Irrationally Passionate: My Turnaround from Rebel to Entrepreneur

by Jason Kothari

While a college student at Wharton, Jason Kothari scraped together money from family and friends to save his childhood favourite comic book company, Valiant Entertainment, from bankruptcy and bring it back to life. A few years later, he transformed Valiant into the third-largest superhero entertainment company in the world after Marvel and DC Comics and sold it for $100 million.

Jason then became a professional turnaround leader and went on to transform distressed. Indian Internet icons Housing.com, FreeCharge and Snapdeal, helping save billions of dollars in value, and advise giants like technology investor Softbank and real estate developer Emaar, who have invested billions of dollars in India.

Irrationally Passionate reveals the inside story of how a rebel, train-wreck kid transformed himself into a successful young entrepreneur and business leader who became one of the top ten paid executives in India while only in his 30s.

From getting his first job as an assistant to Jackie Chan in Hong Kong, to learning
strategy from champion Muay Thai fighters in Thailand, to tackling huge personal setbacks, to becoming a CEO in 60 seconds, among many other stories— Jason’s inspiring journey across countries, industries and companies has something for everyone, right from students to entrepreneurs to corporate CEOs to even parents of students and entrepreneurs.

Irrationally Passionate is a highly personal, authentic, open and complete account of a young entrepreneur’s life. Brimming with practical advice and philosophical insights, it will force readers to reflect on how they perceive life, work, family and spirituality by giving them a fresh perspective.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jason Kothari is a passionate entrepreneur and business turnaround leader. While still in college, he acquired the bankrupt US-based Valiant Entertainment and led its transformation as the CEO to the third-largest superhero entertainment company after Marvel and DC and a sale for $100 million, a record industry return.

Subsequently, Jason was the CEO of Housing.com, where he led the transformation of the distressed company and a merger with News Corp’s PropTiger to create the $350 million industry leader.

Following this, he was the Chief Strategy & Investment Officer of Snapdeal, where he played a lead role in transforming the distressed company from a monthly loss of over $20 million to a profit, the first for an Indian e-commerce company. Jason was also the CEO of FreeCharge, where he led the sale of the company to Axis Bank for $60 million.

In addition, he has been a senior advisor to Softbank; Noon.com, a Middle Eastern e-commerce company that has raised $1 billion; and is a Board Director of Emaar India, which has over $2 billion in real estate assets. Jason holds a B.S.
from The Wharton School and lives in Mumbai.

He is also Executive Producer of the upcoming blockbuster movie Bloodshot (Sony Pictures) starring Vin Diesel releasing worldwide on March 13, 2020.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Business

264 pages, Hardcover

Published March 11, 2020

Reviews

[Amisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

"That turnaround trait —running towards, not away, from personal weaknesses—became a habit"

What is success? What makes an entrepreneur? I am sure that all of us, at least, once in our lives, we must have come across a lot of success stories of various personalities from different fields and walks of life. But I feel that many of us don't come to know about the underlying philosophy and eternal truths behind the shining success. Therefore, today I would like to talk about the book — "Irrationally Passionate : My Turnaround from Rebel to Entrepreneur" by Jason Kothari.

This book, is an up-close and personal account of a "rebel" who turned into an "entrepreneur". The author narrates every incident in his life that has affected his mindset and developed his personality. He narrates it very smoothly and beautifully, and I have to admit that it felt as if he were my mentor. This is what I exactly expect from a non-fiction book i.e., the deep connection between the writing and the reader. I also felt a connection when he said —
"You'll never know how fortunate you are to live in India until you've been made to live elsewhere"
I, as a person who has never left the Indian soil, seldomly appreciated the value of my country and the rich culture that it offers, because a lot of times, I took it for granted and sometimes went on a complaining spree. Since Jason has always lived away from India, he expressed how direly he missed the warmth and affection back at his grandparents' home in Rajkot. His love for India and its culture just won my heart. Apart from his achievements, this line inspired me, even more, to do something worthwhile and make my country proud.

"Captain a rowboat before a ship, a ship before a fleet."
This quote above is just etched on my mind. It is a piece of simple yet practical advice and can be applied in any profession or line of work. There are many more such instances in the book, where such simple and condensed bits of advice, applicable to difficult situations are written. The author has an extraordinary capability of pinpointing all the instances where he made mistakes and expressing the takeaways, lucidly. The book is overflowing with practical advice and meaningful insights. It highly encourages its readers to change their age-old rusted perception of life, work, family, and spirituality.

Some autobiographical accounts are extremely casual and readers have to dig deep to learn something but I feel this is what makes this book different. Here, the author's writing style is extremely to the point, with no sugar coatings. He has a very systemic yet oddly philosophical approach to the life and the unending struggle, which we all have to fight on our own, and exceed our limits of determination or as the title says be "Irrationally Passionate"! This book can be read by anybody because the structure is extremely simple and comprehensible and should be read whenever you are feeling low in life, and I am sure that to a major extent this book will help you in turning around your life towards the brighter side. This book has turned out to be one of my revered "guidebooks" on life.

[Khyati Gautam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a person purely driven by passion. I always look for things to know and learn. As I say, "I have no problem in continuously involving in the process of education, I just want to indulge in learning something that interests me." So when I got the opportunity to review this book, there was no way that I was saying a no to this. And I am absolutely happy to experience it.

Irrationally Passionate by Jason Kothari is a fine account of a nobody becoming one of the top-paying executives of India, of becoming an outstanding businessman. In this book, Jason shares how he kickstarted his entrepreneurial journey from a very young age and went on to become a much sought after strategist. He has been involved in turning around the businesses which were sinking, he has been involved in the continuous process of educating and learning, he kept going ahead because he was passionate about something. He draws upon his early experiences of growing up in a land that didn't feel like home, his bitter experiences, and recollects how he got into his first entrepreneurial stint. He gradually moves towards sharing his set of failures and successes as he joined different companies which shed light on the reality of doing business. With this piece of narrative non-fiction, Jason talks us out of our fairytale assumptions and brings to light how tough it is to be an entrepreneur and that how being one makes you a better version of yourself.

The writing is simple and comprehensible. Because the author reflects on his personal experiences and relates every key learning to them, one wouldn't feel disassociated from the book. The narration is really good and smooth. The coherence of the narrative is excellent. Although at some points the language might puzzle you, it would still be a sailable ride. I cannot put it into a single genre for a reason that it purely falls into none. We would see talks of business and would also have a glimpse of the author's personal life. Here's the point I recall from the book that you cannot compartmentalize your personal and professional lives. They are one and the same.

Jason's rebellious spirit inspires us to push our limits. It teaches us to not give up on our aspirations. The road would be rocky but you, through persistence, can tread it easily. Just don't give in to the odds stacked against you, don't submit to the adversities, don't let your spirits die down; if you believe in something, do everything in your capacity to succeed, fight until you succeed.

I would want to share a few of my favorite lines from this book -

1. No entrepreneur's path is ever a straight line. Setbacks are constant, disappointments guaranteed. Moreover, no one is born an entrepreneur; they are forged in the rough and tumble crucible of life.
2. Captain a rowboat before a ship, a ship before a fleet.
3. Money isn't a goal, it is a by-product. Money flows to value. When you create the latter, you get the former.
4. Equity is about creating an ecosystem of interconnected, cross-pollinated value propositions that, together, could generate serious, sustainable value.
5. Seven golden pillars for an ideal start-up: large and growing market size, high margin, scalable, proven management team, less capital intensive, sustainable competitive advantage, and established business model.

If you are looking for an engaging business read, you might pick this one up.

[Priyanka Jayaraman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jason starts by explaining his childhood. A lot of us fail to understand how our childhood shapes a lot of our choices and decisions much later in life. The same here. Having been brought up in Hong Kong, he explains how a life of an expat actually is.
The sense of not being accepted and the pain of being judged for the colour of your skin is expressed through his words. His passion for entrepreneurship starts from something as simple as a school charity sale where he sold pizza and gained profit from it. I was also actually amazed at how important a role schools play and how it has actually helped shape an entrepreneur's career as such.

Sports they say is a wonderful way to learn about life. If we actually see, most of the succesful people around us play some kind of sports or are definitely fit. Thats one common quality that we usually observe. His training with Martial arts speak a lot about how he learnt to persevere, to become resilient and to learn that failures are just as much a part of life as successes are.

He goes on to explain about how he became a turnaround CEO. Being a management student , there are case studies that we learn and I have heard and learnt about his companies and hearing his perspective of the same was phenomenal. To understand how whatever I have learnt can actually be applied in real life to change

[Deep · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let’s start from the end. In the epilogue of his book ‘Irrationally Passionate: My Turnaround from Rebel to Entrepreneur’ author Jason Kothari notes:
“Entrepreneurship won’t make you better than other people, but it can make you a better version of yourself.” (p 242)

Let’s see through this book review how and to what extent entrepreneurship put into this book helps you to make a better version of you. A note about the book highlights, “Jason’s inspiring journey across countries, industries and companies has something for everyone, right from students to entrepreneurs to corporate CEOs to even parents of students and entrepreneurs.” I will be trying to contextualize how the book caters to these segments of readers.

I have divided the book into three segments based on the different narrative style used in the book.

The first segment of the book is written in biographic memoirs in loose chronological order spread through chapter one to six, the Second segment follows a style of a research thesis based on the case study methodology encapsulating chapter seven to chapter ten, third and final segment have chapter eleven in somewhat a fusion of the blog posts written in list articles and how-to guides style.

In the first segment, the writer chooses a narrative style like Steeve Jobs or Mark Zuckerburg telling his adventurous rags to riches life story. This comes out to be an interesting roller coaster nail-biting ride keeping the reader engaged and constantly looking for what happens next. This segment has the ability to capture the attention of students and youngsters in the very beginning and is very relatable to its target audience. As a passionate and young boy of Indian, origin grown up in Hong Kong, the writer takes the young readers to the real-life journey of his childhood adventures and passionate high stake experiments as a youngest college-going entrepreneur. From the first bargain on a street in Agra for chessboard to jumping into the auctioning for one of the biggest (bankrupt) corporate houses of United States, layer by layer, he unveils the anecdotes about his strides to be one of the youngest entrepreneurs of his times. Nonchalantly revealing the dark side of his personality he goes a step ahead to underline his fears and blunders of life. From there he sets a tone to project himself as a most sought after hotshot turnaround man of the corporate realm. If I am allowed to derive a metaphor from his passion for superhero comics universe I find ‘I am the Iron Man of Corporate Universe’ written in glittering neon all over ‘Passionately Irrational'. Just for the sake of MCU fans allow me for a minor digression, “We miss you, Iron Man.” Now back to the book, This part of his memoir cum biographic non-fiction narrative gives a gripping read to young and budding entrepreneurs. It gives enough fuel to the younger lot to get inspired and think big. It reminds me of the Hindi film Guru based on the life of Dhirubhai Ambani. Further, this segment takes the reader on a voyage to the philosophical interpretations of mistakes, limits, the importance of abundance or lack of money, the relationship between business and life, love and relationship. This gives enough food for thought to address their inner and social conflicts contemporary enthusiastic young minds. Definitely, this segment can change the perspective of the parents and inspire them to help their growing up kids in their initial inexperienced entrepreneurial adventures.

