From earning $2 a day to creating the life that you want to live, with Manuj Aggarwal
Manuj Aggarwal started working at the age of 15, working 12 hours in a day to earn $2. Wanting to improve his life, Manuj tried his hand at different businesses, learning different skills. He eventually discovered computer programming and realised it was what he wanted to do for the rest of his life.
Today, Manuj is Chief Technology Officer of TetraNoodle Technologies, a company he founded in 2000 which provides startups with technology consulting and ongoing education.
In this episode, Manuj shares his incredible journey and insights gleaned along the way.
In this episode we discuss:
00:40 Introduction to Manuj Aggarwal
03:07 How Manuj transitioned from working 12 hours a day for $2 to starting his own business
06:52 How Manuj realised he wanted to do computer programming for the rest of his life
08:27 Why Manuj focused on consulting with startups
09:35 Why Manuj was fired within three months from his first startup job
10:57 Why Manuj chose to move to Canada
11:18 Manuj on working with startups
12:57 From a full-time employee to founding a consulting company
14:08 Manuj’s current business focus
16:09 Manuj’s biggest failure and lessons since building TetraNoodle
19:47 Habits that have contributed to Manuj’s success
22:05 How Manuj maintains focus and stays productive
Quick Juice Questions
24:54 Do you currently invest? If so, what do you look for in an investment, and why?
“I have two types of investments. One is startups. I also invest in the stock market.”
25:27 What most inspires you? When and where are you most inspired?
“My one core value is adventure. So, I am really inspired when I’m travelling, especially with my family, and having fun and visiting exotic places and learning about new cultures and being in nature.”
25:50 Which book has inspired you and changed your thinking the most?
“Think and Grow Rich has been really instrumentally shaping my journey.
Once I read the book, that’s when I started giving thinking more importance and more value than doing.”
26:31 If there’s one last bit of Executive Juice you can share for people who want to get to the top of their property game, what would it be?
“Value yourself. Really try to understand what your value is — what are you providing to your clients — and ask for that value.
If you don’t value yourself, nobody else is going to do it.”
Quotes:
On how he went from earning $2 on 12-hour workdays to starting a business
- It was a long process of looking at businesses. I tried to build an ecommerce business for supplement products; I tried to help people with tutoring kids and taking notes for them in class; a whole bunch of other things. Whatever came to my mind, whether it was an idea that made sense or not, I just said, “Let me just try it and see what happens.”
Eventually, I fell into the computer programming course. That was one thing I really fell in love with, and I knew that this is the area I want to be in for the rest of my life.
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