‘Dhandha is not taught in classrooms,’ Anupam Mittal shares tips for young founders to ‘become a killer business guy’

Shaadi.com founder and Shark Tank India investor Anupam Mittal emphasised the importance of a “Dhandha” (business) mindset for young founders, advocating early selling experience and a grounding in finance to understand industry economics and profit margins.

In a post on LinkedIn, Anupam Mittal shared tips to form a business mindset and wrote, “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 (sic)."

Highlighting the need for sharp business acumen, Mittal said, “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, especially Equity Analysis or Investment Banking.”

Why is a ‘stint in finance’ important?

According to Mittal, the realities of finance expose the true nature of business, revealing where margins and profits lie. Operators may be captivated by their own stories, but they cannot escape the fundamental economics of their industries.

“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,” Mittal said.

Tips for a 20-year-old

Sharing tips on “How do I become a killer business guy?”, Mittal said –

• Sell something. Anything.
• Then spend a year or two learning how industries really make money.

Lastly, he concluded, “Because ‘Dhandha’ is not taught in classrooms. It’s forged in the trenches of selling and sharpened by the discipline of numbers.”

Netizens agree

Several social media users reacted to Mittal's post, with most users lauding his advice and tips.

One of the users said, “Couldn't agree more! Selling teaches you survival, finance teaches you scale. Together, they build the real mindset for a business.”

Another user said, “Great post and as always it's jhakass and yes businesses are always build through failure na learning from it if we are ready to zoom out our shortcoming and keep ego on side a businesses is all about trial and error method (sic).”

A user noted, “I agree if building a profitable business had been taught in school/college, most MBA graduates would have been entrepreneurs.”