Surabh Sharma is the Chief Everything Officer of FutureWagon, and this says almost everything about his vast range of skills. His passion for technology, design, marketing and business laid the foundation stone of FutureWagon, an emerging branding solutions company that specializes in web design and marketing solutions.
An emotional conversation with his father ingrained the idea of entrepreneurship in his mind and gave birth to the company that is quickly establishing a name in web services industry. Read this personal interview of the young entrepreneur, and learn what feeds his imaginative spirit.
Please provide a brief overview of your product/ service.
Futurewagon Consulting was conceived as a wagon (Business) that would take people and their businesses into the future by providing them state of the art Custom designed Websites, Graphic design solutions and E-Marketing consulting.
What inspired you to build the above product/ service?
A mindset change, early on in life. Let me share a simple incident, that changed my outlook completely.
Years back when I was about 15 years old, my father probably came home from a bad day at his job. He was hurt by something his boss told him. He had tears in his eyes and with a really intense tone told me “Son, never ever work for someone.” I am sure he didn’t mean it completely and it was more of a statement due to the emotional anguish caused that day. But, the statement hit me like a brick. After years of sailing through life, working at a job and crossing path’s with so many other job goers, I understand the meaning and depth in the statement a little more each day.
What is your life mantra?
To be and make people happy.
What was the most challenging part of your journey till now?
To take every step forward was a challenge in itself. The first step was the most challenging. To come back to India from UK and not getting a well paid job as per societal norms and at the same time wanting to start something of my own was not very well received by my support system.
I realised I had to let go of any support that I had – Emotional, Economical, Mental & Physical. Become vulnerable and jump out of my comfort cliff into the open to get started.
How did you overcome those challenges?
I think the burning desire to fly on my own, I was fuelling did the trick. I made it a point to surround myself with stories of successful entrepreneurs. I knew the challenges I am likely to face have been overcome by people smarter than me. I just had to stay humble, open minded and willing to learn from wherever the lessons came. This kept me going no matter what the challenge was.
How do you protect yourself from the problem of Brain Drain?
At our associate companies, we only employ people who are convinced that they are going to be ultimate winners and it is they who are going to benefit each day by working with us.
When one such person joins, we just do everything to make sure the person is benefited each day. This brings about a feeling of growth, and folks, Growth = Happiness. Very few people would like to leave something that makes them happy. Be it a lover, job or city!
According to you, what are the three qualities an individual must have to achieve success?
I’ll risk limiting the quality to just one:
1. Absolute clarity of WHAT success means and WHY is it needed?
If one has the above sorted, I think rest of the necessary qualities are born and nourished almost automatically.
Which online tools/ services/ apps do you use the most and would like to recommend as well?
Zoho Invoice, Zoho books, Evernote, Dropbox, Google docs.
Share any one habit which you think makes you more productive.
Yoga, meditation or exercise everyday. Makes me feel fresh like a new born ready to take on the world!
Share any one habit which you wish to change in yourself.
I catch myself being a little unkind to people at times. I need to live as humbly, gently and gracefully as possible.
Answer in less than 50 words
A little unusual tip to break the monotony, Constantly surround yourself with people whom you think are successful, wildly. They magically radiate qualities, mindsets and everything else thats needed to become like them.
Something to be careful about, if you are spending time with people who are unhappy and constantly complain about situations, you will end up being unhappy and a whiner. Beware!
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One mistake you believe every individual must avoid:
Whining, complaining and generally being ungrateful and sore. There is so much to be grateful for. Gratefulness = Instant happiness.
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One most important lesson that you have learnt till now:
People flourish when you appreciate them, genuinely.
What are your plans for next 3 years?
>To set the company on auto pilot mode. Meaning, put people, systems and processes in place that my involvement is no longer needed for its functioning and growth.
If you get a chance to start your career again what would you do differently this time?
I am actually quite happy with the way it has turned out so far, No complaints honestly.
I would probably re live through it but this time, living and enjoying more on the edge. Taking those little risks and being out of my comfort zone a tad too often!
What are your top three getaway destinations ?
1. Nottingham, UK – Because of the numerous university memories attached to the place.
2. Kashmir, India – Because, I simply loved the last scene in the movie 3 idiots.
3. Phuket, Thailand – Because I love beaches, colours, seclusion and everything in between.
Share a quote that inspires you the most.
“The secret of life, though, is to fall seven times and to get up eight.”
— Paulo Coelho (The Alchemist)