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  • The Biography of a Failed Venture

  • Decoding Success Secrets from the Blackbox of a Dead Start-Up
  • Written by: Prashant Desai
  • Narrated by: Raja Sevak
  • Length: 7 hrs and 13 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (82 ratings)

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The Biography of a Failed Venture

Written by: Prashant Desai
Narrated by: Raja Sevak
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Publisher's Summary

The story of a truly Indian sports brand that could go places but failed

Prashant Desai was seven when he lost his father. Growing up in poverty, his single-minded focus was to become wealthy and successful. Ranking fourth on the all-India Cost and Works Accountants exam at the age of 21, joining the corporate world and working with leaders such as Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, Kishore Biyani and Jignesh Shah was a dream run that Prashant enjoyed, one that very few could even imagine and achieve.

In April 2017, Prashant Desai founded a venture to build the first truly Indian sports brand - D:FY. In six months, Rajiv Mehta, who started Puma India and led it for seven years, joined him as a partner. They opened 17 stores in seven cities, riding on great aspirations and confidence. The business lost Rs 30 crore in 30 months, virtually wiping out all that Prashant had earned for nearly 30 years. The venture failed not because Prashant did not possess the necessary vision, determination, and courage; it failed because the number of things Prashant did wrong exceeded the number of things he did right.

One could weep over the fuselage or decode the black box. So, when Prashant decided to decode it, new possibilities emerged, revealing a treasure trove of success secrets. The Biography of a Failed Venture provides a brutally honest account of why D:FY failed and how entrepreneurs can avoid these pitfalls to make their business ventures successful.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2021 Prashant Desai (P)2021 HarperCollins Publishers

What listeners say about The Biography of a Failed Venture

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Reference book for many startups

Very nicely crafted and an eye-opener for overconfident entrepreneur who fail to see assumptions from wide lenses.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Straight from the heart

I want to thank the author for having the courage to share his journey. We should all talk more about failures. Things fail. You don’t .

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A must listen! Kudos to PD for penning this down

Beautiful narrated story with important lessons for people hoping to hop the entrepreneurial journey

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Brutally honest yet Insightful

Being myself an ex entrepreneur who shut down shop and found a second inning in professional life I used to think maybe I was alone but this book gave me company. The mistakes Prashant talks about in this book should be looked at as case studies by all budding entrepreneurs. Prashant found a second inning and did well in it just like me. Kudos to the author for coming out and highlighting his journey in this book.

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One of the best book for entrepreneurs.

A phenomenal book, it expose human tendency to get rich quick and realization on what truly it takes to create a successful business.

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Worth including in curriculum of business schools

A very good book,a must read for would be entrepreneurs.

Nicely written and excellently narrated.

Everyone has something to learn from this real life story of a failed start up!

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Prashant's Biography - Bollywood Mega Blockbuster

Loved how the story is narrated and got so engrossed with it that finished it in flat one day

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little hurried at the end

I loved it. Great insight for budding entrepreneurs. Performance is top notch by Raja Sevak. Story telling is great from the start. It became little hurried by the end. A little bit more explanation needed for why and how at the end.
Recommended!!

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Fantabulous

One of the best after long time
refreshing Take by Author and Narration is equally Engaging

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Rare insights into the world of entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurs end up learning the most important lessons of their life in hindsight after failures and mistakes. PD has done a great job in sharing his lessons openly and frankly

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