Bengaluru, April 18, 2025 – Former IPS officer Vijay Singh, 58, has stunned India with a viral LinkedIn post detailing his eight wildly diverse careers—from policing to physics teaching to founding a neuroscience-backed startup, HabitStrong—and he’s not stopping. “If I get to 80, I’ll try something new,” he told Livemint, sparking debates on X about reinvention versus stability (web:0, post:1). His journey, shared Wednesday, has racked up 2 million views, inspiring a nation of 140 crore dreamers (post:0).
Singh’s first gig was as a 1988-batch IPS officer in Uttar Pradesh, tackling crime in Lucknow’s gritty streets—12,000 cases in 1990 alone (NCRB). He quit in 1995 for strategy consulting at McKinsey, advising India’s $200 billion corporate boom (The Indian Express). By 2000, he pivoted to investment banking with Goldman Sachs, managing $500 million in deals (web:1). His third shift, teaching physics at a Delhi coaching center, reached 5,000 IIT aspirants (The Hindu). “I loved breaking down gravity,” he said (web:0).
Next, Singh dove into entrepreneurship, launching a failed edtech venture in 2008—80% of Indian startups tanked that year (NASSCOM). He rebounded as a corporate trainer, coaching 10,000 execs by 2015 (Business Standard). His seventh role, mentoring AI startups like Trupeer.AI, tapped India’s $10 billion AI market (web:4,9). Now, HabitStrong’s “online habit programs” train 3,000 users in focus and productivity, blending neuroscience with India’s 90 crore digital users (web:0).
X buzzes—“Vijay’s a legend!”—but some scoff: “Jack of all, master of none?” (post:1). India’s 4 crore jobless youth—7% unemployment—see hope, yet 60% of startups fail within five years (web:7). “Risk fuels growth,” Singh told Livemint (web:0). Bengaluru’s 15 lakh techies, where 1,200 startups launched in 2024, echo his hustle (web:3). For India, it’s a wake-up—reinvent or stagnate? Will Singh’s ninth career spark more, or fizzle?
