From Rs 14 lakh debt to a company in 34 countries: CA recalls how he rebuilt his life after losing almost everything, ‘I used to wait for my family to sleep…’

At 28, CA Debashish Neogi had what looked like a promising life ahead. He was qualified, newly married and had a child, but he was also broke and carrying Rs 14 lakh in bank debt. The 2001 dot-com crash had wiped out 90% of his stock investments. In a post on X, Neogi recalled the fear, shame and pressure he faced, and how one simple thought about his family helped him keep going.

A 28-year-old CA was drowning in debt

In 2001, Neogi said he had borrowed Rs 14 lakh from three banks at 19% interest to invest in stocks. He claimed that the dot-com crash hit, wiped out 90% of his investment. The financial loss came at a particularly difficult time. Neogi was newly married, had one child and said his entire family was depending on him. But according to his account, the debt itself was not the hardest part. “The worst part was not the debt,” Neogi wrote. “It was the eyes.”

He recalled noticing the way people around him looked at him. Some appeared to pity him, while others seemed to judge him for being greedy. Some, he said, simply stopped looking at him altogether.

He waited for his family to fall asleep

The pressure followed Neogi into his home. He recalled that every night, he would wait for his family to fall asleep before sitting alone on the sofa. During those quiet moments, he said he would close his eyes and picture one thing: his wife being happy. He wasn't imagining a life of extraordinary wealth or fame. His goal was much simpler. “Not rich, not famous,” he wrote, but simply wanting his wife to be happy.

That image became a source of motivation when he felt he had very little left.

He believed he had only two choices

Neogi said he eventually told himself that there were only two roads ahead. One was to rebuild his life and make his family proud. The other was to live with regret. That mindset helped him focus on moving forward rather than remaining trapped by the loss. Years later, Neogi says his circumstances are dramatically different. He now has properties in Dubai, runs a company operating in 34 countries and says his family is proud of the man who almost gave up but chose not to.

His message for people going through hard times

Neogi's story is also about how financial setbacks can affect more than a bank balance. The loss brought debt, social judgement and fear about his family's future. Reflecting on that period, he encouraged people going through difficult phases to imagine the version of themselves they want to become and keep working towards it. “Close your eyes,” he wrote, and picture the version of yourself that wins.

For Neogi, the years after the difficult time became a period of rebuilding. His message is that difficult circumstances can change a person, rather than simply defeat them. “Hard times do not break you,” he wrote. “They build the version of you that nothing can break.”