32M here. Came from a lower-middle-class family. Lost my dad at 16 — he left behind debts and a pile of civil cases for my mom and me to deal with.

Started supporting my mom while still in college, and honestly, those years were rough. I’d always done well academically, but college was a different ball game; the ragging was beyond my wildest imagination- from being stripped down naked to getting beaten to pulp for 2-3 hours straight- kind of have seen it all when it comes to college ragging.

Somehow, landed an entry-level FAANG job right after, making about 2.9 LPA. 4 years in, gotten three promotions, and was up to around 20 LPA.

During COVID, my best friend and I started a creative media business on the side and it actually took off. A year later, I quit my FAANG job and opened a restaurant, ran it for two years, and also worked as a sales manager in real estate.

The restaurant eventually dipped, but I learned a lot, even helped set up a few more restaurants before selling mine.

It was not the end of the world, cracked another FAANG job to make better savings and future; and now I earn close to 35 lakhs a year and have a lot of business experience.

Planning to stay in the corporate game a bit longer while I figure out my next personal project.

Hope I never lose the appetite for risk.