When one’s interests are widely in contrast to studies at school, when one’s perception about life do not sync with formal education at institutions, the most common statement made is “academic scores don’t define one’s destiny.” When there is ample to learn from life itself, how can text books alone teach us about facing and shaping life? Gaining breathtaking appreciation from the society cannot be confined to academics-degree or course.

Introducing to you, Mr Prasanna Gupta, A self made achiever, blessed with an inborn entrepreneurial quality, is certainly an exemplar to every life which has the thirst to taste success but is devoid of typical academic education. The nation’s mentality today, is to respect a degree certificate rather than believing in knowledge and intelligence dwelling in one’s self. Prasanna breaks this cast of mind to create his story which serves as a prodigious role model to the whole world.

Born in a family which was extremely weak financially, Prasanna had a very different and a contemporary childhood. His least interest in studies made him bunk school the whole time, spend time all alone in a park where he tried to obtain a clear picture about his ideologies, and would get back home at dusk. He could pretend tremendously, until his parents were unfurled of this truth. After which, he was forcibly pushed into a school where he was tied up with iron chains to prevent him from escaping. “I remember my mother crying everyday in this regard and now I really feel bad as I was the reason for her grief” confesses he. It was after his 3rd grade that he completely stopped schooling due to which, quarrels prevailed at home constantly but since then, his life took a different turn wherein, he mentally began to prepare to step into the entrepreneurial world. When he was 12, he started working in a very well-established provision store which he calls, an institute that taught him every detail about business dealings, analysis and strategies. “Unlike these days, there were no start-up internships, so all I could rely on was myself-learning through observation” he says.

All of us are attached to our family in one or the other way. Likewise, he too loved and was bound to his family and its struggles. Hence, he had to give away all his earnings to his mother who managed every month, looking after her husband and children, in just 800 rupees (out of which 200 was his earning). After 12 years of fervid learning about business, he was all set to start his venture but his parents were initially not in acceptance with this decision. Yet not giving up, he felt his life would be meaning-less without bringing his dreams to reality; he left the city with a rupee in his pocket and went to the place where his elder brother stayed. Unfortunately, since he ran out of his savings, investment was a key challenge he faced. “The 12 years of working-learning experience fetched me all that I needed including the trust that had to be built among the dealers and other settled entrepreneurs. As a reward to my adherent contribution, the dealers themselves offered me all the required financial aid” he says.

Prasanna started a very small paan(combination of beetle leaf with areca nut) stall on the footpath having no idea about how to prepare one. He learnt all of it from other shop-keepers and customers, working for 18 hours a day; striving hard. He saved all his earnings as he was envisioned to start a provision store. Life tested him again when 2 of the blood veins in his leg ruptured which caused continual bleeding. After operating, the doctors asked not to pressurize his self with work load. Yet, not compromising on the zeal, he set up his first ever provision store. By showering all his love, blood and sweat, heart and soul, and by applying all his lessons of business planning strategies, he became the reason for making his venture a fabled retail store; top quality and reasonable price stand as its identity till date. The plausible and persuasive urge to earn and fulfill all the materialistic needs of his family is what has got him so far. He welcomed the criticism about his educational qualifications with a smile saying “I have gained and learnt all that is required to accomplish my life ambition, but this may not be true in others lives because there is no assurance that every degree holder today will be employed.” Being clear about what he wants in life, understanding and developing the skills needed to reach the goal and in turn, setting an example to the whole world, mark as highlights of his life story. He looks upon his elder brother and his mother as his mentors, who constantly feed into him inspiration, motivation and courage to dive into the entrepreneurial world single handedly to win his life. He proudly says “remaining uneducated was never a loss to me because I won the hearts of people who helped me in auditing and in fact, completed every formality on my behalf.”

“If goals are important to you to an extent where you feel it is impossible to survive without achieving them, if every victory of yours is preceded by a tough failure which behaved as a teacher, if you are determined to face the unalarmed hurdles that creep into smooth moving life, if you are crazily daring to swim across whatever comes to you and explore to try out every aspect just to understand what suits you, then nothing can stop you from getting tagged as a very successful individual and yes, a vibrant entrepreneur “ quotes this passion-imprinted doer who worships work.

We wish him all the very best to exalt his life further and continue a mainstay at his business.