How the fat kid did it: Vikas Shah MBE on getting over obesity shame and suicide attempts - and what people get wrong about entrepreneurship

Vikas Shah MBE looks like the picture of success today. He’s got an MBE. He advises the government on business matters. He’s an NED, investor - he’s someone you look up to. But it wasn’t always like this.  He was a fat kid at school, and when he realised he was obese - was disgusted by himself. He lost his identity when his first business failed.  He tried to commit suicide four times. The last one got very close to succeeding. But we’re here talking with Vikas-the-success today, and that’s because his story is ultimately about resilience. Find out how you can develop your own mental strength, because, as Vikas explains, it’s really on you. We talk about: Growing up as a fat kid Starting his first business at 14 What you really learn from failure Suicide attempts Where resilience comes from Delegating responsibility for mental health Common traits in successful people -- Sponsors Vorboss - get better internet: https://vorboss.com/secretleaders Vanta - get 20% off security certifications like ISO27001 and SOC2: https://vanta.com/secretleaders Vertice - save on your SaaS or cloud spend ($5k off or a free benchmark) using the code secretleaders: https://www.vertice.one/l/secretleaders -- Newsletter Sign up here: https://secretleaders.email/ You can find our historic newsletters here: https://www.secretleaders.com/episodes

Om Podcasten

Dan Murray-Serter and Chris Donnelly are two serial entrepreneurs who've built, sold, scaled & failed companies worth hundreds of millions of dollars. In Secret Leaders we get inside the greatest minds and greatest moments in business, because we believe the best way to learn about business is to hear from the people who make it happen. Sponsored by Wise Business and Vanta. Contact: hello@secretleaders.com