Varun Aggarwal is an Indian author, entrepreneur, filmmaker, teacher, motivational speaker and investor. He is best known as the founder and CEO of online e-learning platform Mento. Varun is also known as the author of the national bestseller ‘How I Braved Anu Aunty and Co-Founded a Million Dollar Company’.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Varun Aggarwal was born on Sunday, 6 December 1987 (age 34 years; as in 2021) in Bangalore. Their zodiac sign is Sagittarius.
Varun Aggarwal in childhood
He did his schooling at Bishop Cotton Boys’ School, Bengaluru (1990–2004). He studied science in class 11 and class 12. Subsequently, he joined CMR Institute of Technology, Bengaluru to pursue Bachelor of Engineering in Telecommunication. When he was studying in 11th class, Varun wanted to become a film producer. The fact that someone could show what was going on inside their mind using a camera made him very happy. However, his mother, influenced by her best friend Anu (Anu Aunty to Varun), pushed him into engineering. Varun fails his first year college examinations, before finally passing. Talking about this in an interview he said,
I failed Network Analysis (one of the papers) three times and motivated myself to pass it only when I realized I couldn’t afford to fail anymore.
Soon, he started making YouTube videos. When he was in the middle of his course, he got a job offer from a production company and decided to leave engineering. However, his mother convinced him to complete his course. After completing his graduation, Varun moved to Mumbai and started working as a director.
Physical Appearance
Height (Approx): 5′ 10″
Hair Color: Black
Eye colour: black
Family
Varun Aggarwal was born in a middle class family.
parents and siblings
His mother’s name is Purnima Agarwal. He had a younger brother named Mayank, who died due to COVID-19 on 16 April 2021.
Varun Agarwal with his mother Purnima Agarwal
Varun Agarwal’s younger brother, Mayank Agarwal
Wife
Varun is unmarried.
livelihood
as a youtuber
While in college, Varun started making videos and uploading them on social media. In 2007, he made a music video for Pentagram, a music brand, which went viral and received almost 100,000 views.
As a video director
When he was in his second year of college, a production company offered him a job directing music videos. He wanted to take advantage of the opportunity. However, his mother convinced him to complete his graduation first. Soon, after completing his graduation, Varun moved to Mumbai, and started working with the company Fat Fish Productions. In his first assignment, he directed a music video for AR Rahman.
Varun Agarwal is directing AR Rahman.
He has also directed a music video with Bollywood actress Preity Zinta.
Varun Aggarwal is directing Preity Zinta
Later, she collaborated with Bengaluru-based stand-up comedian Sanjay Manaktala to create a music video titled ‘Anu Aunty, Engineering Anthem’. This video was based on his book ‘How I Braved Anu Aunty and Co-Founded a Million Dollar Company’. The video was shown on The Anthu Cutlets, a YouTube channel promoted by Varun in 2014 to showcase comedians from Bengaluru.
as a writer
In 2012, he launched his semi-autobiographical book ‘How I Braved Anu Aunty and Co-Founded a Million Dollar Company’. The book was published by Rupa Publishers and soon became a national bestseller. In the same year, it reached 5th position on the Amazon India bestseller list.
Varun Aggarwal’s book How I Braved Anu Aunty and Co-Founded a Million Dollar Company
Varun Aggarwal signing his book at a tuck shop
Later this book was also published in Vietnamese language.
Vietnamese version of How I Braved Anu Aunty
In 2022, Bollywood directors Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari and Nitesh Tiwari decided to make a film based on Varun’s book ‘How I Braved Anu Aunty and Co-Founded a Million Dollar Company’. The name of the film was ‘Stop it Aunty!’
Varun Aggarwal with the makers and production team of Just Do Aunty!
as an entrepreneur
In 2005, when Varun was in his first year of college, he started a production company for online video content such as music videos, corporate films and advertisement films. The company was named ‘Last Minute Films’. The company’s first video got about 3 lakh likes on YouTube.
Last Minute Films Logo
After working as a video director for almost two years, Varun returned from Mumbai to Bangalore for a holiday. In Bangalore, when he was having dinner with a friend, he came up with a business idea. The idea was to create goods and sell them online for school and college students across India. In 2009, Varun, along with his friend, founded an online store called ‘Alma Mater’, which provides customized merchandise for schools, colleges and corporate sectors. The company struggled for about 2 years and later touched a revenue of $1 million in 2011 after finding suitable investors. The company has also launched a customized online T-shirt maker tool called PLAY. For this he was also shown on the cover of India Today magazine.
Varun Aggarwal seen on the cover of India Today magazine
By 2022, Alma Mater is associated with approximately 3500 schools and colleges, 800 corporates and 400 private groups in approximately 350 cities across India. In 2010 he started a social media marketing firm called Reticular. Subsequently, he founded an online e-learning platform named Grades Don’t Matter. The company is India’s first ed-tech platform for creative courses. Later its name was changed to Mento.
mento logo
as a motivational speaker
As a motivational speaker, Varun has shared his success story at various public platforms like Google India Headquarters, Cisco India Headquarters, Yahoo India Headquarters, HP India Headquarters, Unilever (London), with employees of tobacco firm Philip Morris in Macau. Is of.
Varun Aggarwal addressing employees at EY
He has also appeared as a speaker on INK Talks to share his story of rising from an engineering student to a successful entrepreneur.
Varun Aggarwal during INK Talks session
Other work
Varun has given guest lectures in various schools and colleges across India.
Varun Aggarwal addressing students at PECFEST 2019
He also promotes the Tree Planting Challenge, an initiative to make Bengaluru a green city.
Varun Aggarwal’s Instagram post
He has also been the brand ambassador of Lenovo’s Flex product. Talking about how he got the opportunity in an interview, he said,
Creative agency 22feet contacted me. They wanted someone young and also someone who could live two lives simultaneously. They liked what I had done so far and I did a commercial for them. Which I think is great because supporting any brand is a big step for an entrepreneur.”
Signature
Varun Agarwal’s autograph
Favorite
- Cuisine: South Indian, Italian
Facts/General Knowledge
- Varun is often seen drinking alcohol on many occasions.
- He avoids smoking.
- An avid dog lover, Varun once had a pet dog named Cookie.
Varun Aggarwal’s pet dog
- In an interview, Varun revealed that he was a very shy and quiet child during his school days.
- During an interview, when Varun was asked about the idea behind his book ‘How I Braved Anu Aunty and Co-Founded a Million Dollar Company’, he said,
I used to write blogs on the alma mater Facebook page, they became famous, and someone suggested I write a book. I wrote the book in 7 days, put it together and sent it to Rupa Publishers. It was ready after a month. It’s great to fail because no one ever succeeds unless you fail. Indian society encourages one not to fail, but I disagree. I have learned the most from my failures.”
- Varun follows a non-vegetarian diet.
Varun Aggarwal’s Instagram post
- His family and friends call him Varun.
- During an interview, while talking about the film being made on his book, he said,
I wrote this book in 2012 and I had no idea that one day it would be made into a film. I still remember when I was writing the book I wondered who would read it and maybe writing a book was a stupid thing to do. A great man once said ‘Stay hungry and stay stupid’ and I assure you every word of it is true.’
- In 2020, he was selected as one of the jury members of the Forbes India 30 Under 30 list.
Varun Aggarwal as jury member of Forbes India 30 Under 30
- In his Instagram post, he once revealed that he suffered from clinical depression for about three years. He came out of it through continuous therapy and medicines. Apparently, after launching his startup Grades Don’t Matter, Varun didn’t feel like going to his workplace and preferred to stay in bed the whole day. He later learned that he was suffering from clinical depression.
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn