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Because Shit Happened
On a fateful winter day, Amol Sabharwal, co-founder of one of the most ambitious startup 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?
Harsh Snehanshu, bestselling author of Oops! I fell in love! gives you an insider’s 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.
Harsh Snehanshu, bestselling author of Oops! I fell in love! gives you an insider’s 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.
- GenresFiction
Unknown Binding
First published February 19, 2013
10 people are currently reading
239 people want to read
About the author
Harsh Snehanshu
10 books169 followersHarsh Snehanshu is twenty-five but looks older. After graduating from IIT in 2011, he invested a year each on entrepreneurship, pan-India travel, and the Young India Fellowship – a prestigious one-year fellowship in the liberal arts. During 2012-13, he travelled solo across the country on a shoestring budget, sleeping wherever there was space and eating whatever was available, discovering India and a bit of himself. His fascination for stories and abundance of grey hairs are results of this wanderlust and reflection.
The author of Green Mango More, Mango Chutney, Because Shit Happened: What Not To Do In A Start-up! and the bestselling Kanav-Tanya trilogy, Harsh has sold over 1 lac copies in India. Harsh is a prolific freelance writer, having been published in The Caravan, The Hindu, Tehelka among others. As an exchange student at Sciences Po, Paris in their School of Urban Affairs, Harsh has been fascinated in providing value to people living in urban areas. He is interested in business, people and creating value for people, and right now is setting up a C2C start-up to cater to the needs of the urban residents.
You could reach him at:
www.facebook.com/harshsnehanshu1
www.twitter.com/harshsnehanshu
The author of Green Mango More, Mango Chutney, Because Shit Happened: What Not To Do In A Start-up! and the bestselling Kanav-Tanya trilogy, Harsh has sold over 1 lac copies in India. Harsh is a prolific freelance writer, having been published in The Caravan, The Hindu, Tehelka among others. As an exchange student at Sciences Po, Paris in their School of Urban Affairs, Harsh has been fascinated in providing value to people living in urban areas. He is interested in business, people and creating value for people, and right now is setting up a C2C start-up to cater to the needs of the urban residents.
You could reach him at:
www.facebook.com/harshsnehanshu1
www.twitter.com/harshsnehanshu
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
March 19, 2022
It says it's loosely based upon true events and having known the author from his other works I think it is a brutally honest account. I could connect at a lot of incidents and was convinced. Definitely it's a let down if you are searching for a book on entrepreneurship. One must read the author for his writing than the events.
July 29, 2016
I bought this book since there was a lot of hype about it(and also because I got it at a 50% discount - was ordering another book and got free shipping if I added this too)
The writing style - boring and mundane. Reading every page was a chore.
Maybe my expectations were too high, but the book definitely didn't live up to the hype. I marked the major pages where I thought I'd criticize the book on, but there's so many that I'm not even going to get started.
This book DOES paint a somewhat realistic picture on the difficulties faced by a new entrepreneur, but it's nowhere near an exhaustive list.
Neither does this book tell you what not to do in a startup, since most of the mistakes the character makes weren't mistakes at all. A quick google search will help a lot more with that aspect.
It hits the nail on the head where it implies that good developers are the hardest to find for any startup - Most good developers in that age group would work for themselves or freelance, not work for a startup for free.
Who should get this book:
1) College students considering starting a startup. Don't consider this book a bible though, you'll need to do a lot more research. Consider this the "Extra Reading Material", not "Reference Books".
Though you'd be much better off reading a book which teaches you a skill that'll actually be helpful if you're serious about the venture.
2) Someone who has no experience working for himself, including salaried employees, and is considering starting a internet startup.
3) Someone looking for a mindless read about teenagers with typical teenager problems.
4) Finds ironical book names funny
I fit none of the above criteria. If you do however, go pick up a copy.
The writing style - boring and mundane. Reading every page was a chore.
