Anilesh Ahuja started his journey as a teenager entering the United States in the fall of 1982, he was fourteen years old. He left India after being raised in a thriving large city called Mumbai with a current population of 25 Million people and relocated with his father, in 1982 to a small town in New Hampshire, whose population then was 2500 people. His immigrant father immediately enrolled him into an all boys school during the middle of a school year. Needless to say, he was a speck of color, an exclamation point, on a very large white canvas which was the student body of the school. The social aspect, with his much smaller physical appearance, and with his father pushing him into a higher grade, given that he tested well, was a significant hurdle to climb. The physical differences were apparent, and could have seemed insurmountable. He spent his days attending classes for the current curriculum and evenings filling in the blanks from the school year he had already missed. Started learning foreign languages for the first time in 10th grade as a 14yr old, along with a plethora of new subjects and teaching styles. Yes, in the early days there were days of despair, and the feeling of the world/universe conspiring against a 14yr old was front and center in his mind. He didn’t then realize the lifetime of skills that were being nurtured during that time, and the ability to overcome the odds was born. He graduated and left school in New Hampshire, and while many were a little upset at graduation, he could not wait to turn the page to the next chapter. The next chapter, his university experience was incredible, graduating from the prestigious Ivy league university of Pennsylvania in 1989 with a Bachelor’s degree in Economics. Those were great years of coming of age and making lifelong friends and truly assimilating into the American dream with a very diverse canvas on campus. The 90s were spent like most young people, particularly immigrants, building his career and he also got married to the love of his life in 1992. There were many firsts, including being a husband, father and professionally. He was the youngest ever senior vice president at a bulge bracket bank, a leader in the field he had picked, and his career took off working at three different banks culminating into the Global head of Mortgages managing 1000s of employees for one of the largest global investment banks. He built his first firm in 2008, during the financial crisis into a very successful asset management business. Today, He humbly moves onto the next phase of his life in his motherland, India, where success for foreign investors, particularly in the asset class of real estate is considered to be against the odds. He has overcome many such situations and looks forward to the next chapter, which looking back 30 years now, the time in New Hampshire sowed the seeds to give him the skills to overcome and the steadfast resolve to turn the page and move ahead and he looks forward to beating the odds.
What is your typical day, and how do you make it productive?
I work 24/7 in two continents with my ventures in Real Estate and the field of Bio Tech. I wake up at 3am, where many would attest that they draw inspiration from my work ethic. I never sleep.
How do you bring ideas to life?
By actually putting ideas into practice. At some point you have to take the risk and dive into execution, calculated risk is a part of success.
What’s one trend that excites you?
How technology has touched and affected all aspects of life for the underprivileged.
What is one habit that helps you be productive?
Putting ideas into Action. Being Analytical, convincing myself and then never looking back.
What advice would you give your younger self?
Think through hiring decisions. You cannot do it all.
Tell us something you believe almost nobody agrees with you on?
One can overcome any odds with enough perseverance. Like the previous 5 years for me.
What is the one thing you repeatedly do and recommend everyone else do?
Look for inspiration in history.
When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do?
Meditate, look for solace in the almighty.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business or advance in your career?
Be open to ideas but don’t compromise your principles
What is one business idea you’re willing to give away to our readers?
Expected visitors to Ayodhya is approximately 50 million per year, there isn’t a business that cannot do well there.
What is one piece of software that helps you be productive? How do you use it?
Email and Whatsapp…use it to communicate, motivate and execute.
Do you have a favorite book or podcast you’ve gotten a ton of value from and why?
The Bhagwad Gita, by Eknath Easwaram.
What’s a movie or series you recently enjoyed and why?
I highly recommend the documentary “Beauty and the Bloodshed.”
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