“At 39, I had no money in the bank, I had stepped down as the CEO of my startup, and had no source of income,” Ankur Warikoo read an excerpt from his recently launched book from the Epic series—Make Epic Money.

The entrepreneur and content creator can make a room full of people sit up and take notice, without much effort. Taking the stage on the second day of TechSparks Mumbai, Warikoo delivered a keynote address to motivate the audience to manage their money better and work their way through financial stability.

Ankur Warikoo at TechSparks 2024, Mumbai edition

With 3.69 million subscribers on YouTube, Warikoo has been inspiring his viewers to not just plan their finances better but also share his life’s failures and challenges to help guide them to do better in life, in general.

Warikoo, who has worked in the corporate world, and also built two startups—Nearbuy and Groupon India—is onto building his next.

With more than a decade of experience in the startup ecosystem, he is now bootstrapping WebVeda—an online platform offering upskilling courses to young professionals.

“Dedicated to the rupees I wasted, and the wisdom I earned,” Warikoo said, as he begins his address.

Growing up, Warikoo was given a blueprint for attaining financial security—study hard, get a good job, work hard, get promoted, earn well, and live happily ever after.

“I spent my 20s and 30s chasing a plan that I was convinced would work for me. Until it didn’t,” he said.

He continues to read the introduction, constantly emphasising the fact that although he is not an expert, the experiences of his early years in dealing with money have made him want to share the lessons with his readers. Make Epic Money, he says, is his attempt to make finance fun.

“Frankly, this book is for the 20-year-old me, and for everyone like me, who was prescribed a blueprint for life. but was never told how to manage money. Or how to make money work for me,” he added.

Warikoo reiterated that one should not consider one’s background, insufficient knowledge, limited experiences or lack of expertise as a hindrance to making money, building wealth, or living the life one deserves. “What holds you back are your deep-rooted beliefs,” he said.

Through Make Epic Money, Warikoo attempts to challenge and provoke its readers to change their beliefs towards money, so they do not end up making the same mistakes that the author once made.

Edited by Suman Singh