‘A paper millionaire but no cash’: When Ankur Warikoo had to sell his wife’s gold jewellery to buy a bicycle for his son

Popular author, entrepreneur, and motivational speaker Ankur Warikoo recently opened up about one of the most difficult moments of his life — selling his wife’s gold jewelry just to buy a bicycle for their son.

Sharing his experiences on social media after turning 45, Warikoo reflected not just on his achievements but also on the failures that shaped him. “Studied at top univs, worked at tier-1 firms, started & sold cos, raised VC $, married 18 yrs, 2 kids, metabolic age 36, run a profitable startup, travel 120+ days w/ family while creating for 16M+ folks. But I’ve failed a lot,” he wrote.

In what he calls his “failure résumé,” Warikoo described himself as “a true serial loser, consistently failing upwards (or sideways, or sometimes just down). A veteran of numerous rejections and setbacks, my resume chronicles a career defined by academic shortcomings, entrepreneurial missteps, and personal bankruptcies.”


Among his many failures, the most painful came in 2017, when Warikoo found himself personally bankrupt. With two maxed-out credit cards, a personal loan, and debt from a friend, he had no liquidity despite being what he calls a “paper millionaire.” At that moment, he sold his wife’s gold jewelry to fulfill his son’s only birthday wish — a bicycle for his eighth birthday.

Academic Failures: ‘Never Cleared a Single Entrance Exam’

Warikoo’s failure résumé begins in school, where he scored just 57 in English in his Class 12 exams — the third-lowest score in his entire batch. His dream of joining the prestigious IITs was crushed not once, but three times.

First Attempt: He could not clear IIT-JEE right after school.

Second Attempt: He tried again during his first year at Delhi University, but failed once more.

Third Attempt: He even attempted to get into IIT for a Master’s degree later — only to face rejection yet again.

Adding to the string of disappointments, Warikoo faced rejection from St. Stephen’s College during their interview round and was turned away by 6 out of 7 U.S. universities he applied to for higher education.

Even when he managed to secure a place in Michigan State University’s PhD program, he dropped out after two years. His business school journey was no smoother — rejected by five of six B-schools he applied to.

At the Indian School of Business (ISB), he faced interview rejections from almost every company except three. During campus placements, he was rejected by two out of three firms he interviewed with.

“I have never, ever cleared a single entrance exam in my life — and I’ve taken plenty,” Warikoo writes, turning what many would consider humiliating into a lesson in resilience.

Professional Setbacks: Layoffs, Rejections, and Losing $44 Million

If academics were a struggle, professional life was no kinder.

Fired from His First Startup: At Accentium Web Pvt. Ltd., he was fired by his own co-founder.

Rejected by Investors: He faced 13 rejections while trying to raise money for a food startup, 23 rejections while attempting to buy out Groupon India, and 31 rejections while raising a second round for nearbuy.com.

At Rocket Internet GmbH, he had to shut down a startup within just two months of joining. At Groupon, he was tasked with shutting down a country operation due to poor performance.

But the biggest professional heartbreak came at nearbuy.com, the company he co-founded. Within a year, the company burned through ₹100 crore in funding, forcing him to lay off 80 employees in 2016 and 30 more in 2017 — none of whom were at fault.

“I collectively lost $44 million of investor money and gave zero returns to employees,” he admitted.

Read the post here: