Fall Again, Rise Again-Sandeep Aggarwal with Sunny Sen

Book: Fall Again, Rise Again
Author: Sandeep Aggarwal with Sunny Sen
Publisher: Rupa Publications

Fall Again, Rise Again is the autobiographical account of Sandeep Aggarwal and how he braved the odds to start India’s one of the very few unicorns. The story of a middle-class boy who couldn’t speak English for the better part of his school life, but had bigger dreams for his future. The book tracks his journey as he tells us about his journey from different cities in Haryana, his fist job, life in the United States, and his journey as he created ShopClues and Droom. Highlighting the good, bad and the ugly aspects of his life as he became a sought-after Wall Street Analyst, then an entrepreneur in India. He details his life as he faced insider trading charges for 6 years, and at the same time was managing the growth of Shopclues. The book is an interesting and honest account of a man who has the ability to take challenges head on, and come out of it shining.

The story has been penned in an honest voice with all aspects of his life, professional and personal covered. Being an autobiographical account, he talks about how various stages in his life unfolded, and how that fueled his fire to become an entrepreneur. The telling is simple, yet brings out some interesting learnings, most important being to never let go of one’s dreams and to persist. Another aspect of the book that I liked was that it highlights how friendships and networking is important, both personally and professionally. There are multiple instances where we see his networking playing a crucial role in the way things unfolded for him. While his story has a lot of ups and downs, it goes on to show that if a person has a dedicated life for an activity, he can surely succeed. The language of the book is simple and engaging. One thing that stands out in the book is the fact that while it is an autobiographical book, there are no magnanimous gestures or over-the-top claims. It’s simply the story of how a person got what he wanted.

Overall, a definite recommendation from my end which scores a 4/5.

Grab a copy here.