KAE Capital's Sasha Mirchandani says be got the best advice from his father

When I got back to India after I finished college, I remember having a conversation with my father (Mirc Electronics CMD Gulu Mirchandani) about buying a Mercedes. He thought about it for a moment and said: "Good idea, go ahead and buy it." I was surprised because this was not the reaction I was expecting - I was 22 and clearly did not have the money to buy the car. That's when he mentioned the words that have stayed with me till now: "Never look inward always outward."

What he meant was to stop looking at my family as a source of income and go out and build my own life. He gave me examples of families ruined in unnecessary bickering where people wasted years fighting over money that was not earned by them. It took a while for this to sink in but eventually I realised it was my father's way of making me stand on my own feet and never being dependent on anyone.

If I look back, one of the key drivers for me to start my own fund was the desire to create something of my own. This only came about because I was constantly looking outward for new opportunities. As I write this article I am happy to share with you that I just bought my first Mercedes (albeit second-hand). It took me 18 long years from the day I asked my father to buy the car. However, when I took my first drive, I truly appreciated his words of wisdom.