Trupal Chaudhari Thinks You Should Step Out of Your Comfort Zone
Trupal Jeevan Chaudhari was only ten when he chose to go to boarding school two hundred miles from home. There, away from everything he knew, he thrived. He took up yoga and meditation. He received an academic award from the president of India and a brown belt from the Japan Karate Association. He also learned an important life lesson: good things come to those who leap into the unknown. And so he turned that into a habit.
“I like to take risks in life. Getting out of my comfort zone is what got me where I am today.”
At fourteen, for instance, driven to “make something of his life”, he teamed up with a friend to build and launch a software product. Their startup ultimately failed but revealed entrepreneurship as a potential career path.
At fifteen, he moved out of his parents’ home. Living on his own made him resourceful and motivated him to become financially independent as early as possible.
In college, he taught himself new skills and confidently offered them as services. He became a sought-after marketing freelancer.
After graduating, he took on jobs of increasing responsibility, never hesitating to take on a new challenge or work in a different industry. With his marketing skills and his human resource and operational management expertise, he trained salespeople, worked in fraud investigation, and helped launch one of the world’s most popular food delivery services in one of India’s largest cities.
Then, at twenty-three, he got his big break while working in real estate development. In the projects he was involved in, “there was no proper timeline, no proper procurement process, no marketing strategy, no conformity approach.”
He saw an opportunity and took a leap. He pitched his idea — a comprehensive project and strategy management services agency for builders and developers — to a potential client, who hired him on the spot. A month later, after seeing the results, that client recommended him to a dozen other developers. “Then I didn’t need to pitch to anyone else,” Trupal said. His company was so successful that he eventually opened two offices and hired twenty-three employees.
That is until the pandemic recession forced him out of business and into debt. Luckily, a 3 a.m. call from an entrepreneur developing Asia’s largest pharmaceutical hub put him on a new path. “I was looking for something to do with my life, and I grabbed that opportunity,” Trupal said.
He moved four hundred miles away to oversee a “huge project” involving twenty direct reports and approximately three thousand indirect ones. “All the global pharmaceutical companies wanted to establish themselves in that particular place, and we were building the infrastructure for them,” he said.
When that project ended, his employers made him an offer to work and study in the United States, all expenses paid. He said no. “If they sponsored my education, I would have to work for them for the rest of my life,” he said.
Instead, he took another leap, resolving to pay his own way to the United States to pursue a master’s degree in data analytics at Northeastern University. Now, at twenty-seven, he’s in Silicon Valley, unlocking new possibilities for his life and career.
Trupal and a group of friends from Northeastern in Silicon Valley
The importance of family
This — like all his past ventures — was only possible because his family has always been there for him. “My parents gave me freedom, but they also supported me. Not just financially, but emotionally as well,” he said.
Although he never moved back after leaving at fifteen, they remained close. He calls his parents and brothers multiple times a day, every day, and wishes more of his peers would do the same.
“My bond with my family is very strong. We share everything.”
But his parents didn’t just give him their unwavering support; they also taught him the importance of expanding his support network — of building chosen families wherever he went. That’s what he did when he arrived in Silicon Valley.
“My classes started in September. I was already here in August. From then on, I attended events and met all the student ambassadors, the staff, and the students on campus,” he said. “They taught me how to manage the schedule, the coursework, everything.”
Now, as a Global Student Mentor within Northeastern’s Office of Global Services (OGS), he gets to do the same for international students newly arrived on campus. The job, which has him “communicating with everyone on campus on a daily basis,” contributes to his sense of belonging.
A visit to the Adobe headquarters with his “Northeastern family.”
Beyond Northeastern, Trupal has formed connections with the local Indian community and joined interest groups in the Bay Area, including the Fremont Cricket Club and the Network Silicon Valley Club, which have enriched his life with new connections, opportunities, and experiences.
For those also looking to live a rich, full life, Trupal can’t stress the importance of networking enough. Stepping out of your comfort zone — whether that’s initiating conversations with people you want to meet, learning something new, or investing in that business idea you’re not entirely sure is going to work — is also key.
When you take risks, he said, you can’t go wrong, even if you fail. “First, you will get good exposure. Second, you will learn a lot. Third, you will do something memorable. And whenever you think about it, you will feel good.”
Volunteering at the campus-hosted Thanksgiving dinner, 2023