Dreams

'You ready, Mike?'

'Always, John.'

Mike clicked before John can complete his statement. The website was live, and so was their business.

'How much are you expecting?'

'Definitely more than 100 before midnight,' clarified John. They were expecting orders on their website that sold T-shirts. 

'Quiet optimistic. Ain't it?'

'Hoping for the best.'

The hope of John began reflecting on the screen. The orders came pouring in. The business partners were in for a shock.

'Skipping Pre-Order was not bad, after all?'

'Ya, I can't disagree, nor can these orders.'

They were not expecting this on the day of the launch. After all, they dropped their college with a long term plan in mind. They had an idea, and they made themselves eligible to execute that idea with some guidance and lots of effort. 

'Do you remember that lecture when the professor specifically pointed at me and predicted a dull future waiting for me?'

'Ya. You bothered that professor all the time with silly arguments. Although those arguments were logical, they were miles apart from the topic of discussion. That made you his special student.' 

'Wondering what he would say now?'

'Wake up. You are not racking in billions. It just started.'

'I see billions coming our way.'

They both laughed hard. College dropouts were now on a path to making it big in their life. 

They began marketing aggressively in the beginning. All thanks to their savings in the bank. The orders fail to increase in proportion to the investment in the advertisement. The orders started fading, and in a matter of five days, it completely stopped. 

They were successful in selling about only 4860 T-shirts in a month. They lost thousands of dollars. 

'No double digits in the order section. Last three days, we registered zero orders. We exhausted all available resources. I don't think we can survive this on our own.'

'Stop this negativity, Mike.'

'This is not negativity but reality. Look around. We need to close it, or the surmounting debt & maintenance cost will drown us,' Mike said.

'No, we will repeat what happened at launch. We will accrue orders like the beginning. Just work, wait and watch,' John expressed his words dipped in optimism.

The next sentence from Mike washed away all the optimism from John. Mike said, 'Let me tell you a secret. The orders were from friends and family. I gave 50% cashback on those orders. That is the reason why orders came in such numbers.'

John failed to summon words to express his inner emotions. He left the shop immediately. 

Mike folded the business along with their dreams & hopes. 

'Hurry up. The lecture is about to begin.' 

Mike & John brainstormed their way out of this mess. After months of going to and fro, both of them decided to finish what they left before starting the business. 

'Almost done,' said Mike.

'I miss the city, bro.'

'Me too. The delicious breakfast and the soothing smell of tea made my morning better. I miss that.'

Previously, both of them were appalled by lectures. Now was altogether a different game for them. They choose what they needed and also loved. Mike choose marketing, and John opted for design & production. They decided to go all in. They were ready to be what the business demanded from them. One would take care of design and manufacturing, while the other would take care of funding and marketing. 

'It was comfy to live in our city. We did what we wanted to do. No one cared or asked. Here life is different,' said Mike.

'Yes, this part-time job after college is somewhat we ignored totally. I loved doing the internship. When I am there, memories of our comfort zone seldom bothers me.'

Mike and John were settling in for a long game. They were here to gain experience. 

'Yes, John, I am also feeling the same. I didn't know that we can learn at this rate. It has been only five months and I am shocked how much I have the information I have gathered. The practical application of that knowledge in the internship after college reinforces it in my mind.'

They were adjusting to the struggles of life that were unknown to them in the comfort zones. There were chances that they could make it big in the business, and they were going to take it all to reach their destination. 

John graduated a year later than Mike. John opted to specialize in Sports Fabric. They were planning on enhancing the comfiness of fabric. Another marketing point of their t-shirt would be the water-resistant nature of the fabric material on the outside. The innermost part of the T-Shirt can soak the sweat while the outer-part can protect it from water. They were coming to market with a unique product. 

John mastered the art of manufacturing such fabric material with intense effort and research. He opted for this as his last term project, and that placed all the college resources within his reach. They were ready to launch their business. The Shortage of money was the issue. 

Life surprised Mike & John. The bank rejected their loan application. Mike and John's dreams were on the verge of a breakpoint. 

Previous bad experiences molded them to face this situation with courage. 

They choose jobs to work for till they can gather enough amount to start the business on their own. The plan needed to do their job for at least the next six to seven years to start their business. 

They were trying to blend in with the routine jobs. But the dream in their hearts was not allowing them to settle for less anytime. 

'Can't we take advance payment on pre-orders and opt for pre-booking. The money can help us build our business.'

'Mike, are you nuts? Can't you see that we don't have enough money to pay for this month's rent? You want to start the business.'

'What if I tell you that I have enough funds that can take care of all the necessities?'

'Then I would say you are lying.'

Mike pulled out a check and proudly presented it to John.

'One of my clients from my job was looking for an investment opportunity. I presented, and he accepted.'

'Mike, that is great. What about percentage?' John asked.

'Just 5 percent.' Mike replied.

The budget was enough to build new infrastructure. 

Mike and John put all in & life rewarded their efforts. They succeeded hugely, and multiple brands were eager to associate with them.

Although Mike never allowed John to meet the investor as he was hiding a lie. Mike sold all of his ancestral lands and invested that money in building their dream. John would never know that, and Mike made sure of that.  

In a year, they rose to multi-million dollar MNC. The partner left. Mike and John were now the sole owners of their dream. 

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