The popular saying “Behind every successful man, there’s a woman” has gone well with India’s patriarchal society. The notion took a twist when fathers emerged as strong pillars in reshaping the careers of their children. When it comes to entrepreneurship, fathers are the best mentors, guiding light and pillar of strength for their kids' unexplored journey of entrepreneurship.
A couple of entrepreneurs share their feelings for their father:
Raghav Chandra, cofounder of UrbanClap
My father is my oldest and greatest friend and support pillar. I remember him helping me through my first startup - he travelled down for days to help hiring and operations sharing in the burden and stress of it all. Little do I talk about it, but he always seems to be the one I take for granted. That in itself is the greatest sense of support.
Danish Din of luxury hotel, The Grand Dragon, Ladakh
My father started The Grand Dragon in Ladakh with 3 guest rooms in 1974. Since then dad has catered to more than million guests travelling from all over the world today the family is successfully running the biggest hotel in the entire state for 12 months also in the harsh winters when outside temperature is minus 30 degree Celsius.
Neha Bagaria, founder and CEO of JobsForHer
I hail from a Marwari family, entrepreneurship runs in the blood. My father is an entrepreneur himself and I was pretty sure I would walk down that path as well. His best advice that has remained with me in my entrepreneurial journey is, to always look five years into the horizon when making any big decisions. Don't focus on the short term. Even with your career, it doesn't matter if you might have taken a break for a few years. What's a few years’ break compared to the entire span of a person's career?
Vishwavijay Singh, cofounder of SaleBhai.com
My father is a very honest man, and he has always advised me to be one myself. One of the best advice he gave me was not to be deterred by poor short term results, as there is always a silver lining that we cannot comprehend immediately, but becomes apparent over time. Lastly, his best practical advice that has served me well is to always combat stress with action instead of letting it drive you into passive despair. Not only does being active de-stress you, it also helps you focus on dealing with it positively.
Sunil Gupta, founder director of ExportersIndia.com
My father strongly believes that experience is the greatest teacher. A pillar of strength, he taught me that, “We never lose. We either win or we learn”. This mantra kept me going in trying times and I turned the failures into stepping stones for success. My father, an epitome of simplicity inspires me each day to keep everything in life simple, because pretentiousness, be it in processes or thoughts only makes life harder. Simplicity is hard to attain but it leads to success in personal and professional spheres of life.
Gurinder Singh Bhatti, chairman and MD of ESS Global
My father had a small business in Amritsar when I was a child. I used to help him do the accounts collection. He guided me to be honest and fair to the work you do. That way you don’t have to brag about your skills but your work will do the flaunting for you. He taught me to be competitive in a healthy way rather than following the competition and being a follower. He taught me to be the leader that set trends for others to follow.
Shreenidhi, cofounder of Flintobox
When I was in sixth grade, I had to shift to a new city. It was a terrible feeling to leave everything behind - my school, my friends, my cozy little room and so many little things that I had grown comfortable with. It was the first time I was shifting to a new place and starting things from scratch. To console me, my father used to say, “You’ll never forget your ‘first times’ whether you like them or not. And the more of these you experience, the more you get out of your life.”
From firm roots grow the beautiful leaves, the quote rightly portrays what you are today and what you will be tomorrow – your father’s support and timely advice will always play a great role in your life.