The First Element in my Entrepreneurial Mix- Family

"When everything goes to hell, the people who stand by you without flinching–they are your family." - Jim Butcher

On October 01, 2023, GameChanger Law Advisors will complete 12 years in operations. We are still very much a work-in-progress, and we don’t make any lofty claims about where we rank in the galaxy of law firms that dot the Indian market. We are just happy to keep moving the needle one day at a time and staying true to our ethos of Building Relationships, Trust, and Thought Leadership. Whether we have done so or not is for our stakeholders to judge.

What I can safely state is that through these 12 years, I’ve actually lived a dozen lives! I’ve stuttered, stumbled, fluffed my lines, struggled, failed, and yet learnt to take it all in my stride, hold my own, and grow during the process. Having worked with several hundreds of entrepreneurs, lawyers, investors, sportspersons and professionals from various other walks of life, most of whom are smarter than me, I’d like to believe that some of their smartness has rubbed off on me!

I therefore decided to commemorate my dozen lives by penning down 12 posts that encapsulate 12 elements of my entrepreneurship journey. It is important for me to emphasize right at the outset that my story will contain references to many co-travelers in this 12-year journey- these individuals need not entirely subscribe to my version of the story, and it is also not my attempt to get everyone to see the world the way I have seen it! To them I would only say that I have adhered to 2 strict rules while writing this story- (1) No Name Calling or Snitching; and (2) Wherever possible, I have anonymized references to avoid causing discomfort to any of these individuals.

In this the first post, I try and contextualize the role of family support in any entrepreneurial journey.

My entrepreneurship journey began in October 2011. I was 31. I had been married to Samheeta Rao for all of 4 years, and we lived with my late mother, Savita in a middle-class Indian residence in that old-world bastion of Bengaluru that is Malleswaram. At the time, my mother has been undergoing Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis (CAPD) for 3 years, she had already undergone a 15 year journey of living without my father, and roughly the same amount of time living with Type 2 Diabetes. Fast forward another 3 years to October 2014, when we were devastated to see her leave this world. Words cannot adequately describe the amount of pain she must have endured during the last 18 years of her life. And yet, she only ever gave me her whole-hearted support, love, and strength when I decided to venture out on my own!

My late father, Shashikant, and my mother cared for my sisters and me, loved us, disciplined us, ensured that we were given the best possible education, experiences, and nutrition, well within what their means could afford them to do so. My father passed away in 1996, leaving a deep void in our lives. He had been a practicing advocate at the Karnataka High Court for 25+ years at the time of his passing. He was my earliest inspiration to take up the profession of law. I recently completed 20 years in the practice of law and I hope that I have been able to make my parents proud of the person I have become.

In 2006, I fell in love with Samheeta! We met at a wedding of common friends, and she worked with my best friend, Rashmi! We tied the knot in 2007, and from our earliest days together, I distinctly remember being moved by her ability to maintain a zen-like calm, even if a storm was brewing beneath the surface. It took a while for this trait to shine through, but boy has she ridden out various storms with me and dragged me through some particularly bad phases during these last 16 years! For the first 8 years of my entrepreneurship journey, she watched from the outside, gave me advice whenever I asked for it, encouraged me, critiqued me, and assured me of financial support if I ever needed it!

Around 5 years ago, Aditya Shamlal persuaded her to join him and me as a Partner at GameChanger Law Advisors . Both Samheeta and I were not entirely sure if it was the right thing to do, but we decided to just take a chance and see where we go. And she’s brought every bit of her zen-like calm, helped me and the entire Firm ride out an especially turbulent storm (in the form of that Emperor of Maladies-Cancer) between July 2022 and December 2022. If ever there was a need for me to be reminded of it on a daily basis, her lived experience has demonstrated to me that women have mythical powers that men cannot ever dream of- their ability to multi-task, endure pain, give love, and care, and do all of that with huge dollops of grace is unmatched.

In April 2019, we were blessed with the arrival of our daughter, Gayatri, into our lives! Our long wait for a child ended when we decided to adopt her, and our lives have been magically transformed since then! The joy that she has given us has helped us sail through the most difficult of times! She has literally made us relearn attitudes/habits that are essential for entrepreneurs to continue to survive and thrive- adaptability, empathy, curiosity, attentiveness, and a never-say-die spirit!

I have 2 lovely elder sisters- Smita Havaldar and Suman Joshi . From our childhood days to now, they’ve encouraged me, made me become a better version of myself with every passing day, supported me financially, and have always been around! Their husbands and children too have always been quiet, constant sources of support!

Ever since we’ve been married, Samheeta’s family have stood by both of us through thick and thin. My Mother-in-Law, Sheela Rao, continues to inspire us with her positive approach to life, boundless energy and for being the best grandparent that our daughter, Gayatri could ever ask for!

Our extended family (cousins, uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, etc.) have been incredibly supportive and cheered us from the sidelines. Several of them are distinguished entrepreneurs, teachers, engineers, scientists, doctors, psychologists, lawyers, authors, public policy professionals, and homemakers. Some of them have gone on to become our Clients, Mentors and Advisors. To all of them, I recall this quote attributed to Marge Kennedy- "The informality of family life is a blessed condition that allows us all to become our best while looking our worst.”

Then there are Friends who have become Family! But they are an altogether different element in my entrepreneurial mix, and in whose honour I will pen a different post!

To sum up, in the lottery of life, I could have done no better than to win the family that I was born into! As challenging as many of my life’s experiences have been, I would like to believe that they have also shaped me into the person and entrepreneur that I now am!