Ratan Tata, Greeta Thunberg and Kamala Harris in GuruQ founder's list of most admirable people

Minal Anand is the Founder and CEO of GuruQ, a leading edtech startup that helps connect students with the 'right' tutors. Based out of Delhi, it was founded in 2016 to revolutionise the edtech space.

Minal is a graduate of Business Administration from the School of Management at Boston University. She has earlier worked with Franklin Templeton and the CITI Group to gain relevant experience in business planning, fund raising, enterprise design and structuring, and talent management. Previously, Minal has also taught several underprivileged school students.

Recently, YS Weekender caught up with Minal to ask her questions from the Proust Questionnaire.

The Proust Questionnaire is about one’s personality. It has its origins in a parlour game popularised by Marcel Proust, the French essayist, who believed that, in answering these questions, an individual reveals his or her true nature.

Here are Minal's answers:

What is your idea of perfect happiness?

I don’t think the idea of perfect happiness is realistic, but I feel happiness is a feeling and I feel happy when I am surrounded by the people I love, and my dogs.

What is your greatest fear?

Losing my loved ones.

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?

I can get impatient sometimes.

What is the trait you most deplore in others?

People who are not genuine, who are not true to themselves and pretend to be someone else.

Which living person do you most admire?

I really admire a lot of people, like Greta Thunberg for everything she has done for climate change at such a young age, Kamala Harris for what she has achieved and Ratan Tata, an iconic legend.

What is your greatest extravagance?

My greatest extravagance would be shoes. I just love shoes, so that would be where I would spend the most in terms of material.

What is your current state of mind?

It is all about positivity, surrounding myself with positive people, not having too many expectations and being at peace.

What do you consider the most overrated virtue?

I think chastity is the most overrated virtue in today’s world.

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On what occasion do you lie?

Honestly, I don't lie. I am a very honest person, I am honest with my parents, friends and family. I really don’t know how to lie and you can easily tell from my face if I lie.

What do you most dislike about your appearance?

I don’t dislike anything about my appearance. God has given us this body and we must appreciate all its flaws and good and the bad, and I love myself the way I am.

Which living person do you most despise?

None as of now.

What is the quality you most like in a man?

Honesty, kindness and a little bit of swag and charm.

Which words or phrases do you most overuse?

I have a terrible habit of using the word “like” in the middle of everything which I am trying to get rid of, but besides that the word I use the most are fab and cute.

What or who is the greatest love of your life?

My grandfather, who is no more with us but yes he was and will always be my love.

Which talent would you most like to have?

I wish I could sing. I can dance but I can’t sing at all.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

I really wouldn’t like to change anything about myself. I am very happy with the person I am now. But as I said earlier, I wish I had a little more patience in me.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

I don’t think I've had my greatest achievement yet. There’s plenty of time and I feel it is yet to come.

If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?

I would come back as a dog in my own house because I am a big time dog lover and so is my family. I really want to live a happy dog life where all you have to do is eat and sleep all day, and people take you out for walks.

Where would you most like to live?

Besides India, the place I would love to live would be Los Angeles.

What is your most treasured possession?

My most treasured possession would be my dog without any question. 

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?

The lowest depth of misery would be losing your loved ones. Losing my grandfather would be my lowest depth of misery.

What is your favourite occupation?

Of course my occupation, because I love the business world. I am all about it and nothing tops being in the corporate world.

What is your most marked characteristic?

I am pretty industrious. If I put my mind to something, I know I will get it done. I have OCD, so i love organising things overall.

What do you most value in your friends?

What I love the most about my friends are their honesty and loyalty.

Who are your favourite writers?

I have been a huge fan of Harry Potter, so definitely JK Rowling. Also Dan Brown.

Who is your hero of fiction?

Sherlock Holmes because of how brilliant he was and his abilities of deduction.

Which historical figure do you most identify with?

I would say that I identify with Margaret Thatcher the most.

Who are your heroes in real life?

My family and friends.

What is your favourite name?

No one as such.

What is it that you most dislike?

I dislike negativity and hate.

What is your greatest regret?

Nothing, because I believe everything happens for a reason.

How would you like to die?

I would like to die very peacefully, surrounded by my family and friends. I would love to live a very long life and hopefully die at 112 years.

What is your favourite journey?

My journey has been fabulous, ups and downs, highs and lows is what makes a life.

What is your motto?

“Work hard, love everyone and be the best version of yourself”