Man proposes, god disposes

As a child I went to many schools, but was rejected because of my condition. Despite such rejections, I stayed on course and finally ended up at Spastics Society of Karnataka. When I was in first grade, my father suffered a stroke and our family went through financial challenges, an experience that made me strong, independent and capable of facing challenges. I used to walk about 1 km for the school bus, making me physically strong too. In 1994, I participated, though I but lost, in a painting competition. Destiny had other plans for me.

In 1998, for my 10th standard exams, as the board refused to allow a scribe of my choice, due to certain rules, I lost a year. However, I then managed to find a student who was able to understand my speech and wrote the board exams, scoring 80%.

In 1999, Mindtree came to my school asking children to create a logo for them. I was among ten students who took part and mine was selected as Mindtree’s logo. I was also given 2,000 shares and became a shareholder of Mindtree at the age of 17. In 2000, I was invited by CII and destiny gave me an opportunity to meet U.S President Bill Clinton.

Destiny provides more than what you ask for.

As early as 8 years, I started to follow stock market news. I wanted to be a financial guru but my family wanted me to take up Computer Science so that I can get a decent IT job. With my poor motor function, studying science was an onerous task, but I decided to take it up, as my secret plan was to prove that I cannot do science. I used to get decent scores in exams, but my brain was in stock market.

Do what your passion tells you.

I joined BCA graduate studies at Christ College in 2003. I earned the “real PhD “at 21 years by proving that I cannot study science. Lessons from failures are real lessons, which no PhD guide on Earth can teach. This knowledge can be used to even run a public office, though I have no such plans.

It is imperative to understand the strength and limitations of People with Cerebral Palsy so we can make a better tomorrow. People with Cerebral Palsy are good in the realms of creativity, besides having abilities such as:

1) Making good judgments in life

2) Helping catch white criminals, solving corporate and high crimes. In the 80's, FBI and CIA used people with Cerebral Palsy to solve cases.

3) Writing research papers in social sciences.

4) Writing poems and essays.

5) Playing managerial roles. Many of my friends from school hold such positions in various MNCs.

I told my family that I wanted to pursue MBA and completed the course in 2008. Though I wanted to be an active investor, my family wanted me to work in Mindtree, a difficult task due to my poor motor function. After one year of working I decided to join pre doctoral course in management.

In 2012, I joined PhD in Management, choosing EMH, a very challenging topic. Finding research gap was near impossible and for the first three months of the course I found no solutions to my PhD problem. It took three winters to find an acceptable solution. Winning the Nobel Prize in economics may be very hard, but lessons learnt from PhD can be used in finding solutions in real world, such as knowledge about stock market.

In 2015, I sold Mindtree’s shares and acquired Yes Bank shares, which I sold for a profit. In 2016, I purchased shares of TVS Motors, Tata Motors, Axis Bank and Kotak Bank. These shares earned me one million rupees in profit, which encouraged my family to provide me with more capital.

What is the lesson learnt from my story? People trust you when you prove your skills.

Entrepreneurship is in my DNA because my brother was co-founder of Cyber Bazaar and my father was running a law firm.

Accidentally my PhD topic was on stock market so I gained knowledge on stock market. When I completed it, my family gave me money to start a business and I started a venture in stock market, employing a M.Com graduate from Christ University. So far the venture is generating revenue and plans to recruit budding talents.

My lessons learnt about an entrepreneur are:

1) They are good at seizing opportunities.

2) Possess risk taking abilities.

3) Quick decision makers.

4) Fast thinkers

5) Select right talent at the right time.

6) They possess good money management skills.

7) Critical thinking and forward planning.

See the destiny!

I cannot cook but destiny says I should eat my food at hotels

I cannot make coffee but destiny says I should drink coffee at Café Coffee Day.

I cannot drive my car but destiny says I should keep a driver.

I cannot write computer programs but destiny says I should write only business plans.

After all I love my destiny!