🌍 Start With Why – A Founder’s Manifesto from India
- Prateek Khanna
- Jun 4
- 4 min read
By Prateek Khanna (Me)
Founder – DMET Club | MarineX
Director (Strategy & Planning) – Yugen Infra
Co-founder – nurtr, India’s pioneering chess education platform
At heart, I think I am still a reader — someone who gets inspired by what they read. I’ve always tried to implement those insights in my ventures. Sometimes I fail. Sometimes I learn.
This blog is particularly important to me because it’s inspired by a Simon Sinek video I watched in the East Wing Room (East Wing 40) during my third year. That one video has had a profound impact on me over the last 15 years.
I’ll be attaching the link to the video as well — I truly believe some of you might take away something meaningful from it. Some may learn.
And I’m hopeful. Some may even go on to do a far better job than I did in building their own ventures.
🔥 Why Do Some Ideas Change Everything?
Why do some people build movements while others struggle to scale?
Why do some platforms, started without capital or clout, go on to reshape entire communities?
Why did 30,000+ maritime professionals subscribe to a platform called MarineX—before we even spent a rupee on ads?
Why is DMET Club, born from nothing but brotherhood, now India’s most powerful alumni network in the maritime domain?
And why is Yugen Infra, a real estate brand started without legacy land, now setting the tone for soul-centric living in Goa?
“People don’t buy what you do. They buy why you do it.” – Simon Sinek
This blog isn’t about what we’ve achieved. It’s about why we dared to begin.
🧭 The Golden Circle – What Drives Us
Simon Sinek’s idea of the Golden Circle is simple but transformative:
Why – Your belief, cause, or purpose
How – Your values, methods, or approach
What – The tangible product, service, or outcome
Most people lead with what. But the most inspired leaders in the world? They lead with why.
So let me walk you through mine.
💡 Why I Do What I Do
I’ve never been obsessed with industry. I’m obsessed with impact.
I believe India’s thinkers, seafarers, dreamers, and first-generation achievers need better platforms—to learn, to lead, and to live well.
I believe:
Knowledge should be democratized.
Brotherhoods shouldn’t end at graduation.
Homes should heal, not just house.
And if those are my beliefs, then MarineX, DMET Club, and Yugen Infra aren’t just businesses. They’re manifestations of a philosophy.
⚓ DMET Club: From Alumni List to Living Legacy
When I founded DMET Club, it wasn’t a project. It was an emotional necessity.
I looked around and saw decades of brilliant marine engineers (DMETians)—trained in India, shaping the world—yet disconnected, unheard, and unrecognised.
We had WhatsApp groups. We had Facebook memories. But we didn’t have a unified identity.
So we built one.
Today, DMET Club is:
A platform of 8,500+ alumni
A space where seniors mentor juniors
A lifeline when tragedy strikes (we’ve raised funds for the families of fallen brothers)
A place to publish research, host podcasts, organise reunions, and uplift cadets
This isn’t networking. This is nation-building—within a brotherhood.
We don’t just connect engineers. We restore pride.
🌊 MarineX: Rewriting Maritime Knowledge, Our Way
MarineX began as an experiment. But it quickly became something bigger.
The maritime world is full of stories, experiences, and insights—yet much of it remains trapped in silos, onboard memories, or outdated PDFs.
So we built a platform that could:
Bring industry veterans and cadets together
Feature stories, podcasts, and case studies
Curate real-world learning for maritime professionals
Spark dialogue and cross-generational mentorship
Today, 40,000+ maritime professionals trust MarineX as their go-to learning and insight destination.
But again—it’s not about numbers.
People subscribed because they believed what we believed: That maritime professionals deserve more than just jobs—they deserve growth, knowledge, and respect.
🏡 Yugen Infra: Building a Home Around Your Beliefs
Real estate in India has become noisy, transactional, and brochure-driven.
That’s why I chose to join hands and lead Yugen Infra.
Not to compete on price—but to lead with philosophy.
What if your second home wasn’t just a weekend getaway? What if it was your emotional sanctuary, your long-term wealth strategy, and your family’s spiritual recharge point—all in one?
That’s the belief behind Yugen Golf City, Goa’s first 500-acre golf-centric township:
15 mins from Mopa Airport
Surrounded by Goa’s future-ready zones (Casino Zone, IT Hub, Film City)
Facing the Teracol River, designed for peace, performance, and purpose
We don’t sell square feet. We sell soul-aligned living.
🧬 Why Belief Works: The Science Behind It
Simon Sinek explains that when we lead with belief, we speak to the limbic brain—the part of our brain responsible for decisions, loyalty, and trust.
Facts, features, and prices don’t move people. Purpose does.
So when a parent chooses MarineX for their son, when a retired engineer logs into DMET Club after 20 years, when a Mumbai family invests in Yugen for their peace of mind…
They’re not buying what we do.They’re buying why we exist.
🌱 The Law of Diffusion: Why Movements Start Small
Every innovation starts with a small group who “just get it.” That’s how MarineX grew to 40,000.
That’s how DMET Club reached thousands with no ads. That’s how Yugen Infra attracted visionaries in its early phase.
Because we didn’t try to convince the masses. We spoke to the believers. And those believers brought their tribes.
We didn’t market to the world. We whispered to those who were listening.
🧘 Final Reflection: We’re Not Building Ventures. We’re Building India’s Next Story
I belive, This is not a portfolio. This is a philosophy in action.
DMET Club gives voice to India’s maritime talent
MarineX gives them visibility, wisdom, and learning
Yugen Infra gives them a home that mirrors their values
And it all started with one question:
Why does this need to exist?
Everything else—funding, followers, footfall—came later.
🫱🏽🫲🏽 If You Believe What I Believe…
If you believe India deserves platforms built on belief, If you believe marine engineers deserve more than LinkedIn groups, If you believe home is not just a location but a feeling,
Then you already believe what I believe.
And if that’s the case, Welcome. You’re already part of the journey.
