Have you ever considered starting your own business while studying to be a chartered accountant or CPA?
Or have you considered participating in various college activities while studying to be a CA or CPA?
In fact, in this article, Devesh Mundra shares with us his journey of how he started three startups while studying to be a chartered accountant. He also participated in various college activities and cleared his CA exams as well.
So in this article, you will learn how to chase your passion and never wait for the so-called “right time,” along with how to prioritize your exams.
Devesh is a chartered accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI). He is also a chartered accountant or CPA
Currently, Devesh is an equity research intern at SBICAP Securities.
How California Happened
Since I scored well in class 10, I got an opportunity to join Narsee Monjee College of Commerce and Economics.
While in classes 11 and 12, I had a very different approach. Instead of just focusing on studies and classes, I enrolled in various sports activities to keep myself engaged.
I learned to play lawn tennis and played at the club level.
I was also privileged to get trained for air pistol shooting under Mr. Ronak Pandit (he is a gold winner at the Common Wealth Games). Knowing him and his journey has been such an inspiration.
I was also appointed as the joint secretary of the planning forum at NM College. This was indeed a great experience. It gave me an opportunity to conduct events, guest lectures, mock stock exchange simulators, and a lot more.
Later on, I was also recognized as the best organizer in 2012 by the Planning Forum of NM College for the contribution I made to make things successful.
While I was in class 12, a lot of my friends and classmates were studying to be chartered accountants.
Knowing that CA is difficult to clear and more of a distance education than an MBA, which is school-based, I was reluctant to pursue it.
I registered for the CPT (ICAI’s first-level CA exam), but changed my mind at the last minute and jumped to give BBA entrance exams across India.
Luckily, I got into one of the best colleges in India for my BBA. However, I decided to stay at NM College and complete my education there.
So, I chose NM College over the other business school I went to.
By then I was through CPT, so continuing with IPCC was a natural decision (IPCC is the 2nd level CA exam from ICAI). The IPCC is divided into two groups (Group 1 and Group 2).
Journey in Degree College & IPCC
My journey through degree college (classes 13, 14, and 15) was amazing.
With a background in the National Cadet Corps (NCC) at school, joining the National Service Scheme (NSS) at college was obvious.
NCC prioritized physical strength and rigorous training, whereas NSS was the polar opposite.
It was inclined towards hard-core social service, which includes conducting blood donation drives, voter ID registration camps, beach clean-ups, village adoptions, and a lot more in a two-year program.
During my tenure at NSS, a sense of responsibility towards people and the environment developed. There was a force within to right the wrongs I saw in the rural and other project areas we worked on.
I also got the opportunity to lead a few events. The sense of satisfaction was amazing.
I became vocal about the issues and participated in talks and debates in college and elsewhere. I took it a step further and started writing on social and governance issues.
One of my articles got published in the magazine “One India, One People.”
Another contribution was to write an article for the college magazine for their Golden Jubilee Year Celebrations. I was conferred a special prize for writing that year.
Things didn’t stop there.
It was time to look within for the problems happening in my own house, i.e., my college.
There were real issues, and the solution was the IPCC.
I got elected as a Council Member of the Students Council at NM College and addressed a few problems during my tenure.
You might be wondering how it was done. by gathering information and problems at the student level, devising a variety of solutions for them, and escalating them to senior professors and the principal. I must say, it wasn’t easy!
The energy kept coming. I came across a Youth Parliament Program taking place at St. Xavier’s College that was organized by PRS Legislative Research.
Having been elected as the Minister of Law and Justice for a day, I addressed key issues taking place in India, debated over them, found solutions, and got the house and the opposition’s confidence.
With the on-going desire to continue sports, I got into the college baseball team, representing NM College at the university level.
These things surely taught me a lot, but they also cost me something—my CA studies. I could not clear my CA IPCC exams.
It was a setback, but yes, only because I had to introspect and prioritize a few things.
I set my schedule up and decided to focus on what was important—the IPCC exams. My two-year tenure at NSS also came to an end.
Luckily, on my second attempt, I cleared my CA IPCC exams.
After my CA IPCC exams, I was relatively free and decided to lead my college contingent for various college festivals.
I became the Asst. Contingent Leader for my college for two of the best college festivals in Mumbai, Malhar, i.e., the annual festival of St. Xavier’s College, and Kshitij, i.e., the annual festival of Mithibai College.
Making sure our team wins all the events we participate in was our motto.
First entrepreneurial attempt
Can a start-up idea get conceived in a college canteen? Yes!
It happened during my final year in college when I was sitting with two of my friends in the canteen.
Our plan was to organize adventure tours and sports for college students and corporations. Yes, we did it.
We called it “YouthKonnect,” and we conducted activities like waterfall rappelling, scuba diving, river rafting, trekking, etc.
We were operational for a year and planned a lot of trips and events.
It was quite challenging and taught us people management skills to a great extent.
College was over by then.
Since we belonged to different courses and were no longer going to be in regular touch, we decided that each one handled an independent area of that start-up.
Lessons Learned
Respecting each other
- My first startup, Youth Konnect, had three co-founders.
- Because there were three of us working together, we needed to have mutual trust and understanding.
- The level of trust, understanding, and respect you have for your co-founders makes a big difference.
- There has to be trust to believe in a risky event in terms of break-even, profitability, etc. The projections in terms of the number of people attending and cost estimates can go wrong, but you need to trust someone’s vision.
- Respect comes into play when one of the plans suggested by any one of the founders fails. It is important to respect the efforts put into making the plan and executing it, even during the worst times.
- The three of us are still on each other’s speed dial, and we cherish those days.
Never, ever give up.
