In early 2008 when the seeds of Entrepreneurship were sowing into my mind, I used to hang out with Entrepreneurs a lot – technologists who want to revolutionize the consumer market, small business owners who had scaled, and any relative who extended the brand to multiple geographies. One such legend was a gentleman in his mid-60s, who had his humble beginnings in an obscure village in South India but went on to create a recognizable Consumer Goods brand. I would assist his meetings and initiate conversations with potential customers. Through his authenticity and obsessive focus on reaching a win-win deal, he would close one deal after another, with a signature, “My team will reach out to you later today.” There was no shortage of showoff. The meetings were always in luxury hotels with the tab taken over by the Entrepreneur. In one of the weeks where the deals hit some ungodly record, my reminder for the meeting at 11:00 am went unanswered. I visited his house. He had a few extra liquid courage the night before. Sitting at the palatial bungalow, I would see what it seems like a small stone in his hand. He was engaged in a wrestling move, fighting to squeeze the last drop of paste out of the tube.
I was intrigued by the duality of luxurious spending and austerity for toothpaste.
Why was the millionaire wasting 2 minutes on saving 20 cents, when the time could be utilized for preparing the pitch?
What life experiences he had as a child in the village that build the foundational values?
What ‘shift in perspective’ lifted him out of poverty?
What ‘fundamental’ understanding of human motivation helps him close deals in record numbers?
What obsessive focus led to the creation of one of the most trusted brands?
To spark interest in your story, position for one underlying theme – Duality.
After reading through the routine story of an applicant, I couldn’t help noticing that he has chosen not to share the life before high school. The ‘duality’ that he had to steal to survive in a broken home was all too tough to share. The foster parents turned a switch in his life, showing that life is not just about survival. It is about reaching true potential. What followed is a remarkable comeback. But without the duality of ‘broken’ to a ‘caring’ home, the narrative looked like a brag sheet of a type ‘A’ student.
What Duality can you excavate out of your story?
Applicants who reach out to me just out of college always ask this question – “how should I build my profile.” My advice is always on creating a duality of experience. If your day job involves analyzing chunks of data or creating algorithms, the weekend gig should involve extended interactions with other humans and taking on a functional role that requires extraversion (consulting and marketing). The value of ‘personal’ interactions and peer to peer learning cannot be replaced with superior information. Real knowledge lies buried in people’s consciousness. You must dig deep to extract life lessons, strategies, and nuances to approaching the problem.
Action Plan to find duality for your MBA Application
1) List your comfort zones
2) List volunteering and extra-curricular experiences that required coming out of the comfort zone
3) How has the duality of your day job and weekend engagement changed you?
For applicants who need an independent ear to extract the best stories for MBA Application, our Essay Review Service and Detailed Profile Evaluation are for you.
