Being an entrepreneur, you can never really switch off, says Rohit Arora, co-founder and chief executive officer of Biz2Credit, a leading digital lending platform for small businesses. Always on the move, he says there is hardly any down time but adds that his love for his work does not let him feel the need for it. It is all about how you marry your passion with other activities, he says.
“I have a global business which requires me to frequently criss-cross different time zones. It has its own challenges,” says Arora. Since it is almost always a business trip, whenever he is in a new place, he makes it a point to explore it and acquaint himself with the local culture and cuisine. “Travelling opens up your mind and teaches you a lot. You get a global perspective which makes you more tolerant and outgoing,” Arora philosophises.
He uses his travel time to pursue his other passion—reading. “I use the on-flight time to read,” he says. “I used to read a lot of books earlier, but now I read journals, mostly business-related with life lessons and of geo-political relevance,” he says, listing Malcolm Gladwell and Jared Diamond among his favourite authors.
History fascinates the 48-year-old entrepreneur. It teaches you a lot, he feels. “New York has some of the best museums in the world. I visit them once in a while, though I wish I could do it more often,” he rues.
Arora confesses that there is no work-life balance for him, something that his wife and daughter often complain about. Things have begun to change now as his daughter is growing up, he points out. “If not a vacation, I can at least have a workcation,” he quips, talking about the family’s fortnight-long trips to Abu Dhabi last year and Europe the year before that.
Mention sports and he lights up—he was at the FIFA World Cup finals in Qatar last year. “It was the biggest sporting event I have ever been to. We had tickets for the front row. The match was amazing and the experience was out of the world. I have been to many cricket matches and Grand Slams, but never to a FIFA World Cup match,” he says. Growing up in India, he played cricket “like any other boy in India”. However, since donning the entrepreneurial hat, he has had little time for sports. For now, he tries to jog and work out at the gym at least three to four times a week, if not more.
The expert in small business financing feels that his work has a global impact and, going forward, he wants to create a legacy through it. He feels strongly about education and children’s empowerment and hopes to do more for the society.
Looking at his passion and zeal, it is hard to imagine that Arora will ever “retire” from work. “It will not work for me,” he chuckles. “Find some passion in life. It need not be just work; it could be for other things that you want,” he says as he gets ready to join his staff for an in-house sports day celebration.
