The courtyard buzzed with energy.
Under the filtered winter sun of Jaipur, colorful banners swayed gently, their hand-painted designs telling stories from across the country—tribal tales from Bastar, Kashmiri folklore, Warli art from Maharashtra.
It was the launch of something Aarav had dreamt about since Rootlink's first month.
Project Udaan.
A platform within Rootlink dedicated to funding and mentoring rural entrepreneurs—women, young artisans, craftsmen, and micro-vendors with ideas but no resources. No pitch decks. No English fluency. Just talent, grit, and a dream.
It wasn't an accelerator. It wasn't a grant system.
It was a bridge.
"I remember," Aarav said, stepping onto the makeshift stage, "what it felt like to have an idea and zero rupees to pursue it. I had no investor. No mentor. Just a system."
A light laugh rippled through the audience—those who knew the Rootlink origin story understood the double meaning.
"But not everyone gets a 'system' dropped into their lap. That's where we come in."
He looked over at the first batch of selected entrepreneurs—35 of them, from 12 different states. A goat herder from Bundelkhand who wanted to start an organic soap brand. A carpenter's daughter from Tripura who designed modular bamboo furniture. A 17-year-old tribal artist who painted emotions instead of images.
"We're not giving you money. We're investing in your story. And in return, we want just one thing."
He paused. The courtyard fell silent.
"Pay it forward. When you fly, make someone else fly with you."
And that was the soul of Udaan.
The System buzzed gently as the event concluded:
New Milestone: Entrepreneurial Ecosystem InitiatedImpact Projection (3 years): 10,000+ livelihoods influencedRootlink Identity: From Brand → BackboneAarav Sharma Status: Visionary Entrepreneur (Category Level Achieved)
He read that last part and chuckled softly.
He didn't care about labels.
But he cared deeply about what Rootlink was becoming.
Back in the office, Meenal, now officially the Chief of Strategy, sat him down with a concerned face.
"We're scaling too fast," she said. "Demand is outpacing artisan onboarding. International logistics are messy. The tech backend's straining. And…"
She hesitated.
"There's talk of investors. Big ones. VC firms. They're sniffing around."
Aarav sighed.
He had always been clear: no outside funding until they could retain full creative and ethical control.
But now, with expansion plans across Southeast Asia, a cultural museum in Jaipur, and an AI-driven artisan matching platform in the works…
The pressure was building.
Later that night, Aarav found himself staring at the original hand-drawn Rootlink logo pinned to the wall.
A leaf. A thread. A rising line.
He remembered something his father once told him:
"Money is like water. It helps things grow. But flood it… and you'll drown everything instead."
The System buzzed again.
Critical Decision Node ApproachingAccept Venture Capital?Options:(1) Fast Track Scaling(2) Bootstrap Sustainably(3) Hybrid with Ethical ClausesChoose wisely. Impact Irreversible.
Aarav didn't click anything yet.
Instead, he took out a pen and wrote three words on the whiteboard:
Mission > Valuation
He wasn't here to build the next unicorn.
He was here to build the next soil.
Where others could plant roots, rise, and one day…
Take their own Udaan.