‘Became a multi-millionaire in early 20s, bought Ferrari…lost it all’: Shaadi.com’s Anupam Mittal

Entrepreneur and Shaadi.com founder, Anupam Mittal, who is also a ‘shark’ on the wildly popular show, Shark Tank India, spoke about how he became a multi-millionaire in as early as his young 20s but lost it all, and started everything anew. Mittal spoke of the dot com bubble that burst and took everything with it in the early 2000s.

Mittal’s inspiring post was meant to shed light for entrepreneurs on the significance of taking a leap of faith, not backing down and calling it a day till they actually won. The dot com bubble ballooned, coinciding with the adoption of the ‘World Wide Web’, and creating value in the booming startup ecosystem, further propelling the creation of many millionaires. But then the bubble crashed, and the ecosystem took a hard beating, with many startups shutting down.

Recalling his experience from that fateful period, Mittal said, “I became a multi-millionaire in my early 20s. And then lost it all in the dot com bubble of the 2000s. Back then, I was riding high as part of MicroStrategy that skyrocketed to a $40 billion valuation. Life in the US felt like a dream. So much so I even ordered a Ferrari. But as quickly as it came, it all vanished. The dot com bubble burst, and with it, the money disappeared. In fact, I got into heavy debt,” he said.

He was back in India in 2003 with nothing but memories – of winning and losing big – he said in his social media post. “With the kind of audacity that only comes from losing it all, I set out to build another dot-com venture— Shaadi.com (amongst others such as makaan.com & Mauj Mobile). The domain cost $25,000, and we had only $30,000 left. It was an all-or-nothing move. People thought I was crazy. They questioned my business sense too. But I went all-in because I felt this could the game-changer. I turned out to be right,” he said.

Mittal said despite the criticism and the naysayers, he found the courage to step ahead, and in turn changed all their fortunes. He said it was never about the money but the ability to prove that he could rise from the ashes, and that his “spirit of entrepreneurship wasn’t tied to a single success or failure”.

“Today, I try to carry that same mindset to everything I do. Success isn’t about going along with the popular opinion - It's about walking in the other direction of the crowd and hopefully being right. So, to the risk-taking professionals & founders out there - keep backing yourself. The game isn’t over until you win,” he said.

Shaadi.com is one of the leading matrimonial services in the country. The online matrimonial service also has community-specific matrimony platforms including TamilShaadi.com, TeluguShaadi.com, MalayaleeShaadi.com, KannadaShaadi.com, BengaliShaadi.com, GujaratiShaadi.com, MarathiShaadi.com, PunjabiShaadi.com.