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Shark Tank India’s Anupam Mittal took to LinkedIn and shared the story of when he was laid off from his job in the United States at the turn of the century, and how it was a blessing in disguise. He said that he didn’t have a backup plan, and spent a few weeks blaming others for his misfortune. But then, he returned to India and took matters into his own hand, and started a project that would one day become Shaadi.com. Anupam said that he had no money in the bank, but just the support of his near and dear ones, and a passion to succeed. In previous interviews, Anupam has spoken about the massive financial success he witnessed during his time in the US, and how he lost it all overnight.
In his LinkedIn post, he wrote, “When I got laid off.. In 2001, I got laid off from my job in the US during the dot-com crash. I had no backup plan. And, I still remember that walk back from the office. It wasn’t long, but it felt like a free fall. Not because of the money — I had lost most of it anyway in the crash 😥 But because for the first time in many years, I had no idea what came next. I also felt I had lost my identity.”
He continued, “I spent a few weeks doing what most people do > Blaming the economy, cursing my luck, refreshing job boards like they were going to fix my life. And then, I had this moment. It wasn’t some motivational quote or Steve Jobs video (those came later 😅) It was just a question I scribbled in my diary – ‘What would I build if I had nothing left to lose?’ And that changed everything. I wasn’t clear or confident. But I was excited. So I stopped applying and started building. One rough website. One tiny step at a time.”
Anupam added, “A couple of years later, that blurry little project became Shaadi.com – a brand that changed how India and the world thought about marriage 💍 Then came makaan.com & Mauj 🙂 Now, I’m not telling you this to romanticize failure. It was brutal > No savings, No fancy network. Just me, my cousins & their commitment and a dial-up connection. But what I learned back then still holds true today – ‘Action is the lead domino’. You take one step in a direction that excites you – Even if you’re scared. And life starts moving again. People overestimate strategy and underestimate momentum. We wait for clarity or for funding or for the perfect timing. But what I’ve learned over the years is that clarity doesn’t come before action. It comes from action 👊.”
In an earlier interview with Mashable India, Anupam had reflected on his journey to success. Recalling his experiences in the US, he said, “Some of us kids got together and started a venture called Strategy.com, just before the dot com boom. And we became worth $40 billion. We were multi-millionaires in our early 20s, at least on paper. It was so intoxicating, we never thought we’d lose it. And against that paper wealth, we starting taking out loans to buy more stock. When the meltdown happened, we cancelled our Ferraris. We ended up owing people. But when we had money, we had a blast. We used to rent out entire football stadiums just for parties. We used to rent out cruise ships. Our company would be shut for a week, and we’d be chilling on three cruise ships. It was a different level. But when the meltdown happened in 2000, jeb mein do kaudi nahi bachi.”
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