Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Signing off 2013!

Like any other, year 2013 is also getting over in the next few minutes, and what a year it was!
I never had such a rollarcaster year in my lifetime. A year which taught me the toughest life lessons which I wouldn't have understood otherwise.

Save money and and secure your future is a myth, someone has rightly said, "Paisa haat ka maiil hota hai"! I used to work in one of the leading media houses in the country, got a fixed salary and like any other person  was supposed to make a future in the media industry and get married.

For the longest time, I was confused about what I actually want out of my life. It was damm cool to have my employer name in my resume but did it actually gave me satisfaction, I didn't knew yet.

The stories of great men/women, their hardships and achievements have always inspired me. Its hard for me to count the number of times I have watched "Social Network" or read the entire series of Rashmi Bansal books(Stay hungry stay foolish, Connecting the dots, Poor little rich slum, Follow the rainbow) or admire Oprah winfrey and Richard Branson, needless to say it had a long lasting effect on me. The hidden desire to flash your card as "Bitch, I am the CEO(Mark Zuckerberg)" were make sound loud enough in my head to give me sleepless nights.

For the first few days, I thought I have gone crazy, I can't do something of my own. Doing big-big things are for big shots, that's what we usually think right? I checked my bank account, it barely had any savings! My salary was majorly spent on paying house rent and maintaining my daily life,It was hard for me establish  a company with the few thousands I could save.

The usual advice I could get from people around me "Save money, get married, raise kids then do whatever you want". My brain revolted, "Do you seriously want to save money and pursue your passion to become an Entrepreneur later in life? Today I am earning Rs. 1, tomorrow it will be Rs. 10, will it be that easy for me to quit my job then and start fresh knowing the handsome pay cheque I take home every month? What about the numerous risk evolved in entrepreneurship, who knows how the economy will be 10-15 years down the memory lane? How can I forget I am still an Indian girl who is expected to follow my husband's wishes and commands after marriage?! what if he doesn't agree? who knows what will happen then, I don't even know if I will be alive tomorrow?!

After spending crazy number of days and months brainstorming, I finally got the courage and decided "Screw it, lets do it!( quote and book by Richard Branson, Founder Virgin Group). That was the time when I founded my first startup "Streetseven.com" an e-store for lingerie was launched in January 2013. Too much of hard work, energy and wrong market study, the company boomed in few months!

Disappointment, Dejection and a sense of failure had grouped me in, a bleak future was staring right in my face. One of my mentor had told me once "Roli its easy to fail but much harder to bounce back! the real fight is to start it all over again and knowing you have already failed once. Failure will make you stronger and confident enough to beat the shit out of every tough situation or a "chicken", you will never think about it again in your lifetime.

It was one such day, while staring at the fan in my room and thinking about the reasons why I failed over a 100th time, I decided to take a break and go somewhere away and out of Bangalore. During my self exile-vacation, these random thoughts were passing my mind "What if I had a job which allows me to travel and  discover these unexplored destinations every single day", It would have been so nice! Travelling had been another hobby of mine.

Suddenly like that mentos advertisement, one bulb glow in my mind, "What If I convert this idea as to launch my second startup"? what if I failed once? I am not the first and last person afterall to fail on this earth, how difficult it would be to do so?

And that's how after planning and ideation for few months, its time for me to launch my second startup "NORTHEASTRVELLER",(earlier Travelcoholic) our quest to help travelers discover the amazing "seven sisters", northeast India.
Our destinations lie in these seven states with untouched beauty, vibrant culture, uncover ancient traditions, indulge in the local cuisine around a bonfire and discover centuries of civilization never known before to you.

At the stroke of midnight, as I introduce "Northeastraveller"(http://www.northeastraveller.com/) to you its my faith that Nothing is Impossible in this world except your determination and if there is will, there is definitely a way out!

Wishing you a very Happy and Prosperous New Year!

Ciao!




2 comments:

  1. Wishing u a great life ahead with ur site,. Um sure d roli I knw will nevr give up on her dreams.. definately der will b setbaks but to stand 1ce again as tougher person is important. ? N der is no1 else odr dn u who can do dis .. wishing u loads of luk..

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  2. thank you so much my love!....:-)

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