Varun Duggirala - Everything Is Out of Syllabus

Dear Reader,

Welcome to a world where when nothing makes sense, everything will eventually make sense. Sounds bizarre, right? Let me explain. I used to have a sign in my bedroom as a teenager that read everything happens for a reason. I strongly believed in the fact that everything that was happening to me had a greater purpose behind it, and I met any unsavoury situation with a smile as if to ask the universe: Hey, what are you trying to teach me through this?

After a decade of running a business, writing cookbooks, hosting a popular podcast and learning how to cope with the crazy things entrepreneurship throws your wayI thought I had it all figured out. In March 2020, my babyLe15 Patisserieturned 10 years old. For a food business to stay relevant and successful for that long in a hyper-competitive city like Mumbai is no mean feat. I finally let my guard down and told myself Id figured it all out. The business was profitable, our numbers were great, I was enjoying creating content and finally had a growth plan for Le15 that both excited and scared me. I was ready for the next decade of absolutely crushing it. And then BOOM. The world was hit by a pandemic and everything changed. I found myself in a crisis that I couldve never seen coming. I remember reading a Rumi quote that said, When I had all the answers, the questions changed. I felt like I had studied for a French exam and was handed a question paper in Hebrew. Everything was most definitely out of syllabus.

As an entrepreneur you learn how to be resourceful and to, as much as I hate the word, hustle. But I think the quality that helped me the most was grit. After weeks of what felt like darkness and doom, I found the courage to look at life in a different light. This wasnt the path I thought Id be on, but I was here. I tried to find opportunity in the crisis and I truly learnt what was important to me. I made tough decisions and shut down half of my business; we launched our packaged products and started doing everything differently. Today, Im a stronger person with so much more confidence in my abilities as an entrepreneur, as a chef, and as a leader.

I met Varun at a conference just before the pandemic and was impressed with everything hed achieved. Through all of the gloom of 2020, I found a friend I could talk to about the hard things in life, things no one talks about and things certainly no one teaches you how to overcome. During my many long conversations with Varun about life and work I discovered that he was a well of information. His knowledge stems from having critically examined his life, putting it into perspective, and allowing hindsight to be a great teacher. My takeaways from our conversations are quite similar to the lessons he has so generously imparted in this book, which is what makes Everything Is Out of Syllabus an excellent readits like talking to a person who knows what life is about and what makes it worth living. Like me, Varun is multi-hyphenated and I love that you cant fit him in a box. This helps him see things from many different perspectives, draw unique learnings and have a distinctive voice. These are qualities that can be learnt, but how? Well, for that you must read this book.

I hope you dive in and enjoy every story and lesson that comes your way. I hope you pause, reflect and are able to draw parallels in your own lives. And I hope youre ready to face whatever life throws at you, even if its out of syllabus!

All my love,

Pooja Dhingra