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How To Become a Billionaire By Selling Nothing
An entrepreneur's dreams of success are stepped on when a billionaire he approaches for funding shoos him away with a meager 1 Lakh. Fuelled by his desire for revenge, the entrepreneur sets up a large scale manufacturing set up and manufactures the greatest product ever devised: nothing! His marketing skills help land investments by the hundreds, from the regretful billionaire to the deep-pockets of Indian politicians. However, his ride to success is cut short as another company claims that he has infringed on their ideas. In this spoof on success, Aditya Magal spares no one, and his writing captures the humour and absurdity of India. Hi
392 pages, Paperback
First published May 3, 2014
13 people are currently reading
159 people want to read
About the author
Aditya Magal
1 book59 followersWelcome to the official Goodreads Author page of Aditya Magal!
Magal is a writer and columnist based out of India.
Primarily a storyteller, his literary influences include RK Narayan, Agatha Christie, Jerome K Jerome, JRR Tolkien, JK Rowling, Jhumpa Lahiri, C.Rajagopalachari, Charles Dickens, Arundhati Roy, Roald Dahl and countless others.
He is also a huge manga and comic book nerd. Influences include Masashi Kishimoto, Hiromu Arakawa, Stan Lee, Alan Moore, Hajime Isayama, Kouta Hirano, Rumiko Takahashi, Amar Chitra Katha and more.
His first novel titled 'How To Become A Billionaire By Selling Nothing'; a satire based on business and consumerism was released by Penguin Random House in 2014.
He currently writes feature op-eds for the newspaper Bangalore Mirror under the column titled 'Notes From the 560'.
He has also been a columnist for HT Brunch magazine; In addition he has written for Hindustan Times, The Economic Times, Outlook Magazine, JAM, The Quint and others.
Magal has gained popularity primarily as a Humorist and Satirist, though he has written non-humorous material too. He ran the satire blog The Secret Journal of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala based on Legendary Indian Investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala. {Currently defunct, can be viewed here: http://www.rakeshjhunjhunwala.in/}
Magal is a writer and columnist based out of India.
Primarily a storyteller, his literary influences include RK Narayan, Agatha Christie, Jerome K Jerome, JRR Tolkien, JK Rowling, Jhumpa Lahiri, C.Rajagopalachari, Charles Dickens, Arundhati Roy, Roald Dahl and countless others.
He is also a huge manga and comic book nerd. Influences include Masashi Kishimoto, Hiromu Arakawa, Stan Lee, Alan Moore, Hajime Isayama, Kouta Hirano, Rumiko Takahashi, Amar Chitra Katha and more.
His first novel titled 'How To Become A Billionaire By Selling Nothing'; a satire based on business and consumerism was released by Penguin Random House in 2014.
He currently writes feature op-eds for the newspaper Bangalore Mirror under the column titled 'Notes From the 560'.
He has also been a columnist for HT Brunch magazine; In addition he has written for Hindustan Times, The Economic Times, Outlook Magazine, JAM, The Quint and others.
Magal has gained popularity primarily as a Humorist and Satirist, though he has written non-humorous material too. He ran the satire blog The Secret Journal of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala based on Legendary Indian Investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala. {Currently defunct, can be viewed here: http://www.rakeshjhunjhunwala.in/}
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
July 23, 2019
Really enjoyed the book. Extremely witty and satirical in its humour. Have been following @jhunjhunwala on Twitter since early years and now can’t wait for Aditya’s next book. I recommend highly if you enjoy this take on consumerism in an over the top slapstick style of humour.
May 1, 2018
The portrayal of awesomeness around the fictional / so-called-fictional character Jhunjhunwala, his uber-narcissistic outlook & his exorbitant lifestyle are some of the things that make this book fun to read. There are also several satires on business practices, marketing tactics, politics, films, business icons - practically all things life.
The story starts with a wannabe entrepreneur meeting Jhunjhunwala asking him to invest in his venture where he plans to make "Nothing" (yes, Nothing). Then Jhunjhunwala is conned into getting 15% stake in the said company. Market surprisingly reacts positively to the idea of Nothing & the company becomes an overnight mega-success. This marks the start of a wild roller-coaster ride that goes thru a patent suit followed by a court hearing that brings Jhunjhunwala's credibility in jeopardy. Jhunjhunwala must now fight his way out & clear the mess. He does so and does it quite like a superhero !
In the middle, the story does seem to drag a little but later makes up for it as Jhunjhunwala & his gang of loyalists gear up to kick the said entrepreneur to the curb.
If you follow the author Aditya Magal on twitter, you already know the type of humor to expect. Like me, If you enjoy reading light hearted satire on things around, you're likely not going to regret ordering yourself a copy.
