The Baniya Formula: My Mother Is Basically My CFO

By Ojas Bansal

Let me just confess it —
Every successful businessman requires 3 things:
Capital ✅
Opportunities ✅
A super-involved, slightly intimidating, detail-oriented Indian mother ✅✅✅

Mine?
She’s my mother and my full-time CFO, Chief Risk Officer, HR Department, Personal Branding Consultant, and PR Damage Controller.

And I don’t even give her a paycheck.

Exhibit A: The Daily Financial Health Check

Each morning:
Maa (CFO):
“Ojas, how much did you spend yesterday?”
Me:
“Umm. I shopped for coffee.”
Maa:
“₹320 for coffee? ₹320 times 30 days = ₹9,600. ₹9,600 per month = ₹1,15,200 per year. You’re consuming one MacBook a year.”
Lesson:
Compounding works in both directions — even if it’s the wrong spending.

Exhibit B: The Inventory Management System

When I buy new clothes:
Maa (Logistics Manager):
“You already have 5 black t-shirts.”
Me:
“But this one has a little different logo.”
Maa:
“Brands update logos to fool customers like you. Wastage of inventory is the quickest way to bankrupt a business.”
Lesson:
Asset duplication is negative. Even for t-shirts.

Exhibit C: The Human Due Diligence Process

Each time I introduce a new friend or potential business partnership:

Maa (Due Diligence Officer):
“Who are his parents? What do they do in business? How stable? Are they ambitious or perplexed? Do they consume too much Coke? Are they self-disciplined?”
Me:
“Maa, we’re classmates.”
Maa:
“Today, classmates. Tomorrow, business partners. I’m future-proofing your deals.”
Lesson:
Always screen partners. Family history is due diligence.

Exhibit D: The Risk Mitigation Protocol

Whenever I speak of launching something new:

Maa (Risk Officer):
“Okay — worst case scenario?”
Me:,
“I lose money.”
Maa:
“Backup plan?”
Me:
“.you.”
Maa:
“Exactly. Which is why you will begin small, try the market, keep fixed costs down, and never confuse emotion with money.”
Lesson:
Risk is okay. Stupidity isn’t.

The Truth? She’s training me without training me.
Seriously, while I roll my eyes in mock exasperation —
I know she’s quietly developing my entrepreneurial mind:
Get math.
Revere capital.
Assess people.
Don’t get distracted by shiny things.

Always keep an exit strategy. The Baniya Formula at home
People believe Baniya lessons begin in boardrooms.
Mine begins in the kitchen.
With one bold cup of chai.
And one even bolder mom.
And that, gentlemen and ladies, is The Baniya Formula in its most authentic form.