At 25, I thought I was in a hurry. My business ambitions were urgent, my confidence high, and my understanding… partial, at best.
Now, looking back, I see the blind spots clearly. Some lessons took years and painful mistakes to sink in. Others were gifts from mentors I didn’t appreciate enough at the time.
If I could send a letter back to that 25-year-old version of me, here’s what I’d write.
Business: Speed Is Useless Without Direction
At 25, I thought the founder who worked the fastest won. I measured success by the number of hours I worked and the number of deals I chased.
What I didn’t know: speed amplifies both good and bad decisions. Without a clear, validated direction, speed just takes you to the wrong place faster.
Now, I start with clarity—where do I want to be in 12, 24, 60 months? Every project, hire, and partnership has to connect to that line. That’s certainty. It’s the filter that turns busyness into progress.
Business: Your Network Is a Living Asset
Back then, I treated networking as transactional. Meet someone, exchange cards, maybe send a follow-up email.
Today, I know my network isn’t just a contact list—it’s a living, breathing ecosystem. Relationships compound when you invest without immediate expectation. Introduce two people without asking for anything. Share insights that help them win. Check in when there’s no agenda.
That relatedness—genuine connection—has paid back in ways no spreadsheet can track. Clients, partnerships, even co-authors have come from people I helped years before without thinking “What’s in it for me?”
Money: Revenue Isn’t Profit
At 25, I was impressed by big revenue numbers—mine and others’. I thought a ₹1 crore turnover meant you were “doing well.”
The truth: revenue is vanity, profit is sanity. You can run a ₹1 crore business and lose money every month if your costs and cash flow are misaligned.
The fairness here is brutal—your P\&L doesn’t care about your ego. Money in minus money out is what matters. Everything else is theatre.
Money: Cash Flow Is the Real Lifeline
I learned late that profit on paper doesn’t mean survival in practice. If you’re waiting 90 days for clients to pay but your bills are due in 30, you’re in trouble—even if the year-end numbers look great.
Now, I obsess over cash flow forecasts more than income statements. That certainty—knowing I can cover the next 6 months of expenses without panic—changes how I negotiate, hire, and invest.
People: Character Beats Talent Over Time
At 25, I overvalued talent. I thought the smartest hire was the one with the most impressive skills or résumé.
What I’ve learned: talent gets you noticed, but character keeps you trusted. The wrong character will cost you more in repairs—legal, cultural, emotional—than their skills will ever earn you.
I now protect status in a different way: I’d rather be known for a team that shows up with integrity than for having a “brilliant but toxic” superstar.
People: Conflict Is a Tool, Not a Threat
I used to avoid conflict, thinking it would hurt relationships. I’d let bad ideas pass or leave misunderstandings unresolved.
Now I see healthy conflict as a growth lever. Disagree early, respectfully, and with evidence. It builds autonomy in teams—they know they can challenge me without risking their role.
Some of my best business decisions came from conversations that started with, “I think you’re wrong.”
Business + Money + People: Reputation Is Compound Interest
At 25, I thought brand-building meant marketing campaigns, PR hits, and big launches.
Now I know your real brand is what people say when you’re not in the room. Every deal you keep your word on, every payment you make on time, every way you treat people when there’s no spotlight—these moments stack up.
It’s fairness in its purest form: your reputation eventually reflects exactly how you’ve treated people, for better or worse.
If I Could Tell My 25-Year-Old Self One Thing
It would be this: stop trying to win someone else’s race.
The world is loud with “shoulds”—you should scale faster, raise more, chase this sector, copy that playbook. But the founders, investors, and leaders I admire most built on their own terms. They chose markets, models, and paces that matched their strengths and values.
That’s autonomy. And it’s the reason they’re still standing when the trend-chasers have burned out.
The Things That Last
At 25, I thought success was about getting there quickly. At 40+, I know it’s about staying there meaningfully.
Business rewards clarity. Money rewards discipline. People reward trust. Everything else is noise.
If you’re younger and hungry, move fast—but only once you know where you’re going, why you want to get there, and who’s worth having in the room when you arrive.
Because the truth is, the game is less about speed and more about staying power—and that’s something I wish I’d learned much earlier.