Kushal Lodha

She worked hard for 6 long years of her life to become a Chartered Accountant, just to realize that her manager will reschedule meetings for a cricket match and ask her to work late nights.

She waited for 26 years of her life, to get the degree of CA, just to realize that she will have to work even during her convocation day.

She was a school and college topper, joined a Big 4 corporate to build a successful career, just to hear the words, “Anna, you must stick around and change everyone’s opinion about our team”, from her managers.

She worked relentlessly beyond working hours in the hope that every successful person needs to work hard, just to realize that her manager will give a task at night and ask her to finish it by the next morning, adding to her stress levels.

She had left her hometown and her loved ones, just to realize that she would be joked by her bosses in a party that she has to work really hard!

And most importantly, she worked relentlessly, just for her life and work to end with a heartbreaking end with no one from her team attending her funeral.

I am writing this with a very heart, and literally had goosebumps while reading the letter of her mother which was addressed to EY India Chairman. Attaching a small snapshot of the same.

I really pray for her family, and may her soul rest in peace!

Because neither did she find rest, nor she found peace when she was working.

#linkedin #corporateculture #workinghours #corporatelife #ey #kushallodha

I was rejected by Deutsche Bank in the final rounds of interview where I was asked questions based on current affairs, especially with respect to banking industry, and I did not have all the answers to the questions asked.

I was rejected by BCG in the final rounds of interview and got a feedback that I need to improve upon my communication skills.

I was not shortlisted by HUL in the screening process and did not get a chance to appear for the interview.

It was tough. I somehow accepted the fact and kept moving on. The point is that every organization views an individual differently based on certain criteria. In fact, one of my friends was rejected by BCG but was selected by Bain and the other way round has happened as well.

However, the name of the company or your work profile is not going to determine how well you do in your life. It’s the sheer impact which you bring in any organization: be it a start-up or an MNC, that matters the most.

Also, it’s very important to accept any form of rejection and keep moving on instead of cribbing about the previous ones. Asking for a genuine feedback, working upon it, and ensuring that you do not repeat the mistake is crucial.

The past is done – Move On!   

#linkedin #career #rejection #failure #interviews

One of the most important skills - Communication! Master this and you will realize the results of it soon.

#communication #LinkedIn

8th June, 2020 – the first day of my corporate career and I was extremely nervous but excited at the same time. I still remember that I was heading to a new phase of my life and my parents were equally thrilled to see me work in an MNC. I come from a family background where none of my family members have worked in an MNC; thus, it was really a big thing for me and my family.

Today, it’s been exactly 2 years and the last 2 years have just come and gone in the blink of an eye.

One thing that corporate career has taught me is the concept of “Baptism by Fire”. It’s a phrase which shows that an employee is learning something new the hard way through a challenge or a difficulty. Everyone who starts their career must undergo baptism by fire, which will help imbibe the problem solving attitude and have the growth mind-set.

I remember one of my friends (Aakash Raka), had just joined a company and his manager gave him certain work to be completed by EOD. He called his manager for some clarifications and his manager responded, “I have got 99 problems and solving yours is not one of them!” Either ways, it’s important to solve all problems by your own ways and not being dependent on anyone. The more habitual you are to spoon feeding, the difficult it will become for you to grow in your career ahead.

I’ve been extremely grateful to Aditya Birla Group for giving me various opportunities right from being EA to Chief Economist to being part of Investment Team at Aditya Birla Ventures, VC Arm of ABG.

For my detailed experience, do check out the video by clicking on the link in the comments section.

What are your learnings from the corporate world? Do let me know in the comments section.

#corporateculture #adityabirlagroup #linkedinforcreators
#linkedin

Today, I turn 24 on 24! :)

What better birthday gift can I get when Mr. Deepak Parekh (Chairman, HDFC Limited) has written the Foreword for my new book, ‘Acing CA’?

What better birthday gift can I get when industry stalwarts like Hon’ble Suresh Prabhu, Padma Shri T N Manoharan, Dr. Ajit Ranade, and Mr. Ashwin Damera have endorsed the book through their blurbs?

What better birthday gift can I get when Mr. T N Manoharan and Mr. Dhiraj Khandelwal, the two most famous faces of our CA Fraternity, agreed to share their journeys and advice with all the CA Students and Professionals of India in the last 2 chapters of the book?

What better birthday gift can I get when the most popular faces of India including CA Rachana Phadke Ranade, Sharan Hegde, Anant Ladha, CFA CA CFP LL.B., and Sarthak Ahuja have recommended giving it a read?

Honestly, I had dreamt of writing a book right from my school days but I did not know I will end up doing that at the age of 24.

This book is a very light-hearted 3.5-hour read that will help you navigate through your CA Journey, and will act as a guiding light! I have shared my entire journey, who is CA Really for, how to prepare for all the 3 levels, how you manage your academics with articleship, where you should join your articleship, and what opportunities you can have once you clear your CA Exams.

However, there is one last birthday gift that I want from all of you!

The pre-orders of the same are now open, and if you can do the same, that’ll make the list of birthday gifts complete for me haha!

The first 500 people will get a signed copy of the same!

The link to pre-order the book is in the comments. Let me know once you receive it and how you find it!

Happy that I am now an author :) but sad that I am already turning old :( haha!

