‘You’ll never get job’: Indian janitor mocked for his accent goes on to become CEO

4 min readNew DelhiJul 2, 2026 04:37 PM IST

Reflecting on his journey, Srivatsaa encouraged people not to let early setbacks define their future.

Sharran Srivatsaa, CEO of Acquisition.com, has opened up about an early setback that could have easily derailed his ambitions. After moving to the United States from India more than two decades ago, he was reportedly told that his “thick Indian accent” would make him completely unemployable.

Today, Srivatsaa is a successful entrepreneur, investor, and business coach. His journey recently resurfaced after Acquisition.com co-founder Alex Hormozi recounted the story during a conversation with motivational speaker Tony Robbins. The clip has since gained widespread attention online.

‘You will never get employed anywhere’

During the podcast, Hormozi described how Srivatsaa arrived in the US and took up work as a janitor while trying to build a better future.

“There was an Indian guy who came here to the US 20-something years ago, and he was working as a janitor. And he had such a thick accent that they said, ‘You will never get employed anywhere, you have to learn how to speak,'” Hormozi told Robbins.

According to Hormozi, Srivatsaa initially searched for resources that could help him improve his spoken English. “And he tried to get ‘How to Get Rid of An Indian Accent’ tapes, and those didn’t really exist,” Hormozi said. Instead, he was pointed toward Tony Robbins’ audio programmes.

Learning English while mopping floors

Hormozi explained that Srivatsaa turned those tapes into an everyday classroom. “And so, he’s mopping the floors, and he’s doing it. And that man then started a software company, scaled that, sold it, started another company, sold that for $3.4 billion. And I met him right around that time, and he’s my partner at Acquisition.com,” he said.

The anecdote quickly spread across social media, prompting Srivatsaa to share his own version of the story.

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‘I couldn’t afford a speaking coach’

In a post on X, Srivatsaa confirmed Hormozi’s account and said financial hardship left him with few options when he first arrived in the US.

Check out the video:

I’m the Indian guy Alex Hormozi and Tony Robbins are talking about.

I came to the US with a thick Indian accent and was told I’d never get employed anywhere if I couldn’t learn how to speak.

But here’s the thing:

I couldn’t afford a speaking coach. I was a janitor barely… pic.twitter.com/A6W6ynrmtG

— Sharran Srivatsaa (@sharran) June 30, 2026

“I’m the Indian guy Alex Hormozi and Tony Robbins are talking about. I came to the US with a thick Indian accent and was told I’d never get employed anywhere if I couldn’t learn how to speak. But here’s the thing: I couldn’t afford a speaking coach. I was a janitor, barely making ends meet,” he wrote.

Rather than paying for lessons, he relied on free resources available at a public library. “So, I taught myself how to speak properly, but it wasn’t from a speaking course; I checked out Tony Robbins tapes from the public library and listened to them every night as I mopped floors,” he added.

‘Your starting point is not your story’

Reflecting on his journey, Srivatsaa encouraged people not to let early setbacks define their future.

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“This is why I live by the saying that not giving up is the most heroic thing you can do. I could’ve listened to the employers and stayed as a janitor. But your starting point is not your story, it’s just the first chapter of it.” His story has resonated widely online, with many praising his determination and using it as a reminder that difficult beginnings do not determine where a person eventually ends up.