Aanchal Agrawal on Balancing Comedy and Entrepreneurship: "Being a Creator Is No Less Than Building a Startup" Building a solid team at work and a strong support system at home is what helps me do whatever I do, says Aanchal Agrawal, stand-up comedian and businesswoman

Sleepless nights are nothing new to stand-up comedian and businesswoman Aanchal Agrawal. Off-stage, she is learning how to handle the uncertain world of entrepreneurship, while on stage, her witty humour makes people laugh. For Aanchal, comedy and business are not two distinct realms, but rather intersecting paths that challenge her resilience and creativity equally.

On balancing comedy and entrepreneurship

Balancing these dual roles, she admits, isn't always easy. "I do get burned out, I allow myself to rest on those days. Building a solid team at work and a strong support system at home is what helps me do whatever I do. As a Baniya, entrepreneurship was a natural progression for me, but it's challenging. I haven't even started properly and it's giving me nightmares already lol," she says with a laugh that carries honesty and humor in equal parts.

Yet she finds strong parallels between her two careers. "I see humor in everything. I think business also requires storytelling. Everyone thinks for being an entrepreneur you have to have your own startup but being a creator is no less than building a startup, you're literally doing everything yourself, as a one person team until you get the right people to invest their time in you as a brand. The more stories we tell and the better we tell them, the more business and opportunities will come to all of us. I feel India is on the brink of greatness in terms of entrepreneurship and art both, we are just getting started."

When it comes to what keeps her awake at night, her answer is clear. "As the present entrepreneurship. I have already had fair share of success and failure with comedy, so I have muscle memory of dealing with both, but entrepreneurship is making me go back to school. It's exciting and I'm getting the right help so I'm looking forward to it."

On failures and lessons

Failure, though inevitable in entrepreneurship, hasn't quite found her yet. "I am not that far into the journey to have a big failure yet," she admits candidly, though her sense of humor ensures she's prepared to laugh at setbacks when they come.

Interestingly, her first brush with a business idea was as quirky as her stand-up. "When I was 16 I had thought of making handkerchiefs from scrap clothes. I'm sure it's a great business for those who do well but I was more like Teja in the moment, dreaming of a farm with just one egg, in my case with one handkerchief," she recalls, turning even her teenage experiments into comedy.

The road ahead

For Aanchal Agrawal, the road ahead is both exciting and intimidating. Even though she is just starting out as an entrepreneur, she is approaching it with the same boldness that characterises her comedic style. She's proving that humour and hustle can, in fact, coexist with a keen sense of storytelling and a readiness to embrace both chaos and creativity.