Special Thanks to Yashraj Sharma and the entire team for making this dream come true for me! :)

PC: Pranav Shah

#linkedin #linkedinforcreators #birthday #24at24 #book #acingca #author #kushallodha

In simple terms: Love what you do and do what you love! :)

#work #office #passion #safrifice #thoughts

The most dangerous thing in life is to have attachment.

Be it an attachment with a thing, a place, a sport, a person or money.

Why?

Because, if you get too attached to any of the ones mentioned above, and if it breaks after a point of time, you will end up losing on your mental health and tend to get distracted; which makes it difficult for you to move on in life.

Ultimately, you need to keep yourself happy and satisfied. And the only way you can be peaceful is by staying away from all sorts of attachments.

In my religion (Jainism), it is mentioned that Mohaniya karma is the most dangerous, out of all the eight karmas because 'moha' (attachment) is the root cause of all negative emotions. It is also most difficult karma to destroy. If it is destroyed fully, the self becomes free from all the negative emotions and liberation is assured.

Read in between the lines - you will understand that it is the attachment which is a problem and the only way to avoid it is to stop expecting from other people (which is easier to state but extremely difficult to implement).

Well, if you really want to get attached to something, get attached to your ultimate goal in life in order to remove all other attachments :)

#linkedin #linkedinforcreators #attachment #lifelesson #thoughts #trending #explore

The happiest moment is when your Home Town recognises you for your hard work and determination!

It was an absolute honour to be awarded as the Young Achiever by Rotary Club of Nashik!

One of my tutors had told me, “No matter what you achieve in your life, you should never forget the roots of your success - which is your school, your city, your home”!

Forever grateful to this city which helped me to transform as a better human being, every single day!

#grateful #rotaryclub #youngachiever #award #nashik #happiness

Without a CA, he is working in Valuations division at EY!

Without a CFA, he is teaching Advanced Excel at several leading institutes like IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, ISB Hyderabad, and many more!

Without an MBA, he has already taught 6,000+ students in the last few years and has become an expert in training people in Microsoft Excel.

This is the perfect example of if you have the hunger to learn a new skill, you will definitely ace it irrespective of your degrees that you have. After all, every company is now focusing on skills before hiring.

He’s none other than the Excel Expert, Chinmaya Amte.

When I met him, I was astonished to know that there is a concept of Machine Learning Algorithm in Excel that can save ton of your time and automate tasks. I had no clue that you can also get to know your hometown’s mayor or the recent stock price of your portfolio stocks using Excel.

Since he is an expert in all these things, we, at KAGR, thought let’s invite him for a full-fledged 2-day ONLINE Course titled ‘Mastering Advanced Excel’ on 24th and 25th June where he will teach you about VBA, Macros, using PowerQuery, using chatGPT and much more. If you are someone who wants to upskill and get a job in finance, I would highly recommend you all to register for this course! Of course, refunds available if you are not satisfied with the content but we bet it won’t be the case :)

Link in comments to register!

#linkedin #linkedinforcreators #excel #course #kagr #kushallodha

For 4 straight consecutive months from July to Nov 2019, I used to wake up at 5 AM sharp and sleep at 10 PM sharp!

I don’t remember a single day where I would have slept at 10.05 PM or woke up at 5.05 AM honestly.

Here’s how my schedule was looking like!

Practically speaking, even after studying for 12 hours and sleeping for 7 hours, I had 5 hours in hand to spend time on leisure activities!

Well, I am not asking you to sleep at 10 PM every night or wake up at 5 AM every single day – all I am trying to tell here is that if you have a consistent routine with disciplined habits, you will be less prone to distractions and will be able to manage everything very efficiently.

I think these 4 months have taught me the importance of self-discipline, importance of following a routine, and most importantly, significance of staying consistent in whatever you are doing.

Today, because of this sheer habit, I am able to focus on the most productive things in my life and that has really helped me in order to allocate my time efficiently to the things I want to do in my life.

This routine is not toxic at all! In fact, this routine is rejuvenating if you wait till the results, this routine is refreshing if you think about the benefits, and this routine is peaceful if you think about the harmony it brings!

Follow a disciplined routine in life! It will change your life completely!

In fact, I have made a detailed video on this topic yesterday. Link in comments to watch the entire video – 25k people have viewed it already. What are you waiting for? :)

#linkedin #linkedinforcreators #routine #discipline #consistency #kushallodha

Quitting a job is one of the toughest decisions!

I still remember the number of conversations I had with my mentors and colleagues before deciding whether to quit my job or not. After all these interactions, I realized one thing that ultimately, do what your heart says and do what you think is right for you!

For instance, I had a safety net of the income from content creation and my dad’s real estate business as a backup option! Therefore, it was easier for me to take the decision as compared to someone who would not have these safety nets in their lives! Therefore, just because someone else has quit their job or is taking a plunge into different things, don’t try to do the same thing irrespective of the fact that you respect the person or not!

Everyone has different circumstances when they take certain crucial decisions in their lives! And the bitter part is people get to know whether the decision was correct or not only after the subsequent results in the person’s life. For instance, if you become super successful after quitting your job, everyone will say that was the best decision. In case you feel you aren’t doing well, everyone will think that it was your worst decision!

What’s the point?

