At 26, man turned his IIT setback into a seven-figure salary and a BMW for dad
At 26, Shaurya Shikhar gifted his father a BMW worth Rs 55 lakh for retirement. Just a few years earlier, however, he was convinced that
At 26, Shaurya Shikhar gifted his father a BMW worth Rs 55 lakh for retirement. Just a few years earlier, however, he was convinced that his life had gone off track after failing to secure admission to an IIT. The story was recently shared by entrepreneur and content creator Ankur Warikoo in a LinkedIn post that has struck a chord with thousands online. While the luxury car caught attention, Warikoo insisted that the story was never really about money. Read Full Story “This post isn't about money. It's about a thought that arrives late, but always arrives. The thought that life eventually works out,” he wrote. According to Warikoo, Shaurya joined his team five years ago carrying the weight of disappointment and self-doubt.
Failing the IIT-JEE exam had hit him particularly hard because his father was an IIT graduate. He saw the rejection as a personal failure and struggled to move past it. Things didn't improve immediately. Instead of pursuing engineering, Shaurya enrolled in a BBA programme, a decision that only added to his uncertainty about the future. He was also battling personal challenges, including dissatisfaction with college life and concerns about his health. Warikoo recalled that Shaurya weighed more than 110 kgs at the time and often felt he had let down his parents. Looking back, it would have been difficult for him to imagine how dramatically his life would change within a few years.
Today, the picture looks very different. Read the inspiring post According to Warikoo, Shaurya now earns a seven-figure monthly income, has transformed his fitness, and recently bought his father a BMW as a retirement gift. The entrepreneur noted that the car purchase was comfortably within Shaurya's means, highlighting just how far he had come. Yet the central message of the story was not financial success but perseverance. “Life eventually works out. But it doesn't help to know that when you have failed,” Warikoo wrote. Instead, he argued that progress often comes from continuing to move forward even when the future seems uncertain. “KEEP MOVING,” he said, adding that Shaurya's journey serves as a reminder that setbacks rarely define an entire life.
Sometimes, the breakthrough comes years after the disappointment. The post quickly resonated with LinkedIn users, many of whom shared their own stories of failed entrance exams, career detours and unexpected success. While some congratulated Shaurya on the milestone of gifting his father a BMW, others said the most inspiring part of the story was the reminder that a setback at 17 or 18 does not determine the course of an entire life. Ends
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