Chief Change Officer
#185 Gagan Sandhu: From Mechanical Engineer to Money Engineer—Mastering Career Pivots & Financial Freedom — Part Two
Tue, 18 Feb 2025
What do you do when your career isn’t working? If you’re Gagan Sandhu, you rewrite the script. From mechanical engineering in India to tech leadership at Square and Atlassian, he’s mastered career pivots, financial independence, and thriving in an ever-changing world. Now, as CEO and Co-Founder of Xillion, he’s helping others do the same. He unpacks the myths of financial freedom, tackles ageism in the workplace, and explains why modern careers require constant reinvention. This is part two of a two-part series, offering a roadmap for navigating change, mastering skills, and living intentionally, no matter your stage in life. Key Highlights of Our Interview: The Trap of Asset Rich, Cash Poor “Financial independence isn’t about piling up assets like real estate without liquidity. It’s about understanding cash flow, compounding returns, and making smart investments tailored to your goals.” Two Sides of the Same Coin “Financial independence isn’t just about planning for tomorrow—it’s about defining today. The idea is to align your present choices with the freedom to pursue passions and live meaningfully.” The Role of Finfluencers “They offer quick tips and digestible content, often catering to a younger audience. But their motives can sometimes be tied to promotions—whether it’s a bank account or an investment product. Their advice might not always be impartial.” A Balanced Perspective “At Xillion, we take a different path. While we do share nuggets of wisdom on platforms like LinkedIn and TikTok, we focus on being our own voice of authority rather than relying on external influencers. This way, authenticity remains at the core of our brand.” The 10-Year Career Mindset “Careers aren’t linear 30-year paths anymore. Every decade or so, you need to rediscover yourself. I’ve done it multiple times—starting as a mechanical engineer, pivoting to programming, then management, and finally launching my own company. Reinvention is the new normal.” _________________________ Connect with us: Host: Vince Chan | Guest: Gagan Sandhu --Chief Change Officer-- Change Ambitiously. Outgrow Yourself. Open a World of Deep Human Intelligence for Growth Progressives, Visionary Underdogs, Transformation Gurus & Bold Hearts. 6 Million+ All-Time Downloads. Reaching 80+ Countries Daily. Global Top 3% Podcast. Top 10 US Business. Top 1 US Careers. >>>100,000+ subscribers are outgrowing. Act Today.<<< --Chief Change Officer--Change Ambitiously. Outgrow Yourself.Open a World of Expansive Human Intelligencefor Transformation Gurus, Black Sheep,Unsung Visionaries & Bold Hearts.12 Million+ All-Time Downloads.Reaching 80+ Countries Daily.Global Top 3% Podcast.Top 10 US Business.Top 1 US Careers.>>>140,000+ are outgrowing. Act Today.<<<
Who is Gagan Sandhu and what is his career journey?
Hi, everyone. Welcome to our show, Chief Change Officer. I'm Vince Chen, your ambitious human host. Our show is a modernist humility for change progressives in organizational and human transformation from around the world. Today, I'm thrilled to be speaking with my Chicago MBA classmate, Gargan Sandhu.
Like many of my previous guests, Gargan is an immigrant who moved from India to the States about 20 years ago. With a mechanical engineering background, he began his journey as a grad student. About two years ago, he founded a FinTech company aimed at helping Gen Y and Z achieve financial independence.
Speaking of financial independence, I've always been skeptical of it, seeing it more as a myth or a marketing buzzword. In true Chicago Bulls style, Gargant and I will be exchanging viewpoints on this topic, agreeing to disagree while appreciating and understanding our different perspectives in a sensible manner. On top of that, Gargant will share invaluable insights on managing career paths,
I really appreciate that before our interview. Despite his busy schedule, Gargan made it a point to thoroughly understand the scope of my show. He asked for examples and even took the time to write down his career insights to share with me ahead of time.
Hey, thank you so much, Vince. Thank you so much for reaching out and rekindling old memories from business school. And I'm so happy to be doing this with you. And I'm a fan of you and what you're doing. So thank you so much.
You've become financially independent and then decided to start this company to help others achieve the same. This makes me wonder, what does financial independence mean to you? I'm very eager to hear about your personal wealth philosophy. The term financial independence is heavily used online. In fact, often misused or reduced to just a buzzword.
But I'm interested in your genuine perspective and practices. How do you interpret and apply this concept in your life?
Yeah, absolutely. And I agree with you that There is a lot of noise around this term. Financial freedom, financial independence, financially independent, retire early. There's a whole fire movement. And also, especially ever since social media became a dominant force in the society, there are just too many people out there trying to almost... Some of them sound like snake oil salesmen.
They're like, oh yeah, I'm financially independent. I just have this social media or I do X, Y, Z and I make enough money, blah, blah, blah. So I'll tell you what my criteria was. It was fairly straightforward. And I will actually contextualize, right? I'm careful to use the word financial independence and not retirement.
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