Why Divorce and Heartbreak Are Good Things
Will Anyone Ever Trust The BluSmart Jaggi Brothers Again? Can Three Questions Really Determine Whether A Business Will Work?
The internet is flooded with noise and negativity. I focus on stories that make me a better human being and professional.
Here are this weeks three short stories:
Why Divorce and Heartbreak Are Good Things
Will Anyone Ever Trust The BluSmart Jaggi Brothers Again
Can Three Questions Really Determine Whether A Business Will Work
You can find all past editions here. Let’s dive in 👇
(1) Why Divorce and Heartbreak Are Good Things
I don’t understand why society expects us to hit a six the very first ball we face. And that too for the most important decision of our lives—the person who will sleep next to you for the next 50 years.
In every other field, we are encouraged to fail, learn, and try again. When we took the very first steps, we stumbled as children. When we learnt how to bike, we fell off countless times. When we build businesses, overnight successes are actually decade long journeys. When we play a sport, we take steps to get better and better through iteration and practice.
Mahatma Gandhi. Nelson Mandela. Albert Einstein. Priyanka Chopra. Virat Kohli.
From freedom fighters to Nobel Prize winners to Bollywood stars and cricket legends—history shows us that even the most remarkable people stumble in love before they get it right.
Then why do we torture ourselves so much when we get our partners wrong?
A young 24-year-old had reached out to me a couple of years back to “mentor him”. He said that he had been reading my Sunday emails and wanted to pick my brain. I told him that I didn’t know what “mentoring” meant but I’d be happy to talk to him. He was smart, articulate, had just moved to Mumbai and landed himself a very coveted job. He asked me questions about what I think he should do with his career. I gave him my two cents.
He reached out to me again yesterday. He said that he really wanted to talk to me because he was in difficulty. The minute he got on Google Meet, I asked him if this was about a woman in his life.
He said yes. He had just broken off from a decade-long relationship. He was having a hard time sleeping well. It was adversely impacting his work and wellbeing.
I related with my experience over the years—the heartache of the girl who didn’t feel the same about me, the first on-again off-again girlfriend, the thirteen-year relationship that didn’t work, the crying and the sleepless nights.
I then told him that I wouldn’t change a thing. That I am the man I am because of all those experiences. That I wouldn’t have known enough about myself—my likes and dislikes—or the partner who would be a good match for me, had I not gone through these ups and downs.
I encouraged him to get out, socialize more, make more friends, meet more women—and sooner or later he will find someone he finds joy being around.
I also encouraged him to live-in with his partner before he got married to anyone, because that is when he will really know if they get along, farts, warts, wrinkles and all. Living-in is still quite taboo in India and many parts of the world, but I feel like a short-term trial goes a long way in deciding a lifetime commitment.
Despite all of this, there is no guarantee that there won’t be heartbreak or breakups. But I think the odds swing a lot more in your favor than just throwing a dart into the wind and going home with whoever you hit.
Relationships are hard. But so is business, sports, life, and anything worthwhile that you do. The most important life decision of yours should require the most consideration.
And while we’re on the subject, I want to say something else that I feel strongly about.
I have many friends who are divorced. After what they’ve been through, they vow never to marry again. They feel like they are better off alone, without a companion.
I tend to disagree. Because to me, that’s like saying you didn’t hit a hole-in-one—so you’re quitting golf forever.
Now that you know what worked and what didn’t, why not try again? Why not do better?
Take precautions. Be smarter. But don’t be so afraid to live.
When you’re 80 years old, sitting with your memories, would you look back and say—“I lived fully, took risks worth taking, and did it all on my own”? Or would you say—“I lived fully, loved deeply, took risks worth taking, and shared the journey with someone who made life even richer”?
I believe it will always be the latter.
Society won’t remember or care about your failures a hundred years from now.
It all disappears into the dust of time. So go all out. Fall in love again. Take another swing. Make the most of everything life has to offer.
Because a heart that’s been broken isn’t a heart that’s done. It’s a heart that’s got experience and is ready to love better.
Takeaways:
Your past heartbreaks are not failures—they’re part of the preparation for a deeper, more meaningful love.
Living cautiously protects you from pain—but it also steals the joy, adventure, and fullness of life.
Life isn’t about getting it perfect the first time. It’s about growing wiser, loving braver, and living fully, no matter how many tries it takes.
(2) Will Anyone Ever Trust The BluSmart Jaggi Brothers Again
Imagine raising hundreds of crores to build a clean, honest business.
EV rides. Sustainable growth. No surge pricing. Great PR.
Then imagine it all collapsing—because you used that money to fund a lifestyle you didn’t earn.
Here is what the BluSmart founders are being accused of.
Purchase of Luxury Real Estate:
Approximately ₹42.94 crore was used to acquire a high-end apartment in The Camellias, Gurugram.
Transfers to Family Members:
₹6.2 crore to their mother, Jasminder Kaur.
₹2.98 crore to Anmol Singh Jaggi’s wife, Mugdha Kaur Jaggi.
₹1.13 crore to Puneet Singh Jaggi’s wife, Shalmali Kaur Jaggi.
Personal Expenditures:
₹26 lakh on a luxury golf set.
₹17.28 lakh at Titan Company for luxury items.
₹10.37 lakh to Kamco Chew Food.
₹1.86 crore for purchasing foreign currency.
They didn’t just misuse investor funds.
They destroyed something far more valuable:
Trust.
“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.”—Warren Buffett
I think about this every time I accept money from someone.
When I raised angel investment for Happy Ratio, one of my first priorities was separation:
Separate entity.
Separate bank accounts.
Separate personal and business expenses.
And the ability to trace every rupee to how it helped grow the company.
If someone asked me where their money went, I could show them—line by line.
Because business isn’t just about building products.
It’s about building trust.
When trust is gone.
The brand is gone.
The talent is gone.
The future is gone.
And no apology, no pivot, no “we’ll do better” is enough to fix that.
Takeaways:
Money can buy headlines—but only trust builds legacies.
You don’t lose trust all at once. You lose it one unaccounted rupee at a time.
The most valuable line on your cap table is your reputation. Guard it like equity.
(3) Can Three Questions Really Determine Whether A Business Will Work
According to Richard Barton—the man behind Expedia, Glassdoor, and Zillow—they can.
He’s started and backed billion-dollar companies using just three filters:
Is this a big problem?
Is this a big pond?
Are there good fishermen?
That’s it.
And yet, most entrepreneurs don’t think like this. They spot a problem, feel excited, and jump in. But as Barton says:
“A lot of entrepreneurs make the mistake of identifying a big problem… but it’s just a small opportunity.”
Take Uber. Most people thought it was a play on black cars. Barton saw it as a wedge into the entire transportation market. That’s not just a problem—it’s a massive pond. And Travis and Garrett? Definitely good fishermen.
It’s the same lens he used at Expedia. Richard was working at Microsoft at that time, and when he pitched the idea to Bill Gates, it was framed as a travel guide business—maybe a $100 million opportunity. But Barton pushed for a bigger play: what if consumers could book their tickets online? Suddenly the market was in the billions. Gates loved it—and became Expedia’s first VC.
The real magic is when you spot a problem and your gut goes:
“Oh my god, why is it this way?”
That’s the start of something big.
I would’ve paid serious money to be mentored by someone like Richard. But thanks to this Tim Ferriss podcast, I got to be a fly on the wall—so many of the questions I wrestle with were answered.
In future posts, I’ll dive deeper into what I learned from this particular episode, including:
How to provoke a positive emotional response from your product or service.
How to choose a name people will never forget.
Why great leaders should be able to surf all day.
How to hire well—without wasting time.
And why remote teams actually work better for your life.
Takeaways:
Great businesses aren’t just built on problems. They’re built on big problems in big markets with the right people to solve them.
Don’t just ask “Is this broken?” Ask, “Is this fix worth a fortune?”
So many mentors are giving advice worth million for free. You just need to learn how to listen.
👋 I’m Harsh. 7000+ founders and CXOs read these three short stories from me every Sunday. I also run a podcast called Master of the Deal where I uncover the personal stories and strategies of M&A, private equity, and investment banking leaders.
If you’re curious about what I’m building, here’s where I spend most of my time:
Ideals VDR - We are the world’s most secure and highest rated Virtual Data Room provider. Companies share confidential information using our technology. Here is a short demo.
Happy Ratio - Food and drinks that make you happy, inside and out.
Marcellus Investment Managers - Where my personal investments grow. Their philosophy of investing in clean, honest, cash flow-positive businesses aligns with my approach.
Harsh Batra