Mrs Sudha Murthy became the first investor of Infosys by loaning Rs 10,000 to her husband.
We live in the 21st century, but it is not surprising to still find people who detest the idea of men being house-husbands or living on the salaries of their wife. Traditional social gender norms suggest that men should be the breadwinners in relationships and this is the reason why Indian societies feel that a woman earning more or just being the sole-earner will cause potential damage to a man's ego and self-esteem. However, a user on Twitter shared a thread on how successful businessmen were supported financially by their wives, not adhering to what people say.
She shared a recent example of a contestant from Shark Tank. Mr Ganesh Balakrishnan, Co-Founder of Flathead Shoes, in his emotional pitch said that his household income is managed by his wife. "Wife Kamati Hai, Mai Udata Hu (My wife earns and I spend)," he said.
The user, Richa Singh wrote in the tweet, "Ganesh Balakrishnan (@ganeshb78) said this with a shy giggle on @sharktankindia. I realised how living off your wife's salary is looked down upon in our Indian society."
She then stated that it's not just Mr Balakrishnan but two other successful businessmen have also taken financial support from their wives. Ms Singh gave the example of Mr Narayan Murthy, Co-Founder of Infosys. "He started Infosys with the meagre capital provided by his wife, Sudha Murty after the failure of his first venture," she mentioned. Mrs Sudha Murthy became the first investor of Infosys by loaning Rs 10,000 to her husband.
Citing another example of Bhavish Aggarwal, CEO of Ola Cabs, she wrote, "His wife, Rajalakshi Aggarwal has supported him financially since his early days. He'd borrow her car to fulfil requests when Ola was still a young startup."
Concluding her thread, she wrote, "There are many more startup founders who were able to succeed due to their spouse's support. While everyone is hailing Ganesh, I would also want to give an ode to his wife to keep his spirit alive."
She also added that it's rightly said that "your career depends on the person you marry!"
This thread garnered a lot of attention from social media. "Most underrated / unrecognised aspect in Indian society," said a user.
A second added, "Even Sanjiv Bhichandani took support from wife in 1998 to start http://Naukri.com."
A user commented, "My wife supported me a lot during my entrepreneur journey, and even now when I am fed up with toxic work I can rely on her. Recently, I put down my paper even before getting a job, she was there all the time. She has been supporting me financially and mentally since last 10yrs."