Never Say Sell

CHAPTER 22The Power of Experience and Insight

Tomal Ashan lives in a comfortable sixth-floor flat with his wife and two sons in the Dhanmondi neighborhood of Dhaka, Bangladesh. “We have four bedrooms, and I have turned one into an office.”

Tomal's a freelancer, one of half a million in this sprawling capital city of 21 million people. Focused on technology enablement, he is an expert services provider.

His window looks out on a construction site. A new six-story apartment building is growing in front of him, one cinderblock at a time. Below, the street is a boiling river of SUVs, cycle rickshaws, and men loading flats of eggs on bike trucks. Inside Tomal's office, though, all is quiet and calm. We can feel how apart he is from the hubbub swirling below. He says, “From my office, I'm connected with the US, Europe, the Philippines, Pakistan, India. It doesn't matter where I am.”

Tomal comes from a good family. “My grandfather started an import business in the hardware sector after working as a fruit and vegetable contractor in Assam, India for a US army base. “I grew up in a large house he built on this location.” When he died, we tore it down and built this apartment building.”

Tomal's easy smile and careful attention to each word masks his ambition. “I lost my father when I was five and have always been the one to care for my mother.”

First was education. He graduated from the University of Dhaka with an undergraduate degree. Then he went on for his MBA.

I was going to go ...