Entrepreneurship is a skill that is learned and acquired. Not everyone can be an entrepreneur, but an entrepreneur can do everything. They identify gaps in the market, create businesses to fill them, produce goods, sell them, and generate income from multiple sources. For some, this journey involves rigorous hard work, obtaining degrees, and gaining work experience. However, for a fortunate few, it begins at home.
A Tale of Two Paths
Recently, Dubai-based Indian entrepreneur Debashish Neogi took to X (formerly Twitter) to share how different his life was from his Marwari classmates and how they inspired him to start his own business. In his post, Neogi contrasted his experience at age 19: while he was preparing for exams, his Marwari classmates were already running businesses. "I didn't understand it then. I do now," he wrote. As the son of a Bengali teacher, he shared that no one in his family’s generation had known business.
Early Lessons at St. Xavier's College
While studying at St. Xavier's College, Kolkata, Neogi noted that morning classes ended at 9:50 am. But while he would return home, his Marwari friends would go straight to their family shops, firms, and factories. At 19, they were writing invoices, attending supplier meetings, counting inventory, and learning about money not from books but from their fathers. "I was solving question papers. They were solving real problems," he added.
Neogi recalled a specific instance when he was sitting in the college canteen and watched a classmate discuss a shipment delay. "He was 19. Handling logistics. I didn't even know what a supply chain was. That day I decided - if they can do this, why can't I?"
From CA to Global Chocolate Business
He then pursued a Chartered Accountancy (CA) qualification, learning to read businesses and build them. Today, Neogi owns a chocolate business that operates in 34 countries, all because he "sat next to the right people at 19." He wrote: "The Marwari community is India's oldest and greatest business school. No campus. No degree. No placement cell. Just fathers teaching sons over chai and calculators."
Social Media Reactions
Many social media users supported and aligned with Neogi’s observations. One user wrote: "I used to go to my father’s workplace from a very small age. All these learnings go into the subconscious mind. When I was in college, I started my first startup." Another pointed out: "Exposure changes ambition. Sometimes just sitting around the right people completely alters your understanding of what’s possible." A third added: "Marwari kids learn mathematics the real way, not from textbooks. Most Marwari families have their houses behind their shops, and the kids spend most of their time in the shop."
Understanding the Marwari Community
Marwaris are a community from the Marwar region of Jodhpur in Rajasthan, India. They are known for their historic and contemporary dominance in trade, business, and industry, with generations of families running major business conglomerates across the country. Often referred to as the "business community," they are hailed for their financial acumen, as highlighted by Neogi.
