Chartered An accountant by an accidental choice!
Growing up, I loved numbers
and finance but was always more interested in technology!
In fact, becoming a Chartered The accountant was not my plan…however my grandfather always wanted to see me as
‘Devesh Rakhecha, The Chartered Accountant’!
My family was emotionally
connected with my career as they thought this would be the right choice for me.
They were right on their part and moreover, at that time I was following ‘let’s
go with the flow’ concept.
So, I chose this career path
for the love of my family and vice- versa…a decision I never regretted!
I gave my best, with the
support of my family and friends passed the tough exams and became a Chartered
Accountant in 2006.
Moving to a bigger city…only
to quit and return to my hometown!
After completing my CA (2007),
I decided to leave my hometown (Jodhpur) and move to Mumbai (the financial hub
of India) for better opportunities!
I was immediately recruited by
Morgan Stanley…and was all set to ace the corporate world, at least that is
what I thought!
Over a period of time, my
inner self longed to return to my hometown, Jodhpur!
I soon realized that I wanted
to have a bigger and better life…but in my home town not in a big city away
from family and friends!
Finally, after 5 long years in
Mumbai, in 2012, I decided to shift back to my hometown (Jodhpur).
Quitting my well-paying job in
an international bank to return to a smaller city with ‘no job in hand’ was by
far one of the toughest decisions to make!
Luckily my wife supported and
encouraged me to follow my heart!
Working full time and dealing
with 3 failed startups
The best part of being a
Chartered Accountant is ‘you never run short of job offers!’…and within a short span of time of returning home, I found another opportunity in Financial
Planning and Analysis!
However, even after moving
back to my hometown, I was not satisfied (contrary to what I had
expected)…there was a constant void hitting my mind!
Somewhere inside of me, I
wanted to be an entrepreneur…so while working for a full-time job, I launched
my first startup!
I would start office early,
and drive almost 25 km one way! Then get back home by say 7-8 pm and work on my
startup!
After very hectic and tiring 9
months, and after draining my energy and burning my money, I wound up my
business!
The same thing happened
with my second startup!
In fact, my third venture was
a unique business, but because of no startup eco-system in my hometown
(Jodhpur), I gave up the business after burning some money!
So, in the 6 years
(2012-2018), I changed 4 jobs and along with running 3 startups which failed
miserably!
But here I learned a big
lesson ‘I realized that Entrepreneurship is like your child which should be
driven with passion and 100% focus and it can never be part-time!’
(Of course, this is not true
for everyone and every business, but most businesses need a lot of time and the energy which cannot be given if working full time!)
Quitting my job (yet again) with no plan
“If you can’t figure out your purpose, figure out your passion. For your passion will lead you right into your purpose.” I was a certified CA with a stable job but I always felt something missing…as if Monday morning was making me tiresome, I was waiting for a Saturday evening and I wished Sundays would last forever!In Conclusion…
Take the Leap of faith and build something great! The world is full of opportunities and the same will knock the doors of those who are willing to create something bigger than oneself. Nobody is going to give it to you; you have to work for your dreams. There are no set formulas for success except for a positive attitude. To win big, you have to take (calculated) risks. Be ruthlessly persistent and have a razor focus! Also, I believe that life is a journey, not a destination so keep learning, keep falling, keep failing, keep enjoying, keep shining, and above all keep smiling because failure teaches you more than success.
