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Ready.. Steady.. Exit
Gautam completed Chartered Accountancy after several attempts and to his luck, landed up with Anand a close friend and brilliant CA, to launch an Accounting Services company named FAB. He finds love in the same profession, without much ado. Can life really be all that simple and straightforward? Can mere accountants build a valuable, visible, scalable and glamorous enterprise that could also grab business from across borders? That's when Vimal comes in with a delectable package, an impressive consulting profile and his smart and very beautiful sister Ruchi, who agrees to support these starry-eyed entrepreneurs with her marketing acumen. FAB grows but relationship depletes. Some pull the strings, while others become puppets. Should they continue with the current arrangement or exit completely? Ready.. Steady.. Exit is a humorous, dramatic, romantic, enlightening and entertaining read. This story and narrative will inspire every reader, even more so if you are an entrepreneur or a Chartered Accountant or someone associated with financial services.
172 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
May 7, 2019
Ready.. Steady.. Exit.. is a story of the two brilliant Chartered Accountants Gautam and Anand. They are close friends and after completing their CA, they come up with the idea of launching their own Accounting Services Company and decides to name it as FAB. They work hard to see their idea turning into a reality. In the starting days of setting up their enterprise they deal with lots of complexities and formalities in creation and running of this business. I loved reading when Protagonist Gautam says that he always knew that the first step for any success was the right association and right intention. I completely agree with him on this. The best part that I loved reading the most was how they do everything for that thrill in entrepreneurship. They keep trying to create something out of nothing or many things out of something. I liked how they do everything with so much passion like getting their name cards printing with logo creation etc and then inviting people at the launch of their company. I loved how they both were fully focussed on building a business. Then there is entry of Vimal and his sister Ruchi who promises to provide an additional revenue source and after some time their business grows multi-fold. Gautam gets married to his love Neha and life seems perfect. But then Anand and Gautam realises that something is not right in their company . They are in a dilemma whether to continue with these existing problems or completely exit. To know about what this twist is, you have to read this book on your own.
I got to learn many things from the journey of these entrepreneurs. Reading it was an exciting and learning experience for me. I found it really motivating read. Here are some of the takeaways from this book:
It always starts with a small beginnings, rest depends on your attitude towards work which takes company to great heights.
No matter what we must keep moving forward to experience that proud moment of success.
Perseverance and perspiration have to be supported by perception to achieve the desired results. I loved Gautam's these 3p's of success.
I admire the understanding nature of Anand and Gautam and their true friendship in trying times.
I got to learn many things from the journey of these entrepreneurs. Reading it was an exciting and learning experience for me. I found it really motivating read. Here are some of the takeaways from this book:
It always starts with a small beginnings, rest depends on your attitude towards work which takes company to great heights.
No matter what we must keep moving forward to experience that proud moment of success.
Perseverance and perspiration have to be supported by perception to achieve the desired results. I loved Gautam's these 3p's of success.
I admire the understanding nature of Anand and Gautam and their true friendship in trying times.
September 15, 2015
Ready.. Steady.. Exit is a story of two Chartered Accountants, who launch a new Accounting Services Company - FAB. It takes Gautam, our protagonist, several years to clear his CA exams. Nagging father, brilliant friend who cleared CA in first attempt and a brilliant girl who he has crush on, doesn't help to make his situation look any better. But when he does clear his CA exams, life takes a huge turn and suddenly everything seems to be in his favor.
When Gautam, along with Anand starts his new company, he is on cloud nine. He loves his work and his company seems to be making very good progress. What more could he ask for? But when Vimal and Ruchi join their company as board members, things start to change. Though it all looks good in the beginning, they slowly discover the brother sister duo is doing more loss to them than profit. Will they be able to get rid of them? Or will this be the end of their dream project?
Things I Liked
Read the full review here - Escape Reality - Book Reviews
When Gautam, along with Anand starts his new company, he is on cloud nine. He loves his work and his company seems to be making very good progress. What more could he ask for? But when Vimal and Ruchi join their company as board members, things start to change. Though it all looks good in the beginning, they slowly discover the brother sister duo is doing more loss to them than profit. Will they be able to get rid of them? Or will this be the end of their dream project?
Things I Liked
Read the full review here - Escape Reality - Book Reviews
October 7, 2015
I started reading this book as the author is my husband's friend. Having said that, I continued reading it because I loved the way it was written. The first few pages made sure I would not put this book down without reading it fully! I loved the way the Tambrahm culture became a part of this book..Gautam, the protagonist, is more like the boy next door, not the typical hero who aces all his exams and is super bright..Gautam is a person we can relate to- he works hard and eventually succeeds. For a person with no commerce background, this book should have been very boring..but I found it interesting because I learnt a lot- what it takes to start your own firm- blood, sweat and tears! But all this was written with a lot of humour. The climax was extremely interesting. Maybe, PC should write a sequel!!! That does sound more like a movie buff in me speaking!! Overall, a very interesting read..would love to read more books from you PC!
July 19, 2015
Every entrepreneur has a story to tell; a bumpy ride to success or sometimes a lesson from failure. ‘Ready Steady Exit’ is one of the tales that consists of a FAB team of Gautam and Anand who takes an unusual path for themselves to try their luck and mix it up with ideas and passion to create the FAB consultancies.
From the first look over the cover, we can have a little glimpse over the idea of the book and the blurb confirms it that the book is about the entrepreneur world and that too focusing, mainly over the chartered Accountancy field.
The story starts with the failures of Gautam in attempts to clear CA. After several attempts he finally clears the benchmark and luckily lands with Anand and thereafter starts the venture named FAB. The author has clearly mentioned each detail and challenges that a newcomer can face while setting up a firm and also have described the way to tackle it. But the story never becomes too boring in this phase of explanation because, it’s fast paced and also some side stories keep on engaging the reader and make him in the loop that he is reading a fiction and not a book on the topic that ‘How to become an entrepreneur’.
Personal life of Gautam was light hearted and was never the major concern in author’s writing. The story basically was divided in two phases and that was the setup of FAB and the entry of Vimal in the story. The climax was where the story actually earned the extra grip over the reader. It was totally unexpected for me as a reader.
Few basic things which I found while reading the book was the author’s interest in Rajnikanth phenomenon and his love with number 5 (Numerology factor, I guess!). As the author himself seems to have experienced what he wrote, some of the quotations of the book were really thought provoking.
Now the negatives of the book. If you are not interested in entrepreneurship and are not from the CA background either, please don’t pick this book. This book is not recommended to everyone. Writing style of the author was not impressive. The storyline was also pretty weak (Except the climax).
The book contains a lot to learn and is written in a way to teach and entertain simultaneously. So before picking the book, so read the blurb. If it interests you, the book will not disappoint you.
From the first look over the cover, we can have a little glimpse over the idea of the book and the blurb confirms it that the book is about the entrepreneur world and that too focusing, mainly over the chartered Accountancy field.
The story starts with the failures of Gautam in attempts to clear CA. After several attempts he finally clears the benchmark and luckily lands with Anand and thereafter starts the venture named FAB. The author has clearly mentioned each detail and challenges that a newcomer can face while setting up a firm and also have described the way to tackle it. But the story never becomes too boring in this phase of explanation because, it’s fast paced and also some side stories keep on engaging the reader and make him in the loop that he is reading a fiction and not a book on the topic that ‘How to become an entrepreneur’.
Personal life of Gautam was light hearted and was never the major concern in author’s writing. The story basically was divided in two phases and that was the setup of FAB and the entry of Vimal in the story. The climax was where the story actually earned the extra grip over the reader. It was totally unexpected for me as a reader.
Few basic things which I found while reading the book was the author’s interest in Rajnikanth phenomenon and his love with number 5 (Numerology factor, I guess!). As the author himself seems to have experienced what he wrote, some of the quotations of the book were really thought provoking.
Now the negatives of the book. If you are not interested in entrepreneurship and are not from the CA background either, please don’t pick this book. This book is not recommended to everyone. Writing style of the author was not impressive. The storyline was also pretty weak (Except the climax).
