Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani shared a personal story about the first time he broke the status quo. The story, he said, laid the foundation of “who I was to become”.
Mr Adani, who delivered the keynote address at the 51st India Gem and Jewellery Awards in Jaipur this evening, said that diamond trading was his entry point into his journey to becoming an entrepreneur.
“In the year 1978, at the age of 16, I left my school, left my home in Ahmedabad, and took a one-way ticket to Mumbai. I had no idea what I would do but I was clear that I wanted to be an entrepreneur. And I believed Mumbai was the city of opportunities that would give me this chance,” said Mr Adani.
The billionaire recalled the “joy” of closing his first deal and commission of Rs 10,000.
“I got my first opportunity at Mahendra Brothers, where I learned the art of diamond assorting. Even today, I recall the joy of closing my first deal. It was a transaction with a Japanese buyer and I got a commission of Rs 10,000. That day marked the start of a journey that would shape the way I would live my life as an entrepreneur,” he said.
Mr Adani also shared the “priceless lessons” that trading taught him: “…trading makes a great teacher. What I learned, as a teenager, was that trading does not come with safety nets. In fact, it is a discipline where you must find the courage to fly without any protective nets. You must learn to take the jump and trust your own wings. In this field, hesitation is the difference between winning and losing. Each decision is a test, not just against the market, but against the limits of your own mind.”
“Too much of an attachment to outcomes limits your ability to challenge the status quo,” was another lesson.
He asserted that the Adani Group stands where it is today because it is not afraid to challenge itself. “To accept the status quo is to settle for a destiny where you stop questioning, stop dreaming, and stop exploring your own potential… We continuously redefined our boundaries, refused to accept limits, and were comfortable with the discomfort of change. Our journey has been built on the foundation of grit, and a relentless drive to overcome challenges,” he added.
During the speech, Mr Adani also spotlighted the challenges faced by the Adani Group. He mentioned the report by US-based short seller Hindenburg Research in January 2023 and a legal matter involving the US Department of Justice.
“Every attack makes us stronger and every obstacle becomes a stepping stone for a more resilient Adani Group. The fact is that despite a lot of the vested reporting, no one from the Adani side has been charged with any violation of the FCPA or any conspiracy to obstruct justice. I want to re-confirm our absolute commitment to world-class regulatory compliance,” he said.
Earlier, Adani Green, a firm under the Adani Group, had also called media reports on the US legal matter as “incorrect”, in a stock exchange filing.