The Biography of a Failed Venture: Decoding Success Secrets from the Blackbox of a Dead Start-Up By Prashant Desai

NEWS PROVIDED BY HarperCollins Publishers India

THE STORY OF A TRULY INDIAN SPORTS BRAND THAT COULD GO PLACES BUT FAILED

Former cricketer of India Virender Sehwag has highlighted the need to talk about mistakes — be it in cricket, business or life and has announced a new book titled ‘The Biography of a Failed Venture’. the book has been authored by Prashant Desai. The book was published by HarperCollins India

About The Book: Prashant Desai was seven when he lost his father. Growing up in poverty, his single-minded focus was to become wealthy and successful. Ranking fourth on the all-India Cost and Works Accountants exam at the age of twenty-one, joining the corporate world and working with leaders such as Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, Kishore Biyani, and Jignesh Shah was a dream run that Prashant enjoyed, one that very few could even imagine and achieve.

The Print

Prashant Desai was seven when he lost his father. Growing up in poverty, his single-minded focus was to become wealthy and successful. Ranking fourth on the all-India Cost and Works Accountants exam at the age of twenty-one, joining the corporate world and working with leaders such as Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, Kishore Biyani, and Jignesh Shah was a dream run that Prashant enjoyed, one that very few could even imagine and achieve.

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The Literature today

In April 2017, Prashant Desai founded a venture to build the first truly Indian sports brand – D:FY. In six months, Rajiv Mehta, who started Puma India and led it for seven years, joined him as a partner. They opened seventeen stores in seven cities, riding on great aspirations and confidence. The business lost Rs 30 crore in thirty months, virtually wiping out all that Prashant had earned for nearly thirty years. The venture failed not because Prashant did not possess the necessary vision, determination, and courage; it failed because the number of things Prashant did wrong exceeded the number of things he did right.

One could weep over the fuselage or decode the black box. So, when Prashant decided to decode it, new possibilities emerged, revealing a treasure trove of success secrets. The Biography of a Failed Venture provides a brutally honest account of why D: FY failed and how entrepreneurs can avoid these pitfalls to make their business ventures successful.

‘We all make mistakes, even though we all like to think we do not. Whilst we all learn from our mistakes, very few consistently remember them. And even fewer share theirs. Through this book, Prashant has attempted to celebrate mistakes. He has shown us how not to be afraid of making mistakes, how to try and avoid them, as well as consistently learn from them. A lot of insights for budding entrepreneurs in Prashant’s book. A highly recommended read.’
Review by
ATUL KAPUR, co-founder and CIO, Everstone Group

About The Author: Prashant Desai is a senior director at Everstone Group, a leading India-focused South East Asia private firm with investments across private equity, real estate, green energy, and venture capital. He is currently the head of a strategy and investor relations at Burger King India. Prashant is also a trained speed reader and a half marathoner with forty timed runs. He is dedicated to spreading financial literacy through his social media channels. You may reach out to Prashant on Instagram.

About HarperCollins Publishers: HarperCollins Publishers India is a subsidiary of HarperCollins Publishers. HarperCollins India publishes some of the finest writers from the Indian Subcontinent and around the world, publishing approximately 200 new books every year, with a print and digital catalogue of more than 2,000 titles across 10 imprints. Its authors have won almost every major literary award including the Man Booker Prize, JCB Prize, DSC Prize, New India Foundation Award, Atta Galatta Prize, Shakti Bhatt Prize, Gourmand Cookbook Award, Publishing Next Award, Tata Literature Live Award, Gaja Capital Business Book Prize, BICW Award, Sushila Devi Award, Prabha Khaitan Woman’s Voice Award, Sahitya Akademi Award and the Crossword Book Award. HarperCollins India has been awarded the Publisher of the Year Award three times: at Publishing Next in 2015, and at Tata Literature Live! in 2016 and 2018.HarperCollins India also represents some of the finest publishers in the world including Egmont, Oneworld, Harvard University Press, Bonnier Zaffre, Usborne, Dover, and Lonely Planet.