Originally reported and written in January 2023, this story has been republished as part of our archival content.

Sunil Vashisht, a 45-year-old resident of Delhi and founder of a multi-crore brand ‘Flying Cakes’, still recalls that day in 1992 when he told his parents the good news that he had just cleared his Class 10.

“My father was a mechanical labourer and did not have the funds to support my further studies. He told me that if I planned on going to college, I would have to do this on my own steam,” says Sunil, adding that instead of receiving hugs and congratulations, he was met with dismay.

Starting that moment, Sunil says he encountered numerous challenges as he set out to fulfil his dreams. But, he’s quick to add that without the valuable lessons that life taught him in this phase, Flying Cakes wouldn’t be what it is today.

After the disheartening interaction with his father, Sunil took it upon himself to fund his studies and enrolled in Class 11 in Delhi. When it was time to pay the fees, he applied for a delivery job at a milk company in the city that paid him a stipend.

“It was Rs 200 a month. I would leave home at 5 in the morning, distribute milk for an hour, collect the money........

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