The second segment of the book is more synthetic in terms of narrative liquidity. It is more like case studies deconstructing the discourse of corporate work culture and mindsets from top management to corporate CEOs, human resource management and down the line till ground work force. It goes on elaborating the processes of decision making, crisis management, creating a sustainable, profitable, and valuable business model, internal and external communication during the crises and winning the investment deals through real-life on the job personal experience of the writer.

It vividly explains about ‘Mr. Corporate Iron Man’s’ magical style of anchoring the sinking big corporate ships tagged with the big brand names like Housing.com, Snapdeal and Freecharge. No doubt his magical style evolves through his first-hand experiences of working with the global who’s who of the corporate world. These chapters might hold the interest of some mid-career corporate executives and definitely will help them to be a better version of themselves, but youngsters and students would find it bit heavy, lazy and uninteresting due to its lethargic narrative style. True that reality is never so interesting but too much bitter. Though the Turnaround Man mentions that he has kept the vocabulary simple and comprehensible for laymen, but in this segment, he could hardly and inevitably turn around the subject’s demand of jargon, even on his calculated and well-researched plans. Neither I am turning around on using corporate terminology in this review.

In the third segment in chapter eleven, he lists down the 'SEVEN golden pillars' and 'FOUR mental concepts' to be a successful entrepreneur in ‘Wikihow’ kind of step by step guide manner. These are very brief and uninspiring and seem like hurriedly appended at the eleventh hour just to turn the book into a self-help guide on ‘A Turnaround Man who ‘sold’ his sinking businesses after turning them around.’

As a common reader, if I will draw a graph depicting the 'entrepreneurial energy invested in the writing' in correlation to 'each segment', the curve will look almost similar to the curve of Covid-19 positive cases in India in reverse. As a reader
I feel that the investment of energy curve translates into reading interest curve for a reader. To put in simple words initial chapters are written with full energy while as the book progresses to segment two and three; invested energy starts diminishing. This clearly manifests in the style of writing, length of content and formatting. In the acquisitiveness of targeting too many audiences by using three different templates, the writer has turned a most promising work into three different genre booklets; i.e. Memoir, Case Study Essays and How to Guide; bound in one cover. If he would have stick to the memoir template and have used the back and forth technique to interject the professional story with the personal story at well-thought intersections of the entire narrative, it must have turned out to be the most interesting book written in this genre. Unfortunately, he fed the entire relishing stuff to the first six chapters and left the rest of the book to stale case studies. Ironically, the writer specifically and philosophically emphasis on the idea of ‘Life and Business Aren’t Linear’ (Title of chapter six), but after thrusting his entire personal story into the first segment he practically departures from his very idea of juxtaposed personal and professional life in remaining two parts. Editors must be considered the partner in this crime.

I am still pondering why the parents of students and entrepreneurs would be inclined to read these segments. But the bigger question is, who thought out the idea to target parents even after knowing that the two-third portion of the book is about data-mining and corporate research.

Final Verdict: If you are young undergraduate and dreaming to be an entrepreneur or to start a startup to help people in this pandemic charged atmosphere then this book is for you with conditions applied. And if you can cope up with the shifting narrative style to gain invaluable firsthand knowledge from 'Mr. Corporate Iron Man’s' (with due regard to English grammarians and of course horses) mouth then this book is definitely for you. I have given my cover to cover shot to this book because of my philosophy to juice out what you need and dump out what you don’t care about.

How Irrationally Passionate can make you a better version of yourself?
1. If you read only thoroughly interesting books and ignore real stuff based on facts, you will learn to read real books.
2. The inspiring journey of Jason Kothari will help you to cope up with your fears and guide you through the tough times
3. His advice on entrepreneurship when used carefully with your own experiences, skills and experiments can help you to achieve success in your entrepreneurship journey?
4. if you are a mid-career corporate executive and want to learn how top guns make decisions and how numbers work this is good help-guide.
5. if you are CEOs or in the process of becoming one this book can give you insights to cope up with tough situations.

Caution: If you believe that you have reached beyond the point of learning and experience you can ignore this book.

If you have read this Irrationally Passionate, let me know about how fair I have been with this book?
If you have not read it yet, would you like to read after reading my review?

[Prajakta · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Money will only make you more of what you really are!"
These words said by the Successful turnaround leader, Jason Kothari, in the initial chapters of this book definitely hit home!
So what exactly is Turnaround Management?
It actually is a process which deals with corporate renewal of companies which are failing to perform in the market.
✨
The book is the Author's journey from being a reckless child to a strategic entrepreneur. And not to say, it wasn't a cake walk!
It is inspiring to see how he has evolved personally as well as professionally throughout the highs and lows of his life!
✨
Jason Kothari, a boy of Indian descent born in Hong Kong, definitely found trips to India, refreshing and alluring!
He always remained an outsider at school in Hong Kong as well as Pennsylvania. Things were made worse by the constant bullying which he faced just because of his Indian roots!
✨
But instead of making them obstacles in his Success, he learnt to dodge them with impressive level of hardwork and dedication, thus resulting into him joining the coveted Wharton University as Business Student!
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Even though, Entrepreneurial skills were ingrained in him since childhood, what made him extremely successful was the whole - hearted and single - minded approach of doing things.
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What started out as renting his Valiant comic books collection to his school friends later transpired into his drive to revive Valiant entertainment from almost extinction!
Apart from Valiant, his experiences with Housing.com and Snapdeal are equally stirring!
✨
The author has stated out 7 golden pillars for an ideal startup, which he personally uses to determine whether to invest in any given company. He has also given 4 mental concepts, helpful for optimising the Entrepreneurial Mindset among individuals!
The author has done a great job in putting up his knowledge for the younger generations to learn from!
The raw narrative makes the book very engrossing!
The book is a beautiful mix of Philosophical and Practical advices for novices to venture into the wide world of Entrepreneurship.
✨
In the current Corporate Scenario, it is very difficult to find people with amazing experience to come forward and share their truthful experiences with budding enthusiasts. With this, Jason Kothari's book not only makes an attempt to break the prevailing myths around Entrepreneurship but also succeeds in motivating the youngsters to come forward and strive hard to achieve their dreams!
✨
Here's an interesting insight shared by Jason Kothari which must be kept in mind by everyone :
"Money isn't a goal, it is a by-product. The goal is solving problems, developing endurance, evolving, and giving customers the services they want, the products they need, and the experiences they crave. That's called Value Creation. Money flows to value. When you create the latter, you get the former."
✨
This is definitely a must read book for all the emerging entrepreneurs and business students! I, being one, truly found this book an vast ocean of first hand corporate knowledge!

[Prakhyath Rai · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was interested in this book as I have read the author Jason Kothari’s achievement online and he is hailed as a turnaround expert.

Turnaround expert why? Because he acquired the broke superhero entertainment company while a college student at Wharton and later traded it for $100 million to Hollywood. He has also transformed several troubled Indian firms like Housing.com, free charge, and Snapdeal to name a few.

This book ‘Irrationally Passionate’ talks about his life from a rebellious and train wreck kid to the top 10 young entrepreneurs and establishes the imperative factor in one’s life- Passion. Now that you know, he was not born with a silver spoon.

Irrationally Passionate has 11 chapters talking about several aspects of the individual journey. However, one chapter kept me thinking about how we pact with passion ourselves. The 7th chapter “Push yourself Harder than you do others”. We are prodigious advice-givers when it emanates for others, but when smearing pragmatism in one’s life-we try to take it laid-back or adjourn it for the next yug. To that point- easier said than done applies to self.

This book ‘Irrationally Passionate’ promises to be a jewel for all the young achievers that in a failed life, there will be a turnaround. The ‘turn around’ can transpire at any age but one needs to be zealous about it.
Great entrepreneurs are great negotiators. In the prologue, Jason references about the bargain he had as a young child when he negotiated and bought a chess board for 30Rs when the seller asked for 500Rs and the stories flinch from there and to those numerous companies that he dealt and at the end, he talks about the golden pillars of Ideal Startups.

Call me patriotic, but he mentions this line “You’ll never know how fortunate you are to live in India until you’ve been made to live elsewhere”. I have my friends who have said the same but coming from a billionaire is something every Indian needs to be proud of.

The language is modest and appealing and goes with an even stride. Harper Collins has done a marvelous job with the presentation of the book. The Cover design is decent too. Not to overlook, Chapters are also well organized.

The best part of this book is that the author has made this book simple which otherwise would have been complicated for young adults to comprehend something complex like running a startup.
Who needs to read the book? This book needs to be read by aspiring entrepreneurs and young dreamers. As the title suggests, limits are just illusions when there is passion.

Thanks to Blogadda & Harper Collins for the review copy

[Radhika Gupta]

"Money will only make you more of what you really are!".

Jason starts by sharing his first bargaining experience where he did more than his expectations and stuck strong to his point, making his father proud of him. He then talks about how people called him a "turnaround" person but never understood how hard he worked to become one of the most successful strategists from his continuous learning and growing. The way that Jason starts from the extreme childhood, college days, and then his professional life ignites a spark in the core of the heart and the mind.

Consisting of 7 chapters, this book seemed like a memoir to where Jason share his life's experiences and learning that made him what he is today, Each chapter has a past incident from Jason's life that has transformed him from a rebel to an entrepreneur. The way he talked about his passion is the driving force for him and how many ups and downs he faced during his entrepreneurship days and how he managed to come out of it with lessons that he is never gonna forget in his life.

He had the skills from the childhood themselves when he bargained for a chess set, the company he acquired to capture during his college days, and then selling it to Hollywood and then the various Indian ventures he saved in his life. All of the stories that he talks about were the stepping stones to his growth and helped him reach the top of the sky.

"Captain a rowboat before a ship, a ship before a fleet."
This is one of the simplest yet most powerful quotations from the account of the book that keeps scratching that rebel/entrepreneur inside you to go and work on your ideas for your dream.

While most of the journey of successful people talk about hustling all the time, this felt like a casual life event anthology that gave the readers the right amount of motivation, chill vibes, and know the person more deeply and his life as a turnaround event of success.
With lucid language and quotable points, it felt like a friend was sharing his life with me. I, at no point, lost the connection with the book and felt a different kind of motivation that led me to rethink my choices and my passions.

I'd recommend it to every working professional so that he gets the just of what passion can do to you and how important it is to have one.

[Enakshi J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The life of an entrepreneur is not easy. One needs to have the audacity to challenge oneself at every turn of life in order to survive with sharks in the vast sea of opportunities. Similarly, Entrepreneurship is not everyone’s cup of tea. One should have the right mix of grit, determination, street smartness, creativity and the ability to think on their feet to be able to pass the muster and shine.

Jason Kothari’s autobiographical account ‘Irrationally Passionate’ explores the vicissitudes of his life and aims at inspiring all the young people out there to follow the road less travelled without an iota of hesitation. Born and brought up in Hongkong, Jason had always been smart at what he did. Though his journey is not exactly from Old Kent Road to Mayfair, it still portrays the struggles that he had to go through as a novice in the corporate field. Jason bought Valient Entertainment at the age of 19 saving his favourite superhero company from bankruptcy. No, he was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth. The fact that his family and friends trusted his instincts enough to allow him to venture into the unknown is what set the wheels of his story rolling. Following this, he went on to salvage the life of the drowning internet icons of India like Freecharge, Housing.com and Snapdeal. With every deal, he learnt a great deal about the art of turnaround and that is, as he puts is, the most essential quality that every entrepreneur should possess.

We all have heard the proverb ‘When life gives you lemons, squeeze them and make a lime juice’. Well, that’s the exact thing that Jason believes in doing. He believes that opportunities will come in your way in the garb of failed plans. Identifying the right chance and jumping the bandwagon will take you a long way. He believes that he had the knack for turnaround right from a very young age and he understood that when he bargained a chessboard for 30 which was originally priced at 500. In this book, he deftly uses anecdotes from his life as a rebel kid and as a successful entrepreneur to bring forth an array of life lessons that any entrepreneur can bank upon.

Some of the prominent lessons that can be taken from this autobiographical account are: failures are inevitable but one must know the art of rising again and beginning from the scratch, nothing worthwhile comes easy as it takes sacrifice to understand and experience euphoria.

Written with utmost dexterity, Irrationally Passionate is all about chasing your passion and turning dreams to reality. The narrative is smooth but the language is quite colloquial. Nevertheless, the account by the author evokes empathy and also inspires the readers to have the will in them to stand for what they believe is right. You might not hit a home run in your very first attempt. But perseverance and focus will get you there. The only part I could not relate well with was the financial backup that a 19-year-old had. Not everyone can get that kind of money. So even when the story sounds inspiring, it also makes you aware of the extra hurdle that lays in your path.

Overall, this book is a must-read for all the dreamers who dream of making a place for themselves in this already gridlocked world.

Best wishes to the author!

[Radhika Gupta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jason starts by sharing his first bargaining experience where he did more than his expectations and stuck strong to his point, making his father proud of him. He then talks about how people called him a "turnaround" person but never understood how hard he worked to become one of the most successful strategists from his continuous learning and growing.

This book seemed like a memoir to where Jason share his life's experiences and learning that made him what he is today, The way he talked about his passion being the driving force for him and how many ups and downs he faced during his entrepreneurship days and how he managed to come out of it with lessons that he is never gonna forget in his life.

With lucid language and quotable points, it felt like a friend was sharing his life with me. I, at no point, lost the connection with the book and felt a different kind of motivation that led me to rethink my choices and my passions.

[Sambasivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is 11 am on the 10 th of March. This is is the fastest I have finished a book starting the same day. Surprisingly well written with a rare clarity of thought that belies the author’s age. Jason Kothari has had double the years of experience when compared with his age. Also the courage to speak honestly in an autobiography that curiously reminds me of ‘my experiments with truth’.

This book needs to be read widely and am sure will become a classic of this genre of autobiography- with focus on bold entrepreneurial success.

[CornerShelf · Rating 5 out of 5]

The nature of success requires ambition, a hard work ethic, inspiration, and motivation. The words of great business owners showcase the tools they have used to inspire themselves.

Opportunities are like Sun Rises if you wait too long, you miss them. The author Jason Kothari believes in same mantra and never let any chance to go away without effort.
He achieved entrepreneurship quality at budding age when he finalised the deal of chessboard in Agra at much lower price. He belongs to upper middle class Gujrati family, so he was privileged at certain level but his journey to be turnaround Entrepreneur was not smooth enough. His father travelled constantly due to job and uprooted his family several times.
Irrational passion is the fuel that empowers us to achieve beyond what we think is possible. At very early age he discovered the way to convert passion to profession. Before jumping into well, we need to study the outcomes, consequences and then only best possible solutions can come out. Instead of freaking out about the constraints, Jason always believed to embrace the opportunity whether it's selling the comic book to classmates or selling pizza's in hostel.
Soon he moved to USA to pursue his education at Wharton College. He encountered different persons and absorb the optimisms from their conversation. Later he moved to Thailand to learn the Muay Thai. This training experience boosted him immense confidence-an essential skill for any would be entrepreneur.
His first attempt to be entrepreneur was unveiling a product 'SprayIT' in animated presentation and he bagged the third prize along with Kunal Behl in Penn Invention Entrepreneurship competition. But Jason was born to be captain of Ship, and 'A ship in the harbour is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.'
He stepped in the entrepreneur world by acquiring his childhood favourite comic book company, Valiant Entertainment and transformed it from bankruptcy to world's third largest comic entertainment company. He didn't stop there, when Valiant at it's peak, he left the Valiant and join to real-estate Housing.com to reform and accomplish a deal to merging with Prop Tiger. He has similar successful story in Snapdeal, Freecharge where he played similar role to transform from distressed situation. His entrepreneur journey continues and as of now associates with Emar India.

The author described his journey very simple way, because he wanted the new generation should be inspired from his past. He believes the every seeds are not to bloom in forest, some sacrifices are needed to revive something. In later part he has formulated seven golden pillars for ideal start-up and factors to lead a successful team.

[Parwati Singari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jason Kothari... well who on earth was he I wondered but the title was interesting, the mug shot on the cover page showed the face that resembled a senior I had a minor crush on.(I was all of eight years old and he was my paediatrician.) the title was quite intriguing but the synopsis assured me that it was not a college romance. As I was already looking for a change in my habitual reading books I thought it was a good option.
Though having to buy the book did not seem very reassuring. The passing thought was the guy is definitely ensuring a sale so he has some authority on business. Yes I know a medic’s point of view.
The book arrived and the cover page had a blurb by Karan Johar, my heart really sank. Then there was this whole list of former CEO of: housing.com, FreeCharge, Valiant Entertainment, Snapdeal. The epilogue contained a line about how someone told him he should write a book as it would help a lot of people she said it from the space where she had learnt a lot from Jason, the nasty-bit in me said, OMG the guy is definitely going to be full of himself.
In any case as I read the book, I realized I owed Mr. Kothari an apology. It’s good that the book is written, it is as much about life turnabout as it is about bringing about a business turnabout. To quote the author, “life and learning are interconnected.”
Jason’s parents must have definitely made him learn up “do re me,” for he begins with the first ever deal he made, at Agra a chess board for Rs.30/- I was amused, probably because I could connect to another kid who invested Rs.70/- for jaljeera and returned with 700/Rs.
Jason walks us through his life, it is a fairy tale, because he tells us demons do exist but they can be overcome. Over 11 chapters, he shares his life learning’s, though I observed it only in the 4th.
He talks about going on from nice boy in Hong Kong to someone who almost got wasted in USA. The journey through getting fit, that is body mind and soul.
He pegs the beginning of his reclaiming life to a conversation where his mother asks him, “does your girlfriend go to all the parties you go to?’ how the comic book heroes influenced him and his friend ship with his eventual business partner.
from his experience Jason talks about being
true to your roots, where you come from because that is where your values and strengths come from.
Mistakes can be a gift, because that is where your learning happens.
Limits are illusions and usually placed by others, here he discusses the importance of researching, particularly when starting a start up one cannot really afford to hire help, then knowing how to handle challenges becomes an asset. It’s interesting that he shares his dedication to getting fit by joining martial arts training, he talks about meeting world champions, he shares their learning but he does not go into the saga that drove him there. Just a fleeting mention that he was physically ill.
Captain a rowboat, before a ship a ship before a fleet, being tossed right into a massive challenge Jason discovers the power of meticulous research and planning.
Money isn’t the goal, it’s a by-product. When Jason discusses a reunion where his Wharton peers are working companies like Goldman Sacs he was just trying to revive Valiant Comics the feeling he expresses was something I could quite empathize with it happens to many of us, who have a quite family practise while we meet with our peers who walked in universities or more glamorous hospitals. This where he actually begins to reflect on his core values and strengths when he says money isn’t a goal it is a by product, the goal is solving the problems, developing endurance, evolving and giving customer the service they want.
His introduction to Walter Black and understanding that being a CEO to people older and more experienced, he had to be collaborative and not authoritative.
As I went through the book, each of the experience that he shared reminded me of the hero’s cycle in the business venture of reviving Valiant Entertainment the copyright and trademark or intellectual property patent whatever you may choose to call it, place the villain. When it come to a hint of romance cancer plays the villain. But again Jason does dwell too much on it he does move on quite fast.
He often reflects on jain philosophy and Buddhist philosophy, this particular one that he shared appears in the VivekaChudamani too, that is not getting attached to the product created, but enjoying the process the day you stop enjoying the process it is time to move on.
There is again very personal family moment when his father asks him, “if he is really willing to take on the responsibility of being a husband and father for it meant putting wife and kids before you.”
Then there are great some very practical thoughts, like:
I’m looking forward to the rush of freedom that falls when money hits the back account.
The deal is done only when the wire reaches your account.
When Jason talks about whether to take over housing.com or not he introduces us to Suvir Sujan, Masayoshi Son and this is a very interesting insight that he shares about the spark of joy in Masa’s face when he is talking business turnabouts. Jason here talks about the need to push ourselves harder than we push others because we need to understand the challenge and how to address it. He also discusses stock options and equity and the eye-candy it is.
As Jason discusses the power of hiring the right people, building a team and ensuring team work, he does not talk about soft sop HR workshops or trainings, he is talking about good old across the table talk with all sincerity. He does not talk 300 people board room talk he talks town-hall model with 30 people in a group. According to Jason, being a CEO is kind of being a politician of a small village.
There are also some unpleasant facts that he brings forth, that leadership is not winning a popularity contest, or nothing worthwhile comes easy. The most profound observation that he makes is
Everything in life goes in cycles. Balance is not about intensity, it is about commitment it about cutting out the irrelevant.
Like Jason’s teacher told him Do not pray for an easy life pray to endure a difficult one.
At the end of the day, if you ask me what is the story there is none in the traditional sense... its Jason sharing his journey is inner world reflects in his outer. The writing style is refreshingly direct and simple with no jargon or street language. Yes the language is elegant. I immensely enjoyed the book, and I’m glad I have two copies I plan to gift one to the library in my co-working space. What I disliked the blurb by Karan Johar and Amish Tripathi. Thankfully there is none from Chetan Bhagat
The book is an excellent read for people at crossroads in their lives just as much as it is for entrepreneur

[Manas Mukul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read the full review here:
https://www.manasmukul.com/irrational...

The Startup ecosystem of India is changing rapidly along with the global business landscape. A lot of startups pop up on the scene almost on a daily basis and they die out about at the same rate. As per a study, around 90% of the Indian startups fails within first five years of their inception. Jason Kothari’s Irrationally Passionate is an autobiographical journey, where he bares all about his life from being a rebel to becoming one of the highest paid executives that the country has ever seen that too in his 30s. Still in doubt, read my book review of this self-made man’s journey before grabbing a copy of Jason’s debut book.

Biographies in general, including autobiographies, are usually bland. Non-fiction especially about a non-controversial figure seldom works or sells. There are very few autobiographies that one can recommend as a perfect weekend relaxing read. Irrationally Passionate tries to change that on every account. I would like to express my gratitude towards Blogadda’s Book Review Program for considering me this book review and giving me an opportunity to review this genre for the first time.

My Review

The cover page of the book is a thick paper cover wrapped on the hardbound base. It has a picture of Jason’s stubbly face with steal eyes. On the back cover there are a lot of convincing testimonials by some of the tallest corporate names. The blurb and about the author is on the inside flap of front and back cover respectively. The title of the book would seem pretty apt once you finish it.

The book is divided into eleven chapters where each chapter gives a peek into a different stage of his life. In every phase he is gathering business acumen from real world scenarios, which he ably uses in redefining destinies of many of the firms he has worked with. The title of the chapters are smartly chosen and they themselves can be treated as ‘mantras’ for business and life.

The book begins with an author’s note and prologue. Don’t evade them. Infact in the prologue itself he discusses his first business negotiation when buys a chessboard from a roadside seller. He gives an insight into his early childhood, his love for Valiant comics and his relationship with his parents, who have been a constant source of strength and support. Jason also writes about those days and years that he isn’t much proud of and doesn’t try to hide them. There came a point in life where he could have lost everything to drugs, booze and his reckless behaviour. It was a conversation between his parents that he overhears and decides to get a hold on his life.

You won’t believe where he learnt the concept that creating a clear strategy is the most important thing before starting a business. It was at a Muay Thai training center in Thailand. (Yeah you read it right). He is popularly known as ‘The Turnaround Guy’ for his journey has always been about turning sure shot dead businesses into successful profit churning ones.

The second half of the book is mostly about his application of the concepts he learnt during his college and martial art days while working as a CEO after CEO after CEO in various organisations. You will be pleasantly surprised at how much this guy has achieved in such a short span of time.

Jason also discusses the toll that it takes on your mind and health when you have to let go of thousands of employees in one go. Many of the people who lost their jobs might not agree with him but in the hindsight the number of companies that he has saved proves that those were right decisions, however difficult.

There was a particular chapter where it took me back my International Business class where my professor taught me that sometimes selling of your business is not that bad a strategy and less loss is also profit. We should also thank that young entrepreneur who persuaded him in coming up with a book about his life’s learnings otherwise Irrationally Passionate would have never seen the light of the day.

Some of the Best Lines

“My inner game rules my outer game.”
“Money will only make you more of what you already are.”
“If you are only in it for the money, you’ll never make it.”
“Smile when you are getting punched and keep fighting.”


Hits

Everything seems to be working wonders for the book. To begin with it is not at all written in a biographical tone. To add to that if the book is about giving business transformation gyan, it can become a little complex and at the same time boring, Irrationally Passionate on the contrary is written in lucid language with thriller pace. With only 223 chapter pages, it is unputdownable and one might complete it in a couple of sittings.

The use of business jargons is very limited and that definitely works in favour of the book. There are hardly any subplots other than Jason explaining his meteoric rise. The author keeps taking humorous pot-shots at himself throughout the book.

Misses

The book hardly leaves any scope to highlight any negative. But being a management grad, I would have loved a little more detailed insight on any of the turnarounds that he had done. There are only a couple of brush strokes in this huge canvas painting about his personal life. Being an autobiography it would have been wonderful to understand how a person this occupied with work, managed to strike any work-life balance, if any.

Verdict

If you have an entrepreneurial itch and are embarking on your journey do not miss out this one. It not only has some of the best lessons for business strategies but overall life – how to remain positive and focussed when the ship is already sinking and turn it around.

Some make decisions from heart, some by mind…Jason makes strategic decisions from his mind but by keeping the heart in the right place. I am going with four out of five for Jason Kothari’s Irrationally Passionate. Entrepreneurial mindset or not – grab a copy of the book right now. A must read.

Manas ‘Sameer’ Mukul

[Arvind Passey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Untangling the insanity of doing business
Review of Irrationally Passionate
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Well, yes, every once in a while someone who can infuse a new perspective to business decision-making and executions pops up like an Argonaut to set things right. The story of Jason Kothari and the way he turned from a rebel to an entrepreneur is just a part of Irrationally Passionate, a book published by Harper Collins. Yes, it is interesting to trace the steps of someone who has gone on from one entrepreneurial success to another and his journey as the CEO of Housing.com to leading Valiant Entertainment and then turning around the future of Snapdeal while guiding FreeCharge is definitely engrossing. More than this is the fact that the book is a leadership guidebook without being one. Business thought processes and strategic insights meander through a tale that is fascinating and reads like a thriller.

Untangling the insanity of doing business is indeed a thriller that invariably begins when the business world is right in the thick of a real fork-in-the-road moment and someone appears to make many tough decisions. The book goes through attention-grabbing examples from the early life of Jason, who is also the author of this book… but what really grabbed my attention was his Snapdeal 2.0 plan or Project Argonaut, as he chooses to call it. This leader, with his crew of heroes did indeed go on a ‘seemingly insurmountable and dangerous aboard the ship Argo in search of the Golden Fleece’.

The story of Jason who chooses to call himself a winning concoction of a consilgliere, strategist, a dealmaker, and one who is ‘accustomed to having strategic and operating control over decision-making and executions’ goes on a non-stop journey through the revealing nuances of thorough investigation, ruthless decisions, and never once loses sight of the final goal. All this makes the book more gripping than the usual thriller that I see a lot of people reading. Here is the story of a person who has a firm grasp around the global landscape, the models, and the interactions between them and is out to set things right. Just like the protagonist in a thriller.

Look at the way he snaps Snapdeal from its state of ennui and energises it. This part of the story begins sometime in January 2017 when Snapdeal’s valuation ‘had plunged to a fraction of its previous height of $6.5 billion’. This company had grown from a coupon company into a B2C e-commerce marketplace and decisions about logistics (shipping) and online payment systems had ‘been made midstream, without a clear strategy in place to lead the way’. What could be the first steps to set things right?

What Jason Kothari did was to first go headlong into an ‘exhaustive and comprehensive deep research that has ever been done in the Indian e-commerce space’ because those were times when 90% of our retail market was full of ‘unorganized’ local sellers which simply meant that the Indian retailers had low bargaining power with suppliers leading one of the lowest gross margins globally. These are the sort of complex business equations that this man set out to untangle. He knew that the online shopping scenario that stood at $13 billion in 2016 was expected to reach $200 billion by 2025. In his own words, ‘if you can somehow make sense of it all, untangle the insanity, and then create an easy-to-use seller platform for other people that handles all the headaches… well, then you’re positioned to potentially make billions’. It is insights like the one that I have just quoted that make the book an invaluable read… and all the wise bits come without boring theories drone away forever and circumambulating the numbed mind of an interested learner.

No, I’m not going to encapsulate the entire story of the way Snapdeal was resuscitated but then it is the right sort of perspective that visualizes ‘an opportunity to unlock potential synergies’. It is this perspective that doggedly trails the reader throughout the book like any detective would… and even readers soon start feeling as if they were well-versed in the art of espionage and then the hunt for clues begins in earnest. Let me give you an example. As a reader even I felt as if I was with the author trying to unravel the mysteries of the Indian marketplace and I soon discovered the three most important aspects. The three facts that suddenly appeared crystal clear were that B2C and pure marketplace business models successfully coexist in all markets, no more than two B2C players had ever succeeded long term in any market, and that the more organized the retail market was in a region, the higher the odds that the pure marketplace would succeed. The detective within me was moving at super speed with the author and unravelling one mystery after another.

I remember the part where the author realizes that there was ‘no money to execute the Snapdeal 2.0 plan’ and there were other forces moving in rapidly towards a Flipkart merger… so, what really happened? The next step proved to me that thrillers can be created inside a room. If you happen to read this book and need more pointers to thrilling moments, try and find out how Jason became a CEO in 60 seconds! Yes, this really happened… and this isn’t a figment of a writer’s imagination.

This book isn’t a fictional tale but documents facts but does it in a way that transforms each page into story that one doesn’t want to stop reading.

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Arvind Passey
Blog: http://www.passey.info

[Radhika · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book: Irrationally Passionate - My Turnaround from Rebel to Entrepreneur

Author: Jason Kothari

Published: HarperCollins 2020

Reviewed as part of BlogAdda Book Reviews program

Rating:3/5

The book is an easy read. Jason boils down his entire life experience as an entrepreneur into seven golden pillars of an ideal start-up. Keyword - ideal.

The author claims a large and growing market size, high margins, scalability, proven management expertise, minimal capital, sustainable competitive advantage and an established business model are the essentials to consider an investment of time, effort and money in an area of interest. He also lists down some concepts like balance, business cycles, categorization and resilience as tools to “categorize entrepreneurial thoughts” for someone interested in starting a business.

Jason’s writing is exemplary of the idea that if you have access, do not be afraid to use it. A Hong Kong and Pittsburgh childhood, a Boston college education and the conscious decision to move to Carnegie Mellon University exposes and prepares this entrepreneur to create and learn all facets of running a business from strategy, product development, management and finances et al by himself. The biggest lesson from this book seems to keep opportunity costs minimum. That is, to use what time, energy and access one has to its maximum. A value that this entrepreneur has held on to throughout this book is to stick with what he wanted and push it to completion. Even if that meant juggling exhausting travel and research with college coursework. Even with the access, the entrepreneur’s journey has never been easy and Jason describes his experiences in a very down-to-earth manner. A lot of courage and self dependence values in bringing Valiant into market in order to bring superhero comics back in the market came from Jason’s upbringing.

Indeed a lot of things that aren’t known to a starting entrepreneur are given away in this book. One example is the intimidation tactics in a bidding process when the very silent spectator, an ex-Marvel employee took away the Valiant Entertainment auction by outbidding Jason’s team by a mere $10000 which they could not counter being in deep waters already and knowing that the bidding war could not be sustained further against this opponent. This was a very profound lesson learnt the hard way at the age of 19. Knowing when to go all in and when to stop, understanding who are true bidders and which ones are just there to make your life worse are big lessons in bidding wars.

“Money isn’t a goal, it’s a by-product”. The author seems to put profound trust in value creation but also believes in having a support system to just be able to share experiences, given value creation and revenue generation do not always go hand in hand. His interest has been creating something from nothing but the book doesn’t represent the irony that when everything does end up working smoothly, a customer will not be aware of the brand of product or service that he/she is using in order to get that value. Experiences and values created smoothly make a customer ignore the brand (not to foray into a dangerous generalization). Here’s where personal goals start factoring in. Jason envisioned a full fledged organization and claims that he did not buy Valiant with the intention of flipping it. When there are many tempting offers, it is ultimately the basic instinct of an entrepreneur that kicks in and decisions of whether to sell or diversify follow. Having Dinesh as a partner-in-crime and Jason’s hiring decisions confirm having a good set of people around is critical in one’s entrepreneurial journey as it is important to have people sharing wavelengths and visions even in times of extreme pressure. However, it also goes to show that personal and professional relationships all go through ups and downs and an entrepreneur has to develop mental strength to sustain through all of it along the way. It is certainly a rocky road made up of a scaffolding of painful decisions that involve letting people go too.

Jason’s father seems to have played a pivotal role in his mindset development. From instances of pride and not letting up on negotiating a chessboard deal at a local market in Agra in his childhood to making him aware of his financial responsibility before tying the knot with Ananya, he seems to have played a Devil’s Advocate role in Jason’s life. The pride in Jason’s own words is evident when he describes his call to family saying they never need worry about money after the years of hard work that now started paying off.

This book was a highly personal account and by no means goes to generalize an entrepreneur’s journey. The biggest vibe from this book is - don’t be afraid to see my story and take away big free lessons from it, you’ll always have a fellow entrepreneur to talk with.

[Anand Narayanaswamy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Irrationally Passionate book examines both the personal and work life of a highly popular entrepreneur Jason Kothari. After having a painful childhood, Jason successfully fulfilled his ambitions in his life by working with reputed companies globally. He served as CEO with Housing.com, FreeCharge and Valiant Entertainment. He also established a mark with the e-commerce marketplace Snapdeal. Jason mainly worked with those companies, which are under the verge of collapse. He created profitable business plans in such a way to help businesses succeed. If a sinking business establishment gets new energy, then it will not only benefit customers but also hardworking employees.

The Irrationally Passionate is divided into 11 chapters. Jason has provided a detailed note as to what prompted him to write the book. In the Prologue section, you will know which is constant and those with assurances. In the first chapter, Jason remembers his childhood days and the insult he faced in a country. You should read the book to know about the country. Jason points out a dish his grandfather used to buy during his vacation time. Wow. I also have identical memories. Jason also shares his beautiful school memories before delving deep into a comic series. He also gives the meaning of a term in italics. Towards the end of this chapter, he explains about his experiences with his first job.

The second chapter examines the life in the world of gangsters and then moves ahead with his real experiences in a US university. Jason scored low marks initially and then scored better by following the advice of his teachers. His only goal was to attain something and you should read the book to find out that mystery. Jason started to read books related to specific religion and you can find out more about them. He talks about the internships and his application to over dozen companies. Jason started to work for a PR company and he talks about his CEO's speech. Towards the end of the chapter, Jason points out a friend with whom he is still in touch.

In the next chapter, Jason talks about the training procedure and his experiences in various camps. He also faced serious discomfort and problems during the entire training period. It seems that Jason scarified all issues in his quest to become a successful entrepreneur. Jason examines his experiences with the various products that came into his mind during his entrepreneurial journey. The auction has been won by a former top executive of a company. You need to spend plenty of time to read the chapter. The fifth chapter is too lengthy and it covers the various aspect of a serious byproduct stuff. Jason even talks about his experiences while speaking with a girl in his search for a life partner.

In the Chapter 6, Jason delves deep into his real-life incident involving a Girl. Did he managed to own that Girl as his life partner? Moreover, did Jason return back to India from his foreign job? You should read the book to find out. I am not willing to spoil the surprise. The entire chapter was filled with twists and turns.

The remaining chapters examines how Jason turned loss-making company into successful business entities. Jason provided few insightful mantras, which you can apply in your own businesses. The Irrationally Passionate is a great book written by a popular and credible entrepreneur, who has travelled to several countries. The way in which he faced his childhood days followed by becoming a highly successful entrepreneur is stunning.

If Jason was not there, then those companies for which he had eventually worked would have gone bankrupt. It will not only affect the owners but also employees who depend upon their job for livelihood. I am sure the employees of the companies, which Jason converted from heavy loss to profit would remember him as the real champion. I wish Jason Kothari many more exciting opportunities in the upcoming days to come.

The Irrationally Passionate book is wrapped in a hard-bound cover style and it resembles that of the old British Library book. I had visited the library during my college days. The smell of the books stored on the racks still haunts me.

The Irrationally Passionate book will be very useful for business owners and entrepreneurs since the content really motivates them to work hard despite struggles. The book is really a stunning recap of how Jason managed both life and work in a balanced way to achieve success.

If you run a business, it will have ups and downs. The Economy is in bad state with the deadly Coronavirus spreading globally. However, correct decisions at the right time like Jason took will go a long way in your path to become successful. The book is worth for the price paid. Highly recommended.

[Himanshu Sheth · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is one thing which is common between startups such as Housing, Snapdeal, and FreeCharge. Jason Kothari, referred as business turnaround leader was the former CEO of Housing & FreeCharge and former CSIO [Chief Strategy and Investment Officer] of Snapdeal. He started his career as the co-founder and CEO of Valiant Entertainment, a US based superhero entertainment company.

Majority of us know about the founders of these startups but not many might know that Jason Kothari played a pivotal role in the turnaround of these companies when they were facing the the most turbulent times. He is also the Executive Producer of the Bloodshot [Sony Pictures] starring Vin Diesel.

The book reveals the inside story of how a rebel, train-wreck kid transformed himself into a successful young entrepreneur and business leader who became one of the top ten paid executives in India while in his 30s. Irrationally Passionate is a highly personal, authentic, open, and complete account of a young entrepreneur’s life.

Coming back to the review, the book starts with Jason recollecting his childhood events where he tried his negotiation skills with a seller and managed to get a chess board for Rs. 30. This is what made Jason realize that he had the persistence and gut to turn things around in his favor.

He gets the first taste of entrepreneurship at the age of 19 where he is raising funds for a company named Valiant Entertainment which he has followed since his early years. The author also touches upon his childhood life in Hong Kong and later in the US. There are interesting learnings from the game of baseball and how Jason went on the learn the sport, inspite of facing several hurdles. As mentioned, Functioning as a unit made him realize the importance of being a selfless player and putting the team first.

It also touches upon the passion that Jason Kothari had for entrepreneurship and how he hung on to his passion. He also talks about the importance of making mistakes and not repeating the same by taking valuable lessons from those mistakes. Te most interesting part of the book is the section where he talks about the turnaround of Valiant Entertainment from bankruptcy and bringing it back to life. This is when he was the college student at Wharton and arranged funds from family & friends. Few years later, he transformed Valiant entertainment into world’s third largest superhero entertainment company which was later sold for $1oo million.

We particularly liked the chapter titled Not every seed is meant to bloom a forest which talks about the transformation of Snapdeal to Snapdeal 2.0, the turn-around of events, interaction with Snapdeal investors, transformation of FreeCharge, and more. It is a must-read for anyone who is slightly interested in entrepreneurship and startups.

Few excerpts from the book:

Sometimes, the most important decision an entrepreneur makes is knowing when to pull the plug. You have to understand what a sunk cost is and not throw good money after bad. These decisions are often among the most agonizing the entrepreneur encounters. As a battle-hardened business-people, we have conditioned ourselves to never quit, never accept defeat.

That’s what so deceiving about disinvestments or the closing of business lines or geographies – what on the surface may appear to be a ‘loss’ may actually be the key that unlocks the door to strategic wins.

There is emphasis on the sale of FreeCharge for shaping up Snapdeal 2.0. There are chapters that highlight about his role in Housing.com where he took over as the CEO at a very rocky time. He cites the importance of focusing on important features when building a product and why entrepreneurs [and key executives] should take right product decisions when building a startup. He also speaks about the series of events and interactions that led to the closure of renting module in Housing so that there is concentrated focus on the buying-selling module. He took the decision even when employees and other executives were of the firm belief that renting module was key to the company.

We liked the writing style and the usage of simple language throughout the book. It is around 230 pages long and consists of 11 chapters in total. We specifically liked the sections where he talks about his career as a turn-around specialist in prominent Indian startups. As entrepreneurship is hard, he also talks about the importance of meditation in controlling emotions and reducing stress & anxiety.

It would have been better if more details were added about how Jason Kothari dealt with decision differences with other leaders within the company, internal politics being played, and more. This would have been an icing on the cake for this otherwise wonderful read!

[Meenakshi Somasundaram · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel the title could have been " Exceptionally Passionate."

Jason, as he says, disciplined himself. He did 1000 pull ups a day gave him the mindset to concentrate. The Muay Quay training taught him not to express pain. He quits smoking. drinking, behaving atrocious by following the sacred books and exercising. He is born Jain, draws inferences from Jainism emulates Mahavira's teachings,reveres Shiridi Sai Baba.

He is not born in a rich family. as we have it " born with a silver spoon", but had the fortune to be born to highly educated and well placed parents. Not many would have such a brought up as Jason and his brother Neil. Curious to know, why their father named them as Neil and Jason.

Studious Neil, does well in college,marries his sweet heart and settles in life.
It is Jason who turns round and is in circles all through his schooling,University and enterprise as well.
Booed by his school mates in Hong Kong because he is an Indian,he falls into the trap of big boys,swayed by their illicit practices, finds himself hospitalized, more or less becomes a truant saddening his parents.
His schooling in U.S, does not give him the much wanted reformation. Atrocity is his weapon, beats and hurts whoever crosses him. His mother reprimands him when he returns to Hong Kong. Orders him to mend his ways.His brother's fiance makes him realize his level, throws light on how he should resurrect himself from the undoings. Jason is hurt. Soon he opens up to reality and senses that he had wasted his life so far.

From Carnegie Mellon he goes to Wharton. The business studies, theoretical. as always, sharpen his wit. The thirst to conquer rises up at this juncture. He wants to experiment practically what Wharton teaches him. With his friend Kunal he demonstrates "Sprayit" before a bunch of Wharton Professors, which was appreciated but the duo did not go ahead.

Jason read comics and wanted to revive Valiant, the one which created hundreds of comic characters. He did a small business when he bought Valiant comics in Hong Kong, after reading sold them for a profit. His long time friend Dinesh did his part of work from California in bidding for Valiant. Jason researched day and night, went to the ware houses with his attorney, scrolled through the documents, scrutinised the business notes, arrived at a price of $600000 to close the deal. He lost at the final bidding. His opponent bid few thousand dollars more and clinched the deal.
Jason's disappointment did not last long.He got a call from his lawyers saying the deal was a shady one and he is into the fray on again. Jason bought the company with his family and friend investing but for two years he struggled. Converted the tables in the train station as his office, later his one bedroom apartment in New York, He appointed experienced and high paid executives who had handled Valiant. His money was draining and relationship soured.His mother told him to quit and take up a job. Jason continued the marathon. He achieved whatever he wanted and as he says one should know when to unplug. He sells the company to DMG Entertainment for 100 million dollars.

Jason loves India much more than any place. Recalls his days with his grandparents in Rajkot. The simple life of his grandparents in Rajkot hastened his homecoming,. He settles down in Mumbai relishing the much enamoured South Indian food. Before he could unpack calls from Housing. Com popped up to stop the downward trend it was envisaging. Again it is hard work that pulls him to the toes. He goes through dozens of interviews and finally becomes the CEO of Housing.com backed by Soft Bank. He works with a gusto. Challenges and confrontations do not deter him. Retrenching 1000 employees sucks his life out. .For an year and half he engages himself wholly to put back Housing.com on the map of success.

Before he could relish his victory, Kunal, his friend, needs his service. It is Snapdeal. One other venture with Soft bank support. Jason brings with him the team which set right Housing. Com, Encore sending back employees home, hiving off companies unproductive which weigh on the Company's revenue did exasperate Jason, Not one hard nut but three nuts to crack. He does turn around but with schedules, some caused pain, certain others hurt, most brought results. In the end Snapdeal comes to the limelight. It is time for Jason to leave. Before he could Embrear from Saudi wishes to hire him. Jason joins the board.

"Irrationally Passionate" apparently becomes Exceptionally Passionate with a packages of wisdom, the seven pillars that hold afloat enterprises. Resilience, Jason, says, is vital for any venture to succeed. Be it in life or enterprise, I chime.

[BooksAndBooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm always in search of good autobiographies for reading, which speak about life of people , who share their experiences,which are motivational and can help me nurture myself as a better person. Every experience has something or other to teach one. I have came across this book on bookstagram many times, and have seen people praising it, so I didn't doubt for once before grabbing it for reading. I completed it in a single day. No doubt the book stood by my expectations.A book to which I will come back again when I'll feel low or lack motivation to pursue my dreams and passion.
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' Irrationally Passionate', by Jason Kothari is an autobiographical account of a turnaround business leader who had served big corporates, who has been among those top names of the business world. It's a story of a rebellious kid from his childhood to a successful entrepreneur, and been a CEO to many big names in the corporate world.A story about a top most executive who has shared his personal, professional journey, his success, his learnings and his failures.
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Let's start with the glimpse of the book. Book is divided into a total of 11 chapters, where the author narrates Every single incident from his childhood to his entrepreneurship to his CEO journey. Books begin with an incident where he succeeds to buy a chess board from a seller for 30 rupees whereas, the seller was adamant to sell it at 500Rs in Agra. Born in Hong Kong, having been the victim of racism, faced difficulties in childhood, the author narrates every single experience which taught him life lessons and much more. During his school days, for volunteer work, he used his strategy for selling pizza for charity work, then his micro market of selling comics which was the beginning of his journey to entrepreneurship.
At age of 15, he took to working to gain experience and learn things. Next book quotes a phase, where he was a rebel kid who got into fights, but that changed him completely. Next, he took to learning the fighting form of Muay Thai.
Next, during his days at Wharton, he acquired the bankrupt U.S. based Valiant Entertainment, which was the third superhero entertainment company after Marvel and DC, he became it's CEO and went onto sell it for 100 million dollars. He earned his first 100 million dollars in college.
Next he returned to India, author had narrated his journey from Housing.com to Snapdeal to Freeware where he served as CEO. He had shared how the corporate world works. Here, we get to see how he strived hard to make these firms among the top firms. This part was the most interesting one of the book. This part gives a glimpse why he is one of the top most executives.
Author even quoted seven pillars for an ideal start-up at the end, along with a layout for a start-up idea.
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Book is written in simple and easy language with a good narrative. All chapters are crafted in a well structured manner with precise descriptions and incidents. All efforts taken to make it understandable for a reader, I appreciated and they can be seen. There was not a moment where I felt bored or something dragged too much.
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The way the author had shared his experience and learning in between the incident forms an interesting way for a reader to learn.
Experiences shared, his passion and determination to learn anything new would be impactful for a reader.
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Author journey is inspiring and motivational. It leaves a positive impact on the reader and does make one feel motivated. Book is full of insights which talks about Life, entrepreneurship, life lessons and teachings. Book gives a glimpse into the hardships the entrepreneur had to go through.
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One thing which touched me the most was the author's love for his country. The pride that he held to be an Indian, makes one feel proud to be an Indian.
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Only thing which I didn't like is the statistical part of corporates in the book, but that can be neglected.
I had huge expectations from the book and it was all worth it. This book was engaging, interesting and intriguing for me.
Life lessons and learning will stay with a reader for a lifetime from the book.
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Takeaway : 1) Focus on your goal
2) Follow your passion
3) Believe in yourself
4) Failure is part of a journey
5) Enjoy whatever you do.
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Journey to a successful entrepreneur to a top most executive , should be read by budding entrepreneurs, as the author had quoted what all budding entrepreneurs should focus on and what to be not done. A must read for budding entrepreneurs.If you love reading autobiographies then you must not miss this book. For me, it was a wonderful read and worth the time I spend on reading, and would love to recommend.

[Abhilash Ruhela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading books of autobiographical accounts of entrepreneurs and successful people in the Hardcover format is the ideal moment for me as a bibliophile. I have always found such books where I didn’t know the man writing his story and after reading the book, I understood what kind of success stories run in our country and world which we have not even touched yet which can transform your life altogether just by reading their life challenges. One such book that I finished today sitting at home in the wake of Coronavirus is named “Irrationally Passionate” written by Mr. Jason Kothari. It is his own story of his turnaround from being a rebel to becoming an entrepreneur and then heading several companies as CEO and turning them towards success.

In this 230-pages of autobiographical account, you get to learn a lot from the life of Mr. Jason Kothari as he starts the story right from one of his childhood events where he is able to negotiate with a seller and get the chessboard at just Rs. 30 which makes him realize that he has the quality of negotiating and turning things in his favour which makes him get into the entrepreneurship space at just the age of 19 where he is raising funds to save the company named Valiant which he followed since his childhood. How he is able to go through the whole phase whereas his peers were getting great job tells how dedicated and passionate he was towards his passion of being an entrepreneur and doing what he believes in.

Similarly, how he saved Housing.com by taking tough decisions such as closing the renting module to concentrate on buying-selling module where people in the organization believed that the renting module was The Thing. How he had to take tough call of laying off employees is also an essential read to grasp the kind of toughness one needs to go through this. How he had to keep a security agency look after him as people in India went ahead and involved a local politician tells us how difficult it is to do business in India and take calls where employees can lose their job.

The author then spends his time in explaining as to how he got involved in Snapdeal and Freecharge with no prior interest of such industry and still managing to understand which all sector to sell to ensure that the company is not losing money on things not necessary to the core business. Between all this, author also discusses how girls ditched him for marriage which made him weak yet made him learn his lessons. Also, he talks about spirituality in the end how it helped him control emotions and lead.

Author’s writing style is very simple considering him to be one of the top league players which tells about his intent of spreading as much positivity to youth as possible. The book is not stretchy anywhere which makes it an easy read otherwise this could have also been stretched for some 400 pages and more.

Talking about the drawbacks- I felt that author didn’t go in much details in each of his adventures discussed in the book which doesn’t give you complete picture as to how he fought against small issues in organization which can create big impacts. He only discussed things on strategical basis. I was keen to know how he dealt with petty issues of organization etc. Also, at many places, how the profit started initializing is not mentioned which doesn’t give much clarity. Due to these few factors, it felt as if we have read the book by fast-forwarding it even when you have ensured that you are reading in between lines.

Overall, this is a great book if you wish to be an entrepreneur or stay in Top-managerial position in the hierarchy. I give this book 3.75* out of 5.

Thanks.

WRITING BUDDHA

[Laghu · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recently bought a Kindle eBook copy of this one for a read and review.
My Overall Rating: 4 on 5
About Jason: Jason Kothari is an entrepreneur considered by many as a business turnaround leader. Jason to his credit has worked in many critical functions and roles across the globe and was responsible for multiple turnarounds. While still in college(Wharton), he acquired the bankrupt US-based Valiant Entertainment and led its transformation as the CEO to the third-largest superhero entertainment company after Marvel and DC and further went on to sell it for around $100 million.

He later became the CEO of Housing.com, where he led the transformation of the distressed company and a merger with News Corp’s PropTiger to create the $350 million industry leader. Following this, he was also the Chief Strategy & Investment Officer of Snapdeal, where he played a lead role in transforming the distressed company from a monthly loss of over $20 million to a profit, the first for an Indian e-commerce company. Jason was also the CEO of FreeCharge, where he led the sale of the company to Axis Bank for $60 million. In addition, he has been a senior advisor to Softbank; Noon.com, a Middle Eastern e-commerce company that has raised $1 billion; and is a Board Director of Emaar India, which has over $2 billion in real estate assets. Such an incredible journey and no wonder why he is thought my many as a turnaround specialist.

Review – So moving on the review, the next book that I could get both my eyes and hands on to was the “Irrationally Passionate”. These days indeed most titles are very catchy and this one definitely stands out!

Before I begin with the review, let me start by saying that this is the first time I had a book written by Jason Kothari in my hands. I started reading with mixed feelings not knowing what to expect.

Before I deep dive into the review, one word of advice, this is neither your typical, Biography, nor is this a typical Self help book. This is a biography, for sure, but one, that leads readers to a lot of learning and interpretations on the basis of the journey that Jason takes us through.

This is a highly personal, authentic account of a young entrepreneur’s life. We all know that an entrepreneur’s life is never easy and is fraught with unfavorable circumstances, challenges of the unknown kind. Through this Biography, Jason highlights various practical advice while offering philosophical insights. I think somewhere Jason intended the readers to reflect on how they perceive life, work, family and spirituality by nudging them to relook from a fresh perspective.

The story (if I can call it that) shows the myriad struggles that Jason went through. At the same time, it shares a message that there is nothing that can be achieved easily in life and to be always be on the lookout for passion amongst other things to guide the way. There will always be failures despite personal brilliance. What is important is to keep forging a way forward, while learning from failures.

There are a few areas which I did not relate to, one of them was his struggle while studying, I am unsure of how someone can save enough money to acquire a company if he/she was really struggling. But, that aside, the entire journey of his life that he takes the readers through leaves an impression. If nothing else, read it for that.

Overall, the book is an great read. The messages in this book are although at times repetitive, but the insight into the process and the way forward is very fresh. I would recommend this to everyone. As always, you read, you decide.

[Angelina · Rating 4 out of 5]


" I believe life and learning are interconnected. Every human has potential. The key is figuring out how to unlock that potential and apply it in other areas. If you pay attention, you begin to see patterns emerge. By utilizing a common approach of focused intensity and rigour, you can surmount new challenges and apply those victories and insights to other areas.” – Jason Kothari

'Irrationally passionate' is a brilliant autobiography that portrays the journey of an abroad residing little Indian boy, who was mostly friendless and bullied during his school years , to become a successful entrepreneur. The author starts by stating how he sometimes felt lonely in an otherwise foreign environment , so he sought solace in the characters of comic books , who he realised were just like him , dormant superheroes. One thing led to another , from simple reading to collecting rare comic book issues and then bargaining and selling them at school. And once he got some understanding of the business ,he went onto apply similar techniques to pizza selling for raising money for a charity , infact collecting the highest amount to be contributed by any school. Later on , at Wharton , he realised where his real passion lays and decided to nurture it.
The writing style is lucid and the narrative is smooth flowing . It is also pretty personal . The book starts with Mr Kothari narrating his first tryst with business and bargaining and gradually progresses to how he discovered his passion of entrepreneurship meanwhile working for some very different jobs ,like being a set boy for a Jackie Chan movie (And later on to become the co-producer of another movie ). In the later portions , the author also adds how he sought to meditation for inspiration in matters of personal and professional life. But most importantly , he states that an entrepreneur is not born but made by one's own efforts . In fact , the book tells , that though life will present itself with numerous ups and downs , one must never give up , for there is a solution , a way , to turnaround every problem , however difficult it may appear. Quoting the author,
"Money isn’t a goal, it is a by-product. The goal is solving problems, developing endurance, evolving, and giving customers the services they want, the products they need, and the experiences they crave. That’s called Value Creation. Money flows to value. When you create the latter, you get the former.”

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This book was a really really inspiring read . Totally loved the way the narrator has used various references to expound the importance of “turnaround trait” in an individual's life. Honestly , I did not really find any shortcomings . The cover , the title , the structure of the book is really impressive. It has the right mixture of professional and philosophical advice that a budding entrepreneur can count on. There were moments where the author could actually have chosen rather easy and lucrative path All, but passion being his cue , and being a rather challenge loving person , he chose to follow the prickly path instead of the one made of roses. All in all, I would say it was one hell of a rollercoaster ride of success and survival .

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Age group :- Anyone above the age of 16 would be at ease to read it.

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Absolutely recommended and a must must read for budding entrepreneurs
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✍️My rating :- ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
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Here are some of the lessons from the book that I found really enthralling and hope it would appear helpful to anyone in case you are planning to be an entrepreneur :-
1. Be a good negotiator.
2. Good communication skills are a necessity
3. Believe in yourself.
4. Its not just the starting of a business, which is important,but its running smoothly also requires your efforts.
5. Thorough research and study can give you better results in your venture 6. Most importantly , it should be passion that drives you towards your goal .

[ANSHI · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hello Readers , So I am back with another review. And guess what this time the book is not only unique but is going to inspire you , is going to motivate you so deep. It is a story , journey of a successful and inspirational person Jason Kothari. So , let's read the review and if you do like the review , I am sure you'll love the book too. So , after reading the review , do grab your copy if you are a vivid reader.

Let's talk about the book . So book is about Jason Kothari , the author himself. It starts with Jason making a bargain at a shop near Taj Mahal. He wanted to buy a chess.

This book is about the author , It is his own journey from being a rebel to becoming an entrepreneur and then heading several companies as CEO. Contributing in it to make it successful with name & fame.

Author has described more about him. He tells how he was involved in snapdeal and freecharge. He also tells about the points where he became weak. He has also mentioned some inspirational lines throughout the book. Like , "Remain humble" , "Follow your passion". As we all know Jason kothari is already famous for his entrepreneur skills. There are many new things to be learnt from him through his book. This book is an inside story of Jason Kothari...

Jason Kothari also tells about the value of money. As in beginning we read that he was bargaining for Chess , he writes he learnt the value of money. He also tells how he learnt arbitrage trading etc.
Author has tried his best to mention all the necessary and important events of his life.

My Experience,

I confess I was hooked to the book right from the very first page. The author has cogently tied up the loose ends and has deftly brought together the things in an unexpected manner. This book is a great read and I can vouch for the fact that this is one of the best biography I ever read. Usually , I don't prefer biographies and non fiction but this book has told me a lesson that you can learn many new things from someone's journey.
The way book has been written it propels the reader to finish the book at one stretch , without intervals.

Once I started reading I was astounded , how I was hooked the book like a leech and while turning the pages.... I keep wondering Can a biography be so engaging? How can a book be so unique and perfect in every which way? But it is.....

A few more points about this magnificient biography...!

Writing style is comfortable with free flow that keeps the readers interest alive. To the whole plot , themes you need to read the whole book. As the author has written about his own journey , it's something personal even in the view of narration point.

Book's title is totally approprite and completely relatable to the storyline.

Everytime we don't get an opportunity to peep on someone's successful journey but this book is going to give you a chance. The insight of business and the failures that usually people face is being shown in the book. A journey that starts with obstacles , milestones needed to get a successful and right path. And by facing those difficulties slowly you become a strong person and suddenly success knocks.

Overall, I enjoyed reading it , I found it as a self help book too due to the conveyed journey and way its being written. Recommended to biography lovers, person who are into entrepreneurship and who wants to know about the author's journey i.e who are interested in knowing famous personalities.

I would like to end my views by Jason Kothari's mantra for the vivid readers ;

"FROM GIGGLES TO CHEERS"

Thankyou... Keep reading...

[Gauri · Rating 4 out of 5]

A passionate account of a successful entrepreneurial journey

When the good folks at Blogadda.com chose me to read and review this book, I assumed I was in for a boring second-person account of an entrepreneur's journey. Boy was I wrong. This book is his own account of how he shaped his rebellious self into an entrepreneur, moreover, a credible name as a turnaround king and a sought after entity in the business world.

His first-person account starts on how he recognized and developed his business acumen from a very young age. The account of how he haggled a chess set for himself as a souvenir during a family trip displayed his likeness towards business. Jason kept moving from one city to another on account of his father’s job. During this time, he explains also faced racism and bullying in the many places he stayed during his childhood.
His love for comic books is evident which nurtured into a passion and determination for saving and building Valiant Comics to becoming the third-largest superhero franchise after heavyweights Marvel and DC.
Jason's passion for comics also helped him learn the ropes of business in his teenage days. His favourite Valiant comics comic book characters taught him certain life lessons: “One of my most sacred beliefs is that thoughts become things, the latent becomes manifest. Would-be entrepreneurs shouldn’t just guard their words, but their minds as well. The subconscious is extremely powerful. What you put in, you get out.”
One of the most difficult hurdles for anyone doing business is how they face problems. Either you deal with them or run away from them. Jason learned early on to face problems head-on than to run away from them - a wise lesson for all, not just budding entrepreneurs.

Like many success stories, his too had some setbacks. Jason got into bad habits and bad company but gradually realized and learnt from the mistake. This too he took it into his stride with the lesson: A failure or setback is not the end of everything.
A resounding concern from his mother nagged him and a sound piece of advice from his sister-in-law helped him bounce back to his goal - ‘Jason, you just need to ask yourself: where are you now, what do you want to do, and how are you going to get there from today.’
He also channeled his energies in becoming more fit through martial arts like Muay Thai which also taught Jason a lot of lessons that he took to the boardroom.
“Pain was a non-factor; train your brain to say, ‘Something hurts? So what? Continue. Keep going,”” was an enriching outcome of his experience with the Martial arts masters.

The book entails more such experiences of his career and how he launched himself from business school to becoming the CEOs of Snapdeal, Housing.com and Freecharge.in and an established turnaround expert.

What I Liked:
The inspiring journey faced with ups and downs.
Especially the nuggets of wisdom, such as: - “....running towards, not away, from personal weaknesses—became a habit I cultivated and later pushed to extremes in life and business”.

A major highlight is that how Jason repeatedly says how entrepreneurship need not be inherited or ingrained. It is a combination of passion, determination and focus.

The writing and narration is lucid and the book is easy to read.

What I didn't like:
Nothing much to not like, however I felt that some chapters were a little too long that drawled at but and kept the reader off focus.

Overall:
A good read for those who crave for a dose of inspiration for building their own entrepreneurial success story.

[Jimmie Luthra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Irrationally Passionate walks you through Jason's life right from where everything started, It is basically the behind-the-scenes of his life, starting from the early childhood days, to schooling abroad, comic book trades, college days in the US, struggle with wrong habits, facing racism, bullying, breakdown and turnaround, this book covers everything. It takes you through the failures, struggles, difficulties and all the hard work which the author went through before tasting success. To be honest, I didn't know who Jason Kothari was before I came across this book, so I was a bit skeptical to go ahead with it. After reading the synopsis on the inner-back cover, I was quite impressed by the feats achieved by this man (Jason Kothari), this made me commence reading. After each passing chapter, I was so hooked that I wanted to learn more and more until I realized that I'm done reading the whole freaking book. After I was done, I had kind of mixed feelings (mostly positive) and a lot of motivation. There were some really exciting parts, while some were meh. Overall my experience was good and I enjoyed reading it.

I really liked reading about the author's stint at martial arts training -Muay Thai. I personally am a fan of Muay Thai, and reading about the author's experience at the training camp in Thailand was pure gold. The martial arts training taught the author a lot more than how to execute an elbow thrust or an uppercut, a lot of the leanings were also applicable in real-life situations. I enjoyed reading that part of the book. Other than that, there were some more instances where the author talked about his wrong habits and directionless state during the initial college days, and how he fought his inner demons and brought his life back on track, these parts of the book were also quite inspiring and will definitely motivate the readers in tackling their own such habits.

Coming to the writing style, the book is well written and uses easy-to-understand everyday English, with some business terms used here & there throughout, I'll give that to the author since this book is based on the life of a business personality, so that much is normal, other than that, the book can be read by mostly anyone, no business background/knowledge is required, however people with corporate/business knowledge will be able to understand the book better since there are talks about company formation, bankruptcy, legal procedures, documentations and other phases of corporate life. This book will prove very helpful for new entrepreneurs & start-ups.

So far Irrationally Passionate was one of the best biographies I've read in a while, a lot of you might argue on that but this book by Jason Kothari connected with me and motivated me differently as compared to many good biographies which I have read before. This journey of the author, in many ways, was so relatable to me and I'm sure it will be to most of us. The hurdles, difficulties, and problems which came in the way of his dreams are something which happens to most of us in our lives, yes, the situations might vary but often we find ourselves in the same place where we have to make some hard decisions which will have an impact on our career or life, this book takes you through a roller-coaster ride where at many instances the odds are not in the favor of the author, and shows you how with sheer determination the author tackles them and solves his problems one at a time, leading to his dream.

