I asked my ex-boss to fire me.
After I almost lost a $1m deal for our fund.
But what he said to me after realizing my mistake would go on to impact my career forever.
Here’s the full story:
I was depressed.
That night, I buried my head under my covers imagining Harish's disappointment.
I convinced myself that I didn't deserve to work there anymore.
But here’s where it all started.
It’s 2018.
I had just completed my masters in Australia when seniors in my network connected me with my ex-boss (Harish).
Harish was the head of the private equity division in one of Singapore’s largest banks. But was looking at newer pastures , and starting to build his own fund.
Before my interview, he sent a deal he wanted me to look at and share my thoughts on.
While I had no formal education in working with such deals, I was committed to blowing this man out of the water.
After hours of research and interrogating my friends in that industry, I hit 'submit' on my email.
A few days later, I got on a call with Harish and I was hired.
For the next 3 years,
Harish scaled the fund to one of Singapore top up & coming investment banking firms.
I took on tasks I had no formal experience in like attracting potential stake holders.
I kept meeting Harish's expectations, until the day I f*cked up.
That day, Harish, yet again, gave me a role I had no experience in. Still I wanted to prove I could do whatever he asked just like the last time.
But I made a silly mistake that almost cost us a big deal.
Surprisingly, Harish was calm.
He showed me my error, taught me how to do better, and offered to take me out for a drink. With embarrassment stamped on my face, I told him I'll go only if he would let me pay for the drink.
He complied.
While we sat down, waiting for our orders, I broke the silence by telling him to let me leave Silk Partners (our fund).
Harish, then shocked, stared me dead in the eyes and said something that stuck with me till this day:
“Mistakes are common.
If you want people with a skill-set , you will find 100s of them. But if you want people with mind-set , you will barely find any.”
He added:
"That’s what I like about you; your grit. With that, you can acquire the skills and lead the skilled ones too.”
Since then, whenever I was hiring, I always picked steadfastness over skill.
Harish would later become the first investor for my first startup, Cosmofeed, which now has 3.2 million users.
You don’t have to be a genius to start a business. You need grit.
- Post that content
- Start that business
- Launch that course
- Build that community
Grit too is a skill.
Here's how to build it: Do one thing that makes you uncomfortable everyday.
That's it.
If you enjoyed this...
Then follow me @startwithvivek for more.
Kindly repost this to get more eyeballs.
@KlookTravel your support is ridiculous. I am on the support bot for 1 hour and the queue number isn't moving. If you don't have folks to attend at least put that out transparently instead of fooling customers
You can post 100 times with no results.
Or post 10 times with the right strategy and win.
Content without positioning = noise.
Positioned content = power.
You can post 100 times with no results.
Or post 10 times with the right strategy and win.
Content without positioning = noise.
Positioned content = power.
Here’s how I helped a creator scale from $500 to $5K/month:
• Fixed their messaging
• Rebuilt content pillars
• Added CTAs in every post
• Tracked the metrics
No hacks. Just systems.
I used to overthink every post.
Now I just solve one problem at a time.
You don’t need to be perfect.
You just need to be useful.
Clarity > Creativity.
worried what people will think
when you post
when you sell
when you try
but most of them aren’t watching
and the ones who are
wish they had your courage