Harvard Business School

curve and first-hand exposure to operational bottlenecks where I felt I could add value full-time. Conversations with alumni in consulting shaped my thinking. Consulting would have built awareness and confidence, but I learned those skills can also be developed without spending formative years in roles with limited ownership. So I joined full-time, while consciously committing to continuous upskilling and focused networking to create the same growth consulting would have offered. Earlier, during my undergraduate years, I had co-founded a home-décor and furnishings brand for the Indian market. I designed marketing models aligned with our brand identity, led a five-member team, and partnered with multi-brand retailers through exhibitions and networks. Each move felt personal; every feedback email I answered turned insight into product improvements and loyalty, resulting in 100+ clients, a 25% retention rate, and 20% year-on-year revenue growth. But as my responsibilities grew at the family business and our CSR trust, I struggled to give the brand the attention it needed to scale responsibly, while also limiting what the core business could achieve. More importantly, I realised that building a sustainable consumer brand demands deeper capabilities in supply-chain optimisation, brand management, and global positioning; without that foundation, further expansion wouldn't be right. These experiences show how I approach my career: prioritising long-term value over short-term momentum, and having the discipline to pause when building responsibly matters more.