The book contains a lot to learn and is written in a way to teach and entertain simultaneously. So before picking the book, so read the blurb. If it interests you, the book will not disappoint you.
February 17, 2017
The story involves two Chartered Accountant friends who have recently earned their degrees. Their plan is to start a CA firm. As Gautam and Anand set up and start to flourish, they are pretty happy with the way things were going. Then they come across Vimal and Ruchi who seemed like talented personalities and thus to lure them to the company, they offer the new duo a stake at the company. Things should take off for the better, right? Or will they take a turn for worse? Who can be trusted?
The book was almost everything I expected it to be. The plot offers a fresh avenue to the story. It is certainly not your average churn-of-the-mill love story. Instead it brings forward today’s middle class youth and the problems (and solutions) of new blood entrepreneurship. It was really refreshing to read about energetic minds getting to work out their way in the business and figuring out their moral boundaries. So, it is safe to say that I liked the plot quite a bit. Especially that cliffy ending! The characters were well developed for most parts. I personally would have loved more back story on some of them, but then I am crazy about that. It will not necessarily bother other readers. And yes, there’s a bit of romance in there too – so you romance buff do not have to be completely disappointed either.
The language used in the book is simple yet better than the last few books I have read by Indian Authors. As such, it was a pleasant change, even though the bookworm in me wanted a little bit more refinement. The narrative was handled well enough. The pacing was good and kept me from putting down the book. Overall this is an entertaining book.
The book was almost everything I expected it to be. The plot offers a fresh avenue to the story. It is certainly not your average churn-of-the-mill love story. Instead it brings forward today’s middle class youth and the problems (and solutions) of new blood entrepreneurship. It was really refreshing to read about energetic minds getting to work out their way in the business and figuring out their moral boundaries. So, it is safe to say that I liked the plot quite a bit. Especially that cliffy ending! The characters were well developed for most parts. I personally would have loved more back story on some of them, but then I am crazy about that. It will not necessarily bother other readers. And yes, there’s a bit of romance in there too – so you romance buff do not have to be completely disappointed either.
The language used in the book is simple yet better than the last few books I have read by Indian Authors. As such, it was a pleasant change, even though the bookworm in me wanted a little bit more refinement. The narrative was handled well enough. The pacing was good and kept me from putting down the book. Overall this is an entertaining book.
October 2, 2015
Disclaimer: PC Balasubramaniam the author is a good friend of mine and we did our CA in the same firm.
Having said that, i am convinced that this is a great effort that brings to life visually the typical journey of a Chennai based CA turning into a successful entrepreneur and then exiting when the time is nearly ripe. The story is quite interesting and has been narrated with natural ease. The underlying humour and vieled sarcasm are intelligently interwoven into the practical storyline.
The success of any author is bringing in a level of credibility to what he or she wishes to tell and PC has this amazing quality naturally in him.
A must read for any one having even a remote interest in knowing about CA as a profession (particularly in South India) and how the life of a young and ambitious entrepreneur could pan out.
Having said that, i am convinced that this is a great effort that brings to life visually the typical journey of a Chennai based CA turning into a successful entrepreneur and then exiting when the time is nearly ripe. The story is quite interesting and has been narrated with natural ease. The underlying humour and vieled sarcasm are intelligently interwoven into the practical storyline.
The success of any author is bringing in a level of credibility to what he or she wishes to tell and PC has this amazing quality naturally in him.
A must read for any one having even a remote interest in knowing about CA as a profession (particularly in South India) and how the life of a young and ambitious entrepreneur could pan out.
February 21, 2019
Read more in my blog: https://theultimatereviewer586340888....
‘Ready…Steady…Exit’ is a unique story of two best friends and their entrepreneurial journey from scratch. This is essentially a character-driven plot because the entire story revolves around two main characters, Gautam and Anand and their life. In the beginning, the author introduces Gautam, an ordinary guy with a passion to achieve his goals. He is not a ‘so-called’ hero that we are familiar with. He has his own battles to fight like any other ordinary man in his life and his first battle was clearing the CA exam. After many attempts, he is finally able to clear the exam and founded a start-up company with his best friend Anand. Here onwards the story picks up the pace and energy. Owing to the change of storyline, The author P C Balasubramanian introduces some other characters, Vimal and Ruchi to the life of these two friends. The smooth-flowing life of Gautam and Anand got a fierce stir after the entry of these new characters. The rest of the story unfolds around the life of these two youngsters and how they survive the cut-throat business world with their luck and intelligence.
The pace of the story is the main highlight. The story is told as in a nutshell, completing a circle at the end. I felt this is a very unique story because it deals with a rather rare and untouched topic, the struggled life of entrepreneurs, capturing their failures, dreams, small victories and emotions.
In the first part of the story, the author narrates struggles of getting CA, perfectly through the eyes of an ordinary student who has nothing but dreams. This is truly a good inspirational story to whoever wants to be a CA and then an entrepreneur. The book offers a lot to learn and I often felt the story as a personal experience of someone. It is a must-read for every budding entrepreneur.
Often the authors who are writing these kinds of success stories knowingly or unknowingly omit the personal life of the protagonists to highlight the struggle and passion towards their dream. Due to this, these stories lack plot completeness in the fiction genre. But here the author has taken care of the personal life of the protagonist, which is a good gesture.
The climax of the story has a nice twist which is essentially appropriate with the plot. I have read two of the other books by the author PC Balasubramanian which was published after this book. Due to this, I felt the drastic change in the narrating style and language he was using now. The hard work of the author is clearly visible if you read them. This shows, how much is the efforts he is putting in writing better novels.
‘Ready…Steady…Exit’ is a unique story of two best friends and their entrepreneurial journey from scratch. This is essentially a character-driven plot because the entire story revolves around two main characters, Gautam and Anand and their life. In the beginning, the author introduces Gautam, an ordinary guy with a passion to achieve his goals. He is not a ‘so-called’ hero that we are familiar with. He has his own battles to fight like any other ordinary man in his life and his first battle was clearing the CA exam. After many attempts, he is finally able to clear the exam and founded a start-up company with his best friend Anand. Here onwards the story picks up the pace and energy. Owing to the change of storyline, The author P C Balasubramanian introduces some other characters, Vimal and Ruchi to the life of these two friends. The smooth-flowing life of Gautam and Anand got a fierce stir after the entry of these new characters. The rest of the story unfolds around the life of these two youngsters and how they survive the cut-throat business world with their luck and intelligence.
The pace of the story is the main highlight. The story is told as in a nutshell, completing a circle at the end. I felt this is a very unique story because it deals with a rather rare and untouched topic, the struggled life of entrepreneurs, capturing their failures, dreams, small victories and emotions.
In the first part of the story, the author narrates struggles of getting CA, perfectly through the eyes of an ordinary student who has nothing but dreams. This is truly a good inspirational story to whoever wants to be a CA and then an entrepreneur. The book offers a lot to learn and I often felt the story as a personal experience of someone. It is a must-read for every budding entrepreneur.
Often the authors who are writing these kinds of success stories knowingly or unknowingly omit the personal life of the protagonists to highlight the struggle and passion towards their dream. Due to this, these stories lack plot completeness in the fiction genre. But here the author has taken care of the personal life of the protagonist, which is a good gesture.
The climax of the story has a nice twist which is essentially appropriate with the plot. I have read two of the other books by the author PC Balasubramanian which was published after this book. Due to this, I felt the drastic change in the narrating style and language he was using now. The hard work of the author is clearly visible if you read them. This shows, how much is the efforts he is putting in writing better novels.
December 29, 2019
Booklysist’s Review 71428HS0024
Name of the Book: Ready..Steady..Exit
Author: P C Balasubramanian
Genre: Humorous Fiction
Booklysist’s Rating:
Book cover: 2.5 /5
Writing style: 3.5/5
Plot: 3.5/5
Set mostly in Pondicherry and Chennai. This book is about Gautam, a CA who clears his course at the 5th time, plans and starts a Consultancy company named “FAB Consulting Pvt Ltd” with his best-friend Anand, also a CA who cleared his CA at the first attempt. Despite a slow start of their company, they pick a good pace and earned around one million at the end of the first year. Both the founders, after a thought of expansion to their business, meet Vimal Chand, an MBA from one of the reputed schools in India. After few interactions and sittings, Vimal decides and joins the FAB board as a business consultant along with his sister Ruchi. Both Vimal and Ruchi were allotted a percentage of equity in their Company and they have their new board meeting within a period of six months from the date of transaction. All was steady for the next 3-4 years, when at the 4th year, the founders figure out the ill-mannered work and expense claims their board members, Vimal and Ruchi, are claiming, they decide to quit and sell the company. The board members receive a whopping amount of 52 crores for selling the company. Later, the founders, Gautam and Anand get a shock of their life.
Read the book to find out what shock they get at the end of the story.
Reasons to read the book:
The author(though fictional) gives an idea of how to plan and execute an idea to setup a company.
The book is worth reading for the twist you get at the end of the story.
Name of the Book: Ready..Steady..Exit
Author: P C Balasubramanian
Genre: Humorous Fiction
Booklysist’s Rating:
Book cover: 2.5 /5
Writing style: 3.5/5
Plot: 3.5/5
Set mostly in Pondicherry and Chennai. This book is about Gautam, a CA who clears his course at the 5th time, plans and starts a Consultancy company named “FAB Consulting Pvt Ltd” with his best-friend Anand, also a CA who cleared his CA at the first attempt. Despite a slow start of their company, they pick a good pace and earned around one million at the end of the first year. Both the founders, after a thought of expansion to their business, meet Vimal Chand, an MBA from one of the reputed schools in India. After few interactions and sittings, Vimal decides and joins the FAB board as a business consultant along with his sister Ruchi. Both Vimal and Ruchi were allotted a percentage of equity in their Company and they have their new board meeting within a period of six months from the date of transaction. All was steady for the next 3-4 years, when at the 4th year, the founders figure out the ill-mannered work and expense claims their board members, Vimal and Ruchi, are claiming, they decide to quit and sell the company. The board members receive a whopping amount of 52 crores for selling the company. Later, the founders, Gautam and Anand get a shock of their life.
Read the book to find out what shock they get at the end of the story.
Reasons to read the book:
The author(though fictional) gives an idea of how to plan and execute an idea to setup a company.
The book is worth reading for the twist you get at the end of the story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 11, 2017
‘Ready..Steady..Exit’ is a refreshing book about the entrepreneurial journey of best buddies - Gautam and Anand. Through this humorous story, author P C Bala Subramanian explores the many facets of a young entrepreneur’s action-packed life – the struggle, small victories that mandate celebrations, failures, emotional upheavals and more. There’s also a love-story track neatly embedded in the narrative, making it all the more delightful. I especially liked the way Gautam’s character shapes up – relatable, sincere, and extremely passionate about his work. I am sure that like me, many readers will see a dash of Gautam in themselves and get motivated to follow their dreams. The author’s writing style is simple and appealing. Overall, an engaging book that will keep you engrossed right till the last page :) .
June 27, 2017
It is a story about entrepreneurs. Many things to learn from the journey of the entrepreneurs. It was an interesting read. Did not feel like putting down the book. The language is simple.
October 12, 2015
Ready.. Steady.. Exit by PC Balasubramanian is a humorous adventure of two CAs, who want to make it big in their field. And they are not waiting for anyone... Gautam completed Chartered Accountancy after a few attempts and ended up with Anand, a close friend, who had managed to clear the dreaded CA exam, in the first attempt itself.
Gautam and Anand set up FAB, which is an accounting services company. They provide services to companies, which prefer outsourcing their work. Then walk in Vimal and Ruchi, a brother-sister duo, who provide an additional revenue source. The company begins to grow, with the addition of these two.
Meanwhile, both Anand gets married and Gautam finds the person, who he has loved for a long time.
Back to business, as the four have a problem when they notice that there are certain things, which are not going the right way. Would problems at work with the other two develop, and would the resolution of which, bring about the intangible end?
The book is an entrepreneurial venture, with a dash of romance. It also touches upon the family and friends factors, which are ever so important in today’s scenarios. The family factor also makes up for the funny bits, in the book. It is definitely a must read for most entrepreneurs and financiers, with its drama and humour.
The first fiction, for PC Balasubramanian, who had written two non-fiction bestsellers, ‘Rajini’s Punchatantra’ and ‘Grand Brand Rajini’. As one can see actor, Rajinikant is a major influence, and it showed throughout this fiction piece too. PC Bala has a dry sense of humour, which carried into his book, as well.
Only two small things, were the spelling of Aamir Khan, which was written as Amir Khan, otherwise there were no grammatical errors, at all. But, people never look for mistakes in proper nouns, but I cannot help it. After all, even I get upset when people do not write my name correctly. :) There are a couple of others, as well. Otherwise, it was absoutely brilliant, grammatically.
Gautam and Anand set up FAB, which is an accounting services company. They provide services to companies, which prefer outsourcing their work. Then walk in Vimal and Ruchi, a brother-sister duo, who provide an additional revenue source. The company begins to grow, with the addition of these two.
Meanwhile, both Anand gets married and Gautam finds the person, who he has loved for a long time.
Back to business, as the four have a problem when they notice that there are certain things, which are not going the right way. Would problems at work with the other two develop, and would the resolution of which, bring about the intangible end?
The book is an entrepreneurial venture, with a dash of romance. It also touches upon the family and friends factors, which are ever so important in today’s scenarios. The family factor also makes up for the funny bits, in the book. It is definitely a must read for most entrepreneurs and financiers, with its drama and humour.
The first fiction, for PC Balasubramanian, who had written two non-fiction bestsellers, ‘Rajini’s Punchatantra’ and ‘Grand Brand Rajini’. As one can see actor, Rajinikant is a major influence, and it showed throughout this fiction piece too. PC Bala has a dry sense of humour, which carried into his book, as well.
Only two small things, were the spelling of Aamir Khan, which was written as Amir Khan, otherwise there were no grammatical errors, at all. But, people never look for mistakes in proper nouns, but I cannot help it. After all, even I get upset when people do not write my name correctly. :) There are a couple of others, as well. Otherwise, it was absoutely brilliant, grammatically.
October 13, 2016
Somehow not very excited about the book ... simply bcos the story was not exciting ... it did not tickle any emotions in me while reading it; barring disappointment.
The plot had a lot of potential which were left unexplored.
It seemed almost like a monologue of a very ordinary entrepreneur who goes through some minor ups and downs through business (nothing exciting), gets into some unfruitful and not-so-useful partnerships which drain money, gets cheated but ends up making a ton of money and EXITS the business.
The story was pretty much uneventful (yes, there were events but they were very mild and ordinary) and almost anti-climactic. The 'forced' climax which was put in the story at the end was almost meaningless and inconsequential.
I still give it 2 stars saying its OK because it was written "without" spelling mistakes, grammatical flaws, idiotic and stupid situations and so on. i have read worse so this one still gets 2 stars.
I wouldn't recommend this to my friends.
The plot had a lot of potential which were left unexplored.
It seemed almost like a monologue of a very ordinary entrepreneur who goes through some minor ups and downs through business (nothing exciting), gets into some unfruitful and not-so-useful partnerships which drain money, gets cheated but ends up making a ton of money and EXITS the business.
The story was pretty much uneventful (yes, there were events but they were very mild and ordinary) and almost anti-climactic. The 'forced' climax which was put in the story at the end was almost meaningless and inconsequential.
I still give it 2 stars saying its OK because it was written "without" spelling mistakes, grammatical flaws, idiotic and stupid situations and so on. i have read worse so this one still gets 2 stars.
I wouldn't recommend this to my friends.
August 25, 2015
I am sure you all must have heard of the books “Grand Brand Rajini” and “Rajini’s Punchtantra”. These books just like the one in question was written by the bestselling author PC Balasubramanian. The first two being non-fiction, this is PC’s first foray into the world of fiction and having just read it..
Read the full here - http://www.bookgeeks.in/entries/gener...
Read the full here - http://www.bookgeeks.in/entries/gener...
September 2, 2015
Humorous and light. An easy read that feels like a comedy drama turned into a book.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews