I am Sharan Hegde, better known as Finance With Sharan.  Actively looking for super smart people to work with me- superdm.com/sharan

With 3.5 million+ subscribers on YouTube and 2.7 million followers on Instagram - you must have seen my entertaining finance videos pop up in your feed, but my LinkedIn is going to tell you a different story. Here I will share my entrepreneurial stories.

With a team of 150+ people, I am going to build my start-up ‘1% Club’ in public.

But before I tell you more, here is a little backstory

It started during my school days when I could not make it to my dream IIT (average Indian household story). That setback made me fiercely competitive. I carried that energy for the next few years of my life.

Fast forward to 2019, I picked up another goal of securing a promotion at my job as a management consultant. Without this promotion, MBA application would look bad. Two years of pure hard work and grind led to a massive 5% increment in salary with no promotion. 

There you go, setback number 2.

Next, I attempted CAT 2021 with the aim of IIM Bangalore in my heart, and if you didn’t see it coming already, this was setback number 3.

I'm sure my story resonates with millions of you guys. So what did I do next? I wrapped up all these learnings, treated failures as feedback, and evolved in an unconventional manner. This is how Finance With Sharan was born.

My mission to spread financial literacy and make it fun for others saw growth in leaps and bounds. Over the last 3 years, I have realized that there is a need to make finance simple and effective, and that is exactly what I am here to do.

Around 2 years back I started The 1% Club. an exclusive members-only community to help people achieve financial independence and become the top 1%. Financial independence is a superpower to never be controlled by money. Less than 1% of people can achieve in their lifetime. Even Kaun Banega Crorepati winners end up bankrupt. Clearly, there is a massive need for us to learn what our schools never taught us and The 1% Club is the solution to this problem.

Sharan Hegde

Big news! We just received our 2nd SEBI license - the Research Analyst License. This means we can now provide direct stock recommendations to our clients.

Here's the reality of Indian markets: 93% of traders lose money, and 98% can't even beat fixed deposit returns. The top 2% who consistently win? They're mostly institutional investors with teams of professionals analyzing markets full-time.

Trading is a zero-sum game - wealth transfers from gamblers to experts. Most fintech companies operate as brokerages because they profit regardless of whether you win or lose, raking in thousands of crores annually.

We saw a gap that needed fixing: retail investors have never had access to institutional-grade research. Here's what even professionals won't tell you - the best traders are only right 50-60% of the time. The real edge isn't being right more often; it's knowing exactly how much to risk on each trade.

In February 2024, we became SEBI-registered RIAs to manage wealth end-to-end for HNI clients. But hiring a dedicated financial planner isn't feasible for most people. That's why we applied for the RA license six months ago - we received it last week. Our in-house research team is already operational, and we're actively hiring market experts to serve millions of retail investors.

I'm incredibly grateful to SEBI for placing their trust in us - not once, but twice. And we're not stopping here. Our roadmap includes launching a PMS and our own mutual fund.

A special thank you to our investor Gruhas (Nikhil Kamath's fund) for their unwavering guidance in building 1% Club, opening doors, and being a constant pillar of support.

To my 70 lakh followers across social media - you are the foundation of everything we've built. It's been 5 years since I started from my mother's bedroom during lockdown. The journey from there to here is beyond anything 10-year-old Sharan could have imagined in his wildest dreams.

Download the 1% Club app (link in comment section) from Play Store or App Store to track your networth and transform your finances.

Founder & CEO, 1% Club | Forbes 30U30 | Helping India make better financial decisions

Nine out of ten businesses fail because of financial mismanagement. 

I just sat down with Dr. Anil Lamba, author of "Romancing the Balance Sheet" and the man who trains companies like L&T, ICICI, Ultratech.

And he told me something that shocked me: "The least finance management happens in the finance department."

Most business owners think the finance guy sits in accounts. Wrong. 
The clerk in customs is your finance guy. 

Dr. Anil asked me one question that every business owner should answer: "Do you know your cost of capital?"

Ask 100 businessmen in India, 98 can't tell you. 
They think vendor money is free. 
They think delayed payments don't matter. 
They think profit is just revenue minus cost.

But here's the truth: If your employees are making money, if your vendors are making money, if your landlord is making money, but you're not earning above your cost of capital? 

You'll shut it down. And nobody makes money.
He shared a story about a ₹1,000+ crore company with thin margins but 50% ROI.

 How? They rotated money 52 times a year. 7 days from customs to collection: profit. 8 days: loss.

That's the difference between understanding finance and just "doing business."

In this conversation, we covered: 
- Why most businesses fail (it's avoidable) 
- What cost of capital really means 
- How to think about every rupee in your business
- How to know if your business is actually making money.

If you're a business owner or thinking of starting something, this conversation will change how you see money.

Full conversation with Dr. Anil on my YouTube channel. Link in comments.

Becoming a crorepati in India today is not luck. It’s mathematics.

If you understand how money flows into and out of your life, reaching the 1% Club becomes a certainty.

Growing up in Mangalore, my childhood dream was simple and ridiculous at the same time: I wanted to be the world’s richest person. I was obsessed with Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, not because I understood their companies, but because they were billionaires.

And all I was ever told was: “Study hard, get good grades, and life will reward you.”

If only wealth worked that way.

As I grew older, I realised something life-changing: getting rich is not a solo-player game. No matter how smart or hardworking you are, you cannot know everything, do everything, and grow fast alone.

Five years ago, when I started creating finance content, something unexpected happened, I began attracting people far smarter and richer than me.

Millionaires, founders, investors… people who didn’t just follow my content, but wanted to be friends, mentors, collaborators.

Fast-forward to today, I’ve had the privilege of meeting hundreds of millionaires and billionaires across India. They shaped my thinking, challenged my assumptions, and shared frameworks that helped me write this book.

This book is the distilled version of everything I’ve learnt.

A step-by-step playbook to fast-track your journey to becoming a crorepati, not someday but soon.

Inside, you’ll learn:
- How to legally save lakhs in taxes
- How to cut 20% off your monthly expenses without reducing your lifestyle
- How to plan free trips and luxury vacations
- How to buy your dream house at a discount
- How to drive a luxury car without feeling broke

And finally, how to grow your money across mutual funds, stocks, gold, real estate, global markets, and alternative assets

It took me one entire year to write this book, and it’s finally out.

From a boy in Mangalore starting from zero to where I am today… these ideas changed my life, my family’s life, and thousands of my client’s lives.

I hope they do the same for you.

Grab your copy of the book today: https://lnkd.in/decmRrrA

Most people think real estate is the ultimate wealth builder. This investment genius thinks otherwise.

Picture this: You're sitting across from the Chief Investment Officer of PGIM AMC, one of India's largest asset management companies. 

Aniruddha manages thousands of crores. He's been in the investment game for over 22 years. He's grown funds from ₹1,500 crores to ₹22,000 crores.

You'd expect him to own a sprawling apartment in South Mumbai, maybe a weekend villa in Lonavala, perhaps some commercial real estate throwing off rental income.

Instead, Aniruddha Nahar drops a bombshell: "I'm still staying on rent."

He's 50 years old. And he's been renting his entire life.

Not because he can't afford to buy. Not because he's waiting for the "right time." But because the math simply doesn't make sense.

Every CIO I've spoken to tells me the same story: "My wife finally made me buy a house." And Aniruddha? Same story. 

He's only recently booked his first property, and it hasn't even been delivered yet.

So what does one of India's sharpest investment minds see that the rest of us miss when it comes to real estate?

When I asked him about his biggest wins, his eyes lit up. 
He told me about a day in 2009 that changed everything.

He was managing the DSP Microcap fund. A scheduled meeting got canceled. A substitute meeting came in – with a small NBFC based out of Pune.
They bought it at ₹50 (pre-split, pre-bonus).
That NBFC? Bajaj Finance.

Today it's the largest NBFC in India by market cap. 
And if you do the math with all the splits and bonuses since 2009, that ₹50 investment would be worth over 200x today.