Maybe my expectations were too high, but the book definitely didn't live up to the hype. I marked the major pages where I thought I'd criticize the book on, but there's so many that I'm not even going to get started.
This book DOES paint a somewhat realistic picture on the difficulties faced by a new entrepreneur, but it's nowhere near an exhaustive list.
Neither does this book tell you what not to do in a startup, since most of the mistakes the character makes weren't mistakes at all. A quick google search will help a lot more with that aspect.
It hits the nail on the head where it implies that good developers are the hardest to find for any startup - Most good developers in that age group would work for themselves or freelance, not work for a startup for free.
Who should get this book:
1) College students considering starting a startup. Don't consider this book a bible though, you'll need to do a lot more research. Consider this the "Extra Reading Material", not "Reference Books".
Though you'd be much better off reading a book which teaches you a skill that'll actually be helpful if you're serious about the venture.
2) Someone who has no experience working for himself, including salaried employees, and is considering starting a internet startup.
3) Someone looking for a mindless read about teenagers with typical teenager problems.
4) Finds ironical book names funny
I fit none of the above criteria. If you do however, go pick up a copy.
January 3, 2017
I am not against bad books, but what I hate to my core is a bad book which appears good. I picked it up as the first book of the year because I thought that it would not be the typical "IITians and sex" saga. I couldn't have been more wrong. The books taught me that the biggest problem one can face in his entrepreneurial journey always has something to do with sex your sex life, the second biggest has to do with your co-founders sex life. I had a great image of the author with his facebook posts, the book put a big black mark on that. The language is okayish, with nothing extra-ordinary but not irritating like Ravindra Singh. Two starts just because I wanted to rate it above Ravindra Singh's books.
Read
March 12, 2013It's my book! I better not rate. :D
May 29, 2013
I picked it up from Amazon kindle because it was 100 bucks and because i felt bad for not having read a book for the past month.
When compared to the other engineering students who have suddenly started writing Bestsellers, he actually writes quite well. It's an easy read, doesn't take much out of you but at the same time it leaves you with little wisdom. It's supposed to be a true depiction of the India start up world. And sometimes it provides you with an inside view to the start up world too, but is obstructed too much by personal stories and the "love triangles" ( yes, plural).
First half you can say its not 'shitty' but then it gets too much. It got so tiring that i started skimming through all the 'relationship' related dialogues altogether, not only are those poorly written but also make you go "Come on! really?" in disgust once in a while.
You want to root for this guy Amol, you even see some of yourself in him, but as the pages go by you realize this too is another attempt at moulding the protagonist into the guy that was created by other writers to top bestsellers list, the leading guy in a chick lit (i'm guessing all of the writers do this to lock in the female base thinking they are the only ones that read, which is clearly wrong), think an Edward Cullen minus the looks.
You'd think after 300 pages of a book about a failed start up you would learn something, like a list of things you shouldn't do or should do to make your start up better, but the author mentions little of that, granted it's not a self help book but still a little push wouldn't have hurt. I'm sure if you are looking for a list of do's and don't for a start up you'd be better off with searching on Google, i'm sure a teenager from a small town who freelances SEO optimised articles to a blog made to earn Adsense revenue will have more or less the same info. Oh and he was paid less that what the book cost me. Sad, i know.
So you take out the 'romantic' drama that becomes intolerable half way through, the betrayal that you know was inching forward every page, the above average narrative and fairly appropriate use of words and phrases and what do you get?
Just like the title suggest, you get SHIT, a whole lot of it. And it you thought about picking it up hoping it would at least be funny, don't. It's not.
If you want to read a book about Start ups in India, read How i braved Anu Aunty and co founded a Million dollar Company. Not only is that a fairly good struggle/success story, you'll also learn something along with it.
All things said and done, i am looking forward to the author's next book about his year of travel in India. I read his TedX speech and it was truthful and inspirational. If he sticks to that instead of writing a book to duplicate the 'best sellers' he would achieve something really amazing.
When compared to the other engineering students who have suddenly started writing Bestsellers, he actually writes quite well. It's an easy read, doesn't take much out of you but at the same time it leaves you with little wisdom. It's supposed to be a true depiction of the India start up world. And sometimes it provides you with an inside view to the start up world too, but is obstructed too much by personal stories and the "love triangles" ( yes, plural).
First half you can say its not 'shitty' but then it gets too much. It got so tiring that i started skimming through all the 'relationship' related dialogues altogether, not only are those poorly written but also make you go "Come on! really?" in disgust once in a while.
You want to root for this guy Amol, you even see some of yourself in him, but as the pages go by you realize this too is another attempt at moulding the protagonist into the guy that was created by other writers to top bestsellers list, the leading guy in a chick lit (i'm guessing all of the writers do this to lock in the female base thinking they are the only ones that read, which is clearly wrong), think an Edward Cullen minus the looks.
You'd think after 300 pages of a book about a failed start up you would learn something, like a list of things you shouldn't do or should do to make your start up better, but the author mentions little of that, granted it's not a self help book but still a little push wouldn't have hurt. I'm sure if you are looking for a list of do's and don't for a start up you'd be better off with searching on Google, i'm sure a teenager from a small town who freelances SEO optimised articles to a blog made to earn Adsense revenue will have more or less the same info. Oh and he was paid less that what the book cost me. Sad, i know.
So you take out the 'romantic' drama that becomes intolerable half way through, the betrayal that you know was inching forward every page, the above average narrative and fairly appropriate use of words and phrases and what do you get?
Just like the title suggest, you get SHIT, a whole lot of it. And it you thought about picking it up hoping it would at least be funny, don't. It's not.
If you want to read a book about Start ups in India, read How i braved Anu Aunty and co founded a Million dollar Company. Not only is that a fairly good struggle/success story, you'll also learn something along with it.
All things said and done, i am looking forward to the author's next book about his year of travel in India. I read his TedX speech and it was truthful and inspirational. If he sticks to that instead of writing a book to duplicate the 'best sellers' he would achieve something really amazing.
November 6, 2013
the most boring, this book prologue states " what not to do when one is dreaming to become entrepreneur" but journey moves along with college, interviews, romance and shit Yes real shit. not worth single penny.
Author named this book in incorrect way.
it must be "SHIT YES REAL SHIT"
Author named this book in incorrect way.
it must be "SHIT YES REAL SHIT"
January 17, 2014
The story starts off with a promise , but is soon diluted by the technical aspects , often unneeded and coupled with the rambling plot , you just wait for these meandering rivers to reach its ocean , if any , because you somehow managed 300 and-so pages of this tome . The author's all-pervasive cocky, misogynist attitude serves to further push this book into its quicksand . Read this , if only for the quotes which are genuinely witty , but sprinkled few and far between , and a veritably ingenious idea which tragically , met its grave too soon !!!
October 8, 2013
I'd want to give it 2.5 stars.Despite of it's horrendous grammatical glitches and it's amateurish lingo it's an honest account of the obstacles one faces while starting up. I could relate to it more as I have just turned entrepreneur and some of the things talked about in the book did happen with me as well.Good start but could have been far far better for a guy who is planning to make a career in writing.
August 30, 2018
I won't recommend this book to anyone, esp. not to entrepreneurs. This book was nothing but a series of non-interesting twisted love stories and love triangles. After few chapters this book seems like a drag.
October 14, 2014
Too many deviations and with a 'SHIT' end..
February 7, 2017
Too lengthy.
Can be avoided.
Can be avoided.
January 16, 2018
The book was amazing... Totally loved it..
& Just like the ending of this book... I am also happy after reading it... Great going author :)
& Just like the ending of this book... I am also happy after reading it... Great going author :)
January 23, 2018
2 stars because it was a completely forgettable book. I usually remember every book and it’s author I read a decade ago, but not this ones!
