Gourav Jaswal is a Goa-based entrepreneur who founded his flagship company Synapse a decade-and-a-half ago. Since then, he has set up eight companies that cater to 170-plus clients and have almost 100 employees. He defines himself as a parallel rather than a serial entrepreneur, as he has stayed involved with all the businesses he has started.
In Part 1 of this podcast, he talks about how he came to Goa, a place where siesta is part of the way of life, not to retire but to start a business. And why he feels that people wanting to ‘retire at 40’, or taking up engagements that are not centred on contribution, is a trend where we all lose. As a counterpoint, he gives the example of Shoppers Stop’s BS Nagesh who has founded a non-profit, trrain.org. This is not a commercial source of opportunity and employment for him, but he is making a meaningful contribution by devoting his time, energy and focus to it.
In Part 2, Jaswal talks about how small steps across a period of time led to major milestones in his journey as an entrepreneur, and the beliefs that drive him: everything yields to intelligence, extraordinary hard work, and a systematic plan. So, if you have the motivation, you can succeed at anything.
In Part 3, he shares his experiences as a first-generation entrepreneur and the factors that have helped him build a high-trust workplace: authenticity, integrity and transparency. Even though he makes mistakes, these attributes are valued and have helped his companies attract brighter, more capable and experienced people than companies their size deserve.
About this series
Turning Point features conversations with entrepreneurs on the key challenges they faced and their learnings
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