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The Biography of a Failed Venture: Decoding Success Secrets from the Blackbox of a Dead Start-Up
THE STORY OF A TRULY INDIAN SPORTS BRAND THAT COULD GO PLACES BUT FAILED
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.
In April 2017, Prashant Desai founded a venture to build the first truly Indian sports brand - 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 failed and how entrepreneurs can avoid these pitfalls to make their business ventures successful.
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.
In April 2017, Prashant Desai founded a venture to build the first truly Indian sports brand - 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 failed and how entrepreneurs can avoid these pitfalls to make their business ventures successful.
275 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 26, 2021
27 people are currently reading
352 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
February 1, 2022
As the author said, this is a brutal honest account of one's entrepreneurial journey which had a bitter ending. I don't term this as a failure, rather I would call it a great experience. Emotion and passion may instigate the fire of entrepreneurship but shall not persist unless we had numbers right, since the stage of inception of idea. His writing style was also clear and crisp. This is a must read, if you are an aspiring entrepreneur especially in India.
I'm giving four, because i believe there is always a scope for improvement.
I'm giving four, because i believe there is always a scope for improvement.
December 17, 2021
I have always enjoyed reading where things did not go as envisaged. After all, 'no one knows anything beyond a point..' Interesting and a fast read.
From the book/ There is no experience of making a mistake. There is an experience of realizing that I made mistakes. Mistakes are always past tense and that is the beauty. It is never that I am wrong; it is always that I was wrong.
From the book/ There is no experience of making a mistake. There is an experience of realizing that I made mistakes. Mistakes are always past tense and that is the beauty. It is never that I am wrong; it is always that I was wrong.
February 3, 2022
An avoidable first half, the second half are a bit interesting, but the narrative gets repetitive and irritating at times.
A story of a failure, you might get some takeaways from this story, the journey of an entrepreneur is a marathon with no end.
A story of a failure, you might get some takeaways from this story, the journey of an entrepreneur is a marathon with no end.
October 29, 2022
Too good!
December 1, 2021
A extremely realistic and vulnerable account of how a founder's vision for a "Made in India, for India" shoes brand faced challenges in implementation and had to shut down eventually. Through this book, the author, Prashant Desai helps peer entrepreneurs navigate through the pitfalls that startups potentially face from ideation to implementation. Written more like an autobiography, tracing the author's childhood through adult years to the decision to move onto entrepreneurship from a well established corporate employment - the book touches upon both scientific as well as philosophical elements of the journey
One of the first things I did after reading the book, was to hop onto Amazon to look for whether a "D:FY" product was still available on sale? It was, and I ordered one, not because I needed it, but as a souvenir of the vision, the passion, and panache that Prashant Desai attempted something that so many industry stalwarts were dead against
One of the most inspiring business books that I've read this year! Definitely recommend reading!
One of the first things I did after reading the book, was to hop onto Amazon to look for whether a "D:FY" product was still available on sale? It was, and I ordered one, not because I needed it, but as a souvenir of the vision, the passion, and panache that Prashant Desai attempted something that so many industry stalwarts were dead against
One of the most inspiring business books that I've read this year! Definitely recommend reading!
August 29, 2022
I finished this book in the audible book format keeping it on 1.5x speed. There were some positive of the book.
The author starts well with a masala bollywoodesque storyline. One cannot but sympathize with the author and at one point you want his organization to succeed knowing fully well it would not. The fervor of the first half nosedives in the second. One is left wondering if this is the same author who wrote the first half. The second half of the books is very repetitive and devoid of deeper insights. The author lays out the cause of the failure broadly and fails to dig deeper. A rich knowledge base unfortunately lost. I imagine reading the book would be a boring affair.
A book which promised a lot but failed to live up to it's expectation. I would encourage the author to come up with a sequel or even revise the book to include deeper insights which led to his organization going bankrupt.
The author starts well with a masala bollywoodesque storyline. One cannot but sympathize with the author and at one point you want his organization to succeed knowing fully well it would not. The fervor of the first half nosedives in the second. One is left wondering if this is the same author who wrote the first half. The second half of the books is very repetitive and devoid of deeper insights. The author lays out the cause of the failure broadly and fails to dig deeper. A rich knowledge base unfortunately lost. I imagine reading the book would be a boring affair.
A book which promised a lot but failed to live up to it's expectation. I would encourage the author to come up with a sequel or even revise the book to include deeper insights which led to his organization going bankrupt.
September 14, 2021
A book on failures - a rarity in a sea of success stories
This book gave me a deep undestanding of how a top dog goes about setting up a business selling shoes from scratch. Prashant Desai does a great job giving us insights into the innerworkings and the potential decisions awaiting an entrepreneur on his journey. How he navigated through them and later his analysis on where he faltered.
I believe a ventures success is determined by a seesaw balancing the good calls versus the bad ones with the good often heavier. The problem with success stories is that they tell you all the good calls and glaze past the mistakes which as it happened might have been overshadowed by the successes.
Ultimately the failures are what is crystallised and absolute. Wins are often a multiple of luck * expertise and this book gives you a lot of absolutes.
This book gave me a deep undestanding of how a top dog goes about setting up a business selling shoes from scratch. Prashant Desai does a great job giving us insights into the innerworkings and the potential decisions awaiting an entrepreneur on his journey. How he navigated through them and later his analysis on where he faltered.
I believe a ventures success is determined by a seesaw balancing the good calls versus the bad ones with the good often heavier. The problem with success stories is that they tell you all the good calls and glaze past the mistakes which as it happened might have been overshadowed by the successes.
Ultimately the failures are what is crystallised and absolute. Wins are often a multiple of luck * expertise and this book gives you a lot of absolutes.
September 20, 2021
I loved the candid retelling of the events that transpired in Prashant's life. It takes a certain amount of courage to lay out the tough events of your life on a page in the public eye. The tale is captivating and enriching. I definitely came out of this book feeling a lot more knowledgable about starting and succeeding in a business venture. Prashant highlighted misses that inadvertently led to the closure of D:FY. But I wouldn't call it a failed venture - it gave Prashant insights of a lifetime and also gave him the opportunity to share his learnings with readers.
One thing irked me while reading - the inconsistent usage of lakhs / crores / millions, sometimes in the same paragraph. While not a big deal for most readers, I was surprised the editing team didn't correct this to make it consistent.
All in all it is a good book with definitely some real life lessons!
One thing irked me while reading - the inconsistent usage of lakhs / crores / millions, sometimes in the same paragraph. While not a big deal for most readers, I was surprised the editing team didn't correct this to make it consistent.
All in all it is a good book with definitely some real life lessons!
February 16, 2022
Story of Prashant Desai as he tries to bring his business dreams into reality. Written in an easy language which can help even a person with a non-business background grasp the story shared.
Prashant Desai boldly shares his past and how it brought about professional decisions he took.
My 3 takeaways:
1) Being in a hurry/ on move is not always advisable. Sometimes one needs to slow down to sense the environment (Scalability, competitive sustainability) before getting into the business
2) Building a good network is essential (and listening to their advice too !)
3) Mitigate the risk. Get sponsors for your project. Having someone else's skin into the game brings a neutral umpire
Happy Reading!
Prashant Desai boldly shares his past and how it brought about professional decisions he took.
My 3 takeaways:
1) Being in a hurry/ on move is not always advisable. Sometimes one needs to slow down to sense the environment (Scalability, competitive sustainability) before getting into the business
2) Building a good network is essential (and listening to their advice too !)
3) Mitigate the risk. Get sponsors for your project. Having someone else's skin into the game brings a neutral umpire
Happy Reading!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 11, 2025
This is an important book written with brutal honesty. Prashanth Desai started a new venture with the motto of building a truly Indian sports brand (D:FY), selling shoes and apparel. Only a person with a large heart can accept his mistakes (some of them embarrassing ones) publicly with such honesty. He modeled his venture on the Chinese company 'Anta Sports', which built a successful business competing with global brands such as Nike and Adidas. For me, the key mistake that he highlighted in this business opportunity was that the Chinese take pride in wearing Chinese products, whereas Indians take pride in wearing international brands. The financial mistakes were also explained in a simple manner so that even readers without a financial background could easily grasp them.
September 4, 2021
Great insights but..
I became better man in terms learning from of the pure gold of knowledge and wisdom shared in this book. Thanks Prashant sir..
Now to the caveats..
The editing and story flow could've been much much better. A typical Indian English reader who gets this book for the business insights might find difficult to comprehend the timelines and story arc due to the way the time shifting is handled. Ironically, a book that talks about learning from failures seems to have not retrospected enough before going on to publishing🙂
I became better man in terms learning from of the pure gold of knowledge and wisdom shared in this book. Thanks Prashant sir..
Now to the caveats..
The editing and story flow could've been much much better. A typical Indian English reader who gets this book for the business insights might find difficult to comprehend the timelines and story arc due to the way the time shifting is handled. Ironically, a book that talks about learning from failures seems to have not retrospected enough before going on to publishing🙂
October 13, 2021
Wonderful narration by Prashant, it takes real Grit and Guts to talk about Failure and rise again from the Ashes.
what a gem and a simple to read page turner with so much depth in every chapter. It touched the soul at many levels, being a Gujju myself could relate a lot to the Wealth creation mindset and focus on outcomes and not the process.
As a country we don’t handle failure well, Prashant has done a great service to all the budding entrepreneurs, students and families. I won’t be surprised to see a movie out soon based on the book.
Wonderful read indeed !!!
what a gem and a simple to read page turner with so much depth in every chapter. It touched the soul at many levels, being a Gujju myself could relate a lot to the Wealth creation mindset and focus on outcomes and not the process.
As a country we don’t handle failure well, Prashant has done a great service to all the budding entrepreneurs, students and families. I won’t be surprised to see a movie out soon based on the book.
Wonderful read indeed !!!
November 19, 2021
Authors always share only success stories.
This is probably the first time, somebody shares his failure story and yet it remains a valuable and soulful reading.
The book by Prashant Desai on his debut (failed) attempt in establishing a start up - D:FY, the sports shoe and apparel stores is a compelling read.
The lessons he shares at the end of the book, after his failed attempt is a must-know for any businessman or entrepreneur. This is information, straight from the black box of the dead startup.
Worth the time !
This is probably the first time, somebody shares his failure story and yet it remains a valuable and soulful reading.
The book by Prashant Desai on his debut (failed) attempt in establishing a start up - D:FY, the sports shoe and apparel stores is a compelling read.
The lessons he shares at the end of the book, after his failed attempt is a must-know for any businessman or entrepreneur. This is information, straight from the black box of the dead startup.
Worth the time !
April 21, 2023
Most books talk about success and how they got there. This is a book that chronicles how the author's venture failed and how he lost almost all his life's savings. As Charlie Munger would say it is important to learn from other's mistakes and thanks to the author we do learn some of the reasons for the business failure.
There is an essay on Big Bazaar vs D-mart which I thought was totally worth the money.
The book is well written and there are several lessons in it on what not to do.
There is an essay on Big Bazaar vs D-mart which I thought was totally worth the money.
The book is well written and there are several lessons in it on what not to do.
April 30, 2024
An amazing book for entrepreneurs. It shows the journey of a founder and the ups and downs in their personal and professional lives. How they work around things and manage to build a company and even after everything goes well, the company may not survive and one fine day it can be the end for that company.
A wonderful read for people looking for business-related or entrepreneurship-related books.
A wonderful read for people looking for business-related or entrepreneurship-related books.
April 13, 2024
Prashant Desai's journey from adversity to success is both inspiring and captivating. His determination to rise above poverty and fulfill his dreams shines through every page. While the narrative is compelling, some readers may crave more depth in certain aspects of his experiences. Overall, a motivating read that reminds us that with persistence, even the loftiest goals are within reach.
July 23, 2022
This man was so full of himself. He makes everyone believe that everything he did was alright since he learnt from it but I think he ended up destroying so many lives just because he wasn't ready to listen.
July 2, 2024
An amazing book that shows what worked, did not work and absolutely flopped when it came to running a unique startup. The author has shared his journey without playing the victim nor playing as a hero. An honest dissection for aspiring entrepreneurs to learn from.
September 2, 2021
Good story. But could have been told much better.
September 16, 2021
A nicely written book that shares an entrepreneur's learnings in detail. While cautioning prospective startups, Prashant also provides useful tips.
December 27, 2021
Full of life lessons.
January 7, 2022
Learned a lot from this book.
July 8, 2022
Its a masterpiece. A lot many things to learn. How to learn from failures and accepting it.
December 31, 2022
Very few books written about failed ventures. Good read.
November 5, 2024
This book is a riveting page turner. lots to learn from Prashant’s experiences ! well-articulated.
April 10, 2023
An Honest account
A must read for all start up founders on the dos and don'ts. A book written on mistakes done and lessons learnt.
A must read for all start up founders on the dos and don'ts. A book written on mistakes done and lessons learnt.
November 10, 2022
A must read for any budding (or even well experienced) entrepreneur! The book shares the wherewithal needed to become an entrepreneur, the challenges faced, the level of details of starting and running a business that one has to go into to become a successful entrepreneur, and so much more. After reading this book, one will certainly develop a well deserved high respect for those who undertake the entrepreneurial journey.
Any country can only prosper if its people (population, government, and everyone else) encourages and supports all entrepreneurs. I think we should have an entrepreneurship celebration day in India (for the World it is 21-Aug every year). I would like it if every state, and even the larger cities, celebrate their entrepreneurs - multiple times a year! After all, it is the jobs created by them, taxes paid by their salaried employees, products and services offered by their companies to the citizens that a country and its people live well and make progress. Additionally, they devote their earnings to societal benefit, too, whether through CSR tax and activities or even otherwise. When do you think our schools and colleges will include necessary courses in entrepreneurship? I hope that day is soon for India!
Any country can only prosper if its people (population, government, and everyone else) encourages and supports all entrepreneurs. I think we should have an entrepreneurship celebration day in India (for the World it is 21-Aug every year). I would like it if every state, and even the larger cities, celebrate their entrepreneurs - multiple times a year! After all, it is the jobs created by them, taxes paid by their salaried employees, products and services offered by their companies to the citizens that a country and its people live well and make progress. Additionally, they devote their earnings to societal benefit, too, whether through CSR tax and activities or even otherwise. When do you think our schools and colleges will include necessary courses in entrepreneurship? I hope that day is soon for India!
January 17, 2022
Loved reading this book.
Lots of books have been written on people’s success , but this one is on a failure, a venture which failed terribly.
It’s interesting coz , all true incidents & stories are provided to the readers.
Just go for it.
Lots of books have been written on people’s success , but this one is on a failure, a venture which failed terribly.
It’s interesting coz , all true incidents & stories are provided to the readers.
Just go for it.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews