'Was a complete slave to a corporate logo': Delhi entrepreneur says layoff proved blessing in disguise; here's why

A Delhi-based entrepreneur shared how he was suddenly fired from a senior corporate role in 2018, an experience that changed his life completely. In a LinkedIn post, Gaurav Kawatra said that he was 37 and working as a director at a Chinese multinational company, earning around ₹5 lakh a month, when he lost his job.

At the time, he also had a home loan close to ₹2 crore. Sharing a copy of his termination letter on LinkedIn, he said the company ended his services with immediate effect over performance-related concerns, gave him only a three-day notice period and did not offer any severance package.

Recalling the moment, he wrote, “I was 37. Director at a Chinese MNC. ₹5 Lakh/month salary. ₹2 Crore home loan. 3 days notice. You're terminated,” he wrote. In another part of the post, he described the moment by saying, “I walked out NAKED. Zero package. TERMINATION stamp.”

Kawatra later said that while the dismissal felt devastating at the time, he now sees it as the “greatest blessing” of his life because it forced him to rebuild himself from scratch.

He said the months that followed were marked by anxiety, financial uncertainty and repeated rejection as he tried to find work. “108 cold calls. 108 rejections. 3 AM panic attacks,” he wrote. He also said unemployment affected both his emotional and physical health.

“Neighbours watched me sit at home. My daughter asked a question I couldn't answer. I thought I was buried,” he wrote. Kawatra added that he smoked “12 to 15 cigarettes a night”, and said it took him years to quit the habit completely.

Kawatra said shame and fear made the period even harder. Looking back, he wrote that one of the biggest lessons was not to let a professional setback damage personal health. “Talk to your wife. Talk to your mother. Cry as much as you can. But do not let shame destroy your health at any cost. Money can be recovered. Your body cannot,” he wrote.

He also reflected on the value he once placed on corporate titles and academic qualifications.

“I built a 12-year career on a degree that stopped earning by year 8. I was a complete slave to a corporate logo,” he wrote. According to him, losing the job pushed him to focus on practical skills such as sales, marketing and people management instead of depending only on a corporate role for stability. “Degrees expire. Skills compound forever,” he added.

Kawatra also wrote that he eventually stopped taking rejection personally. “Track every call. 70 will ignore you. 30 will sympathize, but offer zero help. 5 will open a door. 1 will define your next decade,” he wrote.

According to Kawatra, the years after his termination helped him rebuild his professional life through entrepreneurship and consulting. In his LinkedIn post, he claimed that he has advised projects worth Rs 6,500 crore, worked with corporates across 19 states and built a new career path after leaving the corporate sector. “Termination was not my end. It was my forced rebirth,” he wrote.