How do you want the world to know you?

I am focused on bringing a "thought-process" change. Among other things, I pri-marily want to teach people about having a balance in life. Contrary to popular belief, wealth is not just about money. Rather, it's combination of time, money and long-term security.

How did you come out with this name iAchieveGroup?

There are three components to that name. First, every member within the organi-zation has ownership, a stake in the company. That's what "I" is for. The revenue is proportionately shared among all its members based on their performance. I may be the face of iAchieve Group today, but tomorrow it would be every individual. The word "Achieve" obviously has the literal meaning, and "Group" because it's an organization.

How was the initial phase of this idea of yours?

iAchieveGroup is a consortium. One of them is Teligent Inc., which is an Information Technology and Business Management Consulting firm. After having worked at several Fortune-100 companies, I started this business about 12 years ago.

The second component of this entity is Gupta Ventures Inc., which is focused on leveraging the power Social Media combined with an online Network Marketing business model. The third part is Think.Grow.Empower.Lead, through which I provide coaching and mentorship to entrepreneurs around the world, primarily via one-on-one counselling, webinars and public speaking engagements.

I came to the United States in 1993, working as a Software Engineer at a major Fortune-100 client. Few years later, after obtaining my permanent residency I started my own consulting business. Though the transition from being an employee to self-employed wasn't an easy one, it was definitely a major "turning point" in my life.

Right about the same time I was introduced to the network marketing business model powered by one the leading companies in the industry. Focusing on two businesses at the same time required a lot of discipline and time management skills. Thanks to my wife, Manjari, who not only supported me in my decision but also gave her 100% in making it work, we achieved substantial success in a short period of time. And because of the "financial cushion" these two businesses cre-ated for us, we were able to navigate through challenging times with relative ease. Today, I am proud to say that we are among the top producers in both our endeavours.

Name 5 people who have been your strongest support in your Life.

The first one is one should be pretty obvious by now. It's my lovely bride, Manjari Gupta.

The second is Thiru Damodaran, the person who introduced me to the network marketing business model. Working as the Vice President for one of the major banks in the Midwest, him and I met casually in downtown Cleveland one day and that meeting changed my life forever. Damo is someone I respect the most. He's a very special friend now.

Third would be the BWW organization, founded by Bill Britt, who unfortu-nately passed away recently. He was one of my mentors, both in business and in life. My gratitude to him cannot be expressed in words. He taught me how to make my life count.

Next would be John Sestina and Tyler Cook, my personal financial advisors. With over 40 years of experience in the industry, John is ranked among the top 30 financial planners in the United States. He's my wealth coach who taught me everything I know about money, investing and financial management.

Last but not the least, my grandfather, now deceased, and my parents who funded my college education in India. I still remember my grandfa-ther giving me 46,000 rupees to help me buy my first computer in 1991. It was a lot of money back then. And that's what gave me the jump-start in my career as a Software Engineer.

In how many countries has the organization reached? How do you manage the geographic spread being at one place?

Though our organization is spread across all seven continents, we are primarily focused in North America, India, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Russia, Malaysia and Singapore. Thanks to mobile communications and social media, spreading our wings across multiple countries has been relatively easy. Moreover, our organization is struc-tured as a profit-sharing partnership, which means everyone has a vested interest in it's growth. And since everyone gets compensated in ac-cordance with their performance, the model itself takes care of everything.
What are your suggestions to the policy makers to help develop the field of Entrepreneurship?

Our school system teaches outdated and ineffective curriculum. Our col-leges prepare students for a job, not for becoming an entrepreneur. If we are to thrive in the 21st century, it is imperative that our education system changes soon. The so-called policy makers need to take a serious look at what's being taught in our school and colleges, and whether it is really preparing our children for a "real" future or just a nine-to-five rut.

I believe, words like "interest" and "debt" should not be foreign to a kid who is 14. Some parents talk about weather, movies and video games. I talk about finance with my kids. They seem to appreciate that a lot more. I think, our school teachers need to do the same.