Abhishek Kar Interview
“Why India’s most followed financial educator believes survival matters more than returns.”
Q. How did your early life shape your mindset about money and risk? Were there moments you doubted this path?
I come from a very ordinary middle-class background. There was a time when my father earned around ₹1,500 a month. Money was never assumed; it was respected. That respect wasn’t taught through lectures, but through everyday discipline.I remember walking nearly seven kilometres in peak summer just to save five rupees on transport. Even something as small as eating a cream biscuit once or twice a year felt like a luxury. Those experiences weren’t about deprivation; they were about understanding value before consumption.
At the same time, I was curious and independent. Once, I borrowed ₹150 from my parents for swimming classes and quietly redirected it toward stickers and temporary tattoos. Looking back, that wasn’t rebellion; it was my first encounter with choice, intent, and autonomy.
When I entered markets later, I took risks with intensity. Some early successes made me overconfident, especially in futures and options. Then came the corrections: 30–40% drawdowns due to reckless position sizing. Painful, yes, but invaluable. That’s when I truly learned that risk isn’t reduced by confidence; it’s controlled through structure and diversification.
That shift changed everything. Instead of chasing single wins, I built multiple income and investment streams. Today, my capital is spread across equities, mutual funds, real estate, startups, education, consulting, digital platforms, and more. Scarcity shaped my thinking and gave me perspective long before capital did.
Simplification, for me, was never about dumbing things down. It was about context. I used real-world failures, LTCM, and Lehman Brothers to show that intelligence doesn’t protect against risk. Structure does. Teaching at scale happened almost by accident. During a college session in Mumbai, students asked me why I wasn’t on YouTube. I initially dismissed the idea.
I valued personal interaction and underestimated digital reach. But once I experimented, I realised there was a serious audience, one craving depth, not shortcuts. The hardest part wasn’t technical; it was psychological. Many learners came in believing 30–40% monthly returns were normal. Resetting expectations was uncomfortable, but necessary. Over time, those who stayed learned something far more valuable than strategies: restraint.
The second danger is comparison. Beginners often mirror influencers or friends without understanding capital size, experience, or income buffers. What looks like confidence is often supported by safety nets they don’t have. To manage stress, I meditate daily. It helps me remain patient, especially on days when no trades appear. In trading, patience isn’t passive. It’s an edge. Almost every consistently successful trader I know has a structured outlet for meditation, fitness, and yoga. Mind discipline is as important as system discipline.
The term "finfluencer" has been misused. Many people labelled as influencers were actually traditional trainers running ads, not creators building organic trust. That distinction matters. Yes, there has been wrongdoing, and scepticism is justified.
At the same time, I was curious and independent. Once, I borrowed ₹150 from my parents for swimming classes and quietly redirected it toward stickers and temporary tattoos. Looking back, that wasn’t rebellion; it was my first encounter with choice, intent, and autonomy.
When I entered markets later, I took risks with intensity. Some early successes made me overconfident, especially in futures and options. Then came the corrections: 30–40% drawdowns due to reckless position sizing. Painful, yes, but invaluable. That’s when I truly learned that risk isn’t reduced by confidence; it’s controlled through structure and diversification.
That shift changed everything. Instead of chasing single wins, I built multiple income and investment streams. Today, my capital is spread across equities, mutual funds, real estate, startups, education, consulting, digital platforms, and more. Scarcity shaped my thinking and gave me perspective long before capital did.
Q. Why did you move from trading to teaching, and how did you simplify markets for beginners? What challenges did you face?
When I started teaching, I noticed something disturbing. Most educators focus only on what works, strategies, setups, and returns. Very few spoke honestly about why markets are dangerous or why over 95% of participants lose money. So I flipped the approach. Nearly 60–70% of my sessions focused on risk leverage, behavioural bias, drawdowns, and capital erosion. Before teaching how to make money, I wanted students to learn how not to lose it.Simplification, for me, was never about dumbing things down. It was about context. I used real-world failures, LTCM, and Lehman Brothers to show that intelligence doesn’t protect against risk. Structure does. Teaching at scale happened almost by accident. During a college session in Mumbai, students asked me why I wasn’t on YouTube. I initially dismissed the idea.
I valued personal interaction and underestimated digital reach. But once I experimented, I realised there was a serious audience, one craving depth, not shortcuts. The hardest part wasn’t technical; it was psychological. Many learners came in believing 30–40% monthly returns were normal. Resetting expectations was uncomfortable, but necessary. Over time, those who stayed learned something far more valuable than strategies: restraint.
Q. What’s the first habit beginners should adopt to control emotions in trading?
Start every trading day with a clean mental slate. Yesterday’s losses must not enter today’s decisions. The moment someone trades to “recover” money, logic collapses. Over-leverage creeps in. Forced trades follow. What starts as a small loss becomes a long cycle of emotional damage. Markets don’t punish ignorance as brutally as they punish emotional baggage.The second danger is comparison. Beginners often mirror influencers or friends without understanding capital size, experience, or income buffers. What looks like confidence is often supported by safety nets they don’t have. To manage stress, I meditate daily. It helps me remain patient, especially on days when no trades appear. In trading, patience isn’t passive. It’s an edge. Almost every consistently successful trader I know has a structured outlet for meditation, fitness, and yoga. Mind discipline is as important as system discipline.
Q. Finfluencer space has hype and scepticism. How do you balance engaging content with honest risk education? Should verified P&Ls become mandatory?
The term "finfluencer" has been misused. Many people labelled as influencers were actually traditional trainers running ads, not creators building organic trust. That distinction matters. Yes, there has been wrongdoing, and scepticism is justified. But painting everyone with the same brush damages genuine education. Offering paid learning doesn’t automatically imply unethical intent. I’ve always focused on showing the full picture: probability, drawdowns, behaviour, not just opportunity. Recent regulatory changes reflect this concern, and while they bring challenges, they also reinforce responsibility.
As for verified P&Ls, I don’t believe they should be mandatory or even central. No one becomes a better trader by seeing someone else’s profit statement. Even verified numbers can mislead when stripped of context. True consistency shows over multiple market cycles. P&L displays often trigger FOMO, over-leverage, and emotional decisions, the exact behaviours regulators want to prevent. The most respected investors never built credibility by flashing numbers. They earned it through decades of disciplined thinking.
Controlled exposure applies to careers, relationships, and entrepreneurship, too. Over-commitment based on assumptions we can’t control leads to avoidable damage. In the book, I share an options trade where deep analysis still failed. I went all in at once and lost nearly half my capital overnight. It was a reminder that beyond a point, outcomes are probabilistic. Life works the same way. Protect the downside first. Growth only compounds when survival is assured.
As for verified P&Ls, I don’t believe they should be mandatory or even central. No one becomes a better trader by seeing someone else’s profit statement. Even verified numbers can mislead when stripped of context. True consistency shows over multiple market cycles. P&L displays often trigger FOMO, over-leverage, and emotional decisions, the exact behaviours regulators want to prevent. The most respected investors never built credibility by flashing numbers. They earned it through decades of disciplined thinking.
Q. From your book “Stocks and Life,” which trading principle, patience, discipline, or handling loss, is most vital for life beyond markets?
How we handle loss. Loss doesn’t just take money; it damages confidence. And once confidence breaks, decisions deteriorate everywhere, not just in trading. That’s why I stress starting small. If someone has ₹1 lakh, begin with ₹5,000. Make mistakes safely. Survive long enough to learn.Controlled exposure applies to careers, relationships, and entrepreneurship, too. Over-commitment based on assumptions we can’t control leads to avoidable damage. In the book, I share an options trade where deep analysis still failed. I went all in at once and lost nearly half my capital overnight. It was a reminder that beyond a point, outcomes are probabilistic. Life works the same way. Protect the downside first. Growth only compounds when survival is assured.
Bio
Abhishek Kar is one of India’s most influential financial educators, traders, and market thinkers. With over a decade of experience in derivatives trading and investing, he is known for advocating systematic decision-making, risk management, and long-term wealth building.
He is the author of the Amazon bestseller Stocks and Life, a book that bridges market psychology with real-world decision-making. A global speaker and nine-time TEDx presenter, Abhishek has addressed over 150 premier institutions and trained thousands of professionals, faculty members, and corporate teams.
With a digital community of 7+ million followers across YouTube and social media, he focuses on democratising financial literacy without diluting complexity. Beyond education, he is an active angel investor and mentor, supporting startups such as Wint Wealth and Rigi, while continuing to invest across equities, real estate, and private ventures.
){kind=link}
0 Comments