Making the shift from Bhilwara, a town in Rajasthan to the city of Mumbai to follow one’s dreams was definitely no piece of cake. Let’s learn on how @CA Manish Tejwani made it to the world of Investment Banking.

His journey began when his teacher back in twelfth grade mentioned about Chartered Accountancy, which made him curious about the same.

He joined a CPT coaching class thereafter. Not only did he aim high, but he was also self-aware which is equally important. He realised that being an average student wasn’t going to work for him unless he worked on himself more.

And what is even more commendable is that he cleared the first two levels of the CA exams at the first go despite being from a Hindi medium background.

Quite moving, isn’t it? It’s a given fact that once you set your mind on to anything that you want to achieve, no one but you can be a hindrance in the process.

He also made it to Mumbai on his own to pursue his articleship. This too came with its own set of challenges as he very humbly mentioned that for the first few months he had to struggle to get articleship in Mumbai and he stayed at a religious community until he began working.

He carries with himself an exposure in various diverse fields such as auditing, mergers and acquisitions, valuation and even working on IPOs.

And not to forget, he successfully aced through CA Final in his first attempt which was challenging in many ways as one one hand, it was also his very First Attempt to giving any exams in English language and that too at the level of CA Final and on other hand, due to a medical emergency in the family, he had to quit his studies for some months and was left with less than 2 months to prepare for CA Final. Through living and succeeding past all this, he is now working at Systematix Corporate Services from past two and a half years as an Investment Banker.

Throughout the journey, he has been grateful for everything that came his way and firmly believes that every project is an amazing opportunity that offers you a lot to learn.

He also truly stands by his ethics wherein he believes that “No matter what you work on, it is important to fulfill the purpose of the task at hand and to move away from unprofessional habits or situations”.

It’s true that when we are trying to define and find a career that best suits our interest, we may end up being demotivated at times because of the constant challenges and struggles that come along our way and we then seek for any source of inspiration or positivity that helps us through it.

Manish too spoke about the same. He faced many difficulties along the way but never gave up. The challenges that he faced made him more patient, wise and knowledgeable.

This helped him come out of the situation much stronger than before and pushed him to keep trying for more and make the decisions which were needed at the moment. And, this is what he had to say about staying motivated through the process-

“There will always be someone who inspires us and shows us the light and ray of hope that we may be looking for. To me, my teacher who makes me realise the importance for this profession and my neighbors who were also teachers, have guided me a lot and helped me find my right career path. I definitely believe that there will be an inner voice that helps you gather the strength and courage to follow your dreams and make them true.”

We completely felt every bit of what he said as you do need your support system at the end of the day to back you when you feel things might be falling apart. This helps us stay grounded too, which is very crucial.

Last but not the least, we asked him to share about what he thinks is the success mantra and what other aspirants can keep in mind while pursuing the course. According to him the combination of hard work, consistent reading, staying updated, proper research of any topic related to your profession or your work helps you to have an edge in regards to what you may be doing and it helped him deliver to the best of his capabilities.

Aren’t we all aware of it but how many of us practice it? A good take away for us from this interaction is that never stop dreaming and working towards your goals.

No matter where you are from or what your past has been, it is you who has the entire control of what you want your future to be like. So, never stop hustling!

In case you are naturally curious about the Investment Banking space and wants to get in touch with Manish, he there to help. You can book a session with him at https://www.acementorclub.com/bookings-checkout/session-with-ca-manish-tejwani

Special thanks to Arushi Kapila and Kirti Sharma for covering the story.