The Entrepreneur is an account of a Pune-based businessman and entrepreneur Mr. Sharad Tandale. who is the author himself, writes this book within the larger framework of the ever increasing universe of self-help books, but takes the book out of that frame enough to completely change the purpose and intent of such books. While many books might try to sell you success and prosperity, Author's account of his journey is actually a guidebook through the dangers and risks of the world of the enterprise and only then does it talk of success.
Author chronicles his 10 years as an aspirational youth, much like many others over the last decade or more, who have had the spark of entrepreneurship ignite within them and then soon after extinguished by the severe and steep struggle that one has to go in conditions like those in India. He records himself with honesty, a quality missing from many of the 'popular' self-help books. His honesty of reflection of his desires, aspirations and the decisions he took, the way he failed, the mistakes he made, makes this book connect with you on a personal level. It feels like your own story.
What Author's book does even more differently than the market-saturating guidebooks is to keep everything in perspective. Every mistake, every dream, every achievement and every reward, is seen in the context of the sacrifices and hardships that he had to go through to achieve them, the street smart wit he had to keep and the sheer risk embedded within the structure of businesses. In a way, Author brings realism to success.
This book is a refreshing breath of fresh air in a market with books that feed you dreams, aspirations and almost formulaic solutions and pathways to achieve them. The Entrepreneur, makes the reader realize that entrepreneurship is not a fairy tale of success. It is a real risk, within the real world, with thousands of complications, from bribe-seeking government officials, to misguiding friends and difficult bureaucratic setups. In that sense, The Entrepreneur is truly unique and should be categorised as a 'warning' book, rather than a 'self-help' one. Because everyone will tell you what success looks like, but the one who means well for you, will tell you what it costs.
