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“You’re going to work for 40+ years. Why let a 4-year degree decide all of 40 years?” -That’s what my first mentor told me when I had self-doubt on my decision to build a startup. After studying civil engineering at IIT Bombay and interning at Delhi Metro (back then, one of the top structural engineering projects of India), I wanted to start a company, totally unrelated to engineering. But I had serious self-doubt. Am I abandoning four years of education? Is this reckless? What if I’m making a mistake? Back in 2010, entrepreneurship wasn’t a popular career path. Startups weren’t dinner-table conversations. Most people didn’t understand the word - neither did I. But something in me wanted to take that leap. It sounds obvious now. But at the time, my mentor’s advice unlocked a new way of thinking. That we’re not bound by the choices we made at 17. That it’s okay to pivot. To start again. To follow what excites you now. If I have to pick up a new career path when I am 45, I’ll do it. Because learning doesn’t stop with a degree or a career. And growth doesn’t come from staying in the lane - you once chose in a college brochure. That mindset is what’s shaped my journey.