G2G: Good To Great To Gone (Why The Most Successful Investors Say No And You Should Too)

Ajay Sharma

FOREWORDS BY AMISH TRIPATHI AND RASHESH SHAH

The Complete Guide to Getting Rich and Staying Rich

'This isn't investing dressed up as philosophy. It's a genuine playbook for judgment.’ – Manish Gupta, Chairman and CEO, Indegene

Most investment books teach you how to find winners. This one teaches you something rarer – how to say 'no' so your carefully chosen 'yes' can compound into real wealth.

Drawing on three decades of managing money across Asia, Ajay Sharma has built a framework that fuses the rigour of Western finance with the wisdom of Vedic philosophy. The result is a complete system that tells you how to spot businesses on their way from 'Good' to 'Great’, how to sense the peak before it turns, and how to protect your gains when it does.

The insight at the heart of it is deceptively simple. Markets move in cycles, that is, the climb from 'Good' to 'Great’, and the slide from 'Great' to 'Good’, or 'Gone’. Master that cycle and you can build extraordinary wealth. But it takes discipline to resist what derails most investors – the hot tip, the market darling priced for perfection, the story too good to question.

Good to Great to Gone hands you the tools to build wealth ... and keep it.

‘Ajay Sharma has done what few investors attempt: turning a career of watching cycles into a philosophy of restraint. Good to Great to Gone argues that the Vedic wheel – Srishti, Sthiti, Samhara; creation, preservation, destruction – turns for companies as surely as for civilizations, and the investor's gravest error is mistaking preservation for permanence. His answer is the hardest word in our business: "No,” said precisely when excitement is handing you every reason to say yes. Anyone can find conviction; Ajay teaches discernment. This book deserves a place beside your next term sheet – read it first.’ – Vineet Rai, Founder and Vice Chairman, Aavishkaar Group

'An engaging book that makes you think differently about investing and the discipline to say "No”. All of the operating frameworks are very interesting. The idea of Valuation Decay stood out to me, it names the fact that overvaluation corrects through time as much as through price. And the G2G quadrant emphasis that a great business at the wrong price is still a bad stock is a simple yet powerful evaluation framework.’ – Moon Kyung Kang, CEO, Mirae Asset Sharekhan

'Some of my most-watched interviews have been with Ajay, and a big reason is his brilliant G2G philosophy. He has a rare ability to simplify the most complex ideas without losing their depth. Over the years, he has consistently spotted big trends well before they became obvious – whether it was paints, Indian equities, IT services, or several other themes. That's what sets him apart. In this book, Ajay distils that very thought process into practical frameworks that anyone can understand and apply. The biggest strength of the book is that it isn't built on theory – it's shaped by decades of real-world investing experience. This isn't just a good book; it's one you'll keep coming back to. In many ways, it's a book for generations.’ – Anuj Singhal, Managing Editor, CNBC-Awaaz and CNBC-Bajar

'In Good to Great to Gone, Ajay does something rare – he takes the discipline of his G2G framework, built over twenty-five years of institutional investing, and grounds it in something sturdier than a spreadsheet: the sutras our grandparents lived by. I had a preview of this thinking in our own recorded conversation for The Road Less Travelled, where one line of his has stayed with me – "If you want to go from Good to Great, you need grit; if you want to stay Great, you need gratitude.” Having built Indegene over 26 years from a start up in Bangalore into a global-listed institution, I know the hardest calls are never the ones to buy or grow – they are the ones to say no and walk away before a good story curdles into a great mistake. This isn't investing dressed up as philosophy – it's a genuine playbook for judgment. I recommend it to every builder who wants to compound wealth and character together.’ – Manish Gupta, Chairman and CEO, Indegene

'This book is not just about investing in the stock market, it's about investing in yourself. The frameworks laid out by Ajay S. from MVM to G2G, provide a practical blueprint for success, not just in investing, but in almost every aspect of life. A must-read for anyone looking to build the right mindset, make better decisions, and create lasting success.’ – Vivek Bajaj, Co-founder, Kredent, StockEdge and Irage

'Courtesy of Charlie Munger, many investors talk generally about developing mental models in investing. Ajay Sharma's book, in contrast, talks specifics about how to model different areas of investment decision-making. Drawing on stories and examples from his life as a successful investment analyst and a hedge fund manager, Ajay explains how to frame decision models in areas like "sizing the investment opportunity”, "good company or good valuation”, "identifying good-to-great-to-gone investments“ and my favourite, "valuation decay”. Highly readable book.’ – Samir Arora, Founder, Helios Capital Management

'G2G is as distinctive as Ajay himself. A "4×4“ thrill-filled drive like an investment manual, sprinkled with easy-to-understand "2×2“ wiselets, lived experiences, relevantly connected to the timeless wisdom of ancient Hindu treatises. For those who know Ajay, reading this book feels like having a personal conversation with him – an intimate glimpse into his mind and life. Gaining a slice of Ajay's time through this book is a worthwhile lifetime investment.’ – Uday Baldota, former Global CFO, Sun Pharma, and former CEO and Board Member, Taro Pharma