His fund was the first mutual fund to invest in it.

Sometimes destiny plays a role, but you have to be ready to recognize opportunity when it shows up unannounced. 

I sat down with him for a two-hour deep dive on The 1% Club Show, and what he revealed completely changed how I think about wealth building.

Find the full podcast here: https://lnkd.in/dqrmjhDU

Most mutual fund investors are losing money.
Not because markets crashed.

But because they picked the wrong fund in the right category.
Last week, I sat down with Amit Jain, co-founder of Ashika Global Family Office Services on The 1% Club show.

What he told me will shock you.

In the large cap category alone: the best fund gave 16.9% returns last year.
The worst? Just 9.4%.
That's a 7.5% difference. In the SAME category.

But wait—it gets worse in small caps.
Best performer: +8% returns
Worst performer: -12% returns
That's a 20% swing.

If you put ₹1 lakh in the best small cap fund, you'd have ₹1,08,000.
Pick the worst? You're down to ₹88,000.
₹20,000 difference. Same category. Same year.

Now here's where it gets interesting.

Amit's rule of thumb for investing is simple:
Your age = your large cap allocation.
30 years old? 30% in large cap, 70% in mid/small caps.
40 years old? 40% in large cap, 60% in mid/small caps.

As you age, you need more stability.
Large caps give you that.

But here's the catch: don't just pick ANY large cap fund.
Pick quality.

Ask yourself: did you pick the fund that's up 16.9% or down to 9.4%?

Watch my full conversation with Amit Jain where we break down exactly how to pick mutual funds that actually beat the market - link to The 1% Club podcast in comments.

Everyone talks about which stocks to buy. 
Almost nobody tells you HOW to actually build wealth systematically. 

So I sat down with Sandeep Jain to get real answers - and what he shared changed everything.

People always ask me: "Which stock should I buy? Which stock will become 10X?"

But Sandeep showed me that's the wrong question. 
The right question is: How do you build a system that works regardless of which stocks you pick?

His "Active Passive Investor" philosophy:
This is brilliant. Sandeep calls it being an "active passive investor."
Think of it like this: Driving your car through Mumbai traffic from Churchgate to Andheri vs. taking the Metro. 
Which is easier? The Metro.

That's what passive investing through mutual funds is - using public vehicles instead of trying to navigate everything yourself.

His asset allocation for young investors (20-40 years old):

→ Focus on mid-cap, small-cap, and micro-cap funds 
→ Mid-caps have given 7X returns in the last 10 years 
→ Nifty (large caps) gave only 4.5X in the same period 
→ Mid-cap is the "sweet spot" - getting upgraded small caps and downgraded large caps

The wealth progression ladder:
→ Start with SIPs in mutual funds (the "Metro") 
→ Graduate to PMS when you have ₹50 lakhs+ (the "chauffeur-driven car") 
→ Move to AIFs for higher risk-reward (the "hired luxury car") 
→ Always have a mentor/financial advisor to keep you invested in bad markets

The real estate question everyone asks:
When should you buy a house?
His answer: When you're earning ₹4-5 lakhs a month for a ₹2-3 crore house. Don't spend more than 50% of your salary on EMIs.

But here's the smart move: Start with "good EMIs" (SIPs) before "bad EMIs" (home loans). 

Invest first, then buy assets.

What's "big money" in India today?
₹1 crore was big money in 2000. Not anymore.
According to Sandeep, you need ₹4-5 crores minimum to be comfortable. 
That gives you ₹2-3 lakhs monthly passive income - enough to live lavishly in India.

His final advice that stuck with me:
"You have to love what you do. Understand your personality, your character, and do it to the best of your ability. It shouldn't feel like work."

That's the real wealth - doing what you love while your money works for you.

I've put the full conversation on The 1% Club Show: https://lnkd.in/dFhy_Z32

Sandeep breaks down everything from micro-caps to PMS strategies to when you should actually buy a house - no theory, just decades of practical experience.

What's your biggest money question right now? Drop it below.

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The Battle

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