I grabbed my clothes

took some money that I had saved

and I just thought

that I should leave

For the whole night, I was thinking

about how long would I be able to

survive with these 300 Rs

And will my life end when

this money gets exhausted

They explained to me that

I have to go door to door

and sell things

This door that got shut on me

had told me where I actually stand

It broke my confidence

At that time, being alive

was the most important thing

Here I am

standing in front of you

a successful entrepreneur

with a company that clocked

a turnover of approximately

15 Crores last year

If you really want to reach the pinnacle of success

then you need to try again & again

Just like that, today

I am standing in front of you

and narrating my story

sharing my journey

A journey where one door

that got slammed

right on my face

at the age of 15

opened doors of success for me

Hi, I am Chinu Kala

founder of Rubans Accessories

India's most loved jewellery brand

An entrepreneur who is

not an IIM Graduate

Let alone IIM, I do not

have a masters degree itself

Actually

I was not even able to

complete my basic education

But still, here I am

standing in front of you

A successful entrepreneur

with a company that

clocked a turnover of

approximately 15 Crores

last year

I was able to reach here

because I was

adamant to succeed

I was really stubborn

to become successful

And that stubbornness

took me along

I belong to Mumbai

Born and bought up in Mumbai only

I belong to a typical middle-class family

Maa, Papa, and Siblings

This was my world

My mom used to work abroad

so she used to be out mostly

We were mostly raised by my father

One day

when I was just 15

me and my father

ended up having a really

heated argument, and

he scolded me, saying

that if you can't listen to me

and want to do everything on your own

then you don't need to live in my house

And I also got filled with rage

and decided to leave the house

and I did it

Got my clothes

and took some 300 Rs that I had saved

and I decided to leave the house

And, I came down the building 

and stood there for more than 2 hours

I was confused that what should I do now

But, I was so stubborn

that I had decided not to go back

Hence, I left

I didn't even think about that

where would I live & what would I eat

You know when we are kids

then most of our basic needs

are taken care by our parents

We don't even realize that

someone is working hard

to take care of our life

And you need money for everything

I was clueless about everything

But I had this hazy memory that

I had seen some people sit at

Bombay Central Station

I caught a train and went there

By then, it was already night

I just had a vada pav at night

And like other people there

I put my bag under my head

and lied down

But I couldn't sleep

For the whole night, I contemplated

that how long would I survive like this

And will my life end

with there 300 Rupees

This night was really tough

and scary for me

By the morning, I was crying

I didn't know

what to do or

where to go

or whom to ask for help

During this, a kind woman approached me

She asked me why I was crying

After I told her my story

even she couldn't see my condition

And she suggested me

something about door to door sales

And I remember that

she told me that

I would be able to get a daily commission

And I just sat there

I did nothing but just sat there the whole day

But, it was a question of survival

and I didn't have any other plan

So, the next day I reached that office

to get some work

They explained to me that I have to

go from door to door and

sell some items, like

Knives, coasters

and other basic kitchen equipment

stuff like that

I thought that this is easy

and I would be able to do it

I also interacted with some people

and made arrangement for

my stay at a dormitory

To be honest, at that time

Nothing seemed more important

to me than survival

Hence, I didn't even think

if I am safe or not

I just stood up and went to work

It was my first day

I took my bag with all the stuff and started

I rang the doorbell of the first house

A woman came out

Before I could've spoken anything

she saw those items in my hand

and without even saying anything

she just shut that door on my face

For a moment, I became numb

I was in shock

I didn't feel this bad

when my father told me to get out

I thought that this must be very easy

People usually need these things

so they will buy it

But this door that got slammed

on my face bought me back to reality

It broke my confidence, it just broke

everything inside me

But I guess this was

my first encounter

with the real world

I didn't have time

or the option

to cry, be sad or

to give up

because I had to feed myself

You know, the zeal to survive

can fill up anyone with enough courage

that they are able to do anything

And I think that hunger

to survive

gave me that new strength

and I stood up again

wiped off my tears

and this time

I told myself that I won't take any rejection

I went to the next house

And this time, I didn't get rejected

I did my first sale that day

Now that I think about it

it seems like a very small achievement

but this was the first

success of my life

Whenever I feel dejected

I just remember that day

That day, life taught me a valuable lesson

that in order to reach anywhere in life

you will have overcome challenges

You will get opportunities

like I got one from

that aunty at the station

and you will face a lot of challenges

just like when that door got slammed on my face

But it is up to you

to get back on your feet and

fight to succeed

and survive, and

these choices that you will make

will be monumental

both in your success

and failures

I learned one thing about life

that anything that provides

you with a 2-time meal

and a roof to live under

It is never small

I did a lot of jobs

Waitress, tele-caller

receptionist

I did every job here and there

and learned something from

every job that I did

and these learnings guide me even today

I was always outperforming my peers

because I never had the

security of not performing

I never had the privilege

of a fall back plan

I didn't even have the option to quit

working or sit at home

My only option was to give 100%

in anything and everything that I do

I eventually got a job at a clothing store

I was good at sales

I learned a lot of other things here