Page 115 of 12 Years
‘You of all people are talking about taxes now?’
‘Cold and rational. Told you.’
‘Where, then?’
‘Dubai. A few months ago, a firm called Pantheon Fund approached me with an offer. I declined it then, but I think I can make it happen again.’
‘Oh. You have it all figured out already.’
‘Dubai is also closer to Mumbai. You can visit me, easily.’
‘I’m so bummed you’re leaving Mumbai. How will I manage without you?’
‘Then come with me. To Dubai.’
‘What will I do there?’ Mudit said.
‘We’ll figure something out. We can work together to build something.’
‘Bro, it’s going to be hard to leave the club right now. Maybe one day … Tell you what, though, once you open your own start-up, and it’s going somewhere, I’ll come join you. How about that?’
‘Done. Whatever my next venture is, you’ll be the co-founder,’ I said.
‘Wow, that does sound cool. Plus, I’ll get rich too.’
‘Most start-ups fail. You know that, right?’
‘Yeah. But I think you’ll make it work.’
‘What makes you so confident?’
‘Nobody can be that unlucky—in love and in work,’ Mudit said as we both burst into laughter.
PART II
DUBAI
‘You’re the most hard-working guy we have. And you’re quitting?’ Advik, my boss, said, leaning back in his swivel chair as he waited for me to respond.
‘I’m sad to leave as well,’ I said.
I sat in Advik’s office at Pantheon Fund, my employer for the last two years. Advik had started Pantheon seven years ago, and it had already grown into a two-billion-dollar fund.
‘Why are you leaving? Joining one of our competitors?’ Advik said, getting up and walking to the bay window that overlooked the Burj Khalifa.
‘No.’
‘We can match any offer. You know that.’
‘I’m not joining another firm. Pantheon’s a great place.’
‘Then?’ Advik said, still looking outside.
‘I’m going to build my own start-up.’
‘Oh.’ Advik turned around to look at me. ‘When did this happen? I didn’t know you had the start-up bug.’
‘It was always the plan. A long time ago, I had a start-up that I sold.’