The story starts with a wannabe entrepreneur meeting Jhunjhunwala asking him to invest in his venture where he plans to make "Nothing" (yes, Nothing). Then Jhunjhunwala is conned into getting 15% stake in the said company. Market surprisingly reacts positively to the idea of Nothing & the company becomes an overnight mega-success. This marks the start of a wild roller-coaster ride that goes thru a patent suit followed by a court hearing that brings Jhunjhunwala's credibility in jeopardy. Jhunjhunwala must now fight his way out & clear the mess. He does so and does it quite like a superhero !
In the middle, the story does seem to drag a little but later makes up for it as Jhunjhunwala & his gang of loyalists gear up to kick the said entrepreneur to the curb.
If you follow the author Aditya Magal on twitter, you already know the type of humor to expect. Like me, If you enjoy reading light hearted satire on things around, you're likely not going to regret ordering yourself a copy.
August 30, 2014
I picked up this book while casually going through new releases on flipkart...the topic interested me and so was the character "Jhunjhunwala". This is a hilarious read as the author takes a dig at everything right from selling useless products with 99 price ending strategies, political and economic situation, celebrities, media houses etc. The main character heavily borrows traits from the legendary investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala who is a larger than life guy extremely rich and AWESOME. The fun begins when he comes to know that he has invested in a company which creates product "NOTHING" and the stock price is growing day by day as more people are buying nothing, what then follows is a fun riot when the company is sued for patent violation, environmental hazard etc all served by the author with a spoonful of SATIRE which definitely makes it a fun read. :)
August 22, 2014
This book is full of satire & sarcasm on everything Indian - Politics, Media, Sports, Bollywood etc. This is the major plus of book but unfortunately this is also the minus.
I found it very interesting in the beginning as I loved the idea of selling 'NOTHING', but as it progressed the story became needlessly drawn out and boring. At the end, however, it became satisfying as the author brought the story on track. The satire sometimes fell flat but surely had many great LOL and LMAO moments.
Overall, How to Become a Billionaire by Selling Nothing is a good attempt by debutant writer Aditya Magal.
I found it very interesting in the beginning as I loved the idea of selling 'NOTHING', but as it progressed the story became needlessly drawn out and boring. At the end, however, it became satisfying as the author brought the story on track. The satire sometimes fell flat but surely had many great LOL and LMAO moments.
Overall, How to Become a Billionaire by Selling Nothing is a good attempt by debutant writer Aditya Magal.
September 14, 2016
"How to Become a Billionaire by selling nothing" is written by Aditya Magal in well manner of single Orientate Person thoughts of converting a dream into reality. To be at top you must not forget the ethics of Business and without them, you just piece of paper.
But I like the way Aditya Introduce the Great, Awesome, One and Only Jhunjhunwala. His way of living the awesmic life and decision making and creation- Hat off.
I really enjoy a lot while reading the journey of Mr.Nothing and role of Rudra Pratap Singh,...LOl
But I like the way Aditya Introduce the Great, Awesome, One and Only Jhunjhunwala. His way of living the awesmic life and decision making and creation- Hat off.
I really enjoy a lot while reading the journey of Mr.Nothing and role of Rudra Pratap Singh,...LOl
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 1, 2016
A very good satire on the Corporate world & also the Media to a certain extent.Magal also see's to it that the reader is able to relate to the situations by infusing/mentioning real life charachters in the story. You will certainly get a lot of "something" that will bring a smile to your face and worry about "nothing" as long as this book is in your hands.
July 25, 2014
This book is a work of fiction. All characters in this novel are fictitious. Resemblance to actual events and/or locales and/or persons, living or dead, is coincidental. Some names, places, and situations may have been parodied for humour, satire, and entertainment purposes only and such instances are not to believed or understood as fact.
November 14, 2014
Review: http://wp.me/p2J8yh-2FG
What works:
Cover design and the idea behind it
Humor – be it sarcasm, puns, spoofs or illustrations
We may relate to some of the characters
What doesn’t:
The main character becomes boring and predictable after a while.
It becomes tedious to read once that happens.
It’d appeal more to a fan of humor genre.
What works:
Cover design and the idea behind it
Humor – be it sarcasm, puns, spoofs or illustrations
We may relate to some of the characters
What doesn’t:
The main character becomes boring and predictable after a while.
It becomes tedious to read once that happens.
It’d appeal more to a fan of humor genre.
June 22, 2014
Nice Comedy entertainment
Awestruck by Sri sri Jhunjhunwala powers
Reminded of Guru character in Despicable me
Awestruck by Sri sri Jhunjhunwala powers
Reminded of Guru character in Despicable me
February 12, 2016
awesome in parts but sometimes look like it has been stretched
May 20, 2017
The book is a 100% laugh riot. The chapters on Arnab Goswami's debate, courtroom drama are the best. Go for it!!
March 18, 2018
This book can give you awesomeitis.
June 24, 2019
Really funny. Good satire on what goes on in the business world.
August 21, 2019
Very very different book.Hilarious and crazy especially towards end.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews