Getting raised in a Marwari community has its own set of advantages, where children are

encouraged to learn business aspects from a very young age. Likewise, I have always found
the concept of having my own business extremely fascinating from a young age, as I was born
in a middle-class Jaipur-based iron trading business family.

In 2003, I became the first child in my family to complete graduation. Later I and a college
friend co-founded an engineering, procurement and construction firm. However, after almost
three years, the firm had to be shut down owing to paucity of funds due to delayed payments
from the lead contractor. The decision to close my entrepreneurial venture was a defining
moment of my life because, as an entrepreneur, I had liberty to take my own decisions and
ability to influence people positively. The decision to shut down was devastating but a wise
one, as the business was incurring losses. The venture was my first experience in terms of
understanding the real-time challenges faced by a small enterprise. After retrospection, I
realized that the reason of my business failure was not operational or technical but financial.

Hence, to better understand financial nuances, I decided to complete a postgraduate program

in business administration, which I completed in 2009. Later, I joined ONICRA, a credit rating
agency for small and medium businesses, to understand the risks faced by such enterprises.
Subsequently, I joined India Ratings and Research (formerly Fitch India Ratings), where I was
instrumental in the setup of the North India emerging corporates team. As the youngest
employee with a team management role across the organization, I succeeded in building a
strong performing team by understanding the concerns of my team members, reallocating job
functions and building a detailed career development plan for every member. To reward my
performance, the organization promoted me thrice in six years.

Currently, I manage key accounts of IRR Advisory Services, the advisory arm of the Fitch
Group in India. The world has significantly changed since 2000, hence, enrolment in a global
management program seems a logical step to me.

Modern business models have overtaken traditional business models, with extremely
profitable enterprises blowing away competition. I believe the technology space is where one
can succeed in view of the pandemic affecting businesses worldwide.

I believe the program offered by Simon Business School will provide me necessary skills and
knowledge to succeed globally. I am undecided whether I would take up a job after program
completion to generate savings to form a consulting firm or start my own venture with like-
minded people I may find on campus. I know of no way to reliably predict the economic
movements and we will collectively have to wait for the smoke from the current uncertain
events to get clear.