To a certain extent, it’s actually a good move. Education shouldn’t be treated as the deciding factor of anyone’s capability. There are many examples of successful personalities who have no formal education but are doing way better than a person with a formal degree. But again we know, same size doesn’t fit’s all. This can be true for some people and can’t be generalized. I would like to mention Albert Einstein here; he said “Education is not the filling of a vessel but the igniting of a spark.”
Tell us about your background, journey and upbringing.
Well, born in a Jain family I grew up in Pune in a joint family. I completed all my education, from schooling till graduation in Pune. After 10th I took science and post 12th I decided to pursue Electrical Engineering. Until then no one from my family had pursued a career in Science, I was the first one to get into this field. My journey is no short of an adventure. I was a very happy kid, a very happy kid indeed, until 2009 when I encountered my first failure. And there after I have failed multiple times at different things. It took almost nine years for me to realize which career is right for me. You know, I have struggled for almost 9 years changing careers. I have failed at 4 attempts of UPSC and also been rejected by more than 10 companies.
A few years ago after being confused with my career, I started obsessing about what actually makes people feel good in life. After almost 5 years of self-experience and thorough research, I realized Career accounts for 80% of our life. Starting with what is a career, I unfolded all the myths and facts related to a career. This led me to become a career counsellor who specializes in helping students choose the right career. I have found that nothing satisfies me more than meeting students, solving their career issues and contributing to the overall development of students. Many times my dreams were shattered and my efforts were baffled, but the spark inside me was alive and is still alive which has kept me going. Failures didn’t stop me (& will never stop) from experimenting and trying new things.
Coming to my upbringing, I had a very happy childhood with a loving and caring family who made sure that I get all the things I ask for. My upbringing has been the strongest foundation for my life. There are many other things I can tell about my family, but maybe the most important lesson I learned from my parents is service to others, which I promise to carry on and teach others.
How did you muster the conviction to start a company, where did inspiration come from?
While working in the Training and Placement Department of an esteemed Engineering and Management Institute in Pune, I came across many students who were confused with their career paths. I realized that it was not only me who was confused with career but around 7 out of 10 students are confused about career and have no idea about their future.
To be honest it was my own experience that inspired me to start this enterprise. I know the pain a student has to go through due to wrong career choices, because I have personally gone through that stage. And, so I don’t want the students to reinvent that wheel which I have already invented. I don’t want the students to face the same problems which I have faced in my career. This was the reason, cause or belief I decided to start my enterprise to help students.
What does your typical work day look like?
There’s no such thing as a typical day; for me, every day is unique and adventurous. My typical day (rather every day) starts with exercise & meditation and ends with reading books. This keeps me physically and mentally fit. It gives me the energy and motivation to start my work. Also, I prefer to create a to-do list for the day which helps me plan my activities and gives a sense of accomplishment. Being an entrepreneur I wear a lot of hats and hence perform multiple tasks including, but not limited to business development, marketing meetings, products development, client interaction, replying to emails and texts, counseling and research.
Coming to my upbringing, I had a very happy childhood with a loving and caring family who made sure that I get all the things I ask for. My upbringing has been the strongest foundation for my life. There are many other things I can tell about my family, but maybe the most important lesson I learned from my parents is service to others, which I promise to carry on and teach others.
How did you muster the conviction to start a company, where did inspiration come from?
While working in the Training and Placement Department of an esteemed Engineering and Management Institute in Pune, I came across many students who were confused with their career paths. I realized that it was not only me who was confused with career but around 7 out of 10 students are confused about career and have no idea about their future.
To be honest it was my own experience that inspired me to start this enterprise. I know the pain a student has to go through due to wrong career choices, because I have personally gone through that stage. And, so I don’t want the students to reinvent that wheel which I have already invented. I don’t want the students to face the same problems which I have faced in my career. This was the reason, cause or belief I decided to start my enterprise to help students.
What does your typical work day look like?
There’s no such thing as a typical day; for me, every day is unique and adventurous. My typical day (rather every day) starts with exercise & meditation and ends with reading books. This keeps me physically and mentally fit. It gives me the energy and motivation to start my work. Also, I prefer to create a to-do list for the day which helps me plan my activities and gives a sense of accomplishment. Being an entrepreneur I wear a lot of hats and hence perform multiple tasks including, but not limited to business development, marketing meetings, products development, client interaction, replying to emails and texts, counseling and research.
Also I try to ensure that I learn something new every day and lookout for more opportunities to grow the business. This has been my rough schedule for the past year, although what I actually get to focus on day to day varies widely according to what’s served on the platter. During my entrepreneurial journey what I realized is that we can always have a plan to start the day but don’t know when it will end. Over the years I have made sure to give time for self development, which helps me to start my day with motivation and end with a sense of satisfaction.
Several global companies have come out and thrown their support behind not needing a formal education. What is your opinion about this?
To a certain extent, it’s actually a good move. Education shouldn’t be treated as the deciding factor of anyone’s capability. There are many examples of successful personalities who have no formal education but are doing way better than a person with a formal degree. But again we know, same size doesn’t fit’s all. This can be true for some people and can’t be generalized. I would like to mention Albert Einstein here; he said “Education is not the filling of a vessel but the igniting of a spark.”
Several global companies have come out and thrown their support behind not needing a formal education. What is your opinion about this?
To a certain extent, it’s actually a good move. Education shouldn’t be treated as the deciding factor of anyone’s capability. There are many examples of successful personalities who have no formal education but are doing way better than a person with a formal degree. But again we know, same size doesn’t fit’s all. This can be true for some people and can’t be generalized. I would like to mention Albert Einstein here; he said “Education is not the filling of a vessel but the igniting of a spark.”
A degree helps students not only to understand facts and concepts but it is a foundation that teaches life skills, helps in holistic development and beyond that teaches them to live a life. Instead of scrapping the need for a degree, educational institutes in collaboration with businesses should come up with immersive, interactive and experiential programs which will make students employable. It’s a matter of fact that we need a blended or hybrid learning models throughout our education system, which will give students the freedom to learn and get the best out of them.
And I hope this to happen with the implementation of NEP 2020. To conclude; honestly what I believe is that Education or learning must have a purpose. Academic qualifications should still be taken into account and be an important consideration when assessing candidates as a whole, but should not act as a barrier to getting entry into the working world.
How do you handle someone who has lied on their resume?
Till now, I haven’t come across anyone who has lied with their resumes. Yes, there are some candidates who try to adjust their educational marks just to fit in the eligibility criteria; but they are disqualified during the documents’ verification round. There’s no specific way to handle such candidates, we can just ask the candidate for an explanation or respectfully reject the candidate.
What are some of your typical challenges and how have they evolved over time?
Like earlier I mentioned, entrepreneurship is all about adventure and in this adventure one will come across numerous challenges. It is how a person overcomes the challenges. I think every business despite its size has to face the challenge of Capital, either to start or grow a business. And with the current situation, it has become more griever.
The second challenge which I face is uncertainty. It’s beyond our capacity to know what the future holds. What we can do is only build our imagination and plan accordingly. We need to embrace the uncertainty and enjoy the journey.
As I play multiple roles, time management has become an issue for me. With the world changing so rapidly, it has become necessary for every entrepreneur to adapt to these changing trends. And that’s where lifelong learning comes into the picture, which steals some of the time from the only available 24hrs.
Also sometimes what I or maybe any entrepreneur has to go through is self-doubt. When some things don’t go as planned, it becomes but obvious to get discouraged, and we feel like giving up.
But all these challenges can be overcome. And a solution that I came across or works for me is reminding me of the purpose I started this journey.
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How do you handle someone who has lied on their resume?
Till now, I haven’t come across anyone who has lied with their resumes. Yes, there are some candidates who try to adjust their educational marks just to fit in the eligibility criteria; but they are disqualified during the documents’ verification round. There’s no specific way to handle such candidates, we can just ask the candidate for an explanation or respectfully reject the candidate.
What are some of your typical challenges and how have they evolved over time?
Like earlier I mentioned, entrepreneurship is all about adventure and in this adventure one will come across numerous challenges. It is how a person overcomes the challenges. I think every business despite its size has to face the challenge of Capital, either to start or grow a business. And with the current situation, it has become more griever.
The second challenge which I face is uncertainty. It’s beyond our capacity to know what the future holds. What we can do is only build our imagination and plan accordingly. We need to embrace the uncertainty and enjoy the journey.
As I play multiple roles, time management has become an issue for me. With the world changing so rapidly, it has become necessary for every entrepreneur to adapt to these changing trends. And that’s where lifelong learning comes into the picture, which steals some of the time from the only available 24hrs.
Also sometimes what I or maybe any entrepreneur has to go through is self-doubt. When some things don’t go as planned, it becomes but obvious to get discouraged, and we feel like giving up.
But all these challenges can be overcome. And a solution that I came across or works for me is reminding me of the purpose I started this journey.
What advice do you have for aspiring entrepreneurs?
Entrepreneurship is all about adventure. It will challenge you every day and if doesn’t then you need to rethink your idea. If it’s not challenging you then you are not growing. Starting a company or any enterprise is very easy but surviving the initial days is tough. You need the courage to start a company and patience, resilience, perseverance to run it successfully. There will be days when everything will go against you, no sales, no income, no one to support, at that time you will start having self-doubt, you will lose the motivation, feel drained; but at that time just remind yourself why you started, the purpose of your venture and this will give you hope.
On a paper write all the reasons, WHY you have started the company and post it near your work desk and whenever you feel low refer to the WHY and you will be motivated and uplifted.
Which is your favourite book and why?
The best of the books in the world are the ones which make you think. Reading was never a cup of my tea only when I came across “The monk who sold his Ferrari- by Robin Sharma”. This was my first book and after reading it I had different feeling that I continue to experience each day by reading a book. I have many favorite books but “Start With Why- by Simon Sinek” and “The Alchemist- by Paul Coelho” are very close to my heart as they have given a purpose to me. The Alchemist is one of those books whose lessons will be learning for a lifetime. This book helps a person to unleash the true spirit residing inside us. It connects you to the ultimate you. Some thoughts from this book that I carry with me every day are; Don’t fear failure, Believe you can and Follow your dreams.
And the other one is Start With Why. This book is my favorite because it asks a person to find the purpose of existence. The book hits on a very important theme repeatedly. It asks us to focus more on ‘WHY we do What we do’. Keeping your Purpose (why) close to your heart will make everything work for you.
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Siddharth P. Gundecha
Founder at Uprise Education
International Certified Career Counsellor, Educator, Electrical Engineer
On a mission to guide, counsel, and thus empower 25,000 students by 2025.
I help K-12 to graduation students, to choose the right career by engaging and interacting with them. Today I have delivered over 20 career counselling talks in schools and colleges as well as online events within a short span of 1 year. Through speaking and career counselling, I have cultivated successful careers and build amazing characters. And this defines my happiness. Nothing satisfies me more than meeting students, solving their career issues and contributing to the overall development of students. My practice is informed by my work with over 1000+ students from varied background and 3 years of experience in the education industry.
Sports fanatic and an avid reader.
In my free time you will find me either playing or helping people.
The quote I live by is,
"Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile."
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