Anupam Mittal, renowned founder of Shaadi.com and celebrated Shark Tank India judge, recently shared deep entrepreneurial wisdom in a candid post about building a successful business—what he calls “Dhandha.” His philosophy, rooted in decades of real-world hustling, emphasizes two core ingredients: the necessity of hands-on selling and a hard-nosed grounding in financial realities.
From Childhood Hustles to Serial Entrepreneurship
Mittal traces his entrepreneurial mindset back to his teens, when he was renting books at 13 and launching a sports club at 16. College saw him dabble in ten more ventures—most of which failed, but all taught him the art of selling, whether it was books, donations, or himself for a job. These experiences, Mittal says, shaped his core survival skills: persuasion, negotiation, and influence—competencies every founder and professional should cultivate early.
Why Selling and Finance Trump “Disruption”
Anupam Mittal urges young founders: start by selling anything, anywhere. The discipline of selling is a real-world teacher, forging the tenacity and customer understanding absent in many classroom lessons. But selling alone won’t suffice—Mittal advocates gaining exposure to the numbers behind business, specifically through a stint in finance, equity analysis, or investment banking. “Finance strips away the romance of ‘disruption’ and shows you the raw truth—where margins lie, where capital flows, and where profit pools actually sit,” he notes. Without understanding the economics, he warns, even the best operators can fall prey to their own hype—gravity and industry fundamentals always win.
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Real Dhandha is Learned in the Trenches
Mittal’s post ultimately challenges young professionals and founders: if you want to be “a killer business guy,” sell something first, then commit a year or two to learning how industries make money. This dual exposure—“the trenches of selling” and “the discipline of numbers”—is, according to Mittal, the only way to build real Dhandha acumen. Classroom theory alone cannot match the lessons learned on the ground.
Legacy of Practice, Not Preaching
Mittal’s perspective is drawn not only from his own journey—growing up in a Marwari business family, earning an MBA from Boston College, and building a digital matchmaking empire with Shaadi.com—but also from backing over 250 startups as an investor, including early bets on Ola, BigBasket, and Whatfix. As a mentor, he empowers others to pursue their vision bravely, but not before understanding the weight of the numbers and the necessity of first-hand selling.
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In essence, Anupam Mittal’s ‘Dhandha’ playbook is a call to action: success in business is not gifted by academic brilliance or big ideas alone, but hammered out through relentless selling and respect for financial discipline. For India’s next generation of founders and professionals, his advice is clear: step onto the field, get your hands dirty, and let the bottom line guide your story.
