Why They Left Corporate Jobs to Build Their Own Things

What happens when two best friends take completely different paths—then end up changing the world in their own ways?

In this episode of TiE Talks, I’m joined by two inspiring guests this week—Puneet Pushkarna and Atul Temurnikar. We go back to their early days in Mumbai, sharing flats and figuring out life at HCL. Puneet ventured into Silicon Valley and became a serial tech entrepreneur and investor. Atul chose a different road—building a global education network from Singapore, with 50+ campuses across 12 countries.

We talk about risk, resilience, and what it really takes to start from scratch—whether you’re building a startup or a school.

You’ll love this story of ambition, friendship, and doing the unexpected.

Discussion Points: Why They Left Corporate Jobs to Build Their Own Things

• Think you’re ready to be an entrepreneur? Here’s the test nobody talks about…
• Two best friends, one tiny Mumbai flat—and a lifetime of lessons
• Rejected by MBA schools, rescued by Silicon Valley?
• Why selling computers in the ’90s meant demanding to meet the CEO
• The real reason their startup team avoided flashy offsites (hint: it’s not money)
• What moving to Singapore in the ’90s taught them about the future
• From “no clue” to building 50+ schools—how do you even start?
• What kids can now ask AI… and what it means for every parent
• Entrepreneurs, listen up: this is how you build trust inside your founding team
• The two invisible traits every great hire must have (and why most miss them)

Our Guest: Puneet Pushkarna

Puneet Pushkarna is a Senior Advisor at Everstone. Puneet is also a General Partner of Solmark, a private equity fund formed by a group of tech entrepreneurs. He also sits on the corporate boards of several companies and educational institutes including the IIM. 

Prior to his current role, he was the President of Headstrong which got acquired by Genpact in 2011. Puneet was the co-founder of TechSpan, a Goldman Sachs backed design thinking and business solutions consulting organization and was also part of the founding team that helped grow HCL America into HCL Technologies. He is Chairman Emeritus of The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) Singapore Chapter, and is also a member of the Board of Trustees for TiE Global. Puneet holds a Master of Business administration from University of Buffalo and a Bachelor of Technology degree.