Gajendra Kothari
One Idiot

Avid long term investor | Financial advisor | Entrepreneur | A passionate financial literacy campaigner |  Tech lover | Life long learner

Let me tell you my average story.

I am a very average person born to a middle-class family in a small, sleepy tea-estate town in Jorhat, Assam, I was an average student right up to my MBA education and an average employee. 16 years ago, when I first came to Mumbai like any young person with dreams in my eyes, standing on the Marine Drive promenade, I wondered, will I be able to live in any of these sea-facing houses one day.

But as they say, the city has its own charm and whatever you dream, you can achieve if you pursue it with 100% of your effort. Today, I can say I feel very blessed. God has given me much more than I could ever possibly imagine. I now live in one of those dream apartments by the sea (even though on rent which is a separate discussion for another day). I often cannot believe this. How did this happen to an “average” person like me?

10 years ago, a short but powerful movie titled “One Idiot” impacted me. If you have not watched it yet, do watch it here, else you will be missing the whole point. While we have been hugely inspired by the super successful Bollywood flick “3 Idiots”, I found my calling in One Idiot.

Yes, in the next 10 years, I would like the world to call me One Idiot. An Idiot who has achieved Rs 100 crore wealth by making his money work hard for him. An Idiot who lives his life on his terms without worrying about money anymore. An idiot who wants to simplify personal finance for a layman in the world that sells complexity.

An Idiot who wants to buy a Roll Royce before the age of 50 just to prove that if Rolls Royce can be achieved through monthly SIPs then any goal is possible to achieve. The Idiot, will, of course, be happy for you to take a ride in that coveted Rolls Royce. Meanwhile, this Idiot rides a bike to work and doesn’t own a car.

The idea behind becoming One Idiot someday is to inspire the youth of our country to achieve financial freedom. My passion is to create financial awareness amongst every citizen. I have so far empowered more than 25,000 participants in the last 16 years by conducting more than 200 investor awareness sessions in the areas of Personal Finance, Financial Planning, Wealth Management etc at SEBI Regional seminars, BSE IPF IAPs, CFA Society India, Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), and at various B-schools, colleges, social organizations and corporate houses in the country.