By Harsh Snehanshu. Grade B+

A fun novel about love, starting a company, and leaving it all to follow your heart

On a fateful winter day, Amol Sabharwal, co-founder of one of the most ambitious start- up ventures in the country, yourquote.in, decides to quit. What makes Amol quit his own business venture just when it is on the brink of raising its first round of funding?

Because Shit Happened

Harsh Snehanshu, bestselling author of Oops! I Fell in Love! gives us an insiders peek into the big, bad entrepreneurial world of fame, betrayal, lust for power, greed, and unethical business practices. Based on the real-life story of the start-up that the author co-founded in 2010, Because Shit Happened will tell you what NOT to do in a start-up.

With already a few bestsellers in his quiver and given his record, I don’t expect anyone reading this review to give a damn about what I think, but just pretend like you don’t already love or hate Harsh Snehanshu and indulge me for five minutes.

 

Sometimes, we all tend to get onto a path which we have never trodden upon. Call it the Road Not Taken if you will. Welcome to the world of Amol, who in quest of his destiny, chose to walk life in totally different shoes. It starts off as a simple story of an IITian, and his most ambitious start-up venture. It then veers off into a little more complicated storyline. Trippy!

 

The juxtaposition of relationships he had, the business he ran and the life he led given the circumstances is beautifully done by the author, more of because it is probably based on real accounts. The book slowly turns out to be a rollercoaster where you could strap yourself on to a seat and enjoy. Be forewarned and prepared to read it in one sitting because Snehanshu’s plot can have that effect. The book successfully unravels some of the most intriguing and boggling challenges of the world of entrepreneurship. It consists of a chain of events that leads the protagonist to take staggeringly stupid decisions. The formula has already been milked in many books. The reader desperately wants the protagonist to avoid mistakes so that everything ends fine. And it worked fine, just like with most emotionally resonant books. Because Shit Happened is a cocktail of passion and relationship complexities, entertaining in its every sip, bitter but honest.

 

Actually what I love the most about this book is the creative blend of style, not just characters but within the characters. Sadly there was not much of a story in the book. It was like a chain reaction of events with short entertaining but connecting typical stories fermented with candid one liners. Let me say: if you are a student with a knack for writing or entrepreneurship, then this book will be a perfect read for you. Even if you don’t, this book will not disappoint you. It’s not highly artistic, nor is it even close to the pinnacle of awesomeness, but it is a good read nonetheless.