‘I got bored’: Former Microsoft employee earning Rs 1 crore quits high-paying job to launch startup for farmers

Ruchit Garg, a seasoned professional with six years of experience at Microsoft, made a radical career shift in 2011. The 44-year-old, then earning a hefty salary of about Rs 1 crore per annum, left his position as a technical programme manager at the company's headquarters in Redmond to return to India and pursue his entrepreneurial dreams.

"I got bored," Garg confessed to Moneycontrol. "I felt like a misfit there. I always wanted to run a business."

Garg had previously dipped his toes into entrepreneurship in 2004, well before the startup boom took off. However, it was witnessing the proliferation of startups in the US that reignited his passion for business ventures.

In pursuit of his aspirations, Garg founded Harvesting, a venture aimed at revolutionising the agricultural sector in India. Leveraging his familial ties to farming - his grandfather owned a mango farm in Uttar Pradesh - Garg sought to create a meaningful impact in an industry close to his heart.

Harvesting, described as the next-generation Amul, works towards empowering small-holder farmers by providing them with essential resources such as advisory services, seeds, pesticides, and facilitating direct sales channels both online and offline. The company claims to have positively impacted over 37 lakh farmers across India.

Garg's journey from a financially constrained upbringing to a successful entrepreneur is a testament to his resilience and determination. Raised by a single mother who worked as a clerk at the Indian Railways, Garg's exposure to entrepreneurship began during his visits to the railways library in Lucknow. It was there that he devoured books, including the Harvard Business Review, finding inspiration in its case studies.

Reflecting on his journey, Garg reminisced about his recent visit to Harvard University in 2018, where he was invited to speak about financial inclusion for smallholder farmers. "And I bought a copy of Harvard Business Review at the Harvard University campus, mine own copy!" he exclaimed, highlighting the profound significance of his personal and professional growth.