#17 — What Men Don’t Talk About: Failure, Sales & The Darker Sides Of Entrepreneurship | Neil Patwardhan: “Vulnerability Is The Hidden Sales Superpower!” “It’s OK To Be Not OK!” “Men Need To Have Open Conversations!”

Men don’t talk enough about the failure, burnout, or mental toll of running a business or leading in the workplace — but perhaps they should.

In this episode of You Never Know, Neil Patwardhan shares what it’s really like behind the scenes — from working in the corporate world at Dell and Accenture to becoming an “accidental founder,” and learning the sometimes-dark lessons of entrepreneurship.

Growing up as an immigrant kid in the U.S., Neil had to learn how to fit in, fail fast, and find his way out of deep loneliness — which allowed him to hone valuable skills in networking, leading to sales roles, including the one he has today as Chief Sales Officer APAC at Sinch.

We talk about sales as a life skill regardless of your role, the stigma in Asia around failure, and why vulnerability — especially for men — is often the missing piece in both business and life.

If you want to up your game in sales and networking, and you’re curious about what some men may be going through in business and in life, this episode is for you. I hope it reaches you exactly when you’re meant to find it.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

02:22 Feeling Alone Growing Up as an Immigrant Kid in the U.S.

06:08 You Can’t Wait Around to Make Friends or Fit In

10:29 Going Through Depression as a Teenager

12:20 Becoming a Chameleon to Survive — Early Lessons in Networking

15:06 The Truth About Networking — And Why People Overthink It

17:25 You’re Constantly Selling Yourself — Even If You’re Not in Sales

19:06 10 Years at Dell — Telling Stories with Data & WIIFM

21:43 Using Human Psychology to Influence at Work

24:29 Becoming an Accidental Founder — And Learning the Hard Way

27:04 The Darker Sides of Entrepreneurship

30:06 Startup Funding — Can You Do It Without Investors?

32:23 What Neil Would Do Differently as a Founder

35:56 The Emotional Toll of Entrepreneurship — Especially for Men

38:58 Why Failure Needs to Be Talked About More in Asia

42:09 Why Men Struggle to Talk About Mental Health

45:26 How Vulnerability Builds Stronger Connections

50:17 Leading with Vulnerability — Sales’ Hidden Superpower

57:58 A Message for Men — And Anyone Building Their Career or Business

❤️

Nicole

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👉🏼 Follow Neil Patwardhan on:

LinkedIn: https://sg.linkedin.com/in/neilpatwardhan

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/neileyo/

👉🏼 Follow Nicole Lee on:

LinkedIn: ⁠⁠http://linkedin.com/in/nicoleethisisme⁠ ⁠

Website: https://⁠www.youneverknow.co/⁠

Instagram: ⁠⁠http://instagram.com/nicoleleethisisme⁠⁠

TikTok: ⁠⁠http://tiktok.com/@nicoleleethisisme⁠⁠

🎬 Filmed at: Poddster Singapore

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