Sahil says, “Clients are only shocked that I started my own company at 20!”
I could never sit down and study anything. Doing always took precedence for me. I had to be in action to learn anything. After a week in grade 9, I chose to drop out of school and joined Aarohi at 15. I am 23 today and it has been a very interesting journey for me.
The first few weeks as a self directed learner felt overwhelming. Suddenly, I had to make my own decisions. There was no one telling me what to do exactly. There was a lot of support and opportunities but the responsibility lay with me to decide, connect with others, plan, implement and reflect. This seemed like a big change. I was scared to have all that freedom and also, responsibility in my life, out of nowhere. The entire eco system was completely different from what I was used to.
Gradually, I understood myself better as I started designing my life – exploring various fields, knowing what accelerates my learning and things that hinder my progress, how to co create with others and my approach towards my passions.
I had a liking towards photography since I was 12. Once I started my open learning journey at 15, I started deeper explorations in photography taking assignments (some paid ones), learning wildlife photography, assisting seasoned photographers. I could see this was no longer a hobby. I was passionate about photography and aspired to take it to the professional level.
At 18, I started a full time job as a photographer with an ad agency. Parallelly, I was expanding my scope and learning graphic designing with some basic knowledge of photoshop. When the pandemic hit and all photography assignments were stalled, I started going deeper into graphic designing and social media marketing. Through the experience, I also got exposed to the world of digital marketing which really fascinated me and I knew where I was headed next.
At 20, I started a partnership firm providing services for digital marketing, SEO, SMM, website development and analytics. In 3 years, we could build a team of over 15 professionals ranging from – content writers, web developers, SEO experts etc.
My clients have always been in awe that I could start my company at 20. Their questions always revolved around if one could get a driver’s license or passport without a degree. There were never any questions on my capabilities ever because my portfolio spoke for me.
Without any degree, I feel like I have hit the fast forward button on my career where I could learn anything by working.
My entire professional journey was driven by learning on the fly, working in order to learn, course correcting from setbacks, getting work based on my portfolio. I see myself as a rally car, not having a fixed track but adapting myself to the situations around me and making the most out of it.
I am often asked if the aspect of financial security didn’t scare me as I embarked on my journey. Of course, it did but isn’t that a concern for anyone. In fact, with an open learning journey, I became financially independent from the age of 18.
The real world is no different for open learners if you have the drive and dedication to work towards your passion and stay committed to it.
