The thing that gives me a high is dealing with setbacks.
Setbacks across closing deals, building a team, raising capital or trying different experiments.
Entrepreneurship is one of the few professions where setbacks are often because market is a great equaliser. It doesn't care what you have accomplished previously. It only looks for how will you help it today move forward, faster.
Setbacks also help me learn a little more about myself and how I am as a person under pressure. Every setback reveals a little more about myself to me.
On the flip side, when you succeed, the joy is that much more as well.
For me, entrepreneurship is a journey of successes and set backs. The idea is to survive till the point where ultimately, your successes are a little more than set backs.
There are no endings, no credit roll, no happily ever after - just riding a wave - sometimes with it and other times against it. And that gives me a high.
Setbacks across closing deals, building a team, raising capital or trying different experiments.
Entrepreneurship is one of the few professions where setbacks are often because market is a great equaliser. It doesn't care what you have accomplished previously. It only looks for how will you help it today move forward, faster.
Setbacks also help me learn a little more about myself and how I am as a person under pressure. Every setback reveals a little more about myself to me.
On the flip side, when you succeed, the joy is that much more as well.
For me, entrepreneurship is a journey of successes and set backs. The idea is to survive till the point where ultimately, your successes are a little more than set backs.
There are no endings, no credit roll, no happily ever after - just riding a wave - sometimes with it and other times against it. And that gives me a high.
The eChai Effect - In Their Words
"eChai has played a truly pivotal role in HummingBird’s journey — even before Day Zero. From ideation to establishment and into growth, it’s been a constant source of support. It connected me with incredible people who’ve become more than just friends. One of the biggest reasons I chose to stay in Ahmedabad is because of the eChai community. It has shaped my growth — both personally and professionally — in ways that are hard to articulate. Honestly, words fall short when I try to express what eChai means to me. I’m deeply thankful and forever grateful to eChai for being such an integral part of my journey."
Harsha Bhurani
Founder, HummingBird Consulting Group
"I have evolved from role of Community Builder to Startup Consultant to Startup Ecosystem Enabler to Angel Investor and now launching a Venture Studio and eChai has been a catalyst in my overall journey as Startup Evangelist since 13 years."
Mehul Shah
Co-Founder at Counselvise & Ivy Growth
"For me, eChai is a second home. I've been associated with it since the early days, when it was already setting a different tone for how startup communities could work. As a traditional business owner entering the new-age D2C space, eChai supported me in every direction. Over the years, it became my window to the startup world — and also gave me lifelong friends who continue to show up, for business and beyond."
Pankaj Bhimani
Founder, 58miles
eChai Partner Brands
eChai Ventures partners with select brands as their growth partner - working together to explore new ideas, open doors, and build momentum across the startup ecosystem.
