In our latest Interview, We spoke to another promising young entrepreneur Aditya Arora – CEO of Faad Network. He started his journey of ‘Hustle and Grind’ when he was just 17 and went on to earn many accolades early on his career. Together with Karan and Dr Dinesh, he started his journey in Faad Network.
Excerpts from our Interview with Aditya:
Talk us a little about yourself please:
I am a 22-year-old entrepreneur whose vision in life is to support early-stage enterprises and to work with young and spirited entrepreneurs.
Currently, I am the CEO of Faad – where we help early-stage enterprises raise Seed and Angel Capital. I also work with the government on various entrepreneurship-related initiatives and teach entrepreneurship at some of the leading universities in India and Abroad. I have represented India at various international conferences and have been the recipient of multiple accomplishments and awards.
Completing my graduation from Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies last year, I never wanted to become an Entrepreneur in the first place. One thing leads to another and here I am.
Why did you choose entrepreneurship over a job?
I always wanted to make the most of my abilities and create maximum impact with the work that I do. I never wanted to live a 9-5 life working on something I don’t have 100% passion for. I took a gamble and yes it is paying off.
What gets you out of bed in the morning i.e. what’s your source of motivation?
My source of motivation is to be a better version of myself today. I always try to make every day the most productive I can and work towards not just professional development but personal development as well.
Why should people choose your services?
At Faad, our philosophy has been to always provide value capital along with the money. If it was always for money, a startup would have approached a bank or a big ticket size lender. But the advice and direction that we try to provide, has always created a win-win situation for our portfolio startups and the startups that we deal with it.
What’s your competitive advantage and why can’t it be copied?
Our think tank is our competitive advantage. Also, we believe in continuous learning. Services can be copied but the way how to make them innovative in terms of deliverables & to find innovative solutions is something which can’t be copied.
What challenges/obstacles did you face in your journey so far?
No one in the team came from a conventional VC Background. Karan (Co-founder) was an engineer and Dr Dinesh was an Ayurveda doctor. And our industry is all about the connections and the right network. So, building everything from scratch was the biggest challenge. Henceforth, we took more time than usual but we have arrived and got there.
How should one bounce back from Failures?
The biggest way to bounce back from any failure is to not look at it as one. Rather, see it is an opportunity. If we can tackle them head on and win the mental battle with tackling a failure, I am sure we will sail through in the end.
What comes first for you – money or emotions?
To be brutally honest, I believe Money. I am not saying it just because we are in the Investing business. A business has no place for emotions. The moment you get emotional, the weaker your decisions get. Business is to be run by thoughtful leaders who put practicality before emotions at any point of the day. I try to be one every day at my workplace.
How do you handle the pressure and manage stress?
I handle pressure by not thinking about the thing which is bringing me pressure. I am a voracious reader, hence I shift my mental energies towards reading. I like to read fiction when I am in stress as it takes my mind off things.
What advice would you give to someone starting out, particularly to aspiring entrepreneurs?
Age is just a number and it is always relative. The sooner you start, the better it is. I started my journey at 17, never realizing that so much would happen in life by the time I will be 22. So, definitely, everyone can make a change. Not everyone can be an entrepreneur but how would you know if you are one?
I would say, Get in the ring and see for yourself. You will fail or you will succeed but it will be worthwhile and a new experience.
You may also like ~ Interview With Sivesh Kumar| Founder Of Startup-Monk
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