Pretty simple! Do what you feel is the best outcome for you without stressing too much about future possibilities! If you are really passionate about something, have certain skills to make money, and are willing to work hard for a few hours every day, then you will be able to live a comfortable life!

Just don’t fall into the constant comparison of why he/she is living a better life than me despite me working harder than the other person! I’ve seen these things happening to me multiple times but there is literally no point in complaining about these things!

Don’t overstress! Just do what you feel is right! Ultimately, everything will be okay in the end! If it’s not okay, it’s not the end :)

#linkedin #linkedinforcreators #success #stress #overthinking #mentalhealth #peace #kushallodha

Microsoft teams at its best 😅 !

Also, some of the most common sentences heard:

1. Am I audible?
2. You’re on mute!
3. Is my screen visible?
4. Thanks everyone!

Keep continuing the list in the comments section! :p

Networking is TOXIC!

Of course, if you network with the right intent and approach in a proper manner, it is easier to start conversations even with strangers. Often, at times, there are some people who generally wouldn’t prefer to network either because of bandwidth issues or they don’t feel they will get value from those conversations!

It is better to accept this and not get disheartened just because someone did not respond. Of course, a follow up or two is what you should ideally do in case of no response. In fact, I still remember that when I had written 2 follow up emails to Suresh Prabhu Sir for coming on my podcast, he had politely responded apologizing for having missed the previous emails and immediately agreed for the interview.

However, if you don’t get any response even after a couple of follow-ups, it’s better to accept the fact and not try to keep bothering the person.

The more desperate you are, lesser are the chances of you getting a response!

I have one fixed rule of networking:

Approach only those people who are humble, grounded, willing to learn from juniors and most importantly, are not coming with a mind-set of getting something from the conversation / relationship!

I really enjoy light hearted conversations as well. Not that I have many friends, but I cherish my relationships with my closed ones!

I remember an amazing quote which Ankur Warikoo had mentioned in my podcast:

“Don’t network when you need to network. Network when you really feel you want to make relation with someone!”

#linkedin #linkedinforcreators #networking #toxic #kushallodha

If there is a synonym of humility, it would be Anubhav Dubey!

He failed in CA Exams, he failed in UPSC Exam but has passed the exam of becoming a successful entrepreneur.

Well, I was listening to his Josh Talks podcast on Spotify and he mentioned that their team used to do all the labour work to avoid paying Rs. 600 to a daily wage worker. In fact, one of the business tactics used was that he invited his friends just to come and stay outside his outlet for a while. This made other people intrigued about what exactly is he selling and therefore, created a sense of need to check what exactly is the product. That’s how he acquired the first set of customers!

In fact, he also mentioned that they had employed an orphan who didn’t used to have a proper house to stay and today, that same person named Manoj, is staying in his own bungalow with his own car. That is the power of taking your founding team with you as you grow in life.

And guess what, it was a dream come true moment for me to share the stage with him at an event and embrace his humble attitude. Even after achieving a turnover of Rs. 144 crores annually, and opening up outlets in London, Vancouver, Texas, his feet always remain on ground – and that’s what I have learnt after interacting with all successful entrepreneurs in life!

Well, listening to these wonderful podcasts have really changed my way of thinking in life. I mean, you can literally listen to these podcasts while travelling, that saves your time and makes you more productive!

If you want to listen to the Spotify podcast, click on the link in the comments section and you will be charged up for sure! :)

#PodcastPeSuna #Spotify #SpotifyPartner #chaisuttabar #anubhavdubey #trending #explore

7th January, 2009 – the day when the Indian economy was stunned by one of the largest corporate frauds when Ramalinga Raju confessed in an email about the Satyam Scam.

Today, it’s been exactly 14 years but the lessons learned from the entire revival story need to be inculcated in everyone’s mind.

Going back to the past, the situation was so terrible back in 2009 that employees of Satyam in Frankfurt were getting calls from their hotel rooms where the receptionist was requesting them to vacate the room or make alternative payment arrangements.

3 Lessons that we can learn from the entire anecdote:

1. In life’s books of accounts, you don’t have contra entries. One credit doesn’t compensate for a debit. A negative multiplied by a positive is still negative! A zero multiplied by any significant number is always zero. Just as a drop of poison spoils the purity of an entire pot of milk, a single misdeed is enough to destroy goodwill built over a lifetime. This is what happened with Ramalinga Raju in the Satyam Scandal.

2. Always expect the unexpected. Some people succeed because they are destined to succeed. But many succeed because they are determined to succeed. The former, destiny, is not in our hands, but the latter, determination, is very much in our control.

3. Ability takes you to the top, but you need integrity to stay there! Who would have imagined that a 33-year-old Raju could promote, nurture and grow a company with world-class infrastructure, manned by 51,000 employees spread across 66 countries? He could reach to the top only due to his vision and sheer dedication. However, he compromised on his ethics and principles which did not allow people to remember his good deeds.

Have integrity! No one gets lost on a straight road! :)

Click on the link in the comments to watch the summarised version of the 100 days revival story! :)

#linkedin #linkedinforcreators #satyamscandal #fraud #corporatefraud #kushallodha

The steel business might look massive, but profitability is a different game.

Manish Chokhani breaks it down, explaining why this industry often struggles to generate consistent returns.

From high capital costs to fluctuating demand and global competition, the challenges are real.

