By Aditya Mendonca/Raintree Media features/www.raintreemedia.com
25 year old Varun Agarwal has a BE in Tele-Communications and currently runs three start-ups; Alma Mater (India’s premier memorabilia company for top schools and colleges, retails online on their e-store. Their facebook page currently has over 171,000 fans), Reticular (Social Media Marketing Agency) and Last Minute Films (an Independent production company)
His debut novel titled, ‘How I braved Anu Aunty & co-founded a million dollar company’ is a hit!
His story is filled with humour, it talks about his popular start-up Alma Mater, and how he started his company with his partner Rohn Malhotra. You run into his friends , his mom , the girl he has the biggest crush on , growing up in pub city of India and yes, Anu Aunty who stands between him and his goal .
It’s got the perfect mix of how anybody fresh out of college has got dreams floating around and had to face certain obstacles before reaching the initial taste of success.
The book connects more with people who’ve grown up in Bangalore.
It’s got a chilling, goose bump reality scene and different vibe from the usual books we see hitting the market. A true reminder of the many hurdles, the Indian youth go through to start their journey to entrepreneurial success.
Here’s an interview with Varun.
Is Anu Aunty a social fad or a weapon of destruction?
She was a constant weapon of destruction, who now is a social fad.
How did the idea come up of writing your first book , based on reality ?I used to write blogs on the Alma Mater facebook page, they got famous, and somebody suggested that I write a book.
I ended up writing the book in 7 days, put it together and send it to Rupa Publishers.
One month later it was ready.
It’s very good to fail, because unless you fail, one never succeeds.
Indian society encourages one not to fail, but I disagree .I’ve learnt the most from my failures.
How I braved Anu Aunty and co –founded a million dollar company – The movie, do we see it soon? The movie is in the works, though I can’t give anymore details about it.
What advice would you give fellow entrepreneurs?
I would simply say take the leap and then think. Most ideas fizzle out because everyone spends hours just thinking about them and not doing anything .So if you have an idea just go for it.
Don’t aim at being just an entrepreneur. Rather aim at having a killer idea and having the passion and the will to execute it.
“It’s a fun read & very addictive “says Singer & Writer Riccha Paul
This book is a reminder to our massive youth population, that if you stay focused and passionate about your dreams, you are likely to succeed. This book might well be a handbook for Indian youth to learn the ropes from the new Indian whiz kid.
You could get a really good deal if you order it from the official facebook page of the book – facebook.com/anuauntybook.
Read the story on the Goa Heraldo
You can also find the article at
http://www.epaperoheraldo.in/Details.aspx?id=6387&boxid=45623968&uid=&dat=8/13/2012