[Padmajha [PJ] Me and My Bookshelf · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am generally into thrillers and mystery genre but of late I am leaning towards non fiction.I have slowly been adding them to my shelf and this book was the perfect one to add to the collection.
Irrationally Passionate: My Turnaround from Rebel to Entrepreneur is an autobiography of Jason Kothari. In this book he shares with his readers ,his journey and the events that he faced through the various stages of life.
This is not a typical rags to riches type story but rather the author talks of how he came up in life as a successful entrepreneur going past the various struggles and challenges.
The author's family have lived in several places across the globe and the author has been exposed to various cultures and situations.And through all this he has learnt a lot , not only in terms of business but also in terms of life.
Right from his childhood, his parents had instilled in him a sense of independence and this we can see from how his father asked him to bargain for a chess board when he was just a kid.
From his school days encounters we can also see that he had a hidden talent to make money in a cool way. His idea of selling pizza to the school kids was such a novel idea not to mention the profit he earned from it! He was already thinking like an businessman!!
He also talks about how spirituality helped him stay strong and how he managed to wrestle through the hardships and emotions.
His tone in this book is not authoritative or boastful. He talks in a voice that will let us see his side of the story just the way he had experienced it.
There is a lot you can learn from this book. The author shares instances where failure is not an end but a means to seek a new way to make it successful and turn it around. Also he says he it not a bad thing if things don't work out well the first time itself. There is always time to go back look at the events that lead to its failure and make changes to lead it though the path of success.
Towards the end of the book, he gives us the 7 golden pillars for an ideal start up that has also been briefly explained. This is a really useful guide for anyone looking to do a start up.
Another thing I liked about this book is the chapter titles. They are crisp and sort of like a proverb / saying that convey the essence of that chapter. Here are a few - 'Mistakes can be a gift' , Life and business aren't linear' , Nothing worthwhile comes easy', etc. Aren't all these true!!
It's okay if there are failures and disappointments in our life. But it is the will to turn things over that makes us successful . When something happens that does not look like what we expect, one must not just sit and wallow in sorrow but look for ways to get up and make things go on the way we dreamt. Whatever the circumstances one must never quit from the path to our dreams and must looks for ways and means to attain itThis is the takeaway from the book that I felt was something everyone must realize.
Not only that, we get to see a close up account of the life of an entrepreneur which is ridden with up and downs, disappointments and failures and finally how success looks like and how they feel about it!
Last but not the least, the language is very simple and makes it very easy to read and follow. The Hard bind cover makes this book one of my favorites.

[Aryan Sarath · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Leaders are born and not made" is what we might have heard for ages but after reading this book "Irrationally Passionate" by Jason Kothari, my perception has changed. The author has not come up in his life easily. He is also pretty much open in admitting that he had also face failures before he could become a success story. He even goes a step further to say that if someone thought that all the successful entrepreneurs never failed or always had walked on the rosy path, they were wrong.

The book is a first class account of a person who struggled on his own, braving the tides before emerging as one of the most sought out CEO's in the business world. It encapsulates the journey in a way which couldn't be done any precisely than this. Having born in a upper middle class family, Jason has to move to Hongkong since his father's profession demanded it and subsequently to USA before returning back to Hongkong. The way as to how he was bullied and his thought process of how his parents had let him face the world on his own was explained in a candid way.

The success story did not happen overnight. His reference in the very beginning of the book "You'll never know how fortunate you are to live in India, until you've been made to live elsewhere" would make each and every Citizen of India feel proud for sure. His leadership skills were honed at various instances - the first being his involvement in basketball. He explains so beautifully as to how he became one of the talented player through his grit and determination and what it taught him in his life. His initial stint with Domino's Pizza and what strategy he adapted to make a cool USD142 in a single hour took me back to childhood days where I too tried my stint in selling stamps. Unlike the author, I wasn't lucky enough to transform those into a real bigger ones but hey, I do not regret it because I am reviewing this book :-)

Opportunities are plenty and it is right in front of us. It is for us to spot that and grab it which in turn would yield good returns. This is what Jason did by selling comic books which eventually made him to bid for the then bankrupt Valiant Entertainment with no money in his pocket. How he bagged the company and transformed it is, History!!

If you think he was lucky in all aspects, you were wrong. He gets rejected by a girl, who later contacts him, when he was successful, to be rejected by him. His only love always turns into a failure though he did all he could, in his capacity. His stint in Thailand in getting trained in Muay Thai by Apidej Sit Hirun aka "Golden Leg"and by Wooden Man is another interesting read.

The book gives a detailed account of his stint as CEO of Housing.com, Freecharge and later as CSIO in Snapdeal and how he helped transforming them is a must read.

The book would definitely serve as an inspiration for budding talents and wannabe entrepreneurs for sure. It was thoughtful of Jason that he decided to come out with this book which would by default will serve as a guide - not how to succeed but not how to fail.

Though we might able to read the contents in few hours, the journey that was captured in this book, is atleast close to two decades but the experience, is for LIFETIME!!

[Deeshani Batra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Irrationally Passionate by Jason Kothari is a non-fictional inspirational book based on the experiences of the author himself that eventually helped him becoming a successful entrepreneur and a business turnaround expert. The narrative starts from the personal instances right from the childhood and gradually shifts to the professional excerpts towards the end, all the experiences paving a step forth towards his path to success. It’s remarkable how from little incidents where he practiced turnaround of particular setbacks eventually helped him to be able to project the same energy in his work life. He has brilliantly connected the dots with a rather empathetic manner that motivates and at the same time keeps the reader thrilled and connected to the book. Moreover, the book also addresses some racist ridicules that the author faces while growing up which is important to be addressed and talked about. It has high level success stories of some big companies such as Housing.com, Snapdeal and Freecharge where his decisions and approaches have saved such companies from drowning. Apart from this Jason has also discussed about his emotional and spiritual aspects of his life that adds all the more interest in reading.

PROS:

The narrative has very easy and simple straightforward language. Also it is mostly in chronological order so there’s nothing confusing in the storyline.

It’s based on how to overcome challenges in life in general so it doesn’t matter whether one is struggling with entrepreneurial challenges in particular. It would help and motivate anyone facing any kind of troubles in life. And would inspire a wide spectrum of people to chase their dreams be it any kind.

There is a very balanced personal connection in the book that is personal enough to keep the reader empathetic but not too personal that would divert the eventual intention of the book, which sets the book apart from others.

Jason has mentioned some turnaround stories of leading companies which make his theories and strategical approach more reliable to the audience.

One can find some really motivational quotes and save them for lifetime for the times when things aren’t falling into place.

Some of my favourite lines from the book-

“.. turnaround trait—running towards, not away, from personal weaknesses”

“No entrepreneur's path is ever a straight line. Setbacks are constant, disappointments guaranteed. Moreover, no one is born an entrepreneur; they are forged in the rough and tumble crucible of life”

CONS:

Despite all the struggles that the author faced, I still felt he was more privileged than most people in India. Given that he got to live in various countries of the world is a privilege in itself. But it felt that it was not acknowledged in the same manner in the book.

Some experiences are very high level, which could have been discussed a little bit more in detail perhaps.

FINAL VERDICT:

I felt the book is very helpful, inspirational, informative and at the same time interesting to read. It’s a great book for people striving for success. The main focus of the book is on being irrationally passionate and keep fighting till there is a right outcome. I would rate it somewhere around 4 on 5.

[Prathibha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book served as a perfect distraction during these trying times. Especially after hearing disturbing news of death, this book gives hope and inspiration. It is one of the best non-fiction books that I have read this year. The title is so apt for the book. It perfectly describes Mr. Jason Kothari. His experiences will make you marvel at his spirit and passion. One of the traits that inspired me was his perseverance. He slowly worked hard to become a better version of himself.
I absolutely liked that the author remembers his first-ever negotiation so very clearly. How that moment kindles his spirit to become an entrepreneur is exciting to read. I have always wondered how it would be if I had studied in another country. After reading this book, I am glad that I studied in my motherland where I belonged. The sense of belonging is quite important. I would not have survived what Mr. Kothari went through in his school just because he was an outsider. But reading from his experiences, I am inspired by the fact that he did not give up. He did not lose perspective. He worked on his skills and always wanted to get hands-on experience in the business. He did some very cool internships, I would say.
The writing is simple and easy to understand. I learned some new words as well. He explained the business concepts through his life experiences and it was very informative. It was interesting to read about how his interest in becoming an entrepreneur started in his formative years. I really liked that he explained the purpose of the internship so effortlessly. You do an internship to learn the maximum out of the job and the business. It is not just something that you get it done so that you could add it to your resume. I wish I had realized that sooner.
Jason Kothari’s kickboxing training gave him many life lessons. He used everything in his business. I admire his passion and courage that made him bid for Valiant Entertainment. The amount of hard work that he put before the auction is tremendous. Juggling between college and his passion and not cutting the slack on both is huge and he did that all because he loved his comics and he had a big dream for it. His hard work and spirit shine through not just Valiant but also in all his projects where he turned around the business. One of the most important lessons from this book that I really liked was how he picked himself up after his failures. Those experiences made him only grow stronger and he worked hard to reach where he is now.
Never give up on your dreams. Let children pursue their interests so that they could find their niche early and become better at it. You must Dream big no matter what others will say. People may laugh at you for your dreams, they might even think that you are stupid to even think of trying; well all of those people must read this book. Yes, the dreamers, their parents, and the one who always judge them must read this book. The story of Jason Kothari is inspiring and will be a great influence. Like they say, in the end, we only regret the chances that we didn’t take. So please do read this one. I sincerely recommend it to all. I rate it 4/5.

[Aishwarya Mohan Gahrana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started this book with a little disappointment which is still with me. This is a life-size case study by a person but might be written by more than one person. Original writing might be of less than 180 pages and exceeded, might be, due to extra-mile editorial intervention.

These case studies are well narrated sometimes with a pinch of academic details which might not attract a mass reader. Jason does not want to appeal mass readers but certainly to business management guys and more specifically budding entrepreneur skill set. This book is a noticeable happy departure from sales and marketing focused motivational books. Most of the successful consultants present themselves as motivational case studies and Jasson certainly qualify for an effective motivational writer for young corporate leaders. He presents detailed facts inarticulate manner before readers with detailed crips analysis and all possible takeaways. This expresses his habits to doing his home works carefully and craftily to turnaround businesses and own life as well.

I am though not impressed with chess set bargain story in an overly competitive market with no factual need to buy. This story does not suit the persona he creates later. I also disagree with victimhood cards played in earlier chapters. It is where I suppose Jasson is not present in earlier chapters. The book took me on an interesting read thereafter when it enters into the wrong phase of young adult life. This is the turnaround of the book. I can safely skip initial chapters for my subsequent reading except for the manner he generated money for school charity by the calculated sale of pizza. To me, this was his first show of future business leaders.

Apart from business, the autographical account of his early life fighting with wrong habits, well-receiving the training of martial art – Muay Thai and dealing with the harsh reality of life with his that time fiancée are really good to read for general readers.

Jason used a day to day business English however to understand all facts presented it is good to have some understanding of various phases of corporate life. Due to my profession as a legal consultant, company secretary and Insolvency professional, this book is easy going for me but facts may overdose if a reader is not well interested in C-Suits business acumen. However, Jason presented it well for a layman with complete honesty in plain language. I might recommend this book for all my young start-up clients.

The book certainly is not a literary work and not contains flowery narration board rooms. Jason succeeded in writing for his well-targeted audience. The book is not suitable for fast pace single reading though many of us read such books. I recommend a passionate but slow reading particularly in your dreams a c-suit for yourselves.

As the end I will quote Jason: “I’ve found that sometimes the less aggressive you are in selling and promoting yourself, the more people seek you out”. Certainly, this book is a well-calculated move and writing.