Meet Sharran Srivatsaa: He faced 39 rejections, dropped out of Stanford, then led a company to $1.2 billion valuation

At 17, Sharran Srivatsaa arrived in the US from India on a tennis scholarship, alone and uncertain about what came next. He has said that breaking into Wall Street took nearly 39 interviews.

Stanford University did not become his final destination. Srivatsaa chose to leave and pursue his first startup instead. The path that followed was anything but linear. Two decades later, he has helped scale multiple high-growth businesses, led companies through major expansion phases, and now serves as President and Managing Partner at Acquisition.com. His story challenges the idea that success follows a straight line or a fixed timetable.

Sharran Srivatsaa’s journey: from tennis courts to a $1.2 billion valuation

Srivatsaa’s early years in the US were shaped by discipline and rejection. Tennis helped fund his education and instilled resilience. Finance did not come easily. He has spoken publicly about being turned down repeatedly before eventually securing roles at major investment banks, including Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse. Those early setbacks, he says, taught him persistence rather than entitlement.Despite earning admission to Stanford, Srivatsaa decided to leave academia and build a company instead.

The move was unconventional and carried significant risk. It also set the tone for a career defined by calculated leaps rather than safe progression. His early ventures provided hands-on operating experience, including a successful exit in his early twenties.Srivatsaa later made his biggest impact in real estate. As CEO of Teles Properties, he helped grow the firm’s annual sales volume from roughly $300 million to about $3.4 billion over a five-year period.

The brokerage was eventually acquired by Douglas Elliman, marking one of the most notable growth stories in the US residential real estate sector.His next chapter came at The Real Brokerage, commonly known as Real. As President, Srivatsaa played a central role in the company’s rapid expansion. During his tenure, the agent network grew sharply and the publicly listed firm reached a market valuation of around $1.2 billion at its peak.

The period cemented his reputation as a scale-focused operator rather than a one-time founder.

A new role at Acquisition.com

In 2025, Srivatsaa joined Acquisition.com, the firm founded by Alex Hormozi and Leila Hormozi. As President and Managing Partner, he now works closely with founders running eight- and nine-figure businesses. His focus is less on ideation and more on systems, leadership, and repeatable growth.“I’m in my forties and still figuring things out,” Srivatsaa has said.

“That’s not failure. That’s progress.”

Why his story resonates now

Srivatsaa frequently speaks to younger professionals who feel behind by their mid-twenties. His message is direct. Careers are rarely linear. First paths are not final paths. Early failures do not define long-term outcomes.“The only real mistake,” he often argues, “is settling too soon.”In an era obsessed with early success, Sharran Srivatsaa’s journey offers a quieter truth. Reinvention is not a weakness. It is a skill.