An entrepreneur who didn’t give up even after failing in two startups, Varun left his job to do something good. He is  co-founder of a platform mainly designed for readers and writers.

Varun Chopra is an entrepreneur. He is the founder of Foster Reads, which is a social media platform catering to writers and readers.

Recalling his childhood, Varun says he had an interesting but difficult childhood as he used to stammer while talking and also had a medical condition called Gynecomastia for which he was bullied in school. People also used to make fun of his fat body. It decreased his self-esteem and confidence. He was more likely to spend time alone and indulge in drawing. However, he improved in all aspects when his parents sent him to personality development classes.

Talking about his journey, Varun says he was a passionate engineer. After completing his education, he started working at an IT company in Mumbai and left the job after two years. During the pandemic, he was working at L&T Infotech. He again left his job to start a book club, where around 300 people shared their thoughts about book writers who had also joined the club.

Starting Foster Reads was a brave step for Varun, as he was not sure whether it would work or not. However, he believed in his vision. Currently, he is working with 18 employees. He says though many of the companies shut down during  the pandemic, he continued somehow and is still struggling. He has met Shashi Tharoor, Nitin Gadkari, and Durjoy Datta. He also met many celebrities and partnered with many brands.

Sharing his achievements, Varun says he improved himself in finance as he made himself capable of gathering investments from people he didn’t know. Furthermore, his journey from an introvert to an extrovert is also a huge achievement, as it developed his communication skills. Furthermore, he gifted his parents an OLA bike. He sold his first startup to Honda and later started another along with his job, but it didn’t work. Despite failure, he started again and made them feel proud.

Regretting his mistakes, Varun says his parents used to tell him to study, but he didn’t take studies seriously. Furthermore, he also believes that his mistake is that he didn't truly live his 18–22 period, where people travel and enjoy life, as he was busy with part-time jobs and NGO work.

When asked about his role models, Varun says he looks up to his parents, who are still working. Furthermore, he also considers his mentor, Prabhu Subramanian, as his role model, as he learns to balance his professional and personal lives from him. His mentor also taught him to have a big vision.

Varun’s life mantra is "Dreams won’t come true until you want them to."

Advising the younger generation, Varun says consistency is necessary. Besides, hard work and luck also play a vital role in the achievement of success. He also suggests that people should not worry too much, as things will be right one day. You just have to work hard.