Prashant Desai: Making Women & Children financially sound

Who doesn’t want to build an off-shore bank account filled with piles and piles of cash? Who doesn’t want to live a luxurious life without having to work themselves into the ground? We all wish to be rich, but we don’t know where or how to start. If you look in almost any household in India, children aren’t being educated about how to value and grow money, so as a result, India remains relatively unsophisticated when it comes to finances.

SocialBoat had the stimulating opportunity to have a conversation with Prashant Desai who has been in the financial market for more than 25 years. Recently, he undertook digital content creation to educate the masses about finances and share his experience. Read on to know Prashant’s journey, and who knows, you might find the recipe to become rich!

What has been your story so far?

“I was born in Calcutta in 1972. My father, who was a banker, died when I was seven years old and this pushed my family into abject poverty due to which I started noticing inequality with my peers from an early age. I realized that all the unhappiness, pain, and misery in my life had to do with lack of money.”

When Prashant was 17 years old and his elder brother decided to get married, their mother brought up some share certificates that their father had left behind. When they tallied them, they realized that they were owners of a fortune.

“It completely blew my mind. We were jumping!”

Once Prashant was introduced to the world of the stock market, he knew what he wanted to do to make money. He became a Chartered Accountant, started as a stockbroker in Calcutta, and gradually made his way to Bombay. Today he is the Head of Strategy and Investor Relations at Burger King India.

How has the pandemic influenced your journey as a creator?

“Like many others, I spent the initial days of the lockdown streaming shows. Then, one day while watching a live stream of Novak Djokovic and Jim Kwik, I decided to purchase Kwik’s latest book and signed up for its speed reading program. My reading speed doubled and I read more and more books and realized that I lacked a purpose in life.”

After some introspection, he decided that he wanted to give back to the market by imparting financial education to the youth of the country.

Now that he had some time on his hands, he started with creating YouTube and LinkedIn profiles, followed by Instagram.

What is your goal with your social media projects?

“Every single day when I post something, the idea is to take people to the water in the hope that at least one out of a hundred will drink that water.”

Prashant explains that financial literacy in India is very poor, especially among women and children. His aim is to share his 25-year long experience in the financial market with his audience and teach them how to grow their money. He wants to demystify financial knowledge and make it reach those in need.

“When it comes to matters of money, more is always less. My job is to tell people to take the risk and invest in the stock market.”

Prashant also wants to initiate conversations about dealing with one’s mistakes, and handling loss- something that is often blamed on external factors. Moreover, Prashant is an ardent believer that the habit of reading is a superpower and he wishes to push his followers to inculcate it.

How do you manage to keep your audience engaged and interested?

“Morgan Housel says, “If it is complicated. It isn’t content.” My content is inspired by Housel’s philosophy. Like Housel, I believe in teaching through stories so that viewers are kept emotionally invested. There are only four things in finance- earn, spend, save, invest. I create content through these four lenses so it talks to you as a person. If my 10-year-old can’t understand it, I won’t put it up.”

Prashant repeatedly tells us that “Finance is NOT complicated.” His goal is to demystify finance for his audience and make them believe in its simplicity.

Do you currently monetize your social media projects? Do you want to in the future?

“Currently, no. Imparting financial education is my way of giving back to society. However, I am considering beginning with paid courses sometime in the near future. Perhaps people don’t take my knowledge seriously because they are getting it for free. Monetization will induce that seriousness.”

What has been your biggest challenge as a creator?

“There are two- Firstly, my aim is to connect with youth but I wonder if I am giving them the knowledge in a way that they want to accept? Or do they prefer to listen to somebody younger?”

“The second is adjusting my diction to different platforms. There is a different language for the long explanatory YouTube videos; fitting the same in a 30-second Instagram reel is a real challenge.”

Prashant is also prepared for his engagement dropping massively.

“The youth are investing money without any knowledge. They are bound to lose their money and that’s when they will find a scapegoat to pin the blame.”

Are you also looking at building a long-term connection with a few people through your work as a creator?

“I am currently educating the masses at large and therefore am not able to develop long-term connections. However, I look forward to doing that once I initiate my workshops. Then, I will be able to interact with people on a more personal level.”

What are you trying to convey to the youth of India today?

“Financial education in India is both poor and underestimated. 95% Indians have failed in the domain of managing finances and the youth of today is likely to live miserably in their sixties if the status remains unchanged.”

With his social media presence, Prashant is emphasizing the importance of investing one’s savings because as opposed to the popular notion, money saved is NOT money earned. He suggests that every young Indian should start by reading Saurabh Mukherjee’s ‘Coffee Can Investing.'

Prashant himself is currently working on his second book, the first being ‘Biography of a Failed Venture,’ where he addresses dealing with loss and mistakes.

Our Experience with Prashant Desai

Prashant Desai undoubtedly has a repository of knowledge that could certainly alter how Indians invest their finances. However, what makes him exceptional is how he delivers that knowledge. Prashant is a natural storyteller who puts in great effort and thought in the process of imparting knowledge. He definitely seems to be succeeding in his aim to demystify and simplify financial matters for his viewers by making them emote with his stories. Listening to Prashant, one is sure to reflect on their own life and current financial situation.

To know more about Prashant Desai and his work, click here.

To know more about how to monetize your talent and content, please visit: https://socialboat.live