Aditya BhansaliFounder of The Pen World Published On: Monday, November 16, 2015 Views 4003

"These woods are lovely, dark and deep, but I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep".

There was a time when most of the entrepreneurs were in the age bracket of 35-40 years. However, times have changed and the booming startup ecosystem in India is bringing innovative minds to the forefront at a very young age. Aditya Bhansali is one of those tech enthusiasts who have managed to make a name for them in the business world even before completing graduation.

He came to the forefront for launching his own startup in the first year of the college. He started the e-commerce website, “ThePenWorld” and took care of the entire front end and back end operations. He started with a single supplier in 2012; today The Pen World has over 15 suppliers from all parts of India. His ingenuity and perseverance helped in quadrupling the revenues in 1 year.

Please provide a brief overview of your product/ service.

ThePenWorld.com was started to help people buy genuine luxury writing instruments online while giving them a boutique experience. We are always on the lookout for new & very well known brands that our customers might love.

What inspired you to build the above product/ service?

In my first year at college I got to know from my roommate from Hissar Haryana that luxury items such as writing instruments and accessories are not available in small cities, towns and villages. Thats when I decided to start.

What is your life mantra?

All in or nothing.

What was the most challenging part of your journey till now?

Scaling up a niche business and balancing work with academics during exams.

How did you overcome those challenges?

I am still working on scaling it up. As for academics I had to burn the midnight oil to maintain some balance.

Share some details about the investments that you have been able to fetch for the business till now.

ThePenWorld.com has been bootstrapped for the last two years. It was started with the money saved during birthdays and festivals over the last 10 years.

According to you, what are the three qualities an individual must have to achieve success?

Persistence. I shall know what the other two are when I am successful.

Which online tools/ services/ apps do you use the most and would like to recommend as well?

Most of the apps and tools I use are industry specific like the Fedex App and After Ship. Some other general purpose tools I use extensively are Dropbox, Linkedin and Slack.

Share any one habit which you think makes you more productive.

Sometimes my flexibility in terms of time while working with others make me more productive.

Share any one habit which you wish to change in yourself.

I would like to be more consistent in waking up early as it helps getting work done better and faster.

Answer in less than 50 words

One tip to success:

Intelligent persistence usually does the trick. You should know when to stop and when to push. When you are unsure keep pushing!

One mistake you believe every individual must avoid:

Before taking any risk make sure its calculated risk. Lack of research is something you must avoid.

What are your plans for next 3 years?

Scaling up ThePenWorld.com and expanding to various new verticals. As a continuation of my college project Team Jaabaz (www.teamjaabaz.com) I would want to work in the motorsports industry in some capacity.

If you get a chance to start your career again what would you do differently this time?

I would invest a lot of time on research and learning.

Share a quote that inspires you the most.

“These woods are lovely, dark and deep, but I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep”.

Tags: Aditya Bhansali The Pen World Interview