"I am who I am today because of the choices I made yesterday."
I believe these words from the core of my heart. A right decision today can change the course of life tomorrow. And for me, one decision changed my whole life.
When my school years were coming to an end, I knew exactly what I was going to do.
I had to become an engineer and get a job after graduating from college, the picture-perfect plan that every Bengali middle-class family dreams for its only son.
Suddenly life took a turn and everything was changed. My father lost his job when I was 13, and that took our family through the lanes of increasing financial hardship. I knew from the very beginning that I had to support my family financially.
I got admission to an engineering college on a full scholarship. That was the only way I could afford four years in college.
Since my college days, I felt the urge to do something meaningful. With that idea, me and my friends started an initiative called Independent Socio Group (ISG). The purpose of ISG was to help physically handicapped and underprivileged children. In ISG we worked with 200 associates though there were very limited resources. You can say this was my first entrepreneurial effort.
I did well in the final lap of my Engineering. I could finally see a ray of light at the end of the dark tunnel as I secured a job at KEC International.
I was ecstatic. My parents were very happy, too. Not only my job would ease the financial burden on them, but also my parents saw my job as the first step toward a secure and settled life for me.
My job was in Mumbai. It was the Dream City that changed my life forever.
It was July 9, 2012, the happiest day of my life yet. That was my first day at work at KEC International.
In 2014 I switched to Reliance Industries with a better offer. At Reliance the work ambiance was totally different. Huge building with a cubicle of my own… I was very excited.
Initially, I was really happy to have a secure professional life. But down the line, I started feeling missing something. Deep inside, I wasn’t fully satisfied.
It is perhaps the manufacturing defect of entrepreneurs that they are never satisfied and keep on trying the same thing again and again until they succeed.
My entrepreneurial steak began tickling me once again and drove me to start a Smart Security System business called Innovee which ultimately failed.
I realized that there is a huge gap between planning and execution. And that’s the reason that I couldn’t pursue my ideas with Innovee.
Then something interesting happened....
My roommates were deep into the share market. One of them was Marathi and the other one was Gujarati. When they talked, words like stocks, dividends, and market volatility flew across the room. Coming from a financially not-so-well-to-do middle-class family, those were my first brushes with those words.
However, a very unlikely bell rang inside my head. Was it the stock market that was my ultimate calling?
I started following the market closely. I read everything that I could lay my hands on— not only about the stock market but also the entire financial ecosystem. I started soaking up information like a sponge.
I fell in love with the Financial Market.
Truly.
Madly.
Deeply.
I knew that I had to be there. In the market. Feeling every vibe, it had to offer.
I started working in the financial sector and became a SEBI-Certified Research Analyst.
Something intriguing caught my attention. There were perhaps millions of people who were trying to make it big in the financial market and were failing miserably. I saw people losing their life savings in the market. Could it be just bad luck, or did they lack something crucial?
I knew the answer. What they lacked was financial training.
It was a Eureka Moment for me! What if I started a platform that would make financial education available to the common people?
With this idea, INVESMATE was born in 2019.
My family had no entrepreneurial background. I had no one in my family to seek advice from.
And, I had no financial backing.
There was no Plan B.
Starting INVESMATE was the biggest risk I took. I invested all my savings.
In all this turmoil I got married to my childhood friend Adity. In my every whimsical decision, she was the one who stood by me like a strong pillar. Whenever I felt low, she is there to boost me to fight against all odds.
After a while, I was exhausted from doing two jobs simultaneously.
I had to take a decision.
There I was, with a great job at hand that promised financial security for my family, a reasonably happy future, and perhaps a great retirement. And yet, in my heart, I wanted to do something that I had no experience in. It promised no certainty.
It was a tough choice to make.
Or perhaps, it wasn’t. In love stories, you always listen to your heart.
Not better but my best half…
In all this turmoil I got married to my childhood friend Adity.
In my every whimsical decision, she was the one who stood by me like a strong pillar. Adity always believed that I can do, even more than myself. When I wasn’t sure about what to do, she encouraged me to follow my dreams. Without her, it would have been impossible for me to reach where I am today.
Whenever I felt down, she is there to boost me to fight against all odds.
She is my strength and courage to go against the tide.
I quit my job.
It was a wild ride henceforth. An adventure of a lifetime.
It looked like a bad idea when I started teaching only eight students in a tiny classroom. Was this how I was going to end up?
I didn’t know.
The only thing I was certain about was that for me nothing was impossible. I just had to give my full effort.
By strengthening our digital infrastructure to provide a seamless online learning experience we successfully shifted to online learning within two months during Covid-19.
Our efforts were paid off. The small classroom has turned into a vast network of more than 32,000 students.
Our efforts have been recognized as well. INVESMATE won the Best Startup Award 2022 organized by Kolkata Ventures and Bengal Business Council. I must thank my friends and colleagues at INVESMATE who create a wonderful ecosystem of support. Without them, the journey would have been way more difficult.
Sometimes I think would I have been more financially secure if I stuck to my corporate career?
I don’t know. Maybe, yes.
But one thing I know is that I am doing what I always wanted to do.
In my way, I am helping people achieve their financial goals. I am playing a tiny little part in their success stories. And I hope I will continue my journey with the same purpose and passion….
