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YesMadam CEO on facing armed robbery in Liberia: ‘Broke my leg trying to escape’
YesMadam CEO Mayank Arya has shared a treatise on resilience and personal growth, recounting the time he was robbed in the African nation of Liberia.
YesMadam CEO Mayank Arya has shared a treatise on resilience and personal growth, recounting the time he was robbed in the African nation of Liberia. Arya revealed that in 2013, he became the victim of an armed robbery where he broke his leg while trying to escape. The injury was so severe that doctors told him that a full recovery would take two years.
In a post shared on LinkedIn, the founder and CEO of YesMadam said that the intervening decade between the armed robbery and the present taught him a lot. “They say time heals all wounds. But that’s a lie. It’s what you do with time that truly builds you up,” Arya said in his post.
His post comes in the wake of the social media storm created by YesMadam after a company email, written by the HR head, claimed that stressed-out employees would be fired. The at-home beauty services startup later clarified that no employee was fired and the email was part of a campaign to highlight workplace stress.
What happened in 2013
In his LinkedIn post shared this morning, YesMadam CEO Mayank Arya revealed that he became the victim of an armed robbery in December 2013 that left him with a severe leg injury. He also shared a picture from the time when he lay recovering in bed.
“December 09, 2013: Somewhere off the Liberia coast. I had just survived an armed robbery. I broke my leg trying to escape during the chaos and it looks bad. Very bad,” he recounted on LinkedIn.
Arya gave a glimpse into his pessimistic thought process at the time, where pain kept him up at night. “Funny how life works - one minute you’re doing your job, next you're lying here wondering if you will ever walk properly again,” he wrote, adding that doctors told him that recovery would take two whole years.
A life lesson
The Noida-based CEO next wrote a letter to his past self, elaborating on the lesson that the armed robbery incident taught him.
“Hey Mayank from 2013, it's 2024 and guess what? The leg that felt like the end of the world? It carried us further than you could’ve imagined,” Arya wrote in his letter to his past self.
“You fought through all the pain, and today you are running your own company. Our company.
“You taught me that real courage isn't in never falling. It's in refusing to stay fallen.
“So thank you for teaching me not to give up. Because now? We’re running! Not just on our feet but towards a purpose we are proud of,” he said.
Arya launched YesMadam in 2016, three years after he survived the robbery in Liberia.
He ended his post with a promise of more things to come. Arya’s post on overcoming adversity seems to have struck a chord with the internet, as many commenters praised his spirit of resilience.
“Mayank, your journey is truly inspiring. It’s remarkable how adversity can be a catalyst for growth and transformation,” wrote one LinkedIn user in the comments section. “What a great journey, it must be difficult for you, but glad to know you didn't give up,” another wrote.
