Shaadi.com founder and Shark Tank India judge Anupam Mittal has shared two straightforward and powerful tips for aspiring enterprenures and founders. In a long post shared on LinkedIn, Mittal offered advice to those wondering, “How do I become a killer business guy?”—a question he says he’s often asked. Mittal’s answer? “Sell something. Anything.”The post titled, “How to build a Dhandha?”, Mittal also reflected on his early entrepreneurial experiments. He revealed how he started from renting books at the age of 13 to launching a sports club at 16. He also talked about him juggling multiple hustles in college. While most of those ventures failed, he says they taught him the most important skill in business: selling. “Books. Donations. My project. Myself for a job. Every one of those moments shaped my survival skills — persuasion, negotiation, influence,” he wrote.Read AMittal also believes that selling is just the beginning. In order to understand business, he recommends spending time in finance, especially in equity analysis or investment banking. According to him, this experience strips away the romanticism of disruption and reveals the real economics behind industries—where margins lie, how capital flows, and where profit pools exist.

Read Anupam Mittal’s complete LinkedIn post here

How to build a Dhandha?

First build a Dhandha mindset.

At 13, I thought renting books would make me rich.

At 16, I tried to build a sports club.

In college, ten other hustles.

Most failed. All taught me one thing – selling.

Books. Donations. My project. Myself for a job.

Every one of those moments shaped my survival skills — persuasion, negotiation, influence.

That’s why I tell young founders & professionals → start selling early.

But selling alone isn’t enough. To build real business acumen, you need to zoom out.

The fastest way? A stint in finance esp. Equity Analysis or Investment Banking.

Why? Because finance strips away the romance of “disruption” and shows you the raw truth → where margins lie, where capital flows, and where profit pools actually sit.

Too many operators get high on their own stories.

But gravity always wins. Every industry has its economics — hack it if you want, but you can’t ignore it.

So if you’re 20 and asking me ‘How do I become a killer business guy?’

👉

Sell something. Anything.

👉

Then spend a year or two learning how industries really make money.

Bcs ‘Dhandha’ is not taught in classrooms.

It’s forged in the trenches of selling and sharpened by the discipline of numbers.