire again, all of which are lessons every budding entrepreneur should learn.
In a LinkedIn post, Mittal shared his story of how he became a multi-millionaire in his early 20s at MicroStrategy, a technology firm that reached a market capitalization of USD 40 billion during the dotcom bubble. However, this was short-lived; the dot-com bubble burst in the early 2000s, and this led to a drastic financial downfall that put Mittal deep in debt and therefore had to go back to India in 2003 with only USD 30000.
However, the odds did not discourage Mittal, and he continued to be an entrepreneur at heart. He gambled almost all of his remaining cash and bought himself a computer, through which he started Shaadi.com, which was one of the first online matrimonial sites in the world.
The domain alone was costing USD 25,000, and he was left with only USD 5,000 for running the business. People started doubting his decision-making skills and considered him reckless to invest in another startup after such a big failure. However, the audacity of Mittal to take this step proved to be fruitful, as Shaadi.com became one of the most popular websites for matchmaking and has helped millions of people find their life partners.
He said, “It was never about the money—it was about proving to myself that I could rise from the ashes.” The message is well understood by many, especially in today’s world of business uncertainty and uncertainty.
Mittal’s story is therefore a source of inspiration to all the struggling entrepreneurs. He urges them to support themselves and keep going, saying, “The game is not over until you win.” He supports his words with his example of how one has to constantly adapt and be ready to take risks in the constantly changing world of business.