Read
April 30, 2023please do not read the book
June 12, 2023
Follow the link to my review.
https://anuwriting.blogspot.com/2023/...
https://anuwriting.blogspot.com/2023/...
April 15, 2013
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.
Originally reviewed at http://vaultofbooks.com/
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.
Originally reviewed at http://vaultofbooks.com/
September 10, 2013
Nice book.
It was very relatable for me because i suffered from the same failure. I was also ditched by my partner's EGO to become CEO .
Neverthless, book talks about lot of love triangles, make outs,etc,. which i think we(teenagers/mid 20s) all face and hear in our day to day life, as the main character of this book encounters, but, i don't understand, when he is busy making a business, how does he get time for all such "Chatpat" news as Author mentions in book.
Secondly, this book very beautifully tells how entrepreneurship is tough and the world you see from outside, it doesn't matter how cool it looks, but from inside it is hell lot of work and sometimes drains everything out of you.
Entrepreneurship is tough, very tough. And this book tells us that, how a mis-managed person can fail at this and also in his relationship.
To conclude, i will say, its a one-time read and do read it once.
P.S :- some lines were quite funny.
It was very relatable for me because i suffered from the same failure. I was also ditched by my partner's EGO to become CEO .
Neverthless, book talks about lot of love triangles, make outs,etc,. which i think we(teenagers/mid 20s) all face and hear in our day to day life, as the main character of this book encounters, but, i don't understand, when he is busy making a business, how does he get time for all such "Chatpat" news as Author mentions in book.
Secondly, this book very beautifully tells how entrepreneurship is tough and the world you see from outside, it doesn't matter how cool it looks, but from inside it is hell lot of work and sometimes drains everything out of you.
Entrepreneurship is tough, very tough. And this book tells us that, how a mis-managed person can fail at this and also in his relationship.
To conclude, i will say, its a one-time read and do read it once.
P.S :- some lines were quite funny.
July 6, 2013
A brilliant read!
Because shit happened – the fourth book of the bestselling author of 3 romantic novels came as a great surprise to me. The author has completely drifted from his regular genre of writing romantic, humorous books. This book is based on his real life and gives an insight into the big entrepreneurial world full of challenges. It portrays the author’s passion to pursue his dreams as he could have easily took up a job but he instead chose to start his own company. The book describes the roller coaster life of an entrepreneur and how he deals with success, relationships, heart- breaks and failure. I being a novice about this entrepreneurial world got a clear view of it from the book. The book is an inspiring read whether you are an entrepreneur or not.
All the best to the author!
Because shit happened – the fourth book of the bestselling author of 3 romantic novels came as a great surprise to me. The author has completely drifted from his regular genre of writing romantic, humorous books. This book is based on his real life and gives an insight into the big entrepreneurial world full of challenges. It portrays the author’s passion to pursue his dreams as he could have easily took up a job but he instead chose to start his own company. The book describes the roller coaster life of an entrepreneur and how he deals with success, relationships, heart- breaks and failure. I being a novice about this entrepreneurial world got a clear view of it from the book. The book is an inspiring read whether you are an entrepreneur or not.
All the best to the author!
September 6, 2016
The book started off good but as one reads along, the book seems to be kind of repetitive of the events. Also one major point is that the book's back cover and description is, I think, kind of misleading. It reads "WHAT NOT TO DO IN A START-UP!" while the book offers seemingly little useful insight on the entrepreneurship aspect and more on different aspects of life. I bought the book thinking that it was possibly an insightful, failure story of an entrepreneur touching different aspects of entrepreneurship and start-ups and that's why I was a bit disappointed at the end. Views may differ depending on what you expect out of the book.
April 26, 2013
The book is an interesting read. It talks about the person's process of starting up while being in college. It gives a good insight for the process and the difficulties faced in the startup and the experiences gained alongside.
Do not expect to gain a lot of knowledge about starup or anything; it is a light book to read filled with humour, some romance and some nitty gritty lessons, like a bollywood movie, more or less.
The way Harsh has written it makes it more interesting rather than the story itself. Commendable job done there. Overall, the book is worth a quick read once.
Do not expect to gain a lot of knowledge about starup or anything; it is a light book to read filled with humour, some romance and some nitty gritty lessons, like a bollywood movie, more or less.
The way Harsh has written it makes it more interesting rather than the story itself. Commendable job done there. Overall, the book is worth a quick read once.
November 21, 2013
This is my first book by Harsh, and I must say that he nailed it. I got it on my birthday, and I couldn't put the book until I had finished it which was by 7 am in the morning or so.
The book is more than just an accurate description of the kind of things that happen in an Entrepreneur's life when he is in college, yet to know how professional World work, and thus unknowingly is caught in the web of personal vs. professional connections. Despite the seriousness, and loads of messages the book is spicy enough to give you goosebumps.
The book is more than just an accurate description of the kind of things that happen in an Entrepreneur's life when he is in college, yet to know how professional World work, and thus unknowingly is caught in the web of personal vs. professional connections. Despite the seriousness, and loads of messages the book is spicy enough to give you goosebumps.
November 7, 2013
An alright book. The story was fast paced and compelled me to read on. However, I found the drama much to my distaste. So much so, in fact, that at times I was unable to back the protagonist and his partner or wish them well in their endeavors. By drama I mean both their entrepreneurial practices (a few times) and the way they handled their love lives (most of the time). However, reading this book was not a bad way to spend a few days.
March 25, 2013
It lives up to its title. harsh snehanshu has come a long way and mark my words this is truly an eye opener for the people who have just started with their entrepreneur life. Emotional turmoil, lost love and the power to remain head strong in worst of the adversaries it teaches u all. :)
I totally loved this one. :)
I totally loved this one. :)
September 9, 2013
Not a bad read, and definitely earns a star more because it's not the usual love story we Indian authors excel (oh no, not really excel rather stick to)...
And though it's not completely believable, it's not totally tangent and impossible either...I might pick more from the author but they all seem to be love affairs...
And though it's not completely believable, it's not totally tangent and impossible either...I might pick more from the author but they all seem to be love affairs...
May 24, 2015
Ok I can only give it 3 stars, coz although I love the author, it was all about entrepreneurship and stuff. It was honest and good, but the writer just wrote all that happened, he didn't make much efforts to write in a way that would indulge readers into it. So except for those who are into entrepreneurship and all, which I'm not, you may find it boring at many points ..
July 9, 2016
first of all before reading the novel i had seen the TVF series... so it was already seen before read...
crisp writing about a failed entrepreneur... failed lover but passionate dreamer makes the novel readable...
and its my one line for u-
life fucks & girlfrien suckn just let ur shield up or duck, but never stuck....- Yourquote.in
crisp writing about a failed entrepreneur... failed lover but passionate dreamer makes the novel readable...
and its my one line for u-
life fucks & girlfrien suckn just let ur shield up or duck, but never stuck....- Yourquote.in
December 5, 2016
Nice book but end could have been better
It is such a nice book that most of the budding entrepreneurs can relate to. The humor keeps you hooked to the book but it was an abrupt and erratic ending.. nonetheless - a great book indeed (my first ever finished book on Kindle and second ever overall)
It is such a nice book that most of the budding entrepreneurs can relate to. The humor keeps you hooked to the book but it was an abrupt and erratic ending.. nonetheless - a great book indeed (my first ever finished book on Kindle and second ever overall)
April 6, 2013
Not very interesting, more filled with seemingly shrewd thoughts of the author, Harsh, I wouldn't be his friend if i were in IIT, but would definitely like to meet him and get to know about some of his decision.
January 11, 2014
I would be non-judgemental on this , I read most of the chapters in metro compressed midst the heard.It's always better to have a book than standing alone and paying heeds to those voices in your mind
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews