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Singapore Diaries – Part 1: A Missed Update from India

(Trivia: DMET Club & MarineX is a thriving community of over 38,000 maritime professionals and decision-makers, making it together one of the strongest maritime communities in the world.)


Dear DMET Community,

This is a post I should’ve written a week ago. The news has already started circulating, but as someone who believes in doing things the right way, I knew I had to sit down and write this story properly. So here we go—raw, real, and straight from the heart.

Between 2021 and 2023, I suffered from three paralytic episodes. One left me half-paralysed, another led to facial paralysis, and by the third one, I genuinely thought my time was up. It was one of those moments when life gives you a harsh reality check—What if I don’t make it? What if my time is really up? What about the things I always wanted to do? (Have fully recovered now, just an update and yes, DMET Stood by my side!)


In that phase of uncertainty and self-reflection, something within me snapped awake. I couldn’t sit still. I wasn’t going to let time or fate write my story. So, instead of resting like I was advised, I did the opposite—I began writing down every idea I ever had but had postponed due to time, work, or life.

I’m Prateek Khanna, from the DMET Class of 2011. For those who don’t know me, I’ve been an entrepreneur for over 15 years—even during college, I ran a coaching centre. I’ve sailed once, failed multiple times, but I’ve also managed to do some pretty extraordinary things—thanks to some absolutely extraordinary teammates nad support from DMET community all my life.


One of my proudest ventures was building India’s largest chess training platform from scratch—a platform that still holds that title.


Over the years, DMETians—seniors, juniors, and batchmates—have been instrumental in helping me bring some of the wildest ideas to life. Almost every venture I’ve worked on has had DMETians as co-founders, supporters, or key collaborators.


The Moment of Change

During that third paralytic event, I truly thought I had only a few weeks left. That fear, however dark, became a powerful motivator. I wrote down a list of dreams that I still believed I could bring to life. I wanted to build things for people, for communities, and most importantly, for the DMET fraternity that had shaped me.


I also knew I couldn’t do it alone. I gathered every bit of savings I had. Then I borrowed money from some of my closest friends—Pratik (another Director in XOFY, My schoolmate as well as my DMET batchmate), Prasun, Mahendra, Sanjiv, and Avinash. With that, I acquired a few existing ventures, each aligned with the vision I had been quietly nurturing for years.


What most people didn’t know back then was—I was half-paralysed while executing all of this.

Here’s what I had written down in my notebook of dreams:

  • Unite the DMET community on a single platform(I guess it's my life mission now). If I could build multi-million dollar companies using the DMET network, I knew that every DMETian could—if we just stood together.

  • Give back to the maritime world—and so, MarineX was launched.

  • Create something meaningful for the aviation industry—and that led to AviationX(My batchmates would know why, ha ha ha)

  • Re-enter the chess world, but this time, build it right, amend mistakes I made earlier—thus, ChessX was born.

  • Do something fresh for the cricketing community—inspired by my brother-from-another-mother Russell Symcox and someone I deeply admire, Gary Kirsten. (More on CricX soon!)

To hold all of these platforms together, I created XOFY Tech—my final move. My Endgame.

“XO” in XOFY stands for sincerity, faith, friendship, and love—values I hold dear. It’s my tribute to building with heart and building for impact.



The Birth of DMET Club

The first platform to go live was DMET Club. Even though I was financially stretched thin due to the investments in all these projects, my partner at XOFY Tech (Company was registered a little later) kept pouring in funds to keep it afloat.


I’ll never forget the early support from Parth (6306), Anand Sir (5840), Satti Sir (851), Gaurav Agrawal Sir—they formed the backbone of DMET Club in its earliest days.

Not everyone welcomed us with open arms. There was pushback from certain parts of the alumni community. But I’m from Varanasi. Till Class 12, I went to the Vishwanath Temple every day with my mother. My compass has always been faith. If I’m not doing anything wrong, I don’t fear judgment. I just keep moving.

We began hosting Citadel sessions every Sunday—where DMETians came together to share stories, ideas, problems, and hope. Slowly, the community began to write back. They started sharing challenges. And we began collecting data—insights into what the community needed most.


Insights From the Heart of the Community

Some of the key revelations that emerged:

  • DMETians are great earners but often poor investors. Many had lost money in scams or unwise investments. A few were financially sharp, but their insights weren’t being shared widely.

  • Healthcare was a growing concern. People wanted more accessible, reliable health support.

  • There was a desire for more in-person events, meetups, and reunions across the globe.

  • Many wanted to explore professional growth, business ventures, and new opportunities—but didn’t know how to network beyond their circle.

  • We stand together during emergencies, but we are not prepared as a community for large-scale crises.

We began solving these problems one at a time. We reached out to Livlong—a DMETian-led healthtech company—for community health insurance. The discussions are ongoing, and while it’ll take more time to align values, the intent is clear—we must build thoughtfully and without compromise.


Currently together DMET Club & MarineX has a subscriber base of 38000+ Maritime Professionals most of whom are decision makers in Industry and beyond



The Financial Challenge

By now, the platform had grown, but so had its operational costs. Our tech infrastructure, coders, editors, designers, content teams—everything together cost us ₹15–20 lakhs per month. And we weren’t making money. We were just investing in the future.

Around that time, Mudit Sir (1988 Alumni) called. I shared my struggle, and he assured me that DMECA would support us—even if in a limited capacity. That support became a pillar for DMET Club’s survival. (We haven’t yet received such backing from other alumni associations, but we’re hopeful). I guess after my family, Mudit Sir is the most important person in my life currently!


Real Estate, Strategy & Yugen Infra

As our platforms grew, so did expenses. Around the same time, my friend Sheeshram had launched Yugen Infra with a solid team of real estate veterans in 2023. We stayed in touch, and soon Yugen began offering exclusive, preferential real estate pricing to our community in one of the largest Golf Township at north of Goa (500-Acre & Growing):

  • A Villa Plot at Golf City for DMECA Members at ₹82 lakh all-inclusive, while the market rate is ₹97 lakh.

  • Aqua Front Villas, usually ₹3.21 Cr, offered to our community at ₹3 Cr (DMECA Members Only Rate)

This initiative wasn’t just about real estate—it was about value, trust, and transparency. Soon after, Yugen Infra invested in XOFY Tech at a valuation of ₹90 Crore, acquiring a 1% stake. 

To ensure the community’s interests were protected, I also joined Yugen as Director – Strategy & Planning.




Sustaining the Platform

People often ask, “How does DMET Club sustain itself?” Here’s the answer:

  • Like any social platform (think Facebook, YouTube -as an organisation our only competitors are Linkedin, Facebook, Google and Youtube), we run ads and generate sponsorship (Not every add, we make sure it is relevant for community) during events, whether offline or online. We also empower DMECA events and we would continue to empower them (We don’t make money in association events)

  • Through XOFY Tech, we have revenue from other platforms including MarineX, ChessX and our XOFY Labs where we build deep tech.

  • And yes, when community members invest in real estate through DMET Club, we earn a net of 1% from those transactions. That keeps the lights on and ensures we can continue serving the community.

We are not a non-profit. But I firmly believe this model is fair and sustainable—and more importantly, it ensures quality and continuity.

We’ve refused billion-dollar brands that didn’t align with our values. We’ll make mistakes—sure. But we’ll learn, rectify, and keep moving toward our True North. Our true north is Xofy Tech is and will always be a DMET first organisation


The Rise of Mariners Realty: A New Chapter

As XOFY Tech and DMET Club grew, so did our need to build for the maritime community beyond tech and networking.

In a significant step forward, Mudit Sir, XOFY Tech, and Yugen Infra jointly acquired a majority stake in a company called Mariners Realty (Paper work still in process)

Mariners Realty is led by a young but seasoned real estate professional Amit who shares our vision—to solve real estate challenges faced by maritime professionals. Whether it’s investment, housing, retirement planning, or relocation support, seafarers and maritime families deserve expert, transparent, and tailored guidance—and that’s what Mariners Realty now offers.

This move allows us to address one of the biggest gaps in the maritime ecosystem: reliable and trustworthy real estate solutions.

But we’re not stopping there.

We’re actively exploring partnerships to own and manage ships, and to launch new verticals that can empower more professionals across industries.

One such initiative is with a DMET alumnus from the 2008 batch—we’re currently building a curated marketplace for ship spares. Finally, a reliable, tech-enabled, transparent platform that can address the chaotic marine spare part ecosystem.



Signing Off (For Now)

I’m writing this post in Singapore, just an hour before recording a podcast with a fellow DMET alumnus here. Life’s moving fast, but I’m learning to pause, reflect, and share more with all of you.

More updates, more stories, and more chapters from the journey—coming soon.

Till then, stay strong, stay united, and keep believing in what we can achieve together.

With sincerity and strength, Prateek Khanna DMETian for live







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