Jugaad, thy name is Deepak Thakur. So said his friends and business colleagues when they thought of him. But sometimes, he was hustling because he liked to... the others because he had to. He learnt early in life that No one wants to support you at the start of your journey. But once they see your success, they all want to be friends again.
Deepak is your average boy-next-door whose story started typically. A Graduate of Delhi University who started working in the corporate sector with companies like Royal Bank of Scotland and AON Hewitt, he had spent 9 years of life doing what most his age had thought of doing. Sure there were distractions. The cool-looking life of the corporates, hanging out and chilling with friends, love affairs that keep us busy and perhaps nibble away at our focus - all of us have been through spaces like these that momentarily take us away from what we initially set out to do. Deepak was doing good at the job too. By nature, he was an achiever. So it was not surprising for him to become the youngest team leader in his organization.
But when one's nature is against a mediocre 9-to-5, it doesn't let you sit in peace for too long. Deepak being himself always wanted to do something on his own. You can gauge the depth of the urge from the fact that he was selling comic books when he was 10 years old. The urge grew but the family was not supportive looking at what he was achieving professionally already. There were questions that he didn't have practical answers to -
Why quit a stable job?
Who would shoulder the burden of the expenses?
Why don't you pursue an IAS degree instead?
Isn't there something you could do in parallel rather than leaving the job altogether?
Family situations had their role to play but you can't keep brilliance too long in the dark.
Life isn't a bed of roses for all of us. But some of us do take up the effort to convert even our thorns into roses. Deepak started working on an MLM (multi-level marketing) business. It wasn't a full-fledged venture but it surely brought the spark back to his dreams. He started to regain his lost confidence. And that was all that was required.
In 2018, he finally quit his job and took up MLM full-time. It was amazing. It was inspiring. It was him!! For the first time in his life, he felt success and that everything was just going his way. Until of course, the world fell into the throes of Covid. His business hit rock bottom and Deepak almost ran bankrupt. He had to sell his assets to recover the losses and life was back to Square one.
It broke our heart when we asked him what he was going through at the time and he worded it almost perfectly..."Waqt ne Kaha 100 Baar haraya hai Tujhe our Kitna ladega, Maine Bhi dia, ae Waqt, Bas Ek Baar hi to harana hai Tujhe fir tu bhi badal jayega." He had not given up, yet.
The car industry always fascinated him. And for him, Covid became the turning point that he was looking for to get his in, into the car services niche. THE SERV was born.
Deepak designed THE SERV to be a multi-vendor option for car service, online car bookings and is also planning to set up a virtual car showroom where patrons can have a one-stop-shop to evaluate and buy cars. All within the comfort of their homes, with the guided assistance of experts.
Whenever he thinks of his journey so far he gets a bit emotional because it has never been easy, he failed multiple times to find success at least once and yet the journey continues. Families want to support but they can't always, for multiple reasons. And one needs to take that in one's stride and move on, believes Deepak. He fondly remembers his MLM hustle days. So much so, that he calls it a life skill every entrepreneurial aspirant should work on, at least once in their lifetime to unleash their full potential.
It is a difficult thing to be a Founder. You always want everything to be perfect for your organization but not everything is under your control. Deepak believes you have to be multi-functional, multi-dimensional, omnipresent - be it sales, service, or technology. Deepak says you have to ensure 100% deliverance to every single customer that comes to your business, yourself in the initial stages till you build a team that is formidable enough to take it over from you.
Personal life though has taken a backseat, with the hot pursuit of his venture's success - but yet, life does go on. Deepak has recently been blessed with a baby boy. He looks at this important event as a juncture for him to work harder and secure a better future for his family and for his child. He wants his baby to pursue his dreams and for that they need money. Deepak says on a parting note, that money cannot buy happiness but it does buy you the freedom to do things you like. And we say, aye!
The most important thing in life is Focus on WHY instead of How, when your Why is clear you will find or create a How and Focus comes from Discipline, Dedication, and Determination.
Deepak Thakur, Founder, The SERV
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