Gain a deeper understanding of India's industrial landscape in our latest podcast.

#linkedin #kushallodha #linkedinforcreators #LiVideolndia #konversationwithkushal

He declined a ₹100 Crores Acquisition offer.

He then left a ₹6.5 Crore job at the age of 22 to build his own bootstrapped startup.

He even declined a package of over ₹20 Crore from BYJU's.

He has now taught 9 million+ students through his educational ventures.

He is none other than Mr. AMAN DHATTARWAL, the founder of Apni Kaksha & Apna College, who is one of the biggest faces in the realm of education.

In the latest episode of Konversation with Kushal, we spoke on his views regarding the NEET Scam, problems with the education system, Government vs Private College and everything it takes to make it big in your career.

His noble actions enabling quality education to millions of students for free is truly inspirational.

If you are looking to make it big in life, be it exams or career, this is a must watch podcast for you.

Link in the comments for the entire episode.

#linkedin #linkedinforcreators #education #entrepreneurship #kushallodha

You can live with failure but should not live with regret!

This is a line, which has been inculcated in my mind, and has a really deep meaning if you read in between the line.

Most people fail because they don’t start at the outset.

There’s a fear of being judged!

There’s a fear of ‘not able to achieve’ quickly!

There’s a fear of not being able to become successful!

There’s a fear of fulfilling other people’s expectations!

However, if you do not conquer this fear now, you cannot overcome it later in your life but will end up having that regret or guilt.

Let me share my personal story here. In my previous organization, there were some colleagues who used to make fun of me and always doubted if I used to focus on my work or not. I was depressed during that time and had stopped posting my thoughts on LinkedIn for a couple of months due to that.

However, my roommate explained me nicely:

“If you stop posting on LinkedIn, then it means they have conquered you and your life is being controlled by their actions. If you quit right now, you will never be able to share your views on any social media platform. Be authentic, be independent and be natural! No one is going to object as far as you are authentic in your actions.”

Since then, I don’t think I had the fear of sharing my thoughts and stories here. If I would have stopped, I don’t think I would have been able to achieve my dream of getting the Top Voice Award :)

Well, it is not the failure but the fear of failure that paralyses you!

Just START! :)

PS - this photo is clicked at Country Inn & Suites by Radisson, Gurgaon. Thanks for their amazing hospitality.

PC - Ishan Sharma

#linkedin #linkedinforcreators #motivation #inspiration #story #contentcreation

SRCC is a dream college of every finance aspirant – obviously was my dream college too!

However, I had scored 88% in 12th standard, and this was not even close to the cut off rate that the college usually has (which is ~97%).

The quality of talent that comes out from this campus is exceptional, thanks to the involvement in all the college societies that these students are a part of (I have myself hired / worked with a few interns and can vouch for the superb quality of the talent).

Fast forward to 2023, who thought that the same kid who dreamt of getting into SRCC as a student will go to the same college as a guest speaker, and guide them about the future careers in finance.

It was such an absolute privilege for me to be a part of their recent event, Careers Confluencer, organized by the Wings of Fire, SRCC.

Was just astonished by the huge 16 acres’ campus in New Delhi and the way students are groomed and so much passionate about their careers in the future.

If there has to be one regret of my life, it has to be doing BCom via a correspondence route and not from a regular college, esp. after looking at so much enthusiasm and the exposure that you get when you attend a full time college. Everything has a right time in life – do what you feel will give you the best exposure.

If you want to find some smart folks in a separate Universe,
Then do give a visit at the Shri Ram College of Commerce :)

#linkedin #linkedinforcreators #srcc #event #grateful #kushallodha

My mom called me yesterday and said, “From seeing you in shorts and three-fourth trousers to seeing you in blazers and a tie, I feel extremely proud of you!”

I could feel that she was literally in tears when I heard her saying this on the phone! Well, small instances like these really motivate me in order to always strive for more and try to hop on to bigger milestones in life!

It’s all about perception: while some may say that I don’t have a job right now and some people wouldn’t like the fact that I am not working in a Multi-National Company, others might state that he is on a mission to inspire thousands of individuals in the country! While I don’t know what my ultimate objective is, all I know is I will surely figure it out and get some clarity after some point in time; if not now! If you have clarity about your future, then I think you are going in the wrong direction because you won’t try for other things in life :)

Remember one thing: try to live for your own self and not for anyone else! If you are living for someone else, probably someone else is controlling your life – which is not a good thing, to be honest!

As far as my parents and I are happy with what I am doing in my life, I really do not care what society thinks or what the naysayers state!

After all, just ensure that you should do what you feel is right for you!

I remember several people advised me not to quit my full-time job and said that if I leave the job, I might end up coming back and doing a job sometime in the future. Everyone has some opinion for you irrespective of whether you ask or not! Your task is to listen to some of them while ignoring the others without letting them know!

Live your life the way you want! Not the way someone else wants you to live! :)

#linkedin #linkedinforcreators #life #satisfaction #parents #kushallodha

When I was giving my interview in Corporate Finance Role at Aditya Birla Group, these were the resources I had used in order to prepare for Finance interviews:

1. Wall Street Prep – go on this website and click on the ‘Free Content’ tab – you will find a glossary of words and their definition including examples. For instance, you will get the meanings of words ranging from NPV to IRR to Leveraged Buyout to Mezzanine Financing.

