From working at EY for 10 years to starting my own Online Portal. Was it worth it?

Here we share the story of CA Deepanjan Periwal, who came to Mumbai from a town in Rajasthan. He managed to convert all his struggles into success by “not giving up” and still does.

He left his job at EY to start his own CA firm. Later on, he launched “DEBTORS WATCH,” India’s first online portal that helps businesses of any form and size report trade defaults, perform credit checks, and monitor their customers’ creditworthiness on an ongoing basis.

He has been featured in STARTUP 360 and Co-Founder Magazine. He is also registered under the Startup India Initiative of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Government of India (GOI) for promoting innovative business ideas.

My articleship journey

Struggle, not failure, is the pillar of every success. “There is a very thin line of difference between failure and struggle,” he said.

We all struggle by default; however, failure is something one chooses.

In my initial days of being in Mumbai in 2005, I made applications to more than 50 CA firms for articleship. It was a struggle; however, getting into Ernst & Young was a success.

Thereafter, while still on the learning curve and still meeting the client’s demands along with the studies, there was another struggle. But clearing CA and coming out stronger, wiser, and bolder was a big success.

Starting My Own CA Firm and Online Portal: My Entrepreneurial Journey

After working with EY for almost 10 years, I wanted to switch over to start my own venture but could not make the bold move due to the fear of losing fixed cash flows.

That’s when I got a job offer from Marsh, a leading insurance broking and risk management firm, with a good raise and a shift in my role from consulting to marketing.

But in less than 90 days, I realised that I was not able to satisfy my urge to be an entrepreneur, and hence, I quit immediately to start my own journey.

My wife, CA Deepika Singhania Periwal (by the way, we both met at EY. So EY has played a significant role in both my professional and personal lives, and has greatly supported me.

And now you know why my struggle was even harder… It was not only about learning, working, and studying but also about managing our relationship.

I then embarked on my entrepreneurial journey and started my consulting firm. Trust me, so many people said, “Life is perfect; you are employed with the best of the companies; you get paid enough; then why do you want to risk it and get into your own venture, etc.”

A lot of questions played on my mind as well; however, the benefits of my struggling to make my venture a success were far more than the regrets of not giving it a try. Hence, there was no looking back!

Since I had worked in the corporate world for almost a decade, I was sure that getting clients would be a cakewalk.

Reality check: it was a struggle again. So every day for almost 12 months we struggled, and I pushed myself harder.

The more we struggled, the more we were motivated and pushed ourselves. The closer we got to success, the more likely we were to succeed.

However, with this success came another struggle: managing the cash flows from my clients.

My three years as a self-adviser had given me a good taste of bad debt. After experiencing it, I always wanted to know the recourse I could take against non-paying clients or the steps I could have taken before engaging with them.

On a daily basis, after my normal working hours, I would sit and research how we could find a way to help companies know about the histories of their customers. That’s when “Debtors Watch” was born.

I knew this was another journey of struggle, but our vision of helping businesses prevent bad debt and improve their cash flows kept us ahead, and we won the confidence of many companies that believed in this platform.

My advice to all

• We all have the power to make our lives the way we want them to be; there are no limitations.
• “The struggle can lead to failure only if you give up on yourself,” he concluded.