Shalu spent his early childhood in Chandigarh, India and then moved to Delhi at age 7. He became an entrepreneur at age 9 by starting a library in his garage. He studied at Sri Venkateswara College and the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. Shalu had a successful career in marketing and business development at NIIT and Polaroid in India and Southeast Asia. In 2009, he co-founded the online company Tickled Media in Singapore before selling his stake in 2010 to join Ogilvy. Currently, Shalu runs Circus Social and teaches part-time while residing in Singapore with his family.