TL;DR
The question “Am I a failed entrepreneur?” haunted me for years. But I learned that ventures might fail, entrepreneurs never do. My father invested everything in education over property, believing knowledge stays for life. A teacher’s words—“Don’t be just Uttam, be Sarvottam”—became my compass. Failure doesn’t define us; the resilience to rise again does.
The Question That Haunted Me
Am I a failed entrepreneur?
Maybe you’ve asked yourself the same question. This one used to echo in my head during quiet moments. Ventures didn’t always work out the way I had dreamed, and setbacks often felt personal.
But over time, I realized something important:
Ventures might fail, but entrepreneurs never fail.
Because an entrepreneur is simply a dreamer who dares to take the first step.
Where It All Began
My journey didn’t begin in corporate boardrooms or data centers. It began with a father’s dream.
He came from a small village to a town, working first as a taxi driver, then in Bokaro Steel Plant. Fate placed him behind the wheel of the Managing Director’s car.
From that seat, he saw something bigger: his own son should get the same quality of education as the MD’s son.
He had very little, but he chose differently.
The Real Investment
While his friends were investing their savings in banks and property, my father invested every bit of his earnings into his children’s education.
His belief was simple: Property can be lost, but knowledge stays for life.
After two years of struggle, I finally got admission to one of the best schools in Bokaro. That was the foundation of everything that followed.
The Words That Became My Compass
On the day of admission, Thomas Sir sat at the cash counter. He looked at my admission form, then looked at me, and said something that has stayed with me forever:
“Don’t be just Uttam… be Sarvottam.”
That single line became the compass for my life.
It reminds me even today that we are not bound by where we start, but by how far we choose to go. Every success, every failure, every reinvention—is part of this journey from Uttam to Sarvottam.
The Lesson
Failures don’t define us—the resilience to rise again does.
Entrepreneurship, like life, isn’t about never falling. It’s about finding the courage to stand up, again and again.
And every time I stumbled, I remembered my father’s belief and Thomas Sir’s words.
The Takeaway
Ventures may fail. Careers may twist and turn. But the entrepreneurial spirit never fails if we keep learning and moving forward.
A dream might take years or even generations to materialize, but the dream has to start somewhere.
We are not bound by where we start, but by how far we choose to go.
Who was the first person to spark ambition in your life? For me, it was a father who saw beyond his circumstances and a teacher who saw beyond my name.
Editorial Note
This essay combines two pieces originally published on LinkedIn—a post and an article—and has been revised for uk4.in.
Original publication date: 2025-09-15
Original link: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/am-i-failed-entrepreneur-uttam-jaiswal-ilcic