- When we first started Youth Konnect, our 1st trip was to Tarkarli (a scuba diving spot in Maharashtra), which was a loss-making venture as only 50% of the expected people agreed to come.
- So we reached a point where we thought of scrapping the entire trip, but we pushed each other and agreed to bear the loss.
- Had we scrapped the whole thing in tough times, I could have had a lot of negatives to say about the venture!
- We would have lost the confidence of our first-ever adventure seekers that they showed in us.
Second Attempt at Entrepreneurship
Soon after Youth Konnect, I founded another venture named “Kolad Rafters,” which entirely focused on Kolad, one of the best places for river rafting in Maharashtra.
The business was totally driven through a website that I developed.
I had good clients, with Hamleys and KPMG being the best ones for their corporate needs.
Rafting takes place around the year at Kolad as it is a dam-controlled river, but the best time to visit is during the monsoons when the dam is full.
As a result, it became primarily a seasonal business, and I decided to resume it only during the following season.
But yes, a good deal of social media marketing and client management were things that I learned from it.
Lessons Learned
Information Gap
- Just to quote a very basic example that never struck my mind, one of my clients wasn’t aware of the no pets policy at the rafting area two years ago. My client assumed that it wouldn’t be a problem.
- However, he later realized that pets were actually not allowed, and someone had to stay back with the pet since the rafting trainers were not assuming any responsibility for the same. My client was disappointed.
- There is no clear right or wrong, but as a customer, the expectations are high, and you need to fill in any information gaps between what you are giving and what the customer is expecting.
- So I kept updating my FAQs on the website as and when I came across such things.
Marketing
- The best part about running my own venture early on was learning marketing skills.
- Marketing is very important. I’ve learned social media marketing for my own ventures.
- I had paid Google, Facebook, and other social media venues to push my product to the relevant target audience in terms of age, location, likes, dislikes, etc. That got me the right inquiries and business later on.
- The majority of my clients came from online marketing, which was followed by traditional marketing (free samples, coupons, offers, packages, and pamphlets).
- I would encourage chartered accountants and others in the finance domain to learn about marketing. Changing with the times is very important.
Third Entrepreneurship Attempt
One day I happened to visit a food outlet in Irla (a busy shopping street in Mumbai) and saw something very interesting. It was a fried spiral potato on a stick with different sauces over it!
I decided to start one of these on my own.
Within a month, I put up my own food outlet called “Potato Twist” in one of the busiest shopping streets in Lokhandwala (Andheri, Mumbai).
The response was great, as I was one of the first movers in this innovative food segment in Mumbai.
Soon after that, I got it listed on Zomato, which attracted a lot of freelance food bloggers to come down and cover my story. It was a hit!
I catered to individual customers as well as large-scale events.
From inventory management, staff handling, quality management, and advertising, everything was a challenge.
Sometimes it used to get a little difficult to manage everything since I had my articleship and CA Final classes to manage as well. But I kept going.
After almost a year of running Potato Twist, I realized that it was time to focus on my CA final exams.
Just six months before my CA Final exams, I made the conscious decision to wind up everything and focus only on my CA Final exams.
Why did I sell my last venture?
My priority was qualifying as a Chartered Accountant (CA).
I knew I could start my venture even after my CA exams. But to study and pursue my CA, the only time was now.
I didn’t want to be stuck in a situation where my business was failing and I couldn’t pass my CA exams.
So my thought was to do the right thing at the right time.
The earlier I completed my CA studies, the more time I would have to enjoy things.
All I can say is to do the right things at the right time and have faith. Nothing is going to run away.
CA’s Last Journey
Finally, I got study leave from my CA firm in the last week of December.
With about 4 months of study leave at my disposal, I put everything I had into passing the CA Final on the first try.
Four months were difficult, I must say. The term “electronic commerce” refers to the sale of electronic goods.
Also, a lot of classes were missed due to my past activities, but I somehow managed.
When the results were announced, my hard work paid off: I passed my CA Final exams on the first try in May’18!
The feeling was amazing.
So far, the journey has been amazing, with the most supportive family and super talented friends.
So what now? I will make my career in capital markets—research, advisory, and wealth.
I am also a CFA and FRM aspirant.
My Advice
From the standpoint of my studies, I was confident that I would pass the CA Final exams on the first try. So I prioritized things that way.
I kept following a lot of faculties and got continuous motivation from them.
I didn’t go for a full-fledged mock exam because I don’t like that approach, but yes, to test myself, I wrote mock papers for 2-3 subjects.
Yes, you have to make notes; otherwise, it is not possible to revise the entire portion on the last day. It is literally impossible!
Having the correct mental frame, staying healthy, and being focused This can surely help to clear things up.
MY ADVICE
- I encourage students pursuing the CA and other professional exams to participate in various activities, sports, and events.
- So all I want to say is that, personally, you don’t have to regret not doing something that you actually wanted to do, and this is something you have to answer for yourself.
- So, if you have considered doing something and it is sensible and you strongly desire to do it, go ahead and do it. What is the maximum amount you can lose? What’s the point of being afraid if I assume nothing or that it may be insignificant?
- The term “responsibility” refers to the act of determining whether or not a person is responsible for his or her own actions and if you succeed, the upside is unlimited.
- I did not make millions through my startups, but I did recover all the money I invested in all my startups. And more than money, at the age of 21, I had so much practical knowledge and a strong network!
- More than the money, the learning experience is unparalleled.
In Conclusion
I am always proactive, and I see failure, genuinely, only when I have failed in my own eyes and not how others define failure. This is because everyone has different plans, dreams, visions, and interests.
You are not going to get praise from everyone for everything you do.
If you feel like doing something and it’s reasonable, consult with 1-2 close friends and go for it, he concluded.
