“I grew up in an upper-middle-class family, with both my parents juggling busy work schedules. Despite their best efforts, I was never the academic prodigy they might have hoped for. My grades were mediocre at best, but I had a fire within me, to be an entrepreneur. The idea of creating something out of nothing fascinated me from a young age.
At 19, while pursuing my degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering, I started a small website development business. My teachers saw my entrepreneurial spirit and encouraged me to dream bigger. By 22, I owned an IT firm. It felt like I was finally making my mark, but life had other plans.
Funding my business was a tedious task, and just as I thought I had found stability, everything crumbled. I lost my company, spiraled into depression, and turned to alcohol for solace. Obesity soon followed, and my self-worth hit rock bottom.
One day, I decided enough was enough. I began running, not just to lose weight but to run away from the person I’d become. Every drop of sweat felt like a step closer to reclaiming myself. I quit alcohol, shed the weight, and with it, the chains of my past.
I found solace and purpose in the kitchen of my cafe. Managing the café reignited my passion for problem-solving, and soon, I ventured into food tech. Specializing in kitchen automation, I focused on saving resources and cutting costs, revolutionizing the industry.
Today, The Mayflower has managed to scale 9 more outlets and our co-working space remains steady in Chennai with 6 centres. We are very grateful to our team and customers who made it happen. None of this would have been possible without my wife, my childhood friend, and my unwavering partner. She has been my anchor through the storms and my compass in moments of confusion.
I am lucky to have learned in my 30s through my forced willpower that made me have my last drop of alcohol, last bud of cigarette, and last taste of depression. Addiction is just like reading a book or watching a movie; when you want to end it, it ends. See the end of me binging on alcohol and definitely stop cigarettes. If I could do it, anybody could do it.
My life has been a series of steep falls and rises, but one thing has remained constant – more than twice people have generically bucketed my journey as luck when they know my story in full. I’ll gently add perseverance to the luck that followed. If there’s one lesson I’ve learned, it’s that failure is not the end. It’s the beginning of a new, stronger you.”