2. The Forage – I had also done a free course from this website on Investment Banking (JP Morgan) and had got a good gist of how does it look like to work in an Investment Bank. There are real time assignments that are given to you and you will get an experience of how does it look like to work in an Investment Bank.

3. Investment Banking Interview Questions Guide – Just go on google and type ‘Investment Banking Interview Questions PDF’ and download the first one. You will get a list of ample amount of questions with suggested answers as well. This is extremely helpful to brush up your concepts.

4. Valuations Lectures of Aswath Damodaran – just go on YouTube and type Aswath Damodaran – you will get a lot of lectures on topics like cost of capital, intrinsic valuation, betas etc. will teach you the basics of Valuation. This is a gold mine available on YouTube.

If you want to know more about Investment Banking, we, at KAGR, have organized a 2-hour online masterclass on ‘How to get into Investment Banking?’, where the faculty, working at Goldman Sachs and is an IIM Ahmedabad graduate, will teach you everything about the basics, role in an investment bank, how to prepare for interviews and a mock interview with a candidate towards the end. It is happening on 15th July from 4 to 6 PM – link in comments to register.

#linkedin #linkedinforcreators #investmentbanking #finance #kagr #kushallodha

INVEST IN REAL ESTATE!

My Dad had asked me if I would want to join the family real estate business when I had decided to quit my job. I was arguing about the low rental yields in real estate as an asset class and told him that investing in real estate is not in my asset allocation strategy!

And he politely explained, “Firstly, buying a home is not the only investment. If you talk about the rental yields in commercial real estate, it is almost 3 times (almost 7-9% p.a.) as compared to the rental yields in residential real estate investment (2-3% p.a.). Secondly, the underlying land is a limited resource, therefore, you get the additional benefit of capital appreciation! And lastly, investing in real estate will also help you diversify your portfolio.”

I tried to delve deeper into it and found out that my dad was right and it’s wise to allocate a certain percentage of investment to commercial real estate.

Also, adding the capital appreciation of the commercial property will fetch you a total return up to 15% yearly assuming a capital appreciation of 6% (which seems a fair assumption). Also, you can invest even Rs. 500 in real estate through the introduction of what is called as REIT (Real Estate Investment Trusts), which are publicly available.

Therefore, I strongly think that investing in commercial real estate makes more sense in order to diversify your portfolio and I have changed my asset allocation to the following: 70% Equities, 10% Bonds, 10% Real Estate, and 10% in Startups.

If you are looking to invest in commercial real estate, you should definitely check out PropReturns (YC S21)! You can invest in various rent-generating commercial properties, meaning that there is already a tenant in the property and you simply purchase the property without the hassle of finding a tenant, and earn rental income from Day 1.

PropReturns (YC S21) is a real estate investment marketplace that has many asset classes starting from Rs. 500 to Rs. 500 Crs which deliver annual returns up to 22% IRR.

You can click on the link in the pinned comment to know more about them and start investing in real estate!

PS – this photo is clicked at PropReturns (YC S21)’s office building :)

📷: Sirjan Saluja

#linkedin #linkedinforcreators #propreturns #realestate #yields #kushallodha

I had to present a paper on 22nd December, 2019 in CA Students Conference in Nashik on the topic, “Transfer Pricing and its Case Studies”.

I had a very hectic week and I had a working Saturday (21st December, 2019) because of a deadline during my articleship. I was in Mumbai and somehow finished my work at 10 pm on that Saturday and immediately booked a cab to leave for Nashik. I left at 11 pm from Mumbai.

I prepared my entire PPT in the cab of 16 slides on the above mentioned topic and tried to rehearse my presentation in the cab when I reached my home at 3 am. I finished my final slides of the presentation by 4 am finally and was done with 3 rehearsals.

Finally, I reached the destination and presented my analysis at 10 am at the CA Students conference in front of 600 people. An icing on the cake – I was also awarded as the Best Paper Presenter at the conference and I booked my cab immediately that afternoon for Mumbai so that I could resume my office from Monday, 23rd December.

I think if you want to do something, you will surely take out time for that thing! If you are giving excuses of not being able to find time, it is because you really don’t want to do it or it is not on your bucket list on priority at the moment!

Therefore, decide what you want to do and automatically, you will be able to find time for it irrespective of how busy you are in your life!

In fact, don’t be busy! Be productive :)

#linkedin #linkedinforcreators #motivation #conference #kushallodha

Let’s have a look at the average salaries of the following professionals:

1. CA – Rs. 12 LPA
2. CFA (L1 cleared) – Rs. 9-10 LPA
3. CFA (L2 cleared) – Rs. 12-14 LPA
4. CFA (L3 cleared) – Rs. 18-20 LPA
5. ACCA – Rs. 7-8 LPA
6. US CPA – Rs. 7 LPA
7. CFP – Rs. 6 LPA
8. US CMA – Rs. 8 LPA

The salary range might differ from person to person, but these are the general estimates after talking to various students who just got placed and from several reports.

Well, if you are in 12th and you are looking to pursue a career in finance, Rishihood University has organized an amazing Finance Olympiad for all of you across India where the winner will get a cash prize of Rs. 5,000.

You will become smarter, and will have to answer questions related to finance that will be super practical in nature.

Link to register for the competition: https://lnkd.in/dUJYxgHt

#linkedin #linkedinforcreators #rishihood #finance #kushallodha

This podcast has to be the closest to my heart!

My dad mentions that the lessons he learnt while doing CA Articleship has always helped him in his day to day business. Although he couldn’t clear his CA Exams, he is happy because of the practical lessons learnt during articleship!

He did not have sufficient money to go for CA classes, and thus, he used to invest in stocks, earn some money, and pay his tuition fees.

He studied even at 102 temperature fever, and even without electricity with a small torch – this was the dedication towards education!

My mom is a very spiritual person, and always believes in meditation as well as positive affirmations. In fact, she is the one who has made everyone in my family extremely positive towards life.

She learnt how to use Zoom just to take classes on healing and meditation during CoVID. As it is rightly said, once a person’s learning attitude ends, their old age starts to begin. I think with this definition, my parents will never become old :)

Check out the link in comments to watch the entire podcast – it’s an honest conversation between parents and a child talking about various things related to life in general.

#linkedin #linkedinforcreators #parents #podcast #kushallodha

You’ll be surrounded by people claiming credit for your success but when you fail, no one would be willing to take the blame on themselves!

#success #people

Every single day, I wake up to give more than 100% in my life.

Every single day, I try to indulge in those things that I feel are productive and where I am involved in some or the other manner. For instance, I wouldn’t watch a test match between India VS Australia as I don’t think I am able to contribute in any manner. However, I will surely play cricket if I am involved in that activity.

Every single day, I try to spend time with people whom I can learn from and whom I can take some inspiration from.

Every single day, I try to reach out to someone on LinkedIn who can help me grow in life and if I can be of any help to that person in any way possible.

And most importantly, every single day, I talk to my Mom from 10 pm to 10.10 pm and with my Dad from 10.10 pm to 10.20 pm to check how are they doing and how was their day like.

I have a fixed routine of having lunch at 1.30 pm sharp and dinner at 8 pm sharp every day. That’s how I like to live my life: in a properly structured manner with all things planned!

I love my life the way it is right now. However, at times, I feel too stressed out and the best way to unwind myself is walking alone in my building at night with the cool breeze of wind coming back and forth.

It’s okay to be overambitious and dream big! Let other people laugh sometimes and that laughter might be a good motivation for you to actually do something big in life!

Enjoy each and every minute of your life!

Don’t overthink! Do what you feel is right! Ultimately, you will become successful :)

#linkedin #linkedinforcreators #success #failure #discipline #kushallodha

Hello LinkedIn Family,

Two lessons which I wanted to bring out through this post:

1. I had to record the interview with Hon'ble Suresh Prabhu sir on 8th June whereas these exams were scheduled on 9th & 11th June. Since the interview was a one-time opportunity, I decided on taking that with giving exams in the next 3 days. Thus, I attempted to manage time accordingly and kept a day off before the exam so that I could concentrate fully on the interview (regarding research about the guest, asking what type of questions etc.)

Lesson: If you plan things well in advance, you can very well achieve what you have in your mind.

2. I texted a person named Dhruv Bhatt, who was in the same whatsapp group which was created for our exams, to seek help as I was stuck in solving few sums. Without even knowing each other, he explained and solved all my doubts in a 1 hour long call that I can never forget. Would like to take this moment and thank him for his selfless help because of whom I could clear the AFM exam. Some people are always willing to lend their hand no matter what happens.

Lesson: No matter how people behave, you ought to be nice to them and the best will come to you!

Happy to share that I have cleared 2 levels (Advanced Performance Management and Advanced Financial Management) of ACCA :)

Discipline is the key to succeed in anything.

If you are able to delete all the social media apps before your exams to focus on studying, that is discipline!

If you are able to study with a fixed routine for 12 hours a day without any distraction, that is discipline!

If you are able to control the urge of having junk food especially when you are on diet, that is discipline!

If you are able to wake up at a fixed time every single day without snoozing your alarm, that is discipline!

If you are able to go to the gym every day and lift an extra kg of the weight without complaining, that is discipline!

If you are able to sleep at a fixed time and not keep scrolling through your mobile phone unnecessarily, that is discipline!

If you are able to wake up early morning and go for your yoga class, that is discipline!

And most importantly, if you are able to focus on one thing at a time and keep doing that for a good amount of time, that is discipline!

Well, the point of this post is not to ask you to always study for 12 hours a day or delete the social media apps while studying, but it is to let you understand the importance of priorities at different points in time!

Once you become addicted to staying disciplined, I think no one will stop you from becoming successful.

Discipline is boring! Discipline is successful.

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On a separate note, I am hiring a content strategist and social media manager intern – if you are passionate about the creator economy and can help me scale my social media presence, do fill in the google form (link in comments).

#linkedin #linkedinforcreators #trending #discipline #motivation #kushallodha

455 Days!

200 Cold Emails!

400 Follow Ups!

15 Flights!

5 Cities!

30 Hours of Conversations!

15 Rejections!

20 Unicorn Founders’ Success Stories!

And…

Finally, ‘Unlocking Unicorn Secrets’ is Born! On 77th Independence Day of our nation. This is the best occasion to promote entrepreneurship.
I can’t imagine that a kid who scored lowest marks in English in his 12th grade (63 percentile) will end up writing another book and this time, with the leading publisher of the country, Penguin Publishing Group!

An absolute honor to share that the Foreword has been written by Mr. Piyush Goyal Sir, Cabinet Minister, Government of India. We are honored and obliged to have his words of wisdom in our book! Truly, this has to be one of the biggest projects of my life so far! Special thanks to my partner in crime, Ishan Sharma for making this dream come true for me.

The pre-orders have started.

Special thanks to Ms. Arundhati Bhattacharya (Former SBI Chairperson), Mr. Harsh Mariwala (Chairman, Marico), Mr. Nirmal Jain (Chairman, IIFL), Mr. Nikhil Kamath (Co-founder, Zerodha), Mr. Bhavin Turakhia (Founder, Zeta), Mr. Alakh Pandey (Founder, PW), Ankur Warikoo and Raj Shamani for endorsing the book using their blurbs.

Can’t thank all the founders enough: Amit Jain, Vikram Chopra, Sumit Gupta, Umang Bedi, Virendra Gupta, Vineet Rao, Ashwin Damera, Supam Maheshwari, Srikanth Velamakanni, Darpan S., Lalit Keshre, Varun Alagh, Ghazal Alagh, Asish Mohapatra, Ruchi Kalra, Ritesh Agarwal, Yashish Dahiya, Harsimarbir (Harsh) Singh, Shashank Kumar, Ankush Sachdeva, Vamsi Krishna, and Nithin Kamath for their valuable time in answering all our questions.

Do order your copies (link in comments) and help us make our dream come true of the book being a bestseller on Amazon once again :)

#linkedin #linkedinforcreators #entrepreneurship #independenceday #kushallodha

I rarely go to attend any family function unless super important.

I don’t like to wait for anyone for more than 5-10 minutes, and if there is a delay because of the other person, I reschedule the meeting.

I used to study even 10 minutes before my exam while going to the examination center, until I sit on the desk.

I rarely meet someone twice if I know there is no point in meeting the person for the second time.

I say no to several event invites and outings because I know it’s not worth my time. I have said no to several friends too because of shoots scheduled the same day.

What’s the point of this?

If you read in between the lines, one thing that I value the most is my time. And I am very concerned about it being wasted, or not utilized in a productive manner.

Start valuing your time, start assigning an opportunity cost to each and every second, start being a little commercial as far as your time is concerned, and most importantly, start saying no to anything and everything that is causing a hindrance in your life!

Once you start valuing your own time, people will start valuing you!

#linkedin #linkedinforcreators #time #selfish #focus #kushallodha

He never saw scores beyond 70% before his 10th Class.

He could not get into an engineering college because he missed the cut-off by 1%.

He then started preparing for CA after his 12th exams and cleared CA Inter with dot 300 marks.

Finally, he secured AIR 42 in his CA Finals exam.

He is none other than CA Shirish Vyas, a direct tax teacher with 25+ years of experience. He’s guided over 1.5 lakh students on their journey.

In the latest episode of Konversation with Kushal, we explore how an “average” student can become unstoppable.

From his learnings through the CA course to teaching concepts in the most unique way, the podcast has everything covered.

If you're a CA student, you can’t afford to miss this episode.

Catch this episode on my YouTube channel today at 7:57 PM, link in comments!

 #linkedin #linkedinforcreators #ca #coaching #motivation #kushallodha

Salaries of Investment Bankers at an entry level role in India:

1. Boutique Investment Banks – you can get anywhere around Rs. 10 Lakhs to Rs. 15 Lakhs as fixed component and there will be a variable component too, that can range from 50% to 100% as well.

2. Bulge Bracket Investment Banks – here, I am talking about the mid-office role as it is really difficult to get the front office role at an entry level itself. The mid-office will pay you around Rs. 15 Lakhs to Rs. 20 Lakhs in fixed and once again, the variable might range upto 100%, depending on the number of deals that happened in your firm.

3. M&A Roles in Corporates – these include various corporate finance roles where the major work of this department is to identify target companies to acquire and evaluating restructuring options. For instance, if the corporate wants to do a rights issue, this is the department that will help them analyse at what price they should do. Again, the salary here is around Rs. 15 Lakhs to Rs. 20 Lakhs in big multi-national conglomerates.

4. CA Firms in Advisory and Restructuring – several firms have come up with a proposition of advising on the structure of any transaction, and even helping with IPOs etc. They have a separate team doing the valuations as well. Here, the pay might be slightly lower, maybe around Rs. 10 to Rs. 15 Lakhs, if it is a Tier 2 CA Firm. However, the work will be similar and the exposure will be good here as well.

Do you want to get into these kind of roles?

If yes, we, at KAGR, have launched a full-fledged 14 hours Offline Course on M&A covering from the basics, to valuing startups, to finally understanding legal documents in Shareholders Agreement etc. We are organizing a free Zoom Session to solve all your doubts regarding the course on Sunday at 4 PM, the details of which will be sent to you over email once you register by clicking on the link in comments.

#linkedin #linkedinforcreators #mergers #acquisition #investmentbanking #kushallodha

“If you don’t know how to take care of your money, money will stay away from you”.

~ Robert Kiyosaki

In different words, take care of your money and money will automatically take care of you.

June 2020 – I had bought a penny stock which was trading at Rs. 3.5 at that point of time. I had started investing in the stock markets back then after receiving my first salary.

Since this stock was going upper circuit every day, I thought let’s buy it and make some money out of the movement. I used to place ‘After Market Order’ every day and one (un)lucky day, I was able to buy these shares. However, it went lower circuit from the day I bought the stock and I ended up losing good chunk of money due to this.

The lesson which I learnt was that you have to do your fundamental analysis thoroughly before investing in any stock.

I realized that if I put all the eggs in one basket, I might end up losing all my money. Thus, I started to invest in diversified asset classes. 

It is equally important to keep your portfolio diversified by investing certain amount of money in fixed income asset classes in order to generate good returns.

In fact, Micheal Larson, money manager of Bill Gates, had initially allocated majority of the funds into government bonds and corporate bonds, which proved a great success. 

That’s when I thought that I should start investing in bonds as well. However, the problem was that I was not able to find any platform where I could invest in corporate bonds seamlessly and today, I found a solution: Altifi.

Altifi is a new-age wealth management platform that offers retail investors to invest in high graded high return fixed income products. You can invest as low as Rs. 1,000.

These securities help investors diversify their portfolios, earn better returns on their investments and reduce exposure to market volatility.

You can now seamlessly invest in debt issuances of financial institutions, high quality corporates and even new age startups that are backed by reputed Private Equity investors.

Click on the link in the comments section to start investing in bonds using Altifi.

#linkedin #linkedinforcreators #finance #moneymanagement #bonds #diversification

This is 2007.

I was in Grade 4. I had taken part in an Elocution Competition and had to speak impromptu on a topic for a minute. I was given my chit – my topic was “Why Etiquettes are important?”.

I was clueless what to speak. To be honest, I had no clue that etiquettes used to mean as manners. And I did not even have the guts to ask the meaning to the person who gave me the chit. There were 500 people in front of me across Grade 1 to Grade 5. I was shivering with the mic in my hand and did not speak a single word.

I returned back from the stage and started crying.

In fact, my dad still has the fear of public speaking. He will speak in a family get together with 15-20 people around where everyone is pulling each other’s leg but won’t be able to speak in front of 20 people if all of them are listening to him consciously.

Well, fast forward to 2022, I love to talk to new people. I love to talk and address a set of audience and share my learnings / stories! I love to hold a mic in my hand. I love to handle a crowd of 1,000+ students.

It’s all about practice and persistence. I am not saying that my fear was eliminated within a day or two. It’s because of going at various events and addressing several people have improved me and made me better at it.

If you are constantly doing a thing repeatedly, you tend to get better at it day by day. For instance, you won’t be able to lift a 50 kgs chest press during your 1st day – but you will become better at it and ultimately, be able to lift at after a month or two.

That’s what you should do – keep doing things consistently to get better!

What are you fearful of? Let me know in the comments section.

#linkedin #linkedinforcreators #fear #publicspeaking #trending #explore #kushallodha

Happy Birthday to one of the most iconic CAs of India – Hon’ble Suresh Prabhu Sir. It gives me immense pleasure to release this episode on his 68th Birthday as a tribute to his contribution in the realm of Indian economy. His credentials have propelled him in the league of top three Indian leaders as noted by Asia Week magazine in its lead story “Giant on the Move”.

He is a valuable asset to our community and inevitably makes for an excellent role model for every citizen of our country. He has set the benchmark for CA Fraternity pretty high and we all aspire to become like him.

Initially, I asked for 20 minutes of his time but the conversation soon became so stimulating that we ended up speaking for better part of an hour. On humanitarian grounds, the most fascinating quality about him is that he is extremely down to earth and humble even after reaching such heights in his career. I am sure you will get a better understanding of this when you tune into my channel and watch this episode.

Special Thanks to Dr. Ajit Ranade for helping with the questions and Gaurav Mandlecha for making this interview possible!

Here are the key takeaways:
1.     Losing parental support and getting an umbrella support from my Guru were two major turning points in my life
2.     I’ve never seen anything as tough as a CA Exam
3.     You enter a cricket match with a perspective that I must draw the match - that is the best way to avoid defeat
4.     Do your best and forget the rest
5.     If you don’t try, that is the biggest failure in your life
6.     By wasting your time in finding faults in others, you are not able to find time for your own self
7.     Never compromise with your own self

Wishing you a very happy birthday on behalf of the entire CA Fraternity!

Link in comments.

Today’s generation is extremely impatient. So am I.

We can’t even wait for 3 minutes if we are talking to someone on WhatsApp and we expect immediate replies.

We can’t even wait for 30 minutes if we order some food from Zomato.

We can’t even wait for 3 days for an Amazon parcel to be delivered.

We can’t even wait for 30 days for a stock to give some returns and will sell if we see it going down.

We can’t even wait for 3 years for a startup to become successful and want quick success right from the 1st year itself.

The point being pretty simple - we become impatient when we don’t get what we want. That leads to frustration, and can cause temper issues.

Good things take time!

Don’t become impatient - else no one will be patient enough to listen to you :)

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On a separate note, I am hiring a content head for my social media who will be working daily with me from the office - if you are interested, pls do apply via the form: https://lnkd.in/di2t-K8k

#linkedin #linkedinforcreators #writing